Karthik’s eyebrows knit in confusion. “Thank me for what?”
“For Meghna deciding to apply for an MFA! She only told us about it recently, though I’m sure you’ve been talking about it for a while. Meghna said you were the one to bring it up. To suggest it first. We’ve been wanting her to go to graduate school for so long. Of course, we used to hope it would be engineering, but Meghna was adamant that she didn’t want to do that. So, we suggested more laid-back options. Law school. Business school. But she wasn’t interested in those, either. But finally, she’s applying to graduate school. And we have you to thank.”
Meghna’s breath caught. When she’d told her parents the news, her father had immediately been supportive. Her mother, on the other hand, had been full of questions. She’d been a bit confused about what it meant to study fine arts and hadn’t understood why Meghna would leave a stable job to pursue it. But when Meghna had framed it as “going to graduate school,” most of her mother’s concerns had evaporated.
The conversation had gone better than Meghna had expected. And this reaction from her mother…Well, this was her version of trying to be supportive. But it still hurt to hear her dreams diminished this way. To hear them attributed to someone else. To hearKarthikget all the credit.
Meghna’s father picked up on something, his face tight with concern as he looked in her direction, but Meghna just shook her head subtly. It wasn’t worth getting into. Not now. Maybe she’d try to have a conversation with her mother about this later.
“You shouldn’t be thanking me,” Karthik said, his voice even and measured. “I had nothing to do with it.”
Meghna glanced at him in astonishment. What was even happening right now? She’d never told him that she was applying for an MFA. She’d expected him to be somewhat surprised by the news, but to brush it off. To pretend like he’d known about it all along. She hadn’t expected…Well, she hadn’t expected any of this.
“But I’m incredibly proud of Meghna,” Karthik continued. “And I was proud of her before she decided to apply for this too. She’s a dedicated teacher. Her students love her. And she single-handedly put together that musical with barely any funds or support from the school board. And I know you saw how much her hard work paid off because you were there. Did you know the principal has been begging Meghna to put together the next one?”
Meghna’s mother glanced at Karthik with surprise and shook her head. “I didn’t know that.”
“Well, she has. They’re even setting aside more resources nextsemester because Meghna convinced them that a theater program was important. She put her heart and soul into helping her students, even though teaching has never been her dream. And now, for the first time, she’s pursuing something just for her. Not what you or anyone else wants her to do. She’s a gifted writer, you know. And I couldn’t be prouder of her for doing this. For going after what she wants. And you should be proud of her too.”
“I am,” Meghna’s father said. “I’m always proud of you, Meghna.” He clasped his wife’s hand tenderly, giving her a meaningful look. “And we can both do a better job of letting you know that.”
Meghna muttered a thank you, but couldn’t tear her eyes away from Karthik. When he’d first started talking, she’d been stunned. He’d never read a word she’d written. Hadn’t even known until that moment that she wanted to get an MFA. But the second he’d found out about it, he’d understood what it meant. This wasn’t for Seth orhiswriting. This wasn’t for her parents or their desire for her to go to grad school. This wasn’t for her students or her principal or the parents or the school district. This was just for her.
And Karthiksawthat. He immediately recognized all of it and sawher. And he’d been able to put it into words. So simply. So clearly. He’d said the things she’d thought and felt but had never been able to bring up to her parents.
Karthik turned at that moment, and their eyes met.
“We’re going to step into the study,” Meghna said, her voice high and clear. “Excuse us.” She got up from the couch, and Karthik followed her, the sound of his footsteps mimicking the heavy beat of her heart.
They paused at the entrance to the study, looking at the three framed print copies of Monet’sWater Liliesarranged on the opposite wall.
“They’rereallysomething,” Karthik said, and Meghna hid a smile at his repeating the sarcastic comment she had first made about the art.
“My parents, you mean?” she asked playfully, pretending to misunderstand.
He started. “No. No. Of course not. I meant the paintings. Because of what you said the first time about them. Your parents are great. I shouldn’t have said anything back there. I shouldn’t have talked to your mom that way. I didn’t mean—”
“You didn’t mean it?”
“No. I meant what I said. But that doesn’t mean I should have said it.”
He ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident on his face.
“I was just kidding,” she said softly, and he relaxed a fraction.
She wanted to ask what he was doing here, but over the last few minutes she’d come to the conclusion that Samir had been right. If she didn’t tell Karthik how she felt, she’d regret it. Maybe not right away, but eventually. In a few days or weeks or months, she’d wonder if the man who saw her so well, who knew her down to her bones, could have possibly loved her, or at least felt the same way about her that she did about him.
Honestly, she wasn’t sure if it was love. There was too much unsaid. Too much unknown. Too much and not enough between them. All she knew was that she’d never felt anything likethisbefore. And if this wasn’t love, then it was something a lot like it. And whatever it was, it was worth the risk of potential embarrassment. She took a deep breath and smiled hesitantly at the man in front of her.
Karthik was worth the risk.
“Have you changed your mind about marriage?” she asked.
Karthik blinked and Meghna inwardly cursed.
—
None of this was going according to plan. Karthik had come here to tell Meghna he loved her and instead had ended up ranting at her parents. Disrespecting them. He assumed Meghna had called him in hereto chastise him. But instead…she was asking him about marriage? His heart thudded, hope building dangerously in his chest.
