Page 50 of The Defiant Wife

I am honestly offended.

Raj watches him leave before looking at me.Then he signs. 'Good luck'

I point accusingly at him."You're supposed to support me."

The little traitor grins, toothless.

Unbelievable.

Half an hour later I find myself standing outside the donation room.Mostly because I expected chaos. Him finally realizing what he walked into.At minimum some level of misery.

Instead . . . the sight I find shocks me a bit.

The room looks different.Boxes are stacked neatly.Books have been sorted according to age groups.School supplies are arranged into categories.Clothes are folded.Not shoved into piles.Folded.I look around in disbelief.

Keshav notices me first."Didi!"

I glance toward the floor.Three children sit around Veeraj.They are helping sort toys.Or attempting to.Mostly they're talking.Actually, no.Mostly Keshav is talking.The others are just trapped.Including Veeraj.

"Then the alien exploded!"Keshav announces dramatically.

I frown. "What alien?"

"The one from my dream."

"Ah." That explains everything.

Veeraj nods seriously.As if this is perfectly reasonable conversation."That seems unfortunate."

Keshav immediately launches into another explanation and Veeraj listens.The same way he listened to Jay.The same way he listens whenever a child talks to him.Like their stories matter.Like they're important. They do. For me, they're my world but rarely people, especially these rich ones, genuinely care about them.

Something soft stirs in my chest.I ignore it.Obviously.Instead I focus on the fact that he still hasn't reacted to my task.

Rude.

"Prince uncle is good at folding clothes."

I look toward Laila.She holds up a perfectly folded sweater.Proud.Veeraj glances at it."It's upside down."

She gasps and checks it.Then immediately groans.The room erupts in laughter.Even Veeraj's shoulders shake slightly. Not enough to call it a laugh. But close.Very close.

"Oh!" Keshav points dramatically. "You almost smiled!"

Veeraj immediately becomes expressionless.The transformation is terrifying.One second he is almost human.The next second the infamous reactionless prince.

Keshav looks deeply disappointed."Come back."

"No."

Keshav sighs. "Okay."

I bite the inside of my cheek, to control the laugh bubbling in me.And because somehow these children have become completely fearless around him.

When he first arrived they treated him like royalty.Now?Now they treat him like a particularly tall jungle gym.

It's beautiful . . . and cute.

The afternoon passes surprisingly quickly. Children drift in and out. Someone brings snacks. Someone spills juice. Someone cries because another child called their drawing ugly.