Page 55 of The Promise of a Traitor

“What’s wrong?” Aakash Thakkar’s deep voice came down the line. “Are you in trouble?”

Advik cleared his throat. “No, I’m not. I mean,” he paused, “I don’t think so.”

“This is about the girl?”

Startled, Advik pulled the phone away a little and stared at it. “How did you know?”

Aakash laughed, a deep chuckle. “It’s always about the girl, son. Now, tell me how I can help.”

Advik started to talk. He started in New York and ended with Aastha’s visit to his office earlier that day, spilling every toxic moment in between and some of the wonderful ones too.

“So her family is in trouble and wants her to marry you as her golden goose,” Aakash surmised.

“Yeah.”

“She doesn’t want to use you as her meal ticket.”

“Yeah.”

“Points for her,” Aakash said briskly. “And even knowing you’re marrying into a hot mess, you still want to marry this girl?”

“Yeah.”

“One last question,” Aakash said, “and try to use big words to answer it. If you say yeah again like a pre-teen, I’m going to hang up on you.”

Advik grinned and said, “Yeah.”

“Little shit,” Aakash muttered. “Okay here’s the question. Do you trust this girl, Adi? Even after everything that’s happened in the past?”

Advik stared at the distant outline of the Sea Link. No more lies, he’d demanded of Aastha. No more lies, she’d promised him.

“Yeah Chachu,” he said. “I do.”

“Alright then,” Aakash muttered. “Let’s talk strategy.” Before Advik could reply, he added, “If you say yeah, so help me God, I’ll kick your butt from here to Timbuktu.”

Advik chuckled. “Deal.”

This time when he looked out at the night, he could have sworn the darkness seemed lighter.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Aastha

A knee jammed into her lower back making her groan. “Amu,” she muttered, shoving her sister back into her side of the bed.

With an incoherent mumble, Amyra rolled over onto her back and away from Aastha. A muffled snore escaped her, the ruffles on the neckline of her nightdress fluttering with the force of her exhales.

Giving up on sleep, Aastha got out of bed and walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth and rinse her face. She needed tea before she could face the day.

“Aastha Di,” Amu’s sleepy voice followed her. “Is it time to wake up?”

Aastha looked at her pale, waxy face in the mirror above the sink. “Sleep a little longer,” she called out. “The day’s going to be manic enough without adding an early start to it.”

But when she emerged from the bathroom, it was to find her sister sitting up in bed, her sleep tousled, tangled hair falling over one shoulder as she stretched the kinks out of her body.

“Amu!” she remonstrated.

“I have a ton of assignments to complete today.” Amyra tossed her hair back. “It’s not like I will have time to do any of it tomorrow.”