AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She rolled her eyes. “Why can’t you see that right now Neil is simply too excited to have you back in his life and isn’t questioning the obvious discomfort between us? He isn’t even questioning why Sanjana or my brothers don’t come down to meet us anymore. But he will soon. He’s too smart to not understand the underlying tension everywhere, and you’re doing nothing to smoothen it.”
His eyes met hers for a brief moment. “Nothing I can do about it.”
Her fists curled in irritation. He was the only one who could resolve things, but he was choosing not to. Bloody infuriating man!
She continued to watch him, and he once again dropped his eyes back to that damn laptop screen. It made her want to throw something at him just to get his attention.
She uncurled her fists and flattened her hands on her lap, refuting that childish urge.
The door to his room opened, and Neil came bounding outside, his head bent as he typed furiously on his phone. Dev looked at him, and his gaze filled with awe. It was like he couldn’t believe that Neil was his. His affection for their son was heartfelt.
Avantika addressed Neil. “Tell your Uncle Aaryan that we will attend the party tonight.”
Neil looked over his shoulder. “Duh, Mom. That’s a given. As if we would miss my uncles’ birthday party.”
Neil faced Dev. “You’re coming too, Dad. Right?”
“I may have to skip it, buddy,” Dev replied. “I have a lot of work to finish.”
“But I want you to come,” Neil insisted.
It was her brothers’ birthday tomorrow. Tiya had texted her earlier about a small party Sanjana and she were throwing for the twins at Aaryan’s villa inArabian Greenslater that night to bring in their birthday. It was the twins’ first birthday with Tiya and Sanjana, and the girls had been excited about it for weeks now. And even though she and her brothers weren’t on talking terms, she’d be there for them.
She sighed. Their situation was truly fucked-up. Her brothers, of course, wouldn’t want Dev to come, but her son wanted his dad to come. Dev, however, didn’t want to come, and she…she only wanted peace all around.
Dev gave Neil a smile. “Next time, okay?”
“Okay,” Neil responded. He took a few steps forward.
Avantika spoke to him again, “Listen, if Vihaan is there, tell him I’m cooking his favorite lamb chops for lunch tomorrow,” Avantika added. “He can come to eat here, or I can send it to him.”
“Yes, Mom.” Neil reached for the door handle.
“And tell Aaryan that—”
“—Mom!” Neil spun around. “I’m not an owl.”
“Oh, I get this Harry Potter reference.” Dev beamed at his son. “It means you’re not a messenger, right?”
“Yes, Dad,” Neil responded, looking equally happy that he’d taught his father the lingo of his favorite series.
Dev’s grin widened. He and Neil had been on a Harry Potter marathon and were on movie four now, and Dev was enjoying every minute of watching it with Neil. She knew from the dozens of questions she overheard him asking Neil during the movie, and of course, Dev was paying close attention to everything Neil said.
So quickly, her son had adjusted to having his father in his life. It was as if Dev had never been gone. So often, he referred to Dev for advice on certain things. For so long, it had been Neil and her in their own space, but now she was sharing not only her space but her son too with Dev. It was supposed to bother her, but it didn’t.
Which brought her back to Dev’s marriage proposal. Her throat dried each time she even remembered it. Dev hadn’t spoken of it again, but it was definitely the invisible elephant in the room. She rejected the thought. Too soon. It was too soon for her to decide. She’d been repeating that like a mantra in her head, yet it hadn’t stopped her from dreaming about it. A future in which Neil, Dev, and she were an actual family. She sucked in a breath. She was going crazy. She truly was.
Neil took a step toward her while still in conversation with Dev.
“Mom thinks I don’t know what’s going on,” he spoke conspiratorially to Dev. “But it’s obvious that she’s fighting with Uncle Aaryan and Uncle Vihaan. I refuse to play messenger between them all.”
“What?” Avantika gasped. “How…?”
“I’m not a child, Mom. I understand what’s happening around me. I’m sure they know my dad is living with us, and still, they haven’t come over. Neither have you been going there. If you have something to say to them, call them and speak to them, or better yet, go visit. Haven’t you always told me to face my problems head-on?”
Avantika glared at him. “Neil Rajpoot, you’re becoming too cheeky for your own good.”
“Luthra,” Dev corrected, “He is Neil Luthra.”
