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What the heck just happened? Why did she have to kiss him? On his lips!???
Chapter 17
For days after the inauguration, Sanjana avoided him after she kissed him at the airport. What was even more frustrating was that one of the reporters managed to capture the private moment from afar, making it worse for her. The pictures of them looking like they were in a liplock and the posted comments made her stomach churn.
They were being portrayed as the epitome of an arranged marriage, a fairy tale where the prince swept her off her feet. If only they knew he had hit her with a contract and a deal she could not refuse.
Despite everything that was being said on the internet, she knew what the reality was and what a stupid move it was on her part to kiss him. She could not get over how she did not stop at the cheek. Unable to face him, she avoided him from that point on. No matter what time of the day when he was in their private quarters, she pretended to be fast asleep. When there was a family meal, she made sure to sit by Aish and away from him as much as possible.
The few days he was away helped with her not being on edge all the time. That evening she was spending time with Aish, who seemed pretty nervous. Aish had a lightweight velvet maxi dress on, and the wine-colored dress brought out the glow in her skin, but her eyes did not sparkle like they did when she was happy.??
“Aish, who are we meeting for dinner?” Sanjana asked as she walked into one of the smaller dining spaces in the palace. “The special outfit for a secret guest?”
Aish rolled her eyes. “Not such a secret. Jai asked me to meet this guy to see if I like him.” She bit her lip nervously.
Sanjana scrunched her nose. “To model for your clothes? Didn’t you just have a photo shoot with Jai’s friend?”
To those words, Sanjana noticed Aish tense for a bit but recovered. “No. It’s a royal family member from down south.”
Sanjana still didn’t get why Aish seemed so worried. “So what? It’s not like you are—” She lost her voice when a thought occurred to her. “Is this a marriage alliance?”
Aish shook her head. “Yes. Apparently, this guy’s father, the King of Patola, reached out to Papa. Jai said the guy is a sleazeball, but I should at least meet the him just so Papa can keep his word.”
Sanjana tsked. “If he knows he is an ass, why is he asking you to meet him? Such a waste of time.”
“It’s okay. I’ll do it for Papa, and Jai said I could take you along, so I didn’t mind.” Aish winked and added, “I had the kitchen make our favorites. Who cares about that guy?”
Sanjana was at ease and looked forward to being the third wheel in what seemed like an annoying yet promising evening. They both discussed how they could scare the guy off and make him leave early so they could enjoy the rest of the evening chatting.
They were in the middle of their chit-chat when one of the staff members notified them of the arrival of the Prince of Patola. Aish asked him to show the prince in, and added, “Since this guy’s father is Papa’s friend, we entertain him for an hour and then scare him away.”
“Deal,” Sanjana said, winking, and sat in the typical prim posture, and Aish matched it too.
Moments later, she heard the loud clicking of shoe soles and picked up a waft of a heavy, nauseating men’s cologne before she heard a man’s voice who seemed to be saying something rude. Finally, when the man appeared at the entrance, Sanjana had to bite back her laughter when she saw the man show up in a traditional outfit fitted with a turban and a sword.
Did he think he was taking Aish as his bride after the first meeting?
As the man walked in and introduced himself, she could not help but compare how regal her husband looked in such a traditional outfit while the man talking to Aish had a comic factor to his overall dress.
“Princess of Devaraya, what a pleasant surprise. You are beautiful.” The man’s words made Sanjana’s eyes widen. “I was expecting a different kind of woman. Your skin is indeed fair.”
What the heck was the man talking about?
Sanjana looked at Aish to see if she was going to give out the SOS signal they had discussed prior to the man’s arrival, but she got nothing. She quietly sipped her wine, her eyes scanning for any level of distress signal from Aish. That was her job for the evening, to take Aish away if it got weird with the prince.
Despite the obnoxious statement the man had made initially about Aish’s skin tone, he seemed to be capable of a normal conversation. Although the man was speaking intelligently, something Jai had told Aish about the guy stuck in her mind.
Why did Jai call this guy a sleazeball? He seems fine.
No, he is not. He must be an asshole if Jai said it,another voice contradicted.
And yet again, she was lost in her thoughts of how much he influenced her. She had avoided her husband all week, and maybe she had to continue to do so to be able to get through the rest of the year without another kissing episode.
“Excuse me,” Aish’s distressed words cut through Sanjana’s haze, and she noticed the anger in her sister-in-law’s eyes. Sanjana looked at the guy to find him shrugging.
“What is the big deal?” he said. “I just need to know for our future children.”
Children? Was he talking about making babies already?
