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The atmosphere in the sitting lounge shifted into something else then, the tension ratcheting up even higher than before. There was no chance her brothers and their wives hadn’t heard that remark.
Anya closed her eyes and cringed.
Simon’s quiet laughter shook his arms and shoulders and her body. She opened her eyes to see him shaking his head.
“I’m so sorry,” she mouthed, loving the wide smile curving his mouth. Loving how he shielded her from even her family’s gaze until she was ready to face them.
“No problem. This will give me a chance to take on your older brother.”
She gasped. “God, please no. Don’t give him a reason to dislike you, Simon. Any more than he probably already does,” she said, lowering her voice now when it was too late.
She pushed back from his warm embrace, even though she didn’t want him to let go. Pushing onto his feet in a smooth move, Simon pulled her up. Anya swayed, but only for a moment. Fishing out a tissue from her handbag, she wiped her face and turned to face her family.
The concern in her brothers’ grief-stricken faces, the shock in their tight mouths, brought fresh tears to her eyes but she held them back. God, all the years she’d hidden away, all the years she’d refused to live her life to the full, she’d only compounded their guilt. “I’m sorry you had to see that. But I’m fine. Really, I am,” she said.
Virat studied her and Simon before saying, “Meera, is she our—”
“Yes,” Anya said, cutting him off. “But I don’t want to talk about that. I don’t want even a whisper of it leaving this room. I don’t ever want Meera to be hurt by any of this. She’s our first priority.” Something she spied on her brothers’ faces made her soften her tone. “It’s enough that I know her, that I can see what a brilliant girl she is. Enough that she knows me too, and that she considers me a friend.”
They all nodded. Whatever flicker of sympathy and worry there had been two seconds ago in her brothers’ eyes turned into a flare of pride. But of course, she should have known her older brother wouldn’t stay quiet for too long.
“You can’t marry him just because he is...her father,” Vikram said, coming to stand by her side. “We don’t know anything about him.”
“And how do you plan to stop me, bhai?” Anya said, at the same time that Virat said, “It’s her life, bhai. At least, she’s finally living it.”
Vikram’s scowl disappeared. He regarded Simon with fresh eyes. “For one thing, don’t you think he’s...too old for you?”
Anya looked at Simon. His expression curious, he raised his shoulders, as if saying, “This is all yours.” But he didn’t remove his hand from her shoulder, to remind her he was right there with her. As if they were part of a team already. His quiet strength at her back made her feel as if she could take on a mountain. “This from the man whose wife is twelve years younger than him,” Anya said, winking at Naina. And for all the years he’d tormented her with his overprotectiveness, she added, “Old or not, he serves my purpose. Believe me, I’ve already taken him out for a test drive.”
Simon laughed again, sending vibrations down her spine. It was deep and from the belly and the most wonderful sound she’d ever heard.
Now both her brothers looked like they wished they’d never had to hear that. Had never provoked her into saying it.
“Good for you, Anya,” added Naina while Zara whooped and the three of them burst into laughter. Her brothers watched her, mouths agape.
“As much as I loved seeing your sister putting you both in your place, we’re not actually getting married. That was never under...consideration,” Simon said diplomatically.
How could she not like him when he tried to save her pride, save her face even with her own family? How could he not see how irresistible his kindness was?
“Anya has more than proved to me that she has nothing but Meera’s happiness at heart. Meera and she have already grown close. I ask that you stay out of this. I would not have you hurt Meera in any way with your interference. Even if she’s your...” He never finished the thought. But he regarded Anya for a second and added, “Or Anya, for that matter.”
If her brothers thought it wildly out of line that he was warning them to be careful with their own sister, they didn’t bat an eye. In fact, she thought she saw a glint of respect dawn in her older brother’s fierce gaze.
Like recognizes like, Anya thought, with a roll of her eyes.
“But now that our...Meeraknows about whatever it is between you two, or some version of it,” Vikram said, “where does this go?”
“That is for Anya and me to decide. And for you to go along with, whatever our decision,” Simon said, his statement nonnegotiable and delivered just as bluntly. It was clear Vikram had met his match in Simon.
“You’re okay with all of this?” Virat asked her, and there was more than one question in there. There was concern and worry but there was also faith in his eyes—in her. In her capabilities. In her choices. In her strength to keep standing through this.
Overcome by a sudden impulse, Anya hugged both her brothers. They’d long taken the role of her guardians, thanks to their parents’ neglect and far too public marriage problems.
Her older brother especially had had all of her family’s financial burdens thrust onto his shoulders when he’d been barely eighteen. “Yes, I’m good. I mean, it was really hard when I saw her for the first time...but I’m dealing with it well now. I can do this, bhai.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t realize that Meera’s that baby girl I held all those years ago.” Vikram held Anya’s wrist, his face wreathed in pain. “I’m sorry I didn’t do more to keep her in your life, Anya. I’m sorry that I had no other choice but to urge you to give her up—”
“No, I’m the one who should beg for forgiveness,” she said, for once able to see the past clearly. This talk had been long needed. For all his faults, Vikram had always looked out for her and Virat, who were several years younger than him. And in return, all he’d gotten was resentment from both of them. “I resented you so much for so long and you didn’t deserve any of it.”
