AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Only because his will literally told us to,” replied Reeva. “Though, from everything I’ve seen in my line of work, kids basically only ever do stuff for their parents so they can inherit their money. Which actually makes us a pretty normal family.”
Sita scoffed as she downed the rest of her wine. “Normal? Us?”
“Speak for yourself,” said Jaya. “I’m quite happy with my life. I’m getting married in the summer to the love of my— Uh, sorry, Reevs. I like my career. I get paid while I travel the world for free. And I’m reconnecting with my sisters!”
“Well congratulations to you,” said Sita. “It’s all right for some.”
“What’s so wrong with your life?” demanded Jaya. “You’ve got two gorgeous girls, a super successful husband, and a posh postcode. Your life is everything you ever wanted it to be.”
Sita shrugged. “You wouldn’t get it—either of you. But being a mum is not easy.”
Reeva looked down at her half-empty wineglass and felt a wave of sadness wash over her. Both her sisters’ lives had turned out exactly how they wanted. Jaya was marrying the love of both her and Reeva’s life, while Sita’s biggest problem was juggling motherhood duties. Reeva had always wanted to be a mother, but having kids no longer looked like the certainty she’d always thought it would be.
She was currently thirty-four, which meant even if things did work out with her and Nick, she probably wouldn’t end up trying to have kids till she was at least thirty-seven. If she believed the newspaper articles that said her fertility would fall off a cliff at age thirty-five, that meant she might never get to be a mum. And what if things didn’t work out with her and Nick? She’d be back to square one and probably wouldn’t end up trying to have kids till she was in her forties. Not to mention that she currently had 9.2 centimeters of scalp showing on her head. That was sure to add a few years to her search to find a man to impregnate her.
“I think we’re all really lucky,” said Jaya, warming to her topic. “Us Mehta sisters. Reeva’s killing it as a lawyer. You have this sick flat in London. A super-cute cat. A best friend who loves you so much she’s taking care of it for you. And a seriously sexy boyfriend.”
Reeva blinked drunkenly at her sister. “Uh, let me reframe that. I have a lowercase boyfriend who keeps forgetting to call me and is currently in LA with one of the UK’s top ten sexiest women, who he may or may not have dated until he met me. Mybest friend isn’t coming to the funeral because she’s choosing work over our friendship. My cat prefers said best friend to me, despite the fact that I’ve spent hundreds of pounds and hours trying to win her love. And I’m going bald.”
Jaya and Sita stared at her.
“I’m sorry, what?” asked Sita. “You’re going bald?”
Shit. Reeva shuffled down farther in the tub. She knew there was a reason she didn’t drink white wine.
“Is it alopecia?” Jaya looked at her sympathetically. “I thought it could be something like that.”
“What?!” Reeva jerked upright. “How did you know? Is it showing?!”
Jaya shook her head quickly. “No, no. I just— This one time I thought I saw a patch on the side of your head. I follow someone on Instagram who has it, so I know what it looks like. And, also, you werereallyweird about the hairband with the twins.”
“Show me,” demanded Sita. “Go on.”
“No!” cried Reeva. “I’m not getting my patch out.”
“Get it out.” Sita slid off the laundry basket and walked over to Reeva.
“What are you doing?” Reeva put her arms up to stop her sister touching her hair. “Oh my god, you weirdo! Stop it! Okay, okay, fine. I’ll show you. Just... stop trying to pull out what little hair I have left.”
Sita retreated to the laundry basket triumphantly as Reeva sat up straight. With careful precision, she moved her hair across to the right side of her head and showed her sisters exactly what she’d spent the last week desperately trying to hide from them.
“Mm, you weren’t exaggerating,” said Sita, peering over her head. “It’s bad.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s... so... bald.” Jaya’s voice wobbled as she spoke, and then she burst into full-on tears. “I would die if it was me.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” muttered Reeva. Then she raised her voice. “Stop crying. It’smyalopecia, not yours. And if I’m not crying, you’re definitely not allowed to.”
“It’s my alopecia and I’ll cry if I want to,” sang Sita. “The remix.”
Reeva shot her a dark look. “Seriously? Both of you have to be dicks about this?”
“Sorry, sorry,” choked Jaya. “It’s just really impactful to see it. You know you could get a lot of likes if you put it on social. There really aren’t that many alopecia influencers out there.”
“What the fuck!” Reeva crossed her arms and glared at her sister. “I’m not exploiting my biggest insecurity for followers. I’m a lawyer, not an influencer.”
“Don’t yell! I’m trying tohelpyou. Sorry if I think it’s a good idea to inspire people.”
