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I stared at Aryan icily, and he glared back at me.
“Why are you here?”
“I came to speak to you. To apologise. But I see that I need not have bothered. You’re too busy to be upset over anything I said.”
“Is Arshia here with you?”
He looked non-plussed.
“Why would she be here?”
I shrugged.
“Why was she at Nivy’s haldi? That’s something only the two of you can answer,” I sniped.
He ran a hand over his face wearily.
“Nothingis going on between me and Arshia,” he said, through gritted teeth.
“You expect me to believe that, but you won’t believe that Yash is just my friend.”
Aryan held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender.
“All right, I believe you. I’m a jealous fool, who doesn’t know a good thing when he sees it. Can you forgive me, Jessie? Can we start over?”
I set my glass of champagne down on the table closest to me.
“Why bother, Aryan? It won’t change anything. I’ll still be who I am. I’m not going to deny my heritage or my privilege just to make you happy. Which means that my money will always be a sore point between us.”
We were attracting too much attention. I led him towards the maze because it was the only place where we could talk in peace. He had left his sister’s haldi to speak to me, so I owed him at least that much.
When we reached the centre, I sat down and slipped off my shoes, which were killing me.
Aryan frowned at my feet.
“Why aren’t you wearing the crepe bandage?”
“With this outfit? Are you crazy?”
“Jess, at this rate, you won’t even be able to hobble around during the wedding.”
“Well, that’s not your concern anymore,” I snapped.
“See, that’s the trouble. Whether we’re together or not, I will always worry about you. I can push you away all I like, but you’ve burrowed your way into my heart like a determined little mole, and I don’t know how to get you out,” he said, with a lopsided grin.
“Wow! Just… wow! Your idea of romance is even worse than your bedside manner,” I snarled. “How is it romantic to compare me to a rodent?”
“But… but… it’s such an adorable little rodent.”
I stood up and tried to walk away, but he grabbed me by the arm.
“No! I’m not letting you walk away from me ever again. You can rail at me, call me names, even throw one of your precious Manolo Blahniks at my head, if you like. But you can’t leave me, Jess.”
“What about my money?”
“I don’t care about your damn money. Spend it, give it away, double it. I don’t care.”
“And what if people call you a fortune hunter?”
