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“No. You have to come,” Rithwik’s annoyed voice filtered down the line.
Rohan rubbed his forehead. It was way too early in the morning for him to deal with Rithwik’s constant persuasion.
“I will try,” Rohan said.
“Which means you won’t come,” Rithwik deadpanned.
Rohan looked heavenward. His twin brother, Rithwik, younger than him by ten minutes, was giving him a hard time, as usual. Rithwik was known for throwing parties at the drop of a hat, while Rohan was known for mostly not attending said parties. Yet, Rithwik couldn’t and wouldn’t be deterred. He’d made it his mission in life to include Rohan in every facet of his life.
Rohan didn’t mind the time he spent alone with Rithwik and his family. In fact, Rithwik’s wife, Aisha, was a close friend and a confidante of Rohan’s, and Rohan was fond of their kids Arnav and Raisa. It was just that Rithwik never wanted to celebrate any event privately. He invited his whole gang of friends and their spouses to every single party he held. And most of the people in that loud, noisy, and happy gang were not Rohan’s cup of tea.
He didn’t trust people easily, and big groups weren’t his style. They bothered his personality, suffocating him at times, which is why he preferred to be a lone wolf. Even the women he went out with knew he wouldn’t go out with them a second time, and thus far, he’d rarely gone on a second date with any woman. None of them had been special. None had managed to hold his attention for long.
A sudden image of doe-shaped eyes and an impish smile flashed in his mind. He cursed himself. Nope. He wasn’t thinking of her. She wasn’t for him.
Rithwik continued to be persistent as always. “You haven’t come to Mumbai since Raisa was born.”
“I’ve been busy at work, and you know the racing season is on in Delhi.”
“You’re always busy,” his brother complained.
The owner of a world-class stud farm, Rohan bred and sold race horses. There was a huge demand for his studs, both in India and abroad. His stables had some of the best racehorses in the world, and the racing season was usually a busy one. Apart from that, Rohan was also quite busy running his pharma company, Fortuna Pharma.
“When you didn’t answer my call earlier, I called your home. Your staff mentioned you were traveling,” Rithwik said. “Where are you?”
“Shouldn’t that have been the first question you asked?”
“You’re being rude, brother.”
Rohan sighed. “Fine. I’m in London, at the airport. I had a meeting with the Earl of Sommerfield. He owns a stud farm as well, and we’re collaborating on breeding some horses. I should be in Delhi by tonight, though.”
“Wait, did you say the Earl of Sommerfield? As in Jonathan Wright?”
Rohan’s brow creased. “How do you know him?”
“He’s a close friend of my close friend Damien Talbot, the Duke of Kittridge. I’ve met him a few times,” Rithwik said, sounding very excited. “Such a small world.”
“Bloody hell. You know everyone.” His twin was extremely social. Rohan was the exact opposite.
“That I do,” Rithwik accepted. “Hmm, so, about Aisha’s birthday?”
Rohan stepped onto the escalator. “I said I’ll try, Rithwik.”
“Which means you won’t come.”
“Fuck. You’re relentless. Her birthday is more than three months away. Can we talk about this closer to the date?”
“Absolutely not. I need your word that you will be there. I don’t want any last-minute‘my schedule is busy’or ‘I’m not in town’excuses from you. Pencil this in your calendar right the fuck now. You are coming for Aisha’s birthday, and that’s final. She’s only just delivered my baby girl, which means I will give her whatever in the world she wants, and what she wants is you attending her birthday. Get it?”
“You anyway give Aisha whatever she wants,” Rohan grumbled. “But ever since she gave birth to Raisa, you’ve become more besotted with her.”
“Hmm, you’re right. I wanted a baby girl, and Aisha gave her to me.” Even from afar, Rohan could imagine Rithwik grinning from ear to ear. “Aisha is really the best. I’m the luckiest man alive. You should really find a woman…”
Rithwik went on and on about the good part of being married to a wonderful woman. Rohan droned out all that info as usual. His brother’s biggest agenda these days was to see Rohan settled and married, and he did not shy away from reminding Rohan about this every opportunity he got.
Rohan was happy Rithwik had found Aisha. He truly was. They were absolutely crazy about one another and Rohan was genuinely delighted for them. While at one time, Rohan had been worried about Rithwik’s playboy lifestyle and his penchant for dangerous sports, now his twin was quite the family man. And ever since the birth of Arnav, Rithwik had become even more serious in life. However, that meant his twin had far more time to spend on bugging Rohan to do whatever it was he wanted him to.
“I’m not budging on this, Rohan.”
