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“Jessie, it was just a vase,” he said, trying to calm her down.
“It was aMingvase, Aryan. My mother will kill me,” she repeated.
She raised her head to glare at him.
“And it’s all your fault,” she accused.
“Umm… you were the one who threw it.”
Jessie sighed.
“You know what? It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters anymore. Just get out,” she said wearily.
Aryan didn’t know what it was about this girl that brought out the worst in him. He supposed he brought out the worst in her, too, for she never behaved like this with anyone else.
His heart ached at the unhappiness on her face, but there was nothing he could do about it. For one, she hated him. And second, she was about to marry someone else. So he did what he thought was right. He left the room.
CHAPTER7
JESSIE
Ismiled until my face ached with the effort. Through the Tilak ceremony, the puja and the never-ending photo session. I smiled like the happiest bride-to-be on earth.
And yet, I had never been unhappier.
I kept my eyes away from Aryan, knowing that if I met his eyes, I’d broadcast my feelings to the whole room, and wouldn’t that be fun? All I could think of was that kiss. And the constant feeling of ‘what if’. What if I refused to sit for the puja with Deep? What if I shoved him out of the way and ran off the stage? What if I flung myself into Aryan’s arms right in front of all these people?
Would he wrap his arms around me and never let go? Or would he push me away? So many questions! And by agreeing to marry Deep, I had set off a chain of events from which there was no turning back. If I backed out now, my mother would disown me, and rightfully so. Besides, it was just one kiss. A burning, devouring kiss that almost felt like a brand. A claim. But still, it was just a kiss.
“Open your mouth,” hissed Deep, and I turned around to find him frowning at me.
“What? Oh!”
I opened my mouth hastily and bit into the kaju katli that he held out, ignoring the unease on my mother’s and Nivy’s face. It tasted like mud.
When the rituals were complete, I finally got a chance to speak to Deep alone. I tried not to shudder at the green smoothie that was served to him in a silver goblet and sipped on my champagne, trying to think of a way to ask him about his whereabouts last night without sounding like a shrew.
“That’s like a thousand calories,” he said, looking at my glass in distaste, and just like that, I didn’t care if I sounded like a shrew.
“Where were you last night?”
He choked on the vile green thing.
“What?” he sputtered, wiping his mouth on a snowy white napkin.
“Someone saw you having dinner with a girl last night. Who was she?”
Deep looked at me as if I had grown three horns.
“She was my friend. What’s wrong with having dinner with a friend?”
The confusion on his face made me feel guilty. What was wrong with me? I was allowing Aryan and Arshia to play with my mind. I knew they meant well, but I couldn’t allow them to cause friction in my new relationship before it even began.
“Nothing. I’m sorry,” I said, with a forced smile.
“Seriously, though, are we going to turn into those couples who never meet their friends alone?”
“God, no,” I shuddered, feeling like an absolute idiot.
