Page 84 of The Art of Taking Second Chances

I shook my head. “I can’t find her.”

I saw Amar approaching us, and my body perked up. “Where’s Tara?” I asked him.

“Mihir is driving her home. What happened, Sameer?”

Apparently, no one knew. I had to ask Aarti, but she was busy showing off her ring to her friends, who gushed about her being the luckiest woman on earth.

Suddenly, a sick feeling gripped me. “Where’s Dad?” I asked Mom.

“Not sure.”

The three of us looked around and spotted him in the distance talking to Aarti’s parents. I felt blood rushing to my head. Mom grabbed my arm.

“Don’t make a scene,” she warned.

She signaled for Amar to follow me as I stormed toward my father.

“Ah, there he is! Our son.” Aarti’s father beamed with pride.

“Congratulations, beta,” her mom said, “we’re so happy, so proud of you both.”

I managed a gracious smile. “Thank you.”

“I was just telling your father what a fantastic idea this was,” Mr. Bhatia said, confirming my fears. “Our special day is now your special day too.”

My father cast me a villainous look cloaked in an affectionate smile. “Yes, you’re now bound by more than love,” he said with a laugh, then softly added, “I just want the kids to be happy.”

But the vicious look in his eyes betrayed his words.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” I said, excusing us from the Bhatias.

“What did you do?” I asked quietly, trying to rein in my anger. Amar stayed by my side to prevent me from acting recklessly. Mom’s words.

“You don’t need to thank me, son.” He smiled as if this were a tender father-son moment. “The look on your face is thanks enough.”

My fingers curled into an angry fist at this betrayal.

Just then, Aarti approached us with a wide smile, and I eased the grip on my fist. “Hey, you!” she said. “Are you happy?”

I had no choice but to respond with a nod.

“I was so nervous,” she said, wringing her hands. “I was worried you’d walk off or something because we never talked about it. But Uncle convinced me you’d be happy.” She looked at my father standing beside me and leaned in to put a hand on his arm. “Thank you, Uncle.”

“All we want is for you to be happy.” He patted her hand and directed his smile at me, menacing and vindictive.

“That’s why I invited Tara,” Aarti continued. “I wanted your friends to be a part of this special evening. I’m glad Amar is here too.”

Amar shuffled in place before returning a weak smile.

“Where is Tara? I want to show her my ring. You are happy, aren’t you?” She looked at me expectantly.

“Yes,” I lied with a strained smile.

“A word, Sameer?” She pulled me aside. “I want us to go back to your place. This is a big night for us, and I can’t wait,” she said with a coy smile.

“Yeah, sure, let’s talk after the party.”

She nodded and placed a kiss on my cheek. “You look so handsome. You literally take my breath away.” She wiped the lipstick off my cheek with her thumb and left.

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