Page 138 of The Rules of Playing with Fire

I looked around. Everyone was looking at me with laser-like gazes. Everyone except Mihir. His expression was one of curiosity mixed with amusement.

Silence. Searing silence around me.

“Sona?” Mihir asked again.

I looked at Appa, and he gave a short nod.

All I had ever wanted was to be truly desired for who I was, and before me stood the man who wanted me with an intensity that rendered me powerless. I coveted that. I needed someone who understood me, appreciated me and my impromptu lectures, the little notes and sidetracks of my hyperactive mind. Someone who wasn’t intimidated by my comebacks because he was just as witty. Someone whose brilliance wasn’t threatened by mine, who cherished my body and devoured it like it was the only thing that could satiate him. Who enjoyed me just as much as I relished his magnificent self. I desired his hunger for me.

Of course, I didn’t say any of this. I stood tongue-tied like one does when one’s destiny suddenly appears before them in human form. What does one say in such a situation?

“Mihir, I want you!” I blurted, my heart thudding as I prepared myself for rejection.

I’m sorry, Sona, but I’ve already moved on. Thank you for helping me, but like you said, I came to you as a friend, and that’s the extent of our relationship.

“Okay.” I heard his heavy voice.

I squinted at him.

A long pause.

“What?” I cried with my hands on my hips.

“Okay, you have me. You’ve always had me.” He stepped toward me and tapped the crown of my head. Then, tugging at his cuffs like he did, he retrieved the phone from Aaji’s hands and turned the screen to me.

Mihir’s parents sat in their living room in Texas, smiling at me.

“If this didn’t work, I was getting ready to hop on a plane and fly out so I could beg you to take my fool of a son back,” Aunty said, and I found my eyes brimming with tears.

“Now, since everyone is here…Lata, where are you?” Mihir called, and Lata came scampering out of the kitchen. Mihir handed his phone to Aai, who held it so the couple on the screen could see us completely.

“Good. Now…Sona, I know you’d hate it if I got down on my knee, so I’m doing this standing with you. You deserve an equal partner who’ll stand by you like you’ve stood by me, with me, through this journey. I made the mistake of pushing you away, and this is me rectifying that mistake.”

He pulled out a small box from his jacket pocket and held it open. A brilliant solitaire set in platinum shone in my face as Mihir held up the ring.

“Marry me, Sona.”

I cried and laughed at the same time. I wanted to punch him and hug him. My eyes drew to my parents. They both nodded, smiles beneath moist eyes as Mihir slipped the ring on my finger.

I was already hyperventilating, and the ring pushed me to tears. I dropped my face in my hands and wept without shame before the people who loved me. I found Mihir’s arms wrapped around me, and I snuggled into his broad chest.

“You wanted my mother to love you? You now have both my mothers doting on you. How’s that for fate?” he whispered in my ear, and I broke down in his arms.

“You tortured me for a week!” I said between sobs.

“Yes, and for that, I suggest you blame Mrs. Thomas. It was her idea. Which, by the way, has cost my ego very dearly. She bet me she could get you to come back to me.”

I gasped and shook my finger at my parents in rebuke. “You too, Appa? I can imagine Aai doing something like this, but your performance was a masterclass. I would’ve never guessed.”

“Thomas was our ace in the hole,” Aai said, pleased with her unequivocal victory. “And Mihir, you betrayed me so promptly!”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Thomas, but my loyalty now lies with your daughter.”

“I think you can call me Aai now,” she said with a smile.

“Or Ma or Mummy,” I said, knowing Mihir had chosen that term for his mother.

He squeezed my hand and gifted me a smile.

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