Page 49 of Forged By Fate

“Do you want to go out for dinner?” I asked before I could talk myself out of it.

“Sure,” she replied. “Aisha wants to try the new Japanese restaurant at Chowpatty.”

I shook my head.

“No, not the rest of the family. I meant just us.”

Her eyes grew as wide as saucers.

“You mean…you and I?” she stammered. “Like a date?”

I nodded.

“Sure,” she said, her voice nothing more than a squeak. “But…are you sure? I mean…”

“It’s just dinner, Sunaina. Don’t overthink it,” I said briskly. “Tell Sufi where you want to go, and he can make the reservations.”

She hesitated again, and I realised that Sunaina Chaudhry was really bad for my ego. Any other woman would have jumped at the chance to go out with me, but my own wife acted like it was a painful chore. I’d seen her show more enthusiasm to go to the dentist.

“What is it?” I asked irritably.

“It’s nothing… Only, do we need to go to a fancy restaurant that needs reservations?”

“Where else would you like to go?” I asked curiously.

“I always had this dream date in mind, but it’s…it’s silly. And too downmarket for a man of your stature,” she said, shaking her head.

I grabbed her hand when she tried to rise from the sofa.

“Tell me,” I urged. “Describe your dream date.”

“I just want to go to the beach and have pav bhaji and falooda from a stall,” she said, not looking at me. “But if I take you to a roadside stall, you’ll get food poisoning, and your aunt will have me arrested for murder. Besides, the beach is far too crowded these days. So I’ll pick a restaurant just to be safe.”

“Would you mind if I made the arrangements?” I asked, and she gave in with a polite smile.

“Of course! Just tell me what to wear,” she replied. “Now, I need to meet with Tarana and the band.”

“Sure. Just be ready for our date by seven,” I said and watched her walk away.

CHAPTER 24

SUNAINA

Honestly, you could take a girl out of Borivali, but you could never take Borivali out of a girl!

Why on earth had I said that thing about pav bhaji and falooda to a man like Viren Chaudhry?

But I hadn’t grown up around all these fancy restaurants. All my Baba could afford was a beach outing followed by pav bhaji from a stall, and those were some of the happiest memories from my childhood. Naturally, when I grew up, I thought the most romantic thing was for a couple to split a falooda with two straws in the same glass. How was I supposed to know that one day I would marry a billionaire whose idea of a date was so different from mine?

But none of that mattered right now. All that mattered was that Viren had asked me out on a date.

I almost walked into the door when it hit me that he had taken the first step towards turning our fake relationship intoa real one.Ohmigod!Was he sick? He didn’t look feverish, but what did I know? I wasn’t a doctor.

I saw Sufi arguing with the movers about where to place the jhoola, and I caught him by the arm.

“Sufi Singh! I think Viren is sick,” I cried.

“What? I’ll call the doctor right away,” he said in alarm. “What’s wrong with him?”

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