Page 119 of A King's Oath

“Of my parents believing that I am capable of living and surviving alone.”

“Why are you hellbent on proving that?”

“Because…” she widened her eyes, as if he could see her.

“Because what?”

“Because my parents are pressuring me to start settling down. So, I get that they are worried. It’s a thing with our parents that they want us to get married. I get it. And whenever I have brought up the argument that what if I don’t want to get married, my mother goes bonkers. But my father always puts this point which I don’t know how to rebut… he always says how can you live alone? Howwillyou live alone? Kresha will have her own life, we will not be around forever… I want them to see and believe that come what may, I will be able to live alone. They should have that peace of mind when I go on an all-out war against their marriage campaign.”

Silence again. But the sounds of his breath were fast. He wasn’t asleep.

“Helloooo? Anyone there?”

“I’m here.”

“You again went silent.”

“You kept talking,” his low voice sounded. “Where was there space for me to butt in?”

She laughed, rolling in bed and tightening the duvet around her.

“Are you really planning to loop your connecting flight through Paris?”

“Yes.”

“What will you do here?”

“I’ll go to the Seine and eat poha with sev. Oh, and wear my waist chain this time.”

She howled. Her bed shook with how loud and how big she laughed. It turned into a cough, all the phlegm rising up to her throat.

“Drink some water.”

“Hang on,” she wheezed, grabbing her water bottle from the nightstand and taking a long draught.

“Phew. Do you pack that humour for late nights, Kunwarji?”

“I come alive after 2.”

“How did I not know this?”

“Even I have discovered it lately with Sharan. We lose it after 2. It’s like something switches off and our crazy, dark humour sides emerge. He is only 9, but man, the way we joke.”

“What do you joke about?”

“Now when you ask like that I can’t put it in words. It’s random stuff. Just weird, random stuff. But we can’t stop laughing and getting each other off.”

“You adore him, no?”

“Oh yes. I saw him within the first ten minutes of him being born. Did a lot of nappy changes too. Taught him cycling recently. He is slowly becoming my best friend.”

“I thought I was your best friend.”

“You are not my friend, Ava…”

She gulped.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that, right? It just came out…”

---