Page 260 of A King's Oath

“You are. Her name is Brahmi and she is my daughter.”

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Samarth opened the door of the house to Brahmi’s evergreen chatter. Ava sat at the table with her, feeding her the precious dhokla that Sharan had carried. The sneaky boy had intimidatedParmeshwar into coughing up the delivery address for the breakfast and come to deliver it himself. For the first time, Harsh didn’t realise what passed out from under his nose. Samarth wanted to blast Sharan for his sneaky ways but then he remembered his own underhanded means as a teenager and thought the better of it. It ran in Solanki blood.

“Papa and Papa’s brother did their talking,” Brahmi announced. Ava glanced up. Samarth closed the door behind them and walked to the table with Sharan by his side. Ava got to her feet.

“Ava, this is my brother — Sharan. Sharan, this is Ava, and our daughter — Brahmi.”

“Hi!” Brahmi waved with her left hand, biting into the dhokla in her right hand. Sharan rounded the table to her and bent to her eye level — “Hi! Are you the girl who rides horses the fastest?”

Brahmi’s mouth opened in an O.

“How did you know?”

“I know everything. Your Papa comes to ask me things too.”

“Like what?”

“Like what’s the life cycle of mosquitoes…”

“Eww!”

“And what’s the best season to breed hors…”

“Sharan.”

“Feed horses,” he corrected. “Feed horses.”

“That’s silly. You have to feed them every day.”

“Oh yes,” Sharan pretended to realise. “Shit, you know stuff more than me! Whoa!” He held his hand up. She chucked it with hers. “I know many many secrets.”

“Then we can share our secrets and make our own library of secrets.”

“Yes!” Her eyes widened. “I have space in my backyard too.”

“Awesome. How is the dhokla?”

“It’s my new favouritest.”

“Like your Papa’s. By the way, I delivered it with my own hands…”

“Please join us for breakfast,” Ava invited. “I have already added a place setting for you.”

Sharan glanced up at Ava and rose to his feet, folding his hands like a Kunwar was supposed to.

“I would love to join you all. Thank you.”

Avantika’s smile was genuine then, not a fake one meant for an uninvited guest. She folded her own hands in return — “I have heard a lot about you,” she leaned in. “All those Late Night Boys Club meetings minutes were passed on by a traitor member.”

Sharan laughed, his glasses wobbly as his face bent closer — “Oh, we have heard a lot about you too. Not from the traitor member but from our Papa.Thecricketer Ava.”

Ava’s mouth dropped open.

“I told you about Papa’s obsession,” Samarth confessed to her cryptically. “You were one of the top contenders.”

Sharan raised his hand — “I would have voted for you for sure.”

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