Page 3 of One Hellish Wedlock
“Aanya, your card’s maxed out. Your monthly allowance is gone. You’ve got eight more days till the next one hits your account. You’ve got nothing left. Let’s call it a night, please.”
Aanya pulled her arm free again, her voice stubborn and slurred. “No. I’m not leaving till I win something.”
Navya sighed heavily, her patience wearing thin.
“I’ll call Dad,” Aanya said, unlocking her phone and pressing his contact. It rang three times and went unanswered, adding fuel to her growing agitation.
“He’s probably in a meeting,” Navya offered.
“I don’t care,” Aanya snapped. “He should answer.”
Navya placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s just go.”
Aanya remained planted in her seat. “I said no!”
“Okay,” Navya relented, throwing up her hands. “Fine. One more game. But seriously, where are you getting the money from? Your dad’s not responding.”
Aanya bit her lip, then gave her friend a sly look. “Let’s askyourfather, then.”
Navya laughed bitterly. “My father? He’s probably celebrating his third anniversary with his third wife on some godforsaken beach. He won’t even recognize my number at this point.”
Aanya frowned, then suddenly blinked like something had clicked.
“Wait,” she said slowly, with a hiccup. “I have a husband, right?”
Navya blinked. “Uh-huh! You forgot that?”
Aanya blinked again. “Am I... seriously married?”
Navya started laughing.
After a moment of hazy realization, Aanya gasped. “Oh my God. Iammarried. But to whom?”
“Reyansh Chopra,” Navya replied, suppressing a laugh. “Tall, hot, impossible to ignore? Remember anything? The man you married and haven’t spoken to in over a year?”
“Oh, yeah,” Aanya hiccupped, then narrowed her eyes. “Why are you blushing though? Dare you flirt with him, Navya. He’s mine.”
Navya held up her hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay! Then callyourhusband, Mrs. Chopra. See if he can lend you money for one more game here.”
Aanya pulled out her phone again, only to realize she didn’t have his number saved.
“Seriously?” Navya asked, stunned. “You don’t even have your husband’s number?”
“I don’t think I ever saved it,” Aanya muttered.
Navya shook her head. “You are truly insane. Hold on, I might have his assistant’s number. That guy—Sunny, right? He was pretty hot too.”
She pulled up the contact and handed the number over. Aanya grinned as she began dialling with a tipsy grin, completely unaware that her late-night impulse was about to shatter the carefully constructed silence between her and Reyansh Chopra.
Present – Tokyo
“Hello,” Reyansh said into the phone, his tone clipped and impersonal.
“It’s me,” came the slurred voice on the other end. Aanya made a weak attempt to sound sober, but anyone with half a brain could tell she was drunk.
Reyansh immediately recognized the state she was in, and frankly, he wasn’t surprised.
“I know it’s you,” he said, voice flat. “What is it? Why did you call me?”
