Page 6 of One Hellish Wedlock
Navya stood up, picked up a glass from the nightstand, and handed it to her. “Your hangover cure. Take it before your mood completely self-destructs.”
Aanya downed it in one gulp and set the glass aside. “Thanks, Navya. Seriously… what would I do without you?”
Navya plopped down beside her with a weary sigh. “Glad you asked, because last night I practically dragged your dead weight out of that damn casino. You better remember that.”
“Casino?” Aanya repeated, confused. Her brow furrowed as she tried to piece together fragments of the night before. “What did I even do there?”
“Better to ask what youdidn’tdo,” Navya muttered. “You had zero control over your drinks. You gambled every last penny in your account and lost like a pro. We were one step away from total disaster. Thank your husband for sending money, or God knows where we’d be this morning.”
Aanya’s eyes snapped wide open. “Wait, wait, wait! How did he even know I needed money?”
Navya blinked. “Wow. So, you remembernothing, huh?” She rolled her eyes. “Never mind. It’s taken care of. Just let it go.”
As Navya began to rise, Aanya grabbed her wrist and yanked her back down. “Not happening. You’re going to tell meeverythingright now, or I’ll curse you every single day for the rest of my life.”
“Curse me?” Navya arched a brow. “Babes, if we hadn’t taken his help, we’d have been stranded or worse. You were so out of it, you didn’t even remember his number!”
Aanya’s face paled but she stared at her best friend in horror.
“Aanya?” Navya said, frowning. “What happened? Are you okay?”
Aanya didn’t respond. Her mind was spinning. Navya clicked her fingers in front of her face, trying to snap her out of it. Still nothing. Finally, she grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her.
“Come on, Aanya! Speak!”
“Shit!” Aanya finally cried, leaping out of bed and frantically searching around the room.
Navya looked at her like she’d grown two heads. “That’s it?Shit?I was expecting a heartfelt‘Thank you,’you know!”
Aanya ignored her, scouring the room like a woman possessed.
“Thank you, my foot!” she snapped. “You don’t even realize what we did by informing him, Navya. I’mscrewed! Completely screwed!”
“Screwed? How? He’s yourhusband. Why can’t he lend you money?” Navya asked, confused.
Aanya finally found what she was looking for—her mobile. She snatched it up with an exasperated groan. “Exactly. He doesn’tgivemoney. Helendsit. And thanks to you, I’m in his debt now. You have no idea what that means.”
Navya smirked, catching her drift. “Oh, I can imagine what he might ask in return. Not such a bad idea, is it? Youarehis wife, after all.” She winked.
Aanya gritted her teeth and shoved her away. “Shut up! I need to speak to Dad first.”
With that, she marched toward the bathroom, already dialling Anand Malhotra’s number.
CHAPTER 2
Maldives – Morning
Kyle glanced at Anand’s phone for the fifth time in the last three minutes. The screen lit up again, the same caller trying persistently. Anand was still in the washroom, having left his phone on the table.
With a growing sense of irritation, Kyle picked the phone and answered.
“What is it?” she snapped coldly into the receiver.
On the other end, Aanya recognized Kyle’s voice immediately, and hated that she had picked up the call instead of her father. It had happened countless times before, especially during the early years of Kyle’s marriage to Anand. It had taken weeks of silent treatment and ignored calls before Anand realized he had to stop letting Kyle speak to Aanya on his behalf.
“I need to speak to Dad,” Aanya responded, her tone matching Kyle’s in sharpness.
“He’s unavailable right now,” Kyle replied curtly.
