Page 39 of Twisted Deceit
Her aunt cupped her hand over Aadhya’s cheek. “A woman never ever forgets her first love. And I don’t feel sad at all about it.”
“Why didn’t you marry him then?”
Her aunt’s eyes showed a bit of gloom before she let out a small laugh. “I never said he loved me back.”
“What?” Aadhya was angry on behalf of her aunt. “How could anyone not loveyou?”
Her aunt laughed, hugging her. “Thank you, dear, for such a lovely gift of music.”
“We are not done yet, Rajji. Let’s go.” She led her aunt out of the music studio toward the family area of the main wing of the mansion. She had asked her uncle to gather some clansmen to celebrate her aunt’s birthday. She had spent the day baking a cake for her aunt and making some of her favorite dishes with help from Nani.
“Where are you taking me, Aadi?” The joy in her aunt’s voice made her laugh.
“You’ll see.” Aadhya held her skirt up with one hand while leading her aunt to the dining area with the other like she was leading a child. She had instructed everyone to be quiet until she showed up with her aunt. Just before they turned the corner where the main dining area would come into view, she let out a sound, a cue for the folks gathered, and that’s when the drum beats started.
Just like she had planned, the celebration was kicked off, and everything went exactly as planned until her fake husband appeared. He was not part of the plan as he was absent the past few days. Especially after the fiasco that morning, the last thing she wanted was not to have to face him. But there he was, cheering for her aunt with everyone else. She didn’t have to look at him to know his eyes were on her. The smug look on his face was hard to miss, even if she didn’t look in his direction.
She stayed with her aunt throughout the celebration, but it wasn’t long before she had to stand beside her husband as they took photos with the families of the clan heads. It was like being on pins and needles standing next to him. What was worse was when he wrapped his arm around her as per the photographer's instruction, her body came alive. Her dress had a full back opening, just like every traditional outfit, and how his warm skin felt on hers was torturous. It made her jittery, and she had to fight her body’s need for more of him.
Aadhya stayed away from him, unsure of how her body would react around him, and took the time to be in conversations with her uncle. She had to have a serious conversation with Meenabai about how much her husband hated it when she touched his feet. She had to explain how he grew up outside India and was only taught to touch his parents' or other elders' feet.
She was in the middle of a chat about an upcoming fair when she heard excitement come from her aunt's room.
“Aadi, come here, quick.” It was her aunt’s excited voice.
Aadhya excused herself and went to the smaller study that was adjacent to the main dining room. Her husband was with her aunt. “What is it, Rajji?”
“Look what Nakul got me,” she said, holding up a book. “This is one of my and Nandini’s favorite books.” Aadhya watched as her aunt hugged the book and looked at Nakul. “Thank you so much. You two gave me the best gifts.”
“You’re welcome.” Nakul nodded.
Aadhya was pleasantly surprised that her fake husband knew her aunt’s birthday. She knew it had to be a trick to win over her aunt to further his leverage on her, and she was outraged at that thought. She kept her feelings contained and managed to smile and look at the book her aunt handed to her.
Her aunt reached out, took her hand in hers, touched Nakul’s hand with her other, and brought them together. “Now, any gift that will top what you two gave me today would be a grandchild.”
“Rajji, why are you—”
“Sure, soon.” His words cut her off, and that pissed her further.
“That’s all I needed to hear. What a wonderful day you two have given me.” Her aunt hugged her and as if in a rush, she left the study, calling out to both of them, “Let’s go eat.”
Aadhya could see how ecstatic her aunt was just at that affirmation from Nakul. But why did he have to build false hopes? She waited for her aunt to be further away before she leaned closer to him. “Why did you lie to my aunt?”
“Lies? What are you talking about?” He took a step closer to her.
She raised her chin and held his gaze. “Do not make promises to my aunt without consulting with me.”
“Well, based on how eager you were this morning and then now,” he lazily ran his eyes over her body before looking into her eyes, “this stunning outfit to get me to break. This seems to be a ploy to give your aunt her gift.”
If she was pissed a moment ago, she was livid. “How dare you accuse me?” She had no defense for what she did that morning and had to come up with something. “This is the traditional Kanwar outfit. I did not put it on for you.” She paused like she needed to organize her thoughts about addressing the morning situation. “And this morning, I was barely awake. When I wake up every morning, I have an empty bed, and I didn’t know it was you I was next to.”
“I see.” He nodded as if he understood every bit of what she rambled. “Who did you think it was then?”
“I—I thought it was my pillow. I was too sleepy to tell.” She hoped she could save face with that story of hers.
“Would you care to elaborate?” There was mockery in his voice, but she had to ignore it.
“Listen, I told you—I was sleepy, and the pillow felt nice and warm.” She only hoped he had bought the lie.
