Page 20 of His Accidental Princess

DV came to a halt beside me and pounded me on the back helpfully. I wheezed and gasped until Sandhya poured me a glass of water. As I sipped carefully, I avoided DV’s searching glance. I knew I looked like a horror, thank you very much, and I didn’t want him commenting on it.

“Please join us for breakfast, DV,” invited Sandhya, ignoring the swift kick I aimed her way.

“Thank you, but I’ve already eaten,” he said politely. “I’m waiting for Samar and Sona to join us here.”

They walked in just then, hand-in-hand, happy smiles on both their faces. I was glad they had found each other, even if I envied them a little. I didn’t begrudge them their joy though, because Sona deserved all the happiness in the world. My mother had ruined her life, and I could never make up for the loss of her parents and her rightful heritage even if I spent my whole life trying to atone for my mother’s sins.

“Good morning,” trilled Sona, setting my teeth on edge.

I glared at her in response.

“It’s far too early to be so cheerful. Dial it down, woman,” I ordered grumpily.

“Not a chance,” she said, with a wink at Samar.

Ugh!

“This is a G-rated space, Rambo. Don’t make me post a signboard saying ‘No PDA allowed’,” I warned. “Control your woman.”

“I like her being out of control,” he said with a lazy grin. Sona blew him a kiss in response.

I rolled my eyes at the lovebirds and sighed heavily.

“Why are all of you here anyway?”

“Because we want to know who left you a present yesterday,” said DV pleasantly.

I snuck a quick look at him and looked away. No way! I wasn’t going to get sucked in by his soulful eyes ever again. I had made my choice last night.

Sandhya cleared her throat and we all turned to her.

“I remembered something last night when we spoke about it being a prank. I didn’t want to mention it until I was sure I had all the information. If you guys don’t mind, I think we should meet the one person who is an encyclopaedia of gossip in our commune.”

“Mrs Fialho,” I exclaimed.

She had eyes in the back of her head, or so it seemed. I don’t know how, but Mrs Fialho knew everything that went on within Paradiso.

Sandhya and I finished our breakfast, and we all walked over to Mrs Fialho’s cottage. To my surprise, Freddy opened the door to us. He went slightly red at my questioning glance.

“I came over to help jostle Edna’s memory,” he explained hastily.

Sandhya and I tried not to smile at the old dear’s embarrassment. I had a feeling Freddy was spending a lot more time with Mrs Fialho than he let on.

She welcomed us warmly and looked DV over carefully before she shot me an approving glance. I ignored it and hustled her over to the sofa before she said something embarrassing.

“Mrs Fialho, I don’t know if Freddy told you what happened last night,” I began.

“Of course, he did! Such a disgraceful thing to do,” she exclaimed.

“We believe someone meant it as a prank. Can you think of anyone who could have done it? Did you see anyone near my house when you returned to your place after tea?”

She shook her head.

“No, I didn’t. It’s a pity those cameras outside your house are all fake,” she said with a severe glance at Freddy, who squirmed in his seat.

Sandhya intervened before he got an earful from Mrs Fialho.

“Actually, I wanted to ask you something. From what I’ve heard, something similar has happened in Paradiso before,” she said hastily. “I don’t know much about it because it was before my time. But didn’t someone once find a snake in their bed?”

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