Page 93 of Playing By her Rules

And it did. Thinking of Rohan…hurt. His absence…hurt. She missed him; she really did. These days, it perpetually felt like something was poking inside her chest.

“You are so brave, and I’m so proud of you,” Raashi said.

Jiya swallowed past the thickness in her throat. Thinking of Rohan, of his stubbornness to not let the past go, saddened her. Perhaps, one day…

“So, Aditya is now a part of your road to happiness?” Raashi asked.

“He could be. I hope he is.”

“Know this; you have my blessing to follow your heart.”

Jiya gave her a hug. “Thank you.”

“Aww,” Shauna chirped. “You two are so adorable.”

“And see, you made me cry…” Rhea sniffed. “These bloody pregnancy hormones, I swear.”

They all laughed, watching her wipe her tears. The three of them stayed with Jiya until after dinner. That night, when she prepared herself for bed, her heart felt lighter. As she’d promised to herself, she’d been honest with Raashi, and now her sister knew everything…even the path Jiya had set for herself...for her future. Jiya only hoped that path led her exactly to the destination she wanted.

Her phone beeped, and her heart sped when she saw the message was from Rohan. On opening the chat app, she saw he’d sent her the invite for Aisha’s birthday. She frowned when she saw he was holding the party at AquaNox, her sister’s restaurant.

That was strange!

And then she remembered that Raashi had already known about Rohan and her, and Jiya had not asked her how she’d found out. In fact, Raashi had behaved absolutely chilled out about the fact that she was going to attend a party thrown by Rohan. What was even more shocking was that the party was going to be held at AquaNox, and Raashi hadn’t even mentioned that.

Something was afoot, and she had to find out what it was.

31

Jiya didn’t get a chance to talk to Raashi again for the next two days. But this evening, she’d sit her down and make her talk. Her sister had deliberately behaved evasively that night about Rohan, and something was definitely going on. Jiya felt it in her gut, and she had resolved to get to the bottom of it after the party was done.

Several people were already in attendance as she entered AquaNox—a beautiful seaside villa situated in a quaint Mumbai suburb that Raashi had converted into a restaurant. Despite being several years old now, it still ranked as one of the top restaurants in Mumbai. Actually, most of the Nox Group restaurants were top-notch. But this evening, she had to admit that AquaNox looked fabulous. Her sister had surpassed herself for Aisha’s birthday.

Ahead and in front of her, the sun shone brightly, the waves crashing on the horizon. The view and the sound of the waves never failed to steal her breath, but this evening, it was all the more beautiful. Everywhere her eyes touched was dotted with the color blood red. At the entrance was an arch of beautifully done red roses. The same flowers were dotted everywhere—around the railings, in the centrepieces of the empty tables, and in the décor for the doors. It was all perfect. Her heart stuttered.

Blood red—the color of the tips of her hair at one time—she was surrounded by it. Her chest pinched when she recalled that moment when Rohan had clasped a streak of her hair that day long ago and told her how the red in her hair was his favorite color. Oh, it seemed like an eternity had passed since then. So much had occurred, and so much was uncertain till date. She let out a heavy breath.

Her nape warmed. She swung around, searching the crowd, and found Rohan in the corner. His dark, intense eyes were fixed on her, like always. And like always, her heart—her stupid heart—reacted to him. She studied him. He looked gorgeous in his navy sports jacket, light grey shirt, and dark denims.

They stared at each other, not moving, neither of them attempting to reach the other. And it hurt. This distance between them hurt. She firmed her resolve. She would get by this time. She had to. She was strong and brave and was set upon the course she had set for herself.

Breaking eye contact with him, she went to where her sister, Raashi, was standing with Aisha and Rithwik. Soon, Shauna joined them, and Aisha and Rithwik left them to greet their other guests.

“He’s been watching you, you know,” Shauna announced in a hushed tone.

She knew Rohan was watching her. Her nape continued to remain hot, a clear indication that his attention had never left her. Raashi was engrossed in her phone, pretending as if she hadn’t heard a word of what Shauna had said when in the past, anything concerning Rohan would have put her on red alert.

Shauna opened her mouth to say something but froze. Her entire expression iced when Akash approached them. He greeted Jiya and Raashi with a hug each while he barely acknowledged Shauna. He continued to talk to Raashi instead. However, Jiya couldn’t help but notice the way Shauna ran her gaze over him from top to toe when he wasn’t watching. The second Shauna looked away from Akash, his eyes fell on Shauna, and there was the same dance of him watching her while she pretended to ignore him. Even though he continued to chat with Raashi, his eyes heated each time they landed on Shauna.

Jiya wanted to bang her head against a wall. These two! At some point, all this bottled-up attraction palpitating between them was going to burst, and God help them then. But she knew how stubborn the two of them were. Now, however, she had something else to take care of.

Jiya faced her sister. They needed to have that talk. But Raashi left them to go to Sameer, who had just arrived with Kabier and Keya. They spoke for a few seconds, and Rohan joined them. He greeted Keya by kissing her cheeks, and to Jiya’s utter shock, he held Raashi’s shoulder and kissed her cheeks too. Rohan shook hands with the men before they patted one another’s backs as if they were old buddies. The five of them were all smiles and cheer as if they were the best of friends. What. The. Fuck.

“What the fuck is that?” Shauna repeated Jiya’s thoughts. “Since when are all of themfriends?”

“How and when didthatpatch-up happen?” Akash asked. “I swear, I never thought I’d see a day with all of them getting along like that.”

Raashi looked her way, and Jiya beckoned her with a hand. “It’s time to find out what in the actual fuck is going on.”

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