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He looked at them, exultation mixing with glee on his face. He clapped his hands and rubbed his palms together.
“Get up both of you. Get up now. We have work to do.”
Ram pushed himself off the ground, holding out a hand for Veda who followed more slowly.
Her father stepped forward, cupping her face between his hands and kissing her brow. “I am proud of you,” he told her. “You have made your old father very, very proud.”
Veda stared at him. She’d headlined dance performances on Broadway, was known to be one of the youngest renowned classical dancers of her time, aced all her academic exams, and even won the best student of the year award five times in a row. And today, was the first time in her entire life that her father had told her he was proud of her.
All because Agastya Kodela had offered to marry her.
“Nanna-“
He cut her off, tightening his grip on her face. “You will marry him, yes?”
Marry Agastya? Yes, a hundred times yes. Before she could respond, her father was speaking again.
“This marriage is going to be the making of you, Veda. The making of all of us.”
He let go of her face and started to pace in front of them, his expression telling her that he had a million schemes running in his head.
“Good you fell in love with him,” he muttered to himself. “Good that Agastya noticed.”
Yes, Veda thought, that was all good. But what else had Agastya said? Had he talked about his feelings too? Everyone kept talking about her love for him but what about his…was there love for her? There must be something, even if not love…right? But then, why had he never said anything? Or was there another reason to all this? The news scandal…how did that play into this?
“He’s such a stickler for propriety,” her father said, a trifle derisively, unknowingly answering Veda’s silent question. “He wanted to ask for my permission first before talking to you. Old fashioned chap.”
Of course. Agastya was old fashioned like that. He was all about doing the right thing, doing good, being good.
But what was the good he was doing here exactly?
Seven
AGASTYA
His phone rang as he was sitting down to dinner. Veda, he thought, anticipation for the conversation to come rising inside him. When he picked up the phone and realised it wasn’t Veda but Veda’s brother calling him, he deflated like a popped balloon. He could almost hear the hiss of leaking air.
“You can come to the house to meet Veda.” Ram didn’t bother with the pretense of a polite greeting.
Agastya smiled. “I’d rather meet her at a restaurant, somewhere we could have some privacy.”
“That’s not going to happen.” Ram sounded like he’d swallowed rocks. “If you want to speak to my sister, you’ll do it in our house.”
“I could always call her and make a plan with her. She’ll come. You know she will.”
A brief, fraught silence occurred and then Ram said, “You have a younger sister too, Kodela. Try and remember what that’s like.”
Shame sliced through Agastya at the words. Shit. He was a dick, just like Veda had once said.
“When would you like me to come over?” he asked, dropping the power games he was playing with the other man.
“How about tonight? I doubt any of us are going to get any sleep until we have this hashed out.”
“Now?” Agastya eyed his full plate, a perfectly plated thali of vegetarian food. Across from him, his mother raised an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Ram’s voice said in his ear. “Now.”
And then the line cut off, the other man disconnecting without waiting for a response.
