AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her father looked at her, eyes bright with satisfaction. “He’s marrying you because you’re a great match for him. And also, because you’ve apparently been following him around like a lovesick fool.”
“I have not!” Veda drew back outraged.
Her father smiled. “Of course you did. But then it’s all good. We’re right where we want to be.”
“Are you going to squash the story?” she asked him, unable to let that little thread of unease go. She needed to keep tugging at it until she could unravel the nagging anxiety building within her.
Chaitanya shrugged. “It will die a natural death without us stoking the fire. They will do their thing and we will do ours. It’s business Chinna. Why are you worrying about it?”
“Because I’m suddenly at the heart of this business.”
Her father studied her, his eyes calm and clear. “You’re getting married. That’s all you need to focus on. The rest…we will take care of.”
Her phone rang at that moment, distracting her. Priyanka’s name flashed on the display. A small smile tipped her lips up.
“Hello.” She held the phone to her ear.
The high-pitched squeal that came from the speaker had her wincing and pulling the phone away from her ear.
“OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD.” Priyanka’s voice was a deafening shout.
“I know!” Veda agreed, laughing a little.
She glanced up and saw her mother watching her, a cautious, wary look in her eyes. Veda smiled reassuringly at her, and her mother nodded once before looking back at her own phone.
“We have to celebrate!” Priyanka announced now, her voice levels not lowering by even the slightest. “Party! Soon! All of us.”
Veda’s heart gave a little bump of excitement. All of them. Together. It felt like an impossible dream come true.
"I’ll leave the planning to you,” she told her best friend.
“I’ve got you,” Priyanka assured her. And then she squealed again, the sound making Veda laugh out loud. “We’re going to be sisters.”
“In law.” Veda smiled, the thought warming her heart.
“Sisters,” Priyanka insisted. “Don’t you dare try adding the in law to it.”
With another shared giggle, they disconnected. Veda saw Ram Anna standing outside in the foyer, alone. His hands clasped the back of his neck, his shoulders sagging, his head dipping forward, almost like the weight of the evening was too much for him to bear.
She made her way out to him. “Anna.” Veda wrapped her arms around his waist and dipped under his arm to rest her face against his chest. Ram held on to her tight.
“I should have been home more,” he murmured. “I shouldn’t have left you girls alone for so long.”
“Then who would have been in court fighting for justice, defending the innocents.”
“One of the million other lawyers in this country,” he replied dryly.
Veda laughed.
“Are you happy Vedu?” he asked.
She thought about it, searching herself for the answer, the true one. “Yes,” she said finally. “I am.”
Ram exhaled, his chest heaving under her cheek with the force of it. “Then I guess we have a spectacle to plan.”
“A wedding,” she told him.
“It’s going to be a fucking spectacle and you know it,” he shot back.
