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“Shut up fuckers!” Ram snarled. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”
Harsh groaned. “Will you all behave yourselves please?”
“Who are we going to war against?” Aarush asked, leaning against Agastya’s desk.
Harsh met Ram’s eyes as he said, “Anant Madhavan.”
Forty-Two
RAASHI
The clock on the mantlepiece ticked the seconds away, infernally loudly. Raashi sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard and reaching for her kindle. She pulled up the science fiction novel she was in the middle of but seconds into the chapter, she found her attention wandering again.
The clock ticked away counting down the interminable moments of her married life. A life she was meant to spend alone it seemed. Last night, when she’d finally emerged from the bathroom, it had been to an empty room. Harsh had left her.
The thought still made it hard to swallow, a permanent bundle of clogged emotion taking up residence in her throat.
He’d arrived again in time to pick her up and bring her to his house for the griha pravesh ceremony. Only to promptly abandon her to her own devices once it was done.
Who was he going to meet? Was it a woman? Was she licking chocolate sauce off his body right now? Did he use his talented mouth on her the way he had with Raashi? Did he make those same low groans with her that always had Raashi’s thighs clenching in response?
The flush of arousal swarming her body was making her restless, Raashi shifted onto her side, dropped her kindle and grabbed for her phone, thumbing through her social media profile. Marrying Harsh had worked like a charm and the crazies had backed off. There were still the women who were bummed that he’d married Raashi instead of them…but then the trolls never fully went away, did they? And the women could have their shot at him once he divorced Raashi. The thought left a sour taste in her mouth.
Fully awake now and irritated at the thought of Harsh’s potential future with one of the ten million women who constantly talked about slathering his body with chocolate sauce and licking it off, Raashi shoved out of bed. God knows which one of them he was with right now. It felt like even the thousand thread count or whatever thread count sheets were abrasively rubbing against her skin. Every inch of her skin felt like the nerve endings were awake and on red alert.
Raashi’s mind drifted to her own future. Now that project damage control had done its bit, she needed to focus on what came next for her. It was clear that her future didn’t lie here. It was even clearer that the one she’d hoped for in Hyderabad was not going to happen.
Marrying Harsh Kodela had made people tolerate her. Divorcing him would have them lynching her.
And there was the other loose end in her life. She’d thought she’d made herself clear to Anant the other night over that disastrous dinner. But clearly, she hadn’t been clear enough if he was still inciting Harsh into punching him. He would crawl out of the woodwork soon, ready for battle. She needed to pre-empt him before he did more damage than he already had.
Maybe she should go find Akka. She’d run her poorly put together business proposal by her and ask her for advice. Not that her classical dancer of a sister knew anything about business. But she could show it to someone who would help.
Mind made up, Raashi left the bedroom, wandering down the wing that held Harsh’s suite of rooms. She snorted. How marvellously indulgent! An entire suite of rooms for each family member. Rich as the Gaddes were, they made do with one room each for each of them. Peasants in comparison to the Kodela’s decadent luxury, she snorted.
She was almost to Agastya and Veda’s wing when she saw a manservant walking towards Agastya Anna’s study with a tray holding an ice bucket and glasses. Four glasses. The door opened to admit the helper, and she heard Ram Anna’s deep voice.
Raashi froze. What was Ram Anna doing here? The door swung shut before she could hear anything else, all sound dying out. She should go find Akka, talk to her about her nebulous business plans.
But Raashi’s feet stayed cemented in place. Why was her brother here? What were they discussing in that study? She walked forward, without volition, her mind a whirl of conspiracy theories. Had something new flared up with the Harshians? Did they know where Harsh was? Had something happened to him? Why did the Kodelas need a lawyer? Because honestly there was no other reason for Ram to be there.
The door to the study was thick and obviously sound proofed for not a squeak leaked out. And then the helper pushed it open again, exiting with a stack of used plates and Raashi got a glimpse of the tableau inside.
Aarush saw her first and froze, his expression somewhere between welcome and panic. Raashi stepped aside to let the helper pass before entering the room, her gaze going from one male face to another before finally resting on Harsh. At least, she now had the answer to the question of where he was.
“What’s going on?” she asked, her heart starting a slow drum roll in her chest. “Is Akka okay?”
“She’s fine,” Agastya answered immediately. “She’s sleeping off a mild migraine.”
“Okay.” Raashi’s eyes jumped from one face to another, this time stopping at Ram’s. “Anna, why are you here? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.” Ram shifted on his feet, one hand going to scrub at his unruly hair. “Just you know…hanging with the guys.” He sounded like he was choking on the last words.
She stared at him, her intuition prickling. Raashi didn’t just chart high on all IQ tests; she also had a highly tuned bullshit meter.
“This is about me.” The words were flat, toneless.
“Of course not, Chinna. Why would it be about you?” Ram looked like he was being spit roasted over a slow flame.
