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“Is this true, Ranveer?” asked his mother.
“Yes, Ma. Isha and I are going to be married,” he replied, putting an arm around me.
Was it my imagination or did his mother look slightly disappointed? I ignored the pang in my heart because I was used to it. I had yet to meet a prospective mother-in-law who didn’t look disappointed when she saw me, because every Indian mother wanted a tall, slim, beautiful bride for her son, and I was none of those things.
And after nine years of coldness, I couldn’t expect Veer and Diya’s mother to warm to me overnight. She used to hate the sight of me after Bhai Sa betrayed Diya, and couldn’t for the life of her understand why her daughter didn’t discard me like a used tissue when her relationship with my brother went south so badly.
But she let none of those feelings show as she gave me a warm smile. I bent to touch her feet and there was a collective sigh from my mother and Nandini Aunty.
“She’s always been such a good girl,” murmured Nandini Aunty.
“Don’t you believe it, Aunty,” exclaimed Veer. “She’s a wildcat. She’s likely to blow my head off with her rifle if I don’t keep her happy.”
“That pleasure is reserved for me, asshole,” said Bhai Sa, as he came around the corner.
“Dheer, be nice to my Jamai Sa,” snapped Ma. “And why are you here without Diya? Is she alone in the hospital?”
“I just came by to pick up some of her things, Ma. And I’m glad I did because someone needs to stop this madness. Don’t let anyone bully you into getting married, Isha,” he said bluntly. “I know you’re desperate to inherit Gulab Mahal, but we’ll find a way to break the will. Or, I’ll find a way to buy the house for you even if I have to make a deal with the Goels. Hell, I’ll even build you a spanking new replica of Gulab Mahal if you’re so hung up on it. You don’t have to get married if you don’t want to.”
I wanted to cry because no matter what, there was one person who was always firmly by my side. My brother would move heaven and earth to keep me happy. And yet, it was not his job to fix my problems. He had a wife and child to care for, and I couldn’t allow my problems to get in the way of that. Even now, I was keeping him from being with Diya in the hospital.
Which was why I swallowed my tears and smiled at Bhai Sa.
“I know I don’t have to get married. But I want to,” I insisted.
“Fine, if that’s what you want, pick someone who will cherish you, Isha. Not someone who spent the past nine years treating you like dirt,” he replied, shooting a scathing look at Veer, who sneered at him in response.
“Interestingly, I told my sister the same thing when she was about to marry you,” he drawled. “And yet, here we are. If we go by our past behaviour, I’ve treated your sister far better than you’ve treated mine, Dheer. By that yardstick, we have as much chance of being happy together as you did, if not more.”
Bhai Sa looked uncomfortable at the mention of his past, but he held his ground.
“I made up for how I treated Diya. What remains to be seen is if you can do the same with Isha,” he retorted.
“I give you leave to shoot me with her rifle if I don’t,” agreed Veer.
“What does Diya need?” asked Ma hastily, to distract Bhai Sa, and the ploy worked.
She led him upstairs to pick out whatever Diya needed for her hospital stay, and Nandini Aunty tactfully led Veer’s mother away, giving us some privacy.
Veer grabbed my chin and raised my face to his.
“I meant what I said, Isha. You can cut my heart out if I ever hurt you,” he promised. “And I know I’ve been an absolute beast to you, but I swear I will make it up to you.”
The words sounded beautiful, but they didn’t impress me much because I’d been hurt by this man once too often. I smiled at him bleakly.
“You can’t undo the past, Veer. You can’t unsay those hurtful words, nor can you erase them from my memory. All we can do is make the best of what we have now. It’s only for a year,” I reminded him.
A muscle jumped in his jaw as he stared into my eyes. It felt like he was trying to peek into my soul, and I lowered my eyelashes instinctively to keep him out.
“What’s the deal with that house?” he asked and my eyes flew open.
“Gulab Mahal?”
Veer nodded in reply.
“It used to belong to my uncle.”
I explained the house’s history to him and my connection to it as we walked into the house. I couldn’t decipher his expression as he listened to me.
