Her pointed question brought him up short, the chaos in his mind suddenly calming.
Would he disappoint Aditi again because of his mother? No. This had been the final straw. He didn’t care about anything related to Leela. All he’d thought about since the moment he’d left the airport was Aditi and how much he missed her. The glimpse he’d gotten of life without her was not one he ever wanted to see come to fruition.
Maybe Kaya read that in his face. She grasped his hand, bestowing him with a kind look, the sort filled with frustration and affection for the same person. “You’re not that child who needed to hurt his parent anymore. And you did not ruin my life. Let go of the things that have held you back. You’ve been running from your past, like I did. I think it’s time to stop. Just don’t wait too long. Aditi told me about the suitor that her family wants her to meet.”
“Did she say she’s going to marry him?!” Rian sat up, eyes wide, taking his hand back to reach for his phone.
“Wow. Overreact much? That was nowhere close to what I said.”
But Rian was lost to his worries, furiously scrolling through Aditi’s Instagram posts.
“Are you stalking her right now?” Kaya’s mouth fell open at his possessive behaviour.
“She isn’t responding to my texts. She won’t pick up my calls. I don’t know what else to do.”
“Oh my god,” she gasped, her lips tugging upwards when recognition hit. “You’re jealous.”
“Of course I’m jealous,” Rian shot back, still neck deep in his online stalking efforts and getting increasingly frustrated when her sister’s profile was locked as private. “Some stupid fucker thinks he’s going to get a chance with her. Not while I’m alive.” He contemplated how many missed calls it would take for Aditi to speak with him without making him seem like an obsessive psychopath.
Kaya burst out laughing, wondering if Rian even realised that he’d proven her point. She believed that Rian did love her once, but those feelings had been a product of guilt. It wasn’t the way she ought to have been loved. It wasn’t anywhere close to the way he loved Aditi now. Love and guilt should never occupy the same space.
He had learned to live with the distance Kaya had placed between them after their short dating stint. Years later, when she’d finally reconciled with Arjun, Rian had turned around and become fastfriends with her husband as well. She didn’t think he would be a tenth as generous if he had to do the same with Aditi.
She caught sight of Arjun, who had been patiently waiting a distance away, concerned when she’d cried. She’d had to wave him away so that he wouldn’t interrupt them. She smiled at Arjun now to let him know that he could come back to her. Within a few seconds, she was being pulled into her husband’s embrace.
“All okay, love?” he murmured in her ear.
“Yes. I’ll tell you later,” she promised.
Arjun raised a brow, but accepted it with grace. “So, what’re the plans now? Are we going bowling or to a movie?” he asked.
“Neither,” Rian answered. “I’m calling my lawyer.”
Arjun gasped dramatically. “Are you divorcing us? Who else will suffer in your company?”
Kaya unfortunately couldn’t hold back a snort. She cast Rian an apologetic look, giggling when he rolled his eyes in pure exasperation.
“As much as I am going to regret this,” he grumbled, checking his calendar on his phone, “are you both free in two days?”
“We could be,” Kaya said, cautious and confused. Rian’s sudden energy shift made her nervous, but he seemed less distraught than before. “Why?”
“I’m going to Bangalore to talk to the woman I love,” he informed them, determination giving his voice strength. “And I would like some back up.”
A massive grin split Kaya’s face in half.
Arjun punched something into his phone with a nod of approval before raising his head. “I can have my plane ready for Saturday morning,” he offered when loud buzz interrupted him. With a gremlin-esque grin, he flashed his screen towards Rian. "I texted Vihaan. He said he's coming and can't wait to see you grovel."
"Fantastic,” Rian groaned. But, for the first time since Aditi had left him, he felt like he could see the light again.
39
Love Song
Rian
Rian stood in frontof the bungalow he’d driven up to, forehead creased.
He didn’t have to look next to him to know that his friends and grandmother probably wore the same look of confusion that he did.