“The bags out in the hall have your clothes, not mine. I was never planning on leaving you, or our home.”
His hold on her slackened at her confession, straightening to gape at her. “Excuse me?”
Lips twisted to the side in a pout, Vera shrugged, nervously dusting invisible lint off his shoulders. “I was going to burn all your expensive suits as payback for ignoring me.”
Vihaan’s mouth dropped open, causing her to flush at his shock.
“I didn’t know how else to get your attention! I felt like I was losing you just when I found you again.”
A huff of incredulity escaped him. He stopped, another snort shooting out before he could prevent it, his body trembling in barely subdued mirth as the truth of his dramatic confrontation finally hit. Vera chuckled at his amusement, her palms drawing up his chest until they looped around his neck, affectionately playing with the hair at his nape.
“You’ll never lose me, Princess,” Vihaan said, drawing her into his embrace. “As long as I exist, I will claw my way back to you. Every single time.”
“Promise?”
His mouth brushed against hers, rough palms cradling her face as he kissed her softly.
“Promise.”
& Then They Loved
Vihaan
Three Years Later
The gentle breeze ofthe night air tickled his hair, the cooling wind a welcome relief from the heat that settled upon Mumbai during the month of May. Vihaan tipped his head to the side, trying to spot familiar faces amongst the guests that littered the lawn of his parent’s palatial home where they were once again hosting their annual May masquerade.
The gardens were filled with ballgowns, sarees, men in suits and the crowd favourite: demi-masks.
At one time, he used to lose himself in those crowds, finding some willing woman to while away his time with as he sought to escape seeing his father. He would relish the noise and attention in a bid to drown out the voices of his past. Now, he preferred his privacy, no longer seeking any distraction that would keep him away from the people he loved.
“It’s just you and me, bud.”
Baby Neil blinked up at him, his light brown eyes so much like his father. “Honestly, you’re a great listener. I know I’ve been complaining a lot, but you’ve really made me feel better about this whole situation, so thanks.”
Vihaan bumped his large fist against Neil’s, shifting the little babe till he was settled a bit more comfortably in the crook of his arms.
“I think we should be best friends. The ones I have right now are utterly useless. They left me alone, they left you alone, we should form our own little group. We’re definitely the coolest anyway.”
Neil graced him with a toothless grin, drool dribbling down his chin, screeching happily when Vihaan bounced him in the air once.
“Ok, bud,” he chuckled, wiping the wetness off Neil’s double chin with the edge of his sleeve, unbothered about getting baby spit on his newest Brioni suit. “I’ll take that as an agreement. I’ll be your favourite and you’ll be mine, capisce?”
“Are you really trying to turn my son against me?”
Vihaan rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath about being caught. He turned slowly to watch Arjun and Kaya approaching him, the latter clearly worried.
“I didn’t have to try hard. His parents left him in the crib and went off gallivanting around a masquerade party.”
“You demanded we bring the baby with us, V,” Kaya scolded, her frown immediately transforming into a smile at the sight of her son. She held her hand out and Neil all but leaped into her arms, drawing a betrayed look from his best uncle-friend. “He was sleeping when we left.”
“We’ve barely been gone an hour,” Arjun added, arm around his wife and son. “And the baby monitor’s been unplugged.”
All three Rathores stared at him with varying levels of scrutiny and Vihaan folded like a cheap house of soaked cards.
“Okay, so maybe I woke him up. I waslonely.”
“Vihaan!”