Page 66 of A Royal Deception

“This is your real wedding, beta,” said Rani Ma, coming over to drop a kiss on my forehead. “The one you deserved the first time around.”

With tears in my eyes, Zarna and I walked hand-in-hand towards Ranvijay as my favourite music played in the background. My little sister gave my hand in marriage to the man who had arranged all of this without giving me so much as a hint, and he married me all over again in front of the wonderful people who had conspired to give me a very special second wedding.

We signed the register and repeated the vows we made in front of the agni the first time. There was no agni this time, but the vows felt even more real. And I noticed that while the vows were all about caring for and supporting each other, they made no mention of love. I knew what Ranvijay was offering me. A lifetime of friendship, affection, care and support, whether we stayed married to each other or not. But I also wanted his love. God help me, I wanted his love.

Tears streamed down my face, and everyone took them for tears of joy. Ranvijay kissed me gently, and I poured all my feelings for him into the kiss.

Just then, Diya groaned loudly, and a gush of fluid at her feet took everyone by surprise.

“Fuck! Is that what I think it is?” I asked.

“My water broke,” wailed Diya.

“You can’t deliver here,” cried Isha in a panic. “Can’t you cross your legs or something to hold it in until we get you to a hospital?”

“No, you idiot! I can’t hold a baby in if it’s determined to come out,” screeched the expectant mother.

“Calm down, everyone. First babies take time. There’s plenty of time to get Diya to the hospital,” said Rani Ma wisely.

“Oh, then you guys carry on,” said Diya, waving at us to keep kissing.

“Babe, get moving,” said Dheer in an aggravated tone. “We’re going to the hospital now.”

Of course, then we spent part of our wedding night in the waiting room of a hospital because I wouldn’t hear of leaving until Diya had her baby. It was a beautiful baby girl who was the spitting image of her mother. And seeing her sweet face made me feel like I wanted one of my own.

Much later, Ranvijay made love to me on a bed strewn with rose petals, but I stopped him as he was about to roll on a condom. He shot me a questioning look, and I shook my head.

“I want nothing between us anymore,” I whispered.

“You might get pregnant, baby. Are you ready to head down that road so soon?” he asked, emotion making his voice rough.

I smiled at him mistily as I rolled him over onto his back and straddled him. He held my eyes as I impaled myself on his hardness and began to move slowly. He gripped my hips and began to move me faster and harder until I came apart in hisarms with a loud cry. After we’d cleaned up, he wrapped his arms around me and spooned me from behind. And I said a small prayer, asking God to bless us with a baby soon.

But as I sat and pored over the wedding album two months later, I mulled over the fact that I was still not pregnant. A fact that was beginning to worry me. I stifled the anxiety and joined in the Diwali celebrations in my new home with excitement.

Zarna was still commuting to school, but now she put forth the idea of moving into the school’s fancy and expensive dorm.

“Are you out of your mind?” I asked angrily. “If I wanted to dump you in a boarding school, I would have done it as soon as Baba died.”

“But you couldn’t afford it then, Di. You can afford it now. It will make your life easier if you don’t have to worry about me being stuck on the road for hours every day,” she said hesitantly.

“I don’t care, Zarna. You’ll have to live at the school from Monday to Friday and only see me over the weekend. I can’t go without seeing you for such long intervals.”

“But you have RV now,” she argued.

“So what? He’s not replacing you in any way, Zarna. No one can replace you.”

“What if you have a baby? You’ll go nuts trying to keep an eye on me while you handle a baby,” she said in a small voice.

“I’ll manage. Just like Baba managed when you came into our lives. He didn’t send me off to a boarding school, and I’m not doing that to you, either.”

“You’re stuck with us, champ,” said Ranvijay, coming into the room. “There’s no escaping the Mirpur family. You’re one of us now.”

Zarna hugged him tightly and ran out of the room. I knew she had been worried about her place in my new life, and I was glad my new family made her feel so welcome.

“Rani Sa, how about a fencing match?” asked Ranvijay, putting his arms around me and nipping at my shoulder.

“Are you ready to lose to me again? Just don’t throw a tantrum like you did when you lost the poker game at Diwali,” I teased.

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