Page 48 of Forged By Fate

Sufi went out of the room to deal with the movers, and Sunaina turned to me curiously.

“Can I ask you something? Why do you put up with Tahira if you’re not romantically interested in her? That woman is all over you as ifsheis your wife and not me. But I haven’t heard you tell her off until now.”

I sighed heavily and led her to one of the new sofas, which was as comfortable as it was pretty.

“I tolerate her for my Chachi’s sake, Sunaina. As you know, she is Chachi’s brother’s daughter. She practically grew up in our house because she was so close to Deven. After he died, my aunt was heartbroken. And the only time she cheered up a little was when Tahira was around. How could I deny her the little joy that was left in her life?”

“But the woman is insufferable,” insisted Sunaina.

“I agree. But the last time that I tried to ban her from the house, my Chachi stopped eating. I was forced to accept defeat on the third day of her hunger strike. If Deven was around, I wouldn’t have to put up with any of this. But the selfish bastard chose to die and left me to deal with all of this. Now, whether I like it or not, my aunt and uncle are my responsibility, which means I can’t cut Tahira off completely. Unless she’s rude to you.The next time she tries to put you down, feel free to boot her out of the house. If my aunt complains about it, I’ll tell her to go and live with her precious Tahira,” I promised.

She looked slightly mollified, but I knew she still hadn’t forgiven me for yelling at her last night. Well, I hadn’t forgiven her for going behind my back either, so we were at a stalemate.

“Viren, I think it’s fair to warn you right now that Tarana and The Bandra Boys will be collaborating again soon. The band’s fans loved the reel I posted yesterday, and we are going to keep posting more to see if she can work with the band in the long run.”

“In that case, she needs a manager. Unless she plans to join the band full-time,” I replied.

“Not yet. She wants to keep her options open and is content to collaborate with them for gigs and albums for now. And she does have a manager. You’re looking at her,” said Sunaina proudly.

“I cannot sign Tarana for Silver if my wife is her manager. It’s a conflict of interest,” I informed her. “If she does as well as you’re predicting, Silver would definitely want to sign her at some point. Whose side will you take in a fight - your husband’s or your client’s?”

“My client’s side, of course,” she replied promptly. “And I won’t be your wife for too long.”

“The actual divorce will take up to a year, Sunaina. Do you plan to keep Tarana waiting until then?” I asked, a little annoyed by her willingness to pick her client over me.

“Damn it! That’s not fair! I worked so hard to get her and Tanvir together, and now, when she’s about to make it big, I’ll need to drop her and look for other clients,” she complained.

I took a deep breath and told myself she had to deal with the downs that came with the ups in her career. I was allowed to feelsorry for her, but that didn’t make it my problem. Still, when her shoulders drooped with defeat, I couldn’t help myself.

“We do have one option,” I said carefully, making sure not to over-promise or commit to something I couldn’t fulfil. “If and when we sign Tarana for Silver, you can still handle her social media marketing as part of Silver’s PR team.”

Sunaina’s head shot up, and she stared at me in disbelief.

“Are you offering me a job?”

Was I? I wasn’t sure. We already had a strong PR team. But I knew that if Sunaina needed a job, I would create a position for her in the company. Hell, if social media marketing was her calling, I’d create a marketing firm for her under the umbrella of Silver Records. I would do whatever it took to provide her with everything that would make her happy in life. Only, I would go to great pains to hide it from her because I didn’t want to look like a fool. Some would call me a lovesick fool, but that was ridiculous since I did not believe in romantic love. Or want it in my life.

“Do you need a job?” I asked gruffly.

Sunaina stared deeply into my eyes for a few sticky moments as if she could see all the feelings I had buried under a load of bluster, but just when my collar was beginning to feel a little tight, she shook her head.

“Not right now, but thank you for offering. I don’t need a handout to get ahead in life. I’ll find a way to make it work even if I have to drop Tarana until the divorce,” she said firmly.

“It’s not a crime to accept help,” I pointed out. “In fact, some people would call it the smart thing to do.”

“Well, those people have never been called beggars or gold diggers in their lives, and it shows,” she said fiercely. “I will grow at my own pace and on my own merit, Viren. I didn’t marry you for your money. You’ve already given me a family, and that’s all I need from you.”

My chest went tight at her words.

That’s all I need from you.

I had never been on the other end of the spectrum until I met Sunaina. When you were as overprivileged as I was, people always needed more than you were willing to give. And apart from Daima, nobody had ever thought about my needs. I was sure that if my parents were alive, I’d spend my whole life living up to their expectations and fulfilling my needs. As I did for my uncle and aunt. As I had done to a large extent for Deven and Disha. It was my job as head of the family.

But ever since I met her, Sunaina had given me more than she ever received. She gave me three years of her life. She gave me Aisha. She gave all of us joy and peace. And she asked for nothing in return.

I had never told anyone that I preferred vintage furniture over the fancy Italian stuff that we had in every room of our mansion except my bedroom. I had allowed Disha and my aunt the freedom to decorate my house the way they liked because I spent most of my time away from home, and they had never once asked me what I wanted.

But Sunaina had understood my taste, and even if she redecorated the living room out of spite, she filled it with stuff that I would like. And what had I done for her? In the two years that I had been married to her, I had only taken her out as a PR exercise or on family outings. Hell, we’d had sex, but we still hadn’t had a first date.

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