Page 49 of That Same Old Love

“That’s an utter bullshit. Money that is self-earned or obtained by sheer hard work is much more respectable than some useless person inheriting it due to their birth circumstances,” Mahi said rudely.

Ignoring her, Mahi’s mother continued, “I wish Mahi was the adjusting kind, but then fate has already decided who can and cannot have happiness in their lives. She left her husband for silly reasons, even when he was generous enough and wanted her back after she—” And then shaking her head, “Dinesh has married again, Mahi. We met his new wife a few times and they also came over here for dinner once. She comes from a very average family and doesn’t even have one tenth of the wealth that we have. But since it was Dinesh’s second marriage, he had to adjust I think.”

Scoffing loudly and having heard enough, Mahi got up and took her plate into the kitchen where her sister-in-law Padma joined her.

“I’m sorry Mahi. I shouldn’t have made you to come. I thought—”

Mahi stopped her. “It’s okay Paddu. I’m used to them. I’m just getting annoyed at their thinly veiled insults at Samrat who is our guest. My god, I don’t know how you tolerate my parents at your home.”

Padma smiled. “Thank god, I’m a doctor and I’m away most of the time. And your brother, for all his other faults, he luckily is a good husband and father. He makes up his other shortcomings by supporting me and not his mother. Anyway, forget about them for now. I wanted to see how you are doing. You’ve sent me some messages that you are okay, but I wanted to see you in person.”

Mahi smiled and hugged her. “I’m fine Paddu. After joining Samrat’s company, I have fallen into a routine and don’t have much time to think about anything. How is Rahul by the way? Ididn’t want to stay in touch with him because it would be weird. Even though his wife is a sweetheart, I didn’t want to interfere.”

“They have moved to Boston a few months ago,” Padma replied and then gently added, “They are both doing well and they are expecting their first child together in December.”

Mahi nodded and smiled. “I’m happy for them Paddu, especially for Rahul. He loved Aryan too and was heartbroken like me when he died.”

Padma patted her arm. “Okay, let’s go rescue Samrat. I think you guys should run away before the talks get worse.” Padma smiled wryly.

As soon as they finished dessert, Mahi made excuses saying that they had to leave to prepare for the training and conferences at work.

Samrat was more than happy and willing to escape from that house.

***

Setting the address of the vacation home on their GPS, they headed out from Mahi’s brother’s house.

“I’m sorry Samrat, for making you come with me. My mother was being rude to you. I apologize on her behalf,” said Mahi, sounding weary.

“Don’t worry about it. I have met different kinds of people in my life. And many people are still hung up about class, money or caste. It doesn’t bother me. In fact some of my relatives have an equally inflated opinion of our higher caste and insult people from other castes.”

She sighed.”I know.”

“But are you okay? Your parents talked about your ex-husband and they still seemed to be on good terms with him,” he asked her gently.

She scoffed. “God, I wish I’ll be okay with it someday. Is it too much to freaking expect an unconditional support from our parents once in a while? Accidentally bumping into my ex-husband is one thing. But bloody inviting him over for a cozy dinner? That’s just sick!”

Samrat was quiet.

“I’m sorry. Let’s not talk about my family. I’m really looking forward to tonight,” she said with a slightly wobbly smile.

Samrat just nodded.

They remained quiet until they reached their vacation house. It was located on a beach front and was supposed to be a honeymooner’s special with lots of perks. The property was also large enough to offer them privacy for their three week stay.

After Samrat placed their bags in their rooms, they parted to freshen up.

She showered and prepared for the night. The shower removed her weariness and also drove the thoughts of her family from her head. She was bursting with nervous anticipation, especially since she wanted their first time together to be rather special and memorable.

She came out of the bathroom in her mid-thigh length satin lingerie and went towards the other bedroom. She wished she had the time to shop or borrow something sexier, but considering her time limitation, she had to make do with what she owned.

Samrat had also finished showering and was in T-shirt and shorts, looking at some messages on his phone.

Her heart began to thump frantically. Watching him, she slowly went towards him.

Samrat looked up from his phone and when he saw her, his eyes flared and ran over her body hungrily. He placed his phone on a nightstand and stood still, watching her.

When she got close enough, she slowly put her arms around his neck. When he didn’t react or move, she smiled and began to pull his head closer. He finally held her waist in his hands, and instead of pulling her closer like she had expected him to, he pushed her away slightly.

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