Page 30 of Always? Forever.
“I got you something. It’s not much but since this is the first time I am here, I thought I would bring something.” I said, extending the bag towards her. She watched me as she wiped her hands.
“Beta, there was no need for gifts. You are going to be a part of this family now.” She said kindly.
“Please, I insist. My mother would fly down from India if she found out I had come empty handed.” I said actually scared that my mother would actually do that. She laughed but grabbed the bag. Kartik and his dad watched the interaction unfold in silence.
“I brought you a little something. A winter tea blend jasmine, rose, and just enough cardamom to remind you that peace is possible. Two mugs included, in case one of you needs a backup when Kartik starts talking.”
Kartik coughed. His mother blinked. Then… she laughed. A real one.
“That’s clever,” she said, untying the ribbon with precise fingers.
“She’s not wrong,” Kartik’s dad chimed in from the hall. “He does talk a lot.”
I smiled, relaxed a little, and thought okay, maybe this wouldn’t be a total disaster.
Kartik
“Thank you, Samaira,” mom said, carefully setting the gift down. “You didn’t have to.”
“I wanted to,” she replied gently. “Kartik’s important to me. And this… felt like a small way to say thank you. For raising him.”
The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable, just unexpectedly full.
“He doesn’t always make it easy,” Dad joked.
“He doesn’t,” she agreed, grinning. “But somehow he’s still worth it.”
I was left stunned. She was quick with the replies. Well I shouldn’t be surprised, she surely knew how to give it back to me. I felt proud.
“Why don’t you both sit outside till I set up the table?” Mom told us. “Aunty, I can help.” Samaira offered
“Nonsense, go both of you. I have trained Ishaan enough." She said with a wink.
Chuckling, I led Samaira to my room. As soon as we passed the kitchen threshold, I tugged Samaira gently into the hallway.
“What?” she asked, half-laughing.
“You brought them tea. You made jokes. You somehow insulted meandwon my dad over in five minutes.”
“So… I’m doing okay?”
“You’re doing dangerously well.” I leaned closer. “My mom might like you more than she likes me.”
After a few minutes, we sat at the dining table. Samaira at my side and mom and dad in front of us. She kept fidgeting, I grabbed her hand under the table, to offer comfort, not as an excuse to touch her. Maybe that was a lie, I had been dying to make some kind of physical contact with her. She shot me a small smile.
“So what do youreallythink of my son?” mom asked Samaira, the corner of her mouth twitching.
“Objectively? Overconfident, mildly dramatic, terrible at texting back.”
“And yet you’re here.”
“Because subjectively… he’s kind, he loves with his whole heart.”
Mom gave a rare smile. “I see why he likes you. God help him.”
I smiled widely. She was perfect to be my fake fiancée. That realization dawned on me, that she was just playing her part. It was all fake. There was no way in this world where she and I could be together. I didn’t want to get married for real and she was a hopeless romantic who deserved someone who loved her with his whole heart. That thought didn’t sit right with me. I felt uneasy.
That feeling was quickly pushed down when I heard her laugh at something my dad said. He most likely cracked a dad joke and felt proud when she laughed for real. I hadnoticed that when she laughed, she laughed with her whole heart.
