Page 32 of Reckless Hate

Rishi was amused. “Neeraj hates the Simhas with a passion. He invited you because it’s public knowledge that you have been warring with Ved Simha.”

She frowned. “So? How is inviting me to his birthday party going against the Simhas?”

Rishi grinned as though he knew of some great secret that she wasn’t made aware of.

“Let’s just say Batra thinks that an enemy of an enemy is a friend.”

That didn’t make sense either. “I’m not interested in going to a party.”

“Oh, come on! I want to go!”

“Then go. No one is stopping you.”

Although she intended Rishi to only be her partner in the workshop, lately, they ended up having breakfast and lunch together, discussing their ideas. The guy was persistent in keeping her company.

“I like you, darling because you are honest with your I-give-a-damn attitude,” he said. “When someone is desperate to win other people’s approval and wants to come off as a good person, those are the ones you should watch out for. Those who have nothing to hide, give a damn about other people’s opinion.”

She found Rishi to be honest about who he was as a person. So, despite her self-imposed no attachment rule, she didn’t mind his company, especially his dry, sarcastic humor.

Rishi shook his head. “No way! You have to come to the party too. Ved Simha is going to be there. And if you want to see the bad boy get annoyed, you should come.”

She frowned. “Didn’t you just say Batra hated the Simhas? Then why would Ved Simha be there?”

Rishi laughed. “Oh, it’s more fun to let you see the events unfold than telling you every bit of it. Let’s go!”

Although she wasn’t interested, she somehow ended up agreeing to go to a party where she would supposedly annoy her enemy.

***

It was her first party in the university. Although she didn’t enjoy attending parties, her curiosity made her look forward to the occasion.

“Whoa! You look awesome.”

She was wearing an ocean blue dress, which was one of her creations. She topped it with a floral print scarf.

“You look quite good too.”

Rishi looked stunning. He was dressed in a light blue polo shirt and tan-colored shorts. His hair was once again neatly combed back, and he even had sunglasses on. She noticed that he always turned heads wherever he went. But like her, he did not dress up for attention. Since they couldn’t control several aspects of their private lives, they gave utmost attention to superficial things such as dressing to appear in control.

“Why the sunglasses?” she asked. “The party is at night.”

He grinned. “So that I can observe everyone without getting noticed.”

She knew he was a keen people watcher. But some of his theories and deductions were downright over the top. Like how he was expecting the Simhas to attend a party they weren’t invited to.

Shaking her head, she pulled out keys from her purse. “Let’s go.”

Her fingers clutched the keys too tightly. She was going to use the car her father had gifted her. She had no intention of ever using it, but when she accidentally mentioned she had a vehicle parked in the Simha garage, Rishi convinced her to use it.

“You are cutting off your nose to spite your face, darling. The only one to suffer by not using the car is you.”

In a way, Rishi was right. She had one and half more years at Simha. She couldn’t stay inside her room forever. She did want to explore the campus at some point. And having her own car would offer her more freedom.

“Wow. This is a cool car.”

It was a brand-new light green mini cooper convertible with even the gift wrap attached. Her eyes stung with angry tears when she saw it. It was a bribe from an absent father to a daughter. Did her father think his abandonment would be forgiven with a car?

“Hey,” Rishi said in a gentle voice. “Remember what I told you? The person who gave the car won’t even know whether or not you used it. But you do need it.”

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