& Then They Wed (Ampersand Love #2)

18. Mother Dearest

18

Mother Dearest

Rian

R ian had been having the best evening in a very long time. The thought had come to him, and he’d acknowledged it.

He shouldn’t have, because now he was certain that he’d jinxed himself.

He should have been with the people who had made him smile and laugh all evening.

Instead, for the good part of an hour, he’d been stuck in the VIP room of his restaurant with Leela Shetty and her friends, enduring a mind-numbing discussion about their wealth and connections. It was no different than a dick measuring contest and nowhere near as subtle as they hoped.

Worse still, this dinner was clearly a matchmaking attempt. He cringed, unable to smile at the young woman that Leela pushed to sit closer to him.

Sonia Dasavi, the only daughter of construction magnate Madhav Dasavi, was stunning. If one liked pouty lips pumped with fillers, a sharpened nose, and boobs that had magically changed sizes thrice in that many years, then Sonia would fulfil that fantasy.

Her purchased perfection in addition to her daddy’s name made her a catch in their social circles. She was exactly the kind of woman he tried to avoid however, having witnessed an unattractive personality behind that picture-perfect face. Unfortunately, she’d decided that she was enamoured with him. When Rian had proved too evasive, Madhav Dasavi, unable to deny his precious daughter her wishes, had approached Leela.

Which led to him being paraded by his mother like this relationship was all but certain. Mr. Dasavi had commented multiple times about everything that Sonia would inherit from him. Her husband would be a lucky man, he’d announced, giving Rian a meaningful glance.

It was rich people talk for dowry, he realised. Mr. Dasavi was leveraging his wealth to buy his daughter a husband of her choice, and his mother was salivating at the thought.

He may as well have been a product for her to sell, he scoffed internally, shifting away when Sonia leaned in to surreptitiously brush her chest against his arm. She shot him a coy look from under her lashes, one end of her mouth tilted suggestively. It was all Rian could do to suppress the shudder of repulsion that zipped through him.

With a murmured apology, he got up from his seat, only to have his hand held by his mother.

“Ah, my wonderful son! Look at him, ladies.” Leela smiled, her lips stretched wide over bright teeth. She winked at Mrs. Dasavi and nodded at Sonia, putting on the usual act of a good mother who adored her offspring. “He gets his looks from me, doesn’t he?”

Mrs. Dasavi giggled while Sonia gave him a once over like he wasn’t wearing clothes. Ignoring them, he leaned down to speak to his mother in a low tone.

“That’s enough. You’re drunk. ”

“That would require you to have something decent in this shitty little place,” she murmured, her smile belying the contempt in her words.

“You have had your chance to show off. I will get on with my evening,” he said, unwilling to take the bait and get into an argument in front of the Dasavis. He straightened and wished everyone a good night, making an expedient exit. He was halfway across the rooftop of his restaurant when he heard the furious clacking of heels behind him.

“Rian!”

Knowing that she would make a scene if he escaped without facing her, he turned, waiting until his mother reached him.

“You can’t leave! I brought them here to meet you! Go, entertain them,” she demanded, her features twisted in annoyance. “Show them how charming you can be!”

“No,” he hissed, refusing to be led back inside and be bartered for a few million rupees. He’d be expected to live his life like a pet dog if he married a woman like Sonia. “I’m not your fucking show pony.”

“Language! Ugh, you have no manners. This is why we can't talk.”

A snort of disbelief escaped him. “Sure, my language is the cause of problems between us.”

“Do this for me,” Leela tried again, coaxing him. “Be an obedient son. Don’t embarrass me in front of my friends.”

“Why would I care what you want? You seem to forget that we hate each other.”

“You can’t hate me. I’m your mother.”

“Biologically, yes. Unfortunately,” he added, watching a familiar look of loathing overtake her expressions.

“You were always a thankless little prick,” she spat, her face contorting in fury. No amount of fillers and makeup would hide the ugliness of Leela Shetty for him.

“Me? ”

“I brought you under the notice of that family. Do you think they would want their daughter to be married to you if I hadn’t built you up?”

“I do not want your help finding a wife.”

“But you will take your grandmother’s help, won’t you?” she jeered, her mask finally dropping. “I am your mother. You should be listening to me, not her!”

Rian shook his head, unable to hold back from responding to her hateful comments. “Whatever sick competition you are in with Nanamma is in your head. Leave her out of this.”

“You will marry the woman I pick for you,” Leela ordered, a manic look in her eyes. “That family will bring us more wealth and fame. Did you hear Mr. Dasavi mention how much is in his daughter’s name? All that will be mine if you just marry her.”

“Yours?”

“What is yours belongs to me. You think you would have this success if it wasn’t for me?”

Rian took a step back, feeling his throat close in disgust. There was no point in arguing with a belligerent drunk.

“Go back inside and spend time with people who pretend to like you. I am not one of them.”

He strode away, feeling claustrophobic in Leela's presence. Descending the stairs swiftly, he slipped into the back kitchen, weaving through his employees. The clang of dishes, barked orders, and chaos of a busy dinner service surrounded him. Unfortunately, Leela had followed right behind.

“I pushed you to achieve something in your life!” she cried, her voice rising despite having an audience. “You would have stayed a worthless little shit, whoring your way through cheap trash if I hadn’t demanded you to be better! You owe me!” When he still showed no sign of acceding to her, she picked up a glass nearby and launched it at him .

Pain exploded between his shoulder blades, the sound of glass shattering near his feet bringing the entire kitchen to a standstill. Two of his employees immediately approached him, the worry on their faces clear.

Before they could check him for injuries Rian turned and charged at his mother, his vision red.

Perhaps Leela realised the depth of his fury because she stepped back, apprehension flickering across her face. He stopped an arm’s length away, unbridled disdain for this woman who called herself his mother spiking within him. The pressure behind his eyes built, every bad memory of her callous treatment of him crashing upon him over and over again, threatening to submerge him in a tsunami of hate he had worked hard to claw his way out of.

“All I owe you,” he informed her, his fists clenched as he held back the urge to smash it into the wall next to her face, “is the last name that you married into and the same blood that you have drawn many times. I put up with you in public because I don’t want to feed gossip. If you ever get physically violent with me or my staff again, especially in my place of work, I will forget every consideration I have shown you, public perception be damned.”

Leela glared at him, her stubborn expression showing no regret for her behaviour.

He spoke softly, a deathly chill in his voice as he moved past her towards the exit. “This is my final warning, Mother. Don’t test me. You won’t like the results.”