& Then They Wed (Ampersand Love #2)

35. Bunny

35

Bunny

Rian

R ian stood outside the ballroom tapping his foot to the beat of the rhythm inside. He hummed silently, the tiny uptilt of his lips a constant.

He pushed his hands inside his pocket, curbing the urge to begin whistling like a young boy.

It was natural, he thought to himself, to feel this level of happiness. Anyone who was lucky enough to have landed a woman like Aditi would feel like he was floating on clouds.

He shook his head, having completely given up any pretence of control when it came to her. This only made it that much harder to acknowledge that she’d be leaving for Bangalore in a couple hours and he wouldn’t be going with her.

He checked the time on his watch, waiting patiently for Aditi to finish saying her goodbyes. Keeping his distance all evening had been tough enough. He was not looking forward to the emptiness of his home with Aditi’s departure .

He’d be taking her to the apartment to pick up her luggage before heading to the airport, which would give him enough time to confess the full extent of his feelings for her. He was confident that she felt the same way. Her possessiveness was proof enough of that.

Perhaps it was the impending separation that had had them both so tense. Their encounter in the bathroom upstairs was certainly one way to take the edge off, he acknowledged, chuckling to himself.

He tried to assume a sober mien when he received an odd look from a passing couple. He had heard once that only insanity or love would cause a person to laugh by himself. He could now attest that it was true. He was in love with Aditi, insanely so, and the ebullience he experienced because of that was hard to hide.

“Where the hell did you disappear?”

Rian shut his eyes, resisting the urge to groan. Almost immediately, the bubbles of delight that had kept him company burst. He turned just as Leela came to stand in front of him, her features drawn in a severe frown.

“We were in the middle of pictures with the Dasavis. How could you have been so rude? Sonia was so upset after you left.”

“That’s your problem. I had a date to return to.”

Leela clenched her teeth, her nostrils flaring as her temper rose.

“Why her?” she asked, the displeasure in her tone making it clear to him that she was referring to Aditi. “I can find you girls that are far more beautiful than her, fair and. . .”

“And rich?” he interrupted, having heard this spiel before.

“Pick someone who will match our status,” she said, her chin rising haughtily. “Whatever you are doing with that girl, break it off.”

“No." His nonchalance increased her ire.

“Rian! Your rebellion needs to end now. I have put up with you dating one unsuitable girl after another but this is enough!”

His jaw tightened at those words. He clenched his fists within his pockets, trying to concentrate on taking slow and consistent breaths. A moment later, he let a veneer of calm settle upon his features once more. Getting angry would only make his mother recognize his weakness for Aditi and worse, she would sharpen her claws on the woman he wanted to protect.

“Your opinion is worthless to me,” he muttered, sounding bored. “You’ve been wanting me to get married. I plan on doing exactly that. I would tell you to be happy for me but I don’t think you know how.”

“I wanted you to marry one of the girls from the country club! Not this loud, ungraceful goat.” She looked like she was a hair’s breadth away from stomping her foot.

Ungraceful? Rian was reminded of the spirited and happy dance Aditi had taken part in, her hairdo falling apart, her face red with exertion, her smile reaching her eyes. Unlike his mother’s expectations of a graceful girl who was too engrossed in making sure her perfect makeup did not run, Aditi was messy and fun. That was what he wanted. She was so full of life, it ached to be away from her. Everything was so dull without her. Fuck, how was he going to pass two weeks of her being away?

“You cannot marry her!” Leela’s shrill voice broke into his thoughts. “I will not allow it. The Dasavis are an impressive and wealthy family. Sonia is a better match in every way. She's my choice.”

“Then you marry her,” he insolently advised, irritation growing within him despite his best efforts.

For Leela to think he would still listen to her had to be the result of a delusion he didn’t care to investigate the reason for. He knew her well enough to guess that a tantrum would be forthcoming. He didn’t care much if she made a spectacle of herself, but he hated that he would be a part of it. It didn’t, however, insulate him from being petty enough to want to return the frustration she had doled out to him over the years .

“I don't care about your choice,” he finally told her, shrugging impertinently in a manner he knew would send her into a spiral. For all the times she had thrust him into negativity, this was a small payback.

“You have always wanted my attention and acknowledgement,” he heard her say, causing him to guffaw at her ability to make everything about herself, yet again. “I'm giving you a chance, as my son, to finally make me proud. I have been embarrassed enough by you.”

He stiffened instantly, his shield of indifference cracking as her words pierced through. She had managed to puncture the scabs of old wounds borne by his younger self. Hurt and rage formed a sickening concoction that drowned his ability to reason with himself.

“You've always said I'm a curse to you. That I've always disappointed you.” He choked the words out, uncaring of his surroundings. The need to infuriate his mother so that she could experience just a portion of the pain she’d caused him overtook his sensibilities.

“That is precisely why I will pick Aditi,” he informed her, his mouth twisting cruelly at seeing Leela grow visibly angry. “That you dislike her is more than enough reason for me to marry her. The more unsuitable the girl in your eyes, the better because embarrassing you has become a source of amusement for me.”

“You will never be happy with her,” Leela hissed, her eyes narrowing to slits.

“Making you unhappy would be worth it.”

“You did not heed my warning with that girl, Kaveri or Kaya, whatever she is called these days. Are you sure you want to ignore me again?”

The small thread of reason holding him back, broke. He rushed up to her, spitting in her face. “Don’t you dare threaten me. Stay away from my friend. ”

He recognized a second too late that his reaction was a mistake.

“Ah,” she snickered, honing in on the same weakness she’d exploited in the past. “I know about your friendship well. I saw evidence of it when she was standing half naked next to you.”

“Shut your vile mouth or I will make sure you get thrown out of here.”

Leela threw her head back and cackled, deriving a perverted sort of joy from having torn him down. Whatever happiness he’d been experiencing ten minutes ago was lost beneath the darkness of the ominous clouds she’d drawn over him, surrounding him in a storm that he feared would leave some kind of wreckage in its wake.

“Sure,” she taunted him. “Call someone to throw me out. I will ask my question louder, in a bigger crowd then. This friendship you have with Kaveri—is it the same kind of friendship you have with that girl living in your house, too? Does she know how friendly you are with Kaveri Rathore?”

His hands shook. “Shut up.”

“Does Kaveri’s husband know, too?”

“You disgust me.”

Unwilling to witness more of her nastiness, Rian turned, his heart plummeting when he realised Aditi and Kaya had overheard his argument with Leela.

His gaze rested upon Aditi’s ashen face.

“Doc,” he started, about to walk towards her when she stepped back, stopping him with a single shake of her head. The moment stretched, his feet aching to cover the space between them, his mind in a turmoil. Dread seeped into him as her eyes grew red, watching him like he had betrayed her.

Just when he thought she would finally call for him, allowing him to go to her, to explain himself and make this better, she threw him into an abyss of anxiety and guilt with a single word.

“Bunny.”