Free After All This Time by Nikita Singh Page A

minus a few minor conflicts that were resolved without any major hiccups. He had taken Shreela and her fiancé Manav out for dinner, and was happy and relieved to find that they seemed to enjoy each other’s company. Shreela could be very stubborn and unreasonable at times, but Manav seemed like the kind of person who could handle that. Shourya had had reservations about the man his sister was marrying, reservations that had nothing to do with Manav per se. He was sure he would have had the same reservations about any man Shreela chose. But he could see that they adored each other, and his little sister looked ecstatic in Manav’s presence. He sighed with satisfaction. The evening had gone better than he could have hoped for. If anything, it had ended too soon. He checked the time as he parked the car.
    ‘It’s not even ten!’ he exclaimed.
    ‘I’m so sorry Manav had to go back early. This almost never happens. It’s just that the project he’s working on is about to end, so it’s getting a bit intense,’ Shreela said, as she attempted to unbuckle her seatbelt.
    ‘I know. You don’t have to defend him.’
    ‘I’m just saying.’
    ‘I only meant that we could go out and do something. This is a waste of a perfectly good night. What are your plans?’
    ‘To. Get. Out. Of. This. Damn—’ Shreela jerked the seatbelt repeatedly in frustration. ‘Argh! Stupid thing.’
    ‘You don’t even know how to get out of a
stupid
seatbelt, how are you supposed to be someone’s wife?’ Shourya unsnapped her belt.
    ‘So? That makes things all the more easy. Manav will be there to help me with my seatbelt and stuff. Besides, we will get a better car, one with seatbelts that work.’
    ‘Hey, what’s wrong with this car?’ Shourya asked indignantly, stepping out and observing the red SUV. ‘Mom and Dad love it.’
    ‘No, they don’t. They only tell you they do because you gifted it to them. What else can they say?’
    ‘What! I never knew they did not like it. Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve got this replaced.’
    ‘It doesn’t matter to them what car they are in, as long as it takes them where they want to go. Now, let’s go inside. I’m freezing.’ Shreela tugged at the sleeve of his shirt.
    ‘Of course you are. It’s the middle of December and you’re wearing just a silk wrap over your dress. What did you think was going to happen?’
    ‘It’s a scarf. And it’s Hermes. And it was a gift from Manav. I can tolerate a little cold to show it off!’
    ‘Makes so much sense.’ Shourya rolled his eyes. He put his arm around her and steered her into the elevator.
    ‘Oh, did you hear from the photographer? I can’t have the wedding if Karan Dhillon isn’t the one filming it. I just
can’t
.’
    Shourya had forgotten about the photographer. ‘He hasn’t called me back.’
    ‘Liar! You were supposed to look up his email address on his Facebook fan page and write to him. You never contacted him, did you?’
    ‘I did!’
    ‘You didn’t!’
    ‘Fine, I didn’t. But I’ll do it right now.’ Shourya pulled out his cell phone and launched Facebook. ‘What’s his name again?’
    ‘Karan Dhillon.’ Shreela dug for the keys in her giant bag and unlocked the door. ‘He must have a million likes on his Facebook page. He’s amazing! He has filmed so many celebrity weddings. Thankfully, he is my friend’s friend’s cousin, and she has already spoken to him about doing my wedding, otherwise it’s impossible to get him at such short noti— Bhaiya? What’s wrong?’
    ‘Huh?’ Shourya glanced up from his phone. ‘Noth . . . nothing . . .’ he said distractedly. He turned back to the image open on his screen.
    Deepti and Avik.
    Engaged.
    ‘Are you sure? You look like . . . I don’t know. You look weird.’ Shreela peered at him uncertainly.
    ‘Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.’ Shourya said in a clipped tone. ‘Listen, why don’t you go on in, and I’ll . . . be back . . . soon?’
    ‘What