Chapter 19

The revelation had numbed Shanaya’s senses. Since she had looked into Neil’s eyes, her mind had barely registered anything she was doing right until his car had halted outside a restaurant.

Sometimes during the drive earlier, it had started raining. The windows had turned hazy, cutting off her view of the world outside. Her mind was in a similar state—unsure of how to respond to the news of Neil wanting to get married to Kirti.

“We’re here,” Neil said, nudging her arm lightly. Without a word, she stepped out and walked inside. Shanaya sensed their collective gazes burning holes into her back but pretended to not notice.

A few more minutes passed.

Shanaya knew of the awkwardness she was making the couple feel, and yet she could not bring herself to act normally. This is not normal, she thought to herself. Suhala would never agree to this.

Dhruv decided to break the silence with his cool voice. “Well, this is interesting,” he commented, his teasing eyes glued to her face. “Neil