Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Shumi
“Do you love me, Shumi?”
“Of course I do, Bobby.” Shumi laughed. “You’re my husband!”
Bobby, so handsome with his dark hair and that stubble on his jaw, his upper body bare as he stood by their bedroom window, turned to look at her. “Sometimes, I’m not so sure. I feel like you’re just out of reach, no matter how hard I try.”
“Oh, hush now.” Shumi kept her voice soft, affectionate, because she did truly like him a great deal. “You know you were the only boy I ever wanted—having you love me is a dream come true.”
In many ways, that wasn’t even a lie. Without Bobby, she’d never have been able to stay so close to Diya, continue to keep her safe as she had since the day she’d first met the baby who’d laughed and grabbed at her hand, and who’d always loved her even when her own mother couldn’t.
Shumi’s mother pretended, but she wasn’t a good actress. Shumi had figured out as a very small child that she meant nothing to her, was just a mouth she fed to keep up appearances. But it hadn’t mattered because she had the Prasads, who’d always been kind to her. Then had come Diya, this tiny and bright light who had toddled after Shumi and who had always wanted to play with her.
Diya loved Shumi in a way no one had ever loved her.
To stay close to that love, Shumi had been more than happy to stick tight to Bobby. He was handsome, and sexually, they were more than compatible. It was no sacrifice to have a hardworking and good-looking husband who took his time making sure she was always satisfied.
Ensuring it stayed that way was an easy matter.
She rose from the bed and walked to take his hands as the moonlight filtered in through the window. “I adore you, you know that,” she murmured, looking up at him with the big doe eyes that always did him in. “I’m just…you’ve seen how my mum is. I think sometimes I get scared of how much I love you.”
She swallowed hard. “Please don’t stop loving me. It would destroy me.”
“Jaan, meri jaan,” he said, enfolding her in the warmth of his arms and holding her with that endearing gentleness of his; sometimes, she wished he’d be a little rougher, a bit more exciting, but in the grand scheme of things, it was a minor complaint.
“I could never stop loving you,” he told her. “I tried so many times over the years when we were younger—I thought it was just proximity, that we’d grow apart. But it was and will always be you. My Shumi.”
Kisses pressed to her temple before he slid his hand to her abdomen. “Any news?”
Shumi shook her head, her face downcast. “Got my period again.”
“That’s okay. We’re young.” He nuzzled at her. “And it’s so much fun trying, isn’t it?”
Giggling, she pressed a kiss to his chest, the curly hairs there tickling her lips, but she didn’t answer with words. Because while, yes, it was fun having sex with him, they weren’t actually trying as he believed—she’d had her doctor put her on long-term birth control the day Bobby began to talk about having kids.
It wasn’t that Shumi didn’t like kids—it was that she had her priorities in life and knew she couldn’t give a baby the time and attention it deserved. Not now, not when Diya needed her so much. First she had to extricate her vulnerable best friend from the clutches of her stranger of a husband, then she’d have to settle her down in the no-doubt emotional aftermath.
It wouldn’t be hard. She’d been digging into Tavish Advani, had an entire dossier on the computer with all kinds of damning information. She’d thought about showing it to Rajesh and Sarita, but her in-laws didn’t know how to handle Diya. They’d yell at her and demand things and then Diya would get rebellious.
Shumi knew her best.
Diya’s heart was soft and generous and ready to love.
Shumi would have to go delicately, drop a little piece of information here, an ounce of doubt there, until Diya began to worry. Only then would Shumi show her the pages and pages of articles and other data she’d collected about Diya’s new husband.
The Jocelyn Wai situation spoke for itself.
Everyone thought he’d murdered the woman; they just couldn’t prove it.
It wouldn’t take much for Shumi to make Diya understand that Tavish had targeted her because of her fragile mental state, that he got a kick out of hurting and controlling women.
Shumi knew exactly what to say to make Diya question her impulsive decision. After all, she’d made it without Shumi’s counsel. In some part of her, she already knew she’d messed up.
Shumi just had to bring that awareness to the surface of her consciousness.
Once Tavish was gone and Diya back where she belonged…yes, Shumi might have a child. It’d keep Bobby happy, and he’d be a good father, would pull his weight. Diya would be a wonderful aunt, too, the baby bringing them even closer together. Perhaps she’d even suggest Diya move in to help Shumi with the baby. Such a loving reason. One that made sense in every way.