Page 131 of Mrs. Rathore

Ira didn't even blink. "You offered to."

"I was scared you'd stare at me until I gave in if I didn't," he retorted with a wide smile.

She walked past him very smoothly, showing no reaction.

"Back seat and be quiet because I am allergic to nosy people."

"Oh no," he gasped, clutching his chest. "Already sent away? And I thought we were becoming friends."

"I don't become friends with loud people, obviously," Ira stated calmly, already sliding into the car.

"That's not what you said when I saved you from that lizard in the office break room," he said, getting in beside her.

"That was about saving myself. For me," she countered, looking out the window, her voice steady.

Saurav chuckled next to them. "How do you two even work together?"

"She ignores me," Prashant shrugged, settling in. "I talk about her life like a TV show."

"And I pretend he's not there," Ira added calmly, still looking out the window as if the world outside was far more interesting than their conversation.

Aryan looked back at them, letting out a tired sigh. "Two days of this, and yes, great."

And so began our two-day trip, a road trip filled with calm dignity, playful charm, and a lot of sarcasm, all packed into eight seats and ready for the adventure ahead.

______

Chapter 53

ARYAN

After travelling the whole day, the women still insisted on visiting one of Jaipur's famous fairs. We were headed back to the hotel, but they weren’t ready to call it a night. Among all of them, Ira seemed the least interested, her eyes glued to her phone as she binge-watched some horror series on Netflix. Honestly, I had no idea why she even came along if she intended to stay so disconnected.

Saurav sat in the passenger seat beside Karan, who was still driving. That guy carved out of steel because I couldn’t catch a single emotion on his face.

“You okay?” I asked, glancing at Ira. She finally tore her eyes from the screen to look at me.

“Yeah, why?” she replied flatly.

I hated how much she had changed since my marriage to Avni, but I couldn’t really blame her.

“You just seem disinterested.”

“Not my kind of thing,” she shrugged, pulling out her earbuds.

“Then why did you come?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Because of you,” she said with a sad smile before looking away. “To be honest, I’m not even sure. Maybe I just needed to clear my head… or maybe I wanted to see how you're treating Avni.”

I glanced toward Avni. She was deep in conversation with Prashant, who had switched seats with Rhea a few hours ago. Now, he sat closer to Avni, so close that his knees nearly touched her thighs. She was so engrossed in their conversation she didn’t even notice me watching her.

Was she only warm and affectionate behind closed doors? She hadn’t even thought to ask me to sit next to her. Instead, she chose her childhood best friend to share that comfort and intimacy with, offering him the kind of warmth I once believed was mine.

My jaw clenched as I turned my gaze back to Ira, who was still watching me but this time with a smirk tugging at her lips. She looked almost satisfied, as if seeing my expression gave her some sort of twisted peace. And maybe it did. I still hadn’t paid for what I had done to her, canceling our wedding at the last moment. And now, she wanted me to feel exactly what she had felt back then. “I’m sleepy…” Ira yawned, covering her mouth. “Can I rest my head on your shoulder for a while…if you don’t mind?”

“Yeah, sure,” I smiled, letting her small head settle on my shoulder as she continued to yawn. Within minutes, her breathing slowed against my chest.

“Wow, the old lovebirds are back!” Saurav commented with a grin, but quickly shut his mouth when I shot him a glare. He knew Avni was sitting right behind us, yet he still made that stupid remark. Idiot.