Harlequin Desire January 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 Maisey Yates (sad books to read .txt) 📖

both of their suitcases. He had a sinking feeling that the luggage was all he’d get to keep of Divya.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Chai for everyone,” her mom ordered as soon as they entered Arjun’s apartment. It had a beautiful two-story great room in the center and a second-story balcony that wrapped around the space. Rani had designed the apartment, and it felt exactly like their home in Rajasthan. When Divya’s parents weren’t here, it was serene and private. But her parents came with her mother’s attendants, who bustled about making sure everyone was constantly fed, whether they were hungry or not.

Rani came down the stairs holding eight-month-old Simmi. Her sister-in-law looked more beautiful than ever. Motherhood agreed with her. Her hair was held up with a clip in a messy ponytail and she wore a shirt with spit-up on the shoulder. Divya automatically held out her hands for her niece, and Simmi gave a little cackle and came to her. She hugged the baby tightly to her chest, enjoying the feel of the warm, squishy body and the smell of milk and diaper cream. They’d spent a lot of time together in the last several weeks while her wedding was being planned. One advantage of dating America-based Vivek was that Divya had gotten a chance to get to know her sister-in-law and niece. For a second, she wondered what her and Ethan’s baby would look like. Would he or she have his beautiful blue eyes?

Karishma and Naina raced down the stairs and enveloped Divya in a hug so tight that the baby protested.

Arjun plucked Simmi from her arms. “You, young lady, have a lot of explaining to do.” He pointed to the center of the room where two grand couches and chairs were set up in a square. No matter where she sat, she’d be in the hot seat.

She straightened her back and chose the couch. As predicted, her parents and Arjun sat across from her so she was sitting alone. All eyes were on her. Then Karishma and Sameer plopped down beside her, and she took each of their hands and squeezed gratefully.

One of her mother’s maids came around with a tray that held tea served in cups with saucers, along with snacks. Divya refused the tea, craving coffee.

She’d thought a lot about how she was going to approach this meeting, but her mouth was completely dry, and her heart thundered so loudly in her ears that she couldn’t hear herself think. She closed her eyes and thought about Ethan, about him holding on to her as they jumped off the plane.

She pulled out the phone Ethan had given her, scrolled to the audio file she needed and played the recording she’d made in LA.

“What’s this nonsense?” her mother exclaimed.

“This is my music. Songs I wrote and recorded.”

“It’s really good,” Sameer chimed in. “Who knew you had this kind of talent, sis. You should audition for American Idol, yaar.”

“Oh yeah, or that new Indian reality show about rich kids who give up their parents’ wealth to pursue their dreams,” Naina hollered, clapping her hands.

“Shut up.” Arjun glared at Sameer and Naina. “This is why you ran away?”

Divya waved the phone. “I left to explore a dream you would never support. Now I know this is what I want to do with my life. I want to work on my music, be a singer. I never wanted to marry Vivek, and if you guys had listened when I tried to tell you before, I wouldn’t have had to run away.”

Silence settled over the room, broken only by Simmi’s fussing. Rani took the baby and went upstairs, sending a sympathetic look at Divya.

“What is wrong with you, Divya? You are going to throw your life away to become a cheap bar girl?” Her mother’s voice was full of fury.

“Being a musician is not like being a bar girl. Look at Lata Mangeshkar.”

“Girls from our family don’t engage in such professions. You don’t want to marry Vivek, fine. We’ll find you another boy to your liking,” her father said. “Is this the reason you shamed us all by running away from the wedding mandap? Do you know all the horrible news stories that circulated about you?”

“I don’t want to get married,” she yelled, then took a breath. “I want to be independent. I want to make my own decisions, about who I marry, about what I do. I love all of you, but I feel smothered. I can’t breathe. I had to run away because none of you would listen to me when I tried to tell you I didn’t want to marry Vivek. You forced me into a choice I did not want to make. Now I am telling you what I want, what I need.”

“And do your new needs include that gora?” her mother asked, her voice dripping with disdain.

No, no, no, this is not the time to talk about Ethan. She didn’t want the focus to be on their relationship right now. She wanted to establish her independence with her parents and let them get to know Ethan before bringing him into the picture.

“Divya, it’s best to tell them the truth.” Divya looked at Arjun. He’d had a similar conversation with his parents when he’d fallen in love with Rani, and she knew he’d struggled with choosing between his family and the love of his life. He nodded encouragingly.

She took a breath. “Yes, Ethan and I are in love and I’m going to keep dating him.”

Clank! Her mother set her teacup down with extreme force on the coffee table, cracking the saucer. “This girl has gone mad. Mad, I tell you! You have known that boy for, what, five, six days, and you think you are in love with him?”

Divya looked to Arjun. “How long did it take you to realize you were in love with Rani?”

Arjun looked toward his parents and then at Divya. She silently pleaded with him to help. He’d always been her ally with her parents.

“Americans