Husband For Hire

35. Arsalan Virk

Jhanvi stalked away towards her room. Sunny's smile dropped and he hurried behind her with a suitcase that had been hiding in a corner.

Ashar and I went upstairs wide awake now.

I quietly took a shower, changed into warm clothes, and headed downstairs. Ashar tried to say something, but I didn't meet his eyes even once.

Jhanvi was my priority right now.

She was waiting on the dining table smiling as if nothing had happened. Ashar and Sunny joined us in the next fifteen minutes. Breakfast was mostly Ashar's baba and stepmom making small talk while eating paranthas.

Though the oily food wasn't inviting, I ate one parantha out of politeness. It was delicious but I could imagine the mountain of butter entering the veins of my heart. No wonder Ashar's baba had two heart attacks.

Jhanvi barely finished her food before excusing herself. She rushed back to her room with a hand on her mouth.

"I'll see if she's okay," I said rising from my seat.

I hurried after my cousin. I heard the sounds of her throwing up her breakfast in the bathroom attached to her room. I waited outside the bathroom door, leaning against the wall. She stepped out after ten minutes looking pale. Her reddish eyed teared up when she saw me.

"It's not food poisoning, is it?" I asked.

Those tools that looked like thermometers in her trash can that day in her house suddenly started to make sense. The bravado she had in the US in front of Sunny seemed to have collapsed.

"I'm pregnant," she sobbed. "Don't tell anyone. I can't deal with him right now."

"How far along?"

"Three months," she answered sniffling. "I thought it was food poisoning. But then I took some tests and they came positive. When I went to the doctor, she confirmed it. I was going to tell you, but then you wouldn't have let me come on this trip."

I held her close to me. Though it hurt that I found out a little late, she needed me now the most.

"My jaan (dear), let's pack our bags," I said. "I'm going to book the next flight home."

"No, you and Ashar—"

"He's not planning on staying here," I informed her. "He said he'll move to a hotel. Once his paperwork is done, he'll come back to the US. I'll live. If I had known you were pregnant . . . "

"That's why I didn't tell you." She pulled away from me and wiped her cheeks.

"Okay, gather your belongings," I said sternly. "We'll tell them we have a family emergency. We'll vacation somewhere you're comfortable."

"Wait, I wanted to visit the Golden Temple," she said with glassy eyes. The color was slowly returning to her face. "My mama always said she'd bring me there one day. We might never come back to India."

"Alright," I said smiling. "We'll stop by the Golden Temple since we are in Amritsar. Delhi airport after that."

She nodded and finally smiled back at me.

I allowed her to pack while I returned to my room. The bed sheets were all over the place, making me remember last night's events. Despite all that had happened between us in America in the last week, Ashar had still jumped into the bed and warmed me up.

The memory was enough for me to return home satisfied. I fixed the bed and brought my suitcase out. Like Jhanvi, I only had a few things I had taken out that I packed back.

Ashar entered the room startling me.

"Didn't like the surprise?" he asked, taking a seat next to my suitcase. "There are things you and Jhanvi don't know about us. My brother and I . . . have too many issues I don't want to discuss. That's why neither one of us told you we were related."