The New Classic

Chapter Fourteen

"Liar. You're thinking about someone special, aren't you?" She narrowed her eyes at me in question, daring me to say something.

"What? Why would you say that?" On the outside, I was calm but on the inside? I was freaking the fuck out. Was I that obvious and easy to read?

"Well, it was worth a shot to see if you'd spill your guts. Auntie has been trying to get you to settle down forever."

My heart slowed at the fact that it had been a random question and not a deep dive into my mind.

"That's not happening anytime soon." I snorted. "I'm too busy with work to make time for a relationship. Besides, my last few relationships have ended in failure anyways."

"It's true though. You're practically married to your job."

"That's because I have important things to do all day and don't have the luxury of having a flexible career like you."

Dipa was a life coach, much to her parents' chagrin, and she'd settled down in the US as well. They'd been trying to get her to settle down - with the support of my mother, of course. But the only difference was that where I did not want to get married right now, she was more than ready to settle down with her ideal husband - except that she couldn't find him. According to her, there were plenty of fish in the sea...but most of them turned out to be clownfish. Her words, not mine. Dipa and I were the closest in age in the entire Kapoor family and hence we knew each other pretty well thanks to the summers I'd spent in Delhi with her family.

"You know it's not healthy right?" She said quietly after a few seconds. "All of us need companionship in life. How long are you going to keep working yourself to the bone just as a distraction?"

Well, she'd hit the nail on the head. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a night of peaceful sleep - except maybe when I'd spent it with Aaliya. I had gotten so used to being my father's son, so used to living up to his expectations that the only thing that I'd lived and breathed was work - more so in the six months since I'd decided to take over the company for him.

"That's rich coming from you Miss Life Guru." I jabbed as she scoffed at me.

Before she could say anything else, we found ourselves in the hall where the dinner was taking place. It was filled with at least a hundred people, despite my mother insisting that it was to be an intimate affair. I was sure that it was going to be the same case at the wedding tomorrow.

Dipa whistled from beside me before she strode over to where a placard with her name had been placed, closest to the door. "That's a lot of people."

"It sure is." Following her lead, I searched for my name, finding it right opposite the bride and groom's card and unfortunately beside one of my aunt's.

The chair was empty for now, thank fuck, but I had no doubt that it would be occupied soon. One by one the entire family started filtering in, the noise growing by the minute as I struggled to get used to this setting. I wasn't used to seeing a lot of my family - I couldn't remember the last time I'd visited that distant cousin that was sitting in the corner of the room. Or those little kids that were sitting on their mothers' laps. I didn't recognise them at all. It had been years since I'd voluntarily participated in any family gatherings or functions. Luckily, Dipa would fill me in on them since she thoroughly enjoyed the family gossip. It wouldn't bode well for me if I didn't recognise most of the people tomorrow.

Once everyone had settled into their respective seats, both my parents stood up, a glass of champagne in both of their hands.

"Tonight, we are here to celebrate our union once again." My father's voice boomed across the hall. "We lost our way from each other for a little while but eventually true love found its way back."