Chapter 1 Veera

Chapter 1 Veera

Veera had never been in a shipwreck before.

Well, this was more like a yacht-wreck, but shipwreck was an actual term.

No one said yacht-wreck. Especially not off the coast of Goa.

So there she was: a shipwreck/yacht-wreck survivor.

She looked down at the puffy safety vest she still wore, and with a sigh, began to undo the clasps at the center of her chest.

Now that they were back on land, there was no need for it. Or so she thought.

The scene in front of her was absolute chaos.

The seven-star beachfront resort had to set up temporary tents to give local authorities and onlookers some shade. The staff,

paramedics, and news crew bounced around like pinballs in an arcade machine going from tent to tent, then from water bottle

station back to a different tent. Their constant movement made it difficult for Veera to see the bright aquamarine ocean lapping

gently at the soft sandy beaches in the distance. Not that she was sitting around for the view.

Veera desperately wanted to go back to the room and start the long, tedious process of getting replacement credit cards since

her bag was now at the bottom of the ocean. Judging by the increasing amount of law enforcement arriving at the scene, it

was probably going to be a few hours before they could question her about the accident.

At that moment, Veera's twin sister, Sana, collapsed on the bench next to her. "We have a problem," she said. Her dark hair, identical to Veera's in thickness and texture, curled on the top of her head. It was perfectly tousled and dried thanks to its short length. Meanwhile, Veera's hung down her back in long, tangled, salty clumps.

Everything else about Sana's appearance was equally similar yet different. The septum piercing instead of Veera's nose piercing.

The clavicle tattoo instead of her wrist tattoo. The soccer player's build instead of her dancer's body.

Veera had always been so perceptive about her twin. How could she have completely missed Sana's betrayal?

She shifted in her seat to give Sana her back.

"Oh, real mature, Vee."

Veera's shoulders stiffened. "You don't deserve anything more."

"I know you're mad..."

"That's an understatement," she said, as she crossed her arms over her chest. Veera was still seething from the news her sister

had shared with her minutes before one of the yacht guests decided to light fireworks on the upper deck, tearing a hole through

the vessel.

If Veera were a poetic sort of person, she would have appreciated how the wreck mirrored the way that Sana's words devastated

her heart.

Veera was not poetic.

Sana tapped her on the arm in an irritating, persistent rhythm. "Come on, Veera. We've spent the last year traveling to all

these incredible places. Can you blame me for not wanting to go back to New Jersey?"

Veera had to bite her tongue to keep from snapping at her sister. Of course, she didn't blame her. Who wanted to go back to

New Jersey ? But that was the plan. That was the only thing that had kept Veera going when her life had imploded almost a year ago.

First, her father merged their family business with a global media empire and created Illyria Media Group, a giant news and

financial conglomerate. The Desi version of Bloomberg.

Then, he had fired Veera and Sana, who had been adamantly opposed to the business deal. He claimed their jobs had become redundant

and it was important for them to think about getting married and settling down.

And of course, to make matters worse, her best friend Deepak Datta, the intended heir of Illyria Media Group and the man she

had fallen in love with, had gotten engaged to another woman. He hadn't even bothered to tell Veera himself that he was seriously

considering marriage. No, she had to overhear the news from their mothers while she was hiding in a bathroom stall at their

best friends' wedding.

Sana had been the only person Veera was able to count on. That's why when Sana had asked Veera to travel the world with her

so they could work on the relaunch of the Mathur Financial Group without their father, Veera sublet her condo, tossed her

bags in the back of a taxi, and peaced out of Jersey City.

Now, all the travel, client dinners, hard work, and sleepless nights in foreign countries were for nothing. Veera was back

to where she started almost a year ago.

"Say something," Sana pleaded.

"Chutiya."

Sana gasped, the sound loud and dramatic enough to attract onlookers.

"Veera!"

Veera glared at her sister. "You seriously thought that waiting until we were on a prospective client's yacht in the middle of the Indian Ocean was the right time to tell me that you don't want to go into business with me?"

Sana's expression was a study in guilt. Her perfect complexion was marred by the three little lines that formed between her

eyebrows. "I didn't know how else to tell you..."

Veera motioned to the fireworks culprit. He was currently being strapped onto a gurney and wheeled into the back of an ambulance.

The bright shock of his bleach blond hair contrasted with the red blanket the paramedics had draped over his torso. "Well,

you aren't supposed to tell me on some German man's yacht who kept referring to you as Indian-Megan-Rapinoe."

Sana shrugged. "He was strange, yes, but the contacts we met in Portugal a few months ago vouched for him. You also said he

was nice when we met him at the bar last night."

"Sana, I think everyone's nice," Veera said. She looked over at the rest of their small group who stood in the distance speaking

with the officers on-site.

Why were they laughing? What was so funny about their current predicament?

Veera shook her head in dismay. "Look, can we not talk about this until after we figure out how to get our stuff replaced

and get out of here?"

"Yeah, about that..."

Her sister's tone was another blow. Veera covered her face with her hands and groaned. "What the hell is it now?"

"Most of my cards are at the bottom of the ocean, too. We can work with our bank, but it's going to be a while before we're

flush again. We're supposed to pay the balance on our hotel bill when we check out in a couple days."

Veera shifted in her seat so that she could face her sister now. "You used to be an SVP of Global Operations at a multibillion-dollar hedge fund and advisory company. Don't you know how to work with international banks here to speed things up?"

"Your eyes are doing that bulging thing again," Sana said, pointedly. "Look, we'll probably be okay, but we need a plan B."

"What does that mean?" Veera asked.

Sana motioned with both of her hands in response.

Veera flicked her in the arm. "Stop it. Just stop doing that and tell me with your words."

"Ouch! Okay, fine." Sana took a deep breath. "Look, we need money."

"Who doesn't?"

"Vee, we need money now ."

Veera pursed her lips as she tried to understand the edge in her sister's voice. "Wait, are you saying that we should call

someone to wire us money?"

Sana nodded, her curls flopping against her forehead. "Mom and Dad would be superhelpful in this situation, but we know we

can't count on them." It was hard to miss the bitterness in her voice. The sound was enough to trigger a cascade of memories

for Veera.

You were never meant to lead a business of this size, Veera.

I'm doing you both a favor.

The leadership positions you hold are more of a formality.

This merger is for the best.

"I'm not calling them," Veera said. "You can if you want to, especially since you're not going to have to face them anytime

soon."

Sana nodded, and the small gesture was enough to twist the knife in Veera's heart.

"I don't want them to think we've blown through our trust funds and our severance packages like vagabonds," she said. "We need another option."

"Do you have any local friends in India from the time you were stationed here for work?" Veera asked.

"No," Sana replied. "Not anyone who I would want to find out that I'm in trouble. What about your friends? Kareena... Bobbi?"

Veera felt a pang in her chest. Kareena and Bobbi weren't just her friends, but her college roommates who became her soulmates.

They were both in committed relationships now and living their happily ever afters. Veera would've thought of them the moment

the rescue boats brought her onshore. She would've texted them and said that she was okay, and she couldn't wait to see them

to share the whole story.

But over the last year of traveling, she'd learned how to be brutally truthful to herself. And if Veera was being honest right

at this moment, she'd gotten used to their absence. Even before she'd left for her trip, they hardly had time for her, save

for a brunch here and there.

Being the third wheel was lonely.

Asking for help as the third wheel was impossible.

"I can call Kareena in theory, but it's like four in the morning over there," Veera said slowly. "She never answers her phone

this early."

"What about her husband? The doctor? He must be available for calls."

"Doubtful."

"Okay. Can you try Bobbi?" Sana asked. "Her events probably don't end until four in the morning."

Veera shook her head and could feel her hair tangling together as one solid mass. "Bobbi is in California right now with Benjamin. Based on the last text she sent in the group chat, she's on vacation. There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that either of those two are picking up the phone."

Sana shifted on the bench and rested a hand on Veera's shoulder. Her gaze remained rock steady as she focused on Veera's face.

"We may have to call him."

"Call wh— Oh no. Nope, no way. Absolutely not." Her pulse jumped at the very thought of him. He was the one man she'd tried

so hard to forget for the last year, and she'd do anything to keep him out of her life for as long as possible.

"He owes us, and you know he's probably at his desk working already," Sana continued.

"I'll just wait until I can get ahold of someone. I still have my phone in my pocket, so if I have to go through my address

book one name at a time, I will."

"It's going to take time to wire us money, Vee. He can move quickly."

Veera could feel panic clawing at her throat. She tried to stand once, then twice, but Sana kept yanking her back down in

her seat. Her grip was stronger than Veera's ability to run away.

"I am not calling Deepak Datta," Veera said. "Do you know how humiliating it would be to ask him for money? Even if we're

just requesting a small loan, Dad would find out! We would be validating his belief that we aren't responsible enough to be

leaders in Illyria Media Group."

"You and Deepak were so close once," Sana pointed out. "He'll understand and keep it from our parents."

"I rarely talk to him now since he's engaged," Veera said. The pain still felt so fresh even after all this time. But Sana was right. Before the merger, Deepak and Veera had been close. He was just as important to her as Kareena and Bobbi were. They met at a cocktail party when Kareena and Prem were just starting to date and bonded over business. As their friends partnered up, Veera and Deepak met for lunch a few times a week. Then he'd asked her to join him for a lecture at Columbia University. After that, weekly lunches became dinners and movie marathons until they were constantly in each other's daily lives.

He'd text her news articles first thing in the morning, and she'd respond with cat memes. He'd wish her good night before

bed, and she'd respond with market reports and projections.

Her phone had been silent for quite some time, though.

Sana's hand felt warm on her shoulder. "Look, I am not his number one fan. Especially after what he did to you, and then getting

engaged to our nemesis—"

"—Olivia is your nemesis." Olivia was one of the most popular Desi social media personalities with a shrewd business sense. She and Sana had

started to hang out in the same friend group, and for years, they circled and crashed into each other like bucks knocking

antlers.

"Deepak is officially our best option," Sana continued.

"You don't know what you're asking," Veera said. She'd been putting her pride aside for years. From the way her father treated

her, to the way her community took advantage of her softness and criticized her, knowing that she'd never respond in kind.

And then with Deepak.

He'd broken her heart.

Unknowingly. Unintentionally. Carelessly.

"Veera?"

Veera closed her eyes and tilted her head back, until her face was hot from the relentless tropical sun. The sounds of conversation buzzing around her and the sweet and salty smell of the ocean in the distance grounded her. She was so far away from her friends and family in New Jersey, from Deepak in Brooklyn.

"I can't believe you're backing out on eight months of hard work and then telling me I have to call Deepak Datta to ask for

money," Veera said with a groan.

"It could be worse," Sana replied. "We could've sunk in that yacht-wreck."

Veera looked back at Sana. "I bet you he and Olivia have moved in together by now, and since Olivia and you have bad blood,

there is a good chance that she won't let him help us."

"We'll have to take that risk," Sana said. She patted Veera on the shoulder. "You call; I'm going to see how soon they'll

let us get back to our room."