6. Vas

6

VAS

I opened my front door in a daze and threw myself down on the couch in my living room, but the feel of the cool leather against my skin did nothing to calm the tempest of emotions swirling within me.

I was obsessed with Jenna Carter, and I didn't know what to do about it.

A big part of my success was the result of my single-minded pursuit of anything and everything I put my mind to, and right now my mind was misfiring, demanding that I apply the same tenacity to get Jenna and ignoring the fact that I had prior obligations that made it impossible.

Where was the genie when I needed one?

Dinner with Jenna had been magical despite me sticking my damn foot in my mouth at the beginning and making her uncomfortable, but Jenna was resilient and forgiving, and the rest of the evening had gone splendidly.

When I dropped her off at her place, I had to fight the impulse to kiss her good night. Instead, I walked her to the front door of her duplex, shook her hand, and waited until she closed the door and locked it.

It took me a couple of moments to get back in my car and then a few more spent sitting behind the wheel without turning the motor on as I observed the street to ensure that she was in no danger.

I didn't like that she lived alone and that her place was accessible to anyone from the street. These days, only those living in gated communities had a modicum of safety, and I would have felt much better if she lived in one of those.

Could I devise a crazy scheme that would convince her to move into a place that I rented for her in a safer location?

My intentions were perfectly honorable, but it would seem sleazy to anyone but me. Men rented apartments for their mistresses, and I couldn't offend Jenna by offering it to her.

Perhaps I could hire a private detective firm to watch her without her knowledge.

As if that was better.

If she found out, she would think that it had to do with her father's history.

Jenna seemed so pure, so sweet, but she also had skeletons in her closet. Well, I had a fiancée in mine, not a skeleton, but the analogy was still apt.

When Jenna had admitted to checking up on me, I had overreacted because I was afraid of her finding out who my parents were and about Sonu. I didn't mind that she knew about my business. I didn't want the other people in the class to find out. The last thing I needed was to have my office flooded with poorly written CVs, touting experience in Excel.

Still, compared to her secret, mine were benign. Her father, a lawyer who should have known better, had decided to play Robin Hood and steal from his wealthy employer to give money to a worthy cause. He was paying dearly for that decision, and even though I sympathized with his motive, I couldn't approve.

He was a family man, and therefore not free to follow his heart in such a manner. He hadn't put his family's needs ahead of his own, and that was a selfish thing for a husband and father to do.

Nevertheless, Jenna had done well for herself. She was a fighter, and if I ever turned my amateur script into a movie, she would make a fantastic Adina. In fact, it was her face that I saw when I wrote Adina's part, and it was her voice that I heard in my mind.

There I went again, thinking about things I couldn't have. I loved creative writing, and screenplays were my baby, but I couldn't ask Jenna to act out a part in one. How would I justify it? How would I compensate her for her time without being creepy? What would I do with the footage even if I got it?

My phone buzzed in my pocket, distracting me from my increasingly maudlin thoughts. I grabbed it without looking at it and answered. "Hello?"

"Vas? It's Sonu."

I sat up, halfway between alarmed and concerned. Sonu and I were friendly, but she never called me casually. "What's wrong?" I asked, ready to call everyone from my family's personal doctor to our brigade of lawyers on her behalf.

"Nothing is wrong," she said in a voice that indicated something was seriously wrong. "I just..." She sighed. "Oh, Vas, I'm so sorry. This is really hard."

"Just tell me." Anything was better than the suspense and worry.

"I need to break off our engagement. I'm so sorry. You are an amazing guy, and one day, you will make someone very happy, but we are not in love."

My mind stopped for a moment. It whirred, trying to right itself back into its regular groove, but there was no way. It had fallen far down a hole where everything I'd been raised to expect had suddenly been upended.

"I know, Sonu. That's not news to me or you. What happened to change your mind about our marriage?"

"I've fallen in love." Sonu sounded miserable. "He's a doctor. We've been working together for nearly two years now, and our friendship slowly blossomed into love. Both of us resisted the pull, but today, he asked me for a commitment, and I want to give it to him because I love him, and I can't think of a life without him. Our families will be furious with me, but I'm willing to put up with that to be with him. I'll step away from my parents, their titles, and their riches to have the life I want with the man I love."

Given her family's wealth, that was no small sacrifice.

Still, even though she was setting me free, I didn't want her to make a mistake that could potentially ruin her life.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" I asked. "Because once you make the announcement, there will be no going back."

"I'm sure. The only one I'm worried about hurting is you. You've been steadfast in your commitment to this engagement, and you've always treated me with kindness and respect. I know that I would have had a wonderful life with you as my husband, but I can't deny what's in my heart."

"Sonu," I said, injecting all the caring and commiseration I could muster into my voice even though I felt like pumping my fist in the air. "I understand."

Something like triumph was growing in my chest, a feeling of lightness and joy.

Freedom?

Was this what freedom felt like?

"You do?" Her voice wobbled like she was fighting back tears.

"I would never want to hold you back from your true love. You know that, right?"

"I know, but our parents…your mother…"

I chuckled. "It's not going to be easy, but you deserve to be happy, and if he is your happiness, then you should be with him. Our parents' expectations and traditions be damned."

"Oh, Vas." She was laughing and crying at the same time. "I should have known that I could count on your support. Will you be all right, though? I've got someone to be with, but I would be leaving you unattached, and I know how your mother can get."

My mother could be cutthroat when it came to choosing a new bride for me, and once I was back on the market, she would immediately go hunting. I just hoped that she wouldn't get vindictive with Sonu and her family for the humiliation of breaking our engagement.

"It will be fine," I said, even though I knew it wouldn't be. "My mother already got her way with my older brother, so she might not go hunting for my new bride with all guns blazing."

Shekar had been happily married to his wife for nearly ten years, and they had three beautiful boys together.

Sonu was silent for a moment. "Have you been drinking?" she asked at last. "Your mother will find a replacement bride for you in under a week."

"I hope not. Maybe having three adorable grandkids will slow her down."

She laughed again. "Have you been abducted by aliens and given a new brain? Can this optimist possibly be Vas Singh?"

"It might be a bit optimistic," I acknowledged. "Still, if there's ever a time for optimism, it's when love is in the air, and I know you're doing this for love, Sonu."

"I am," she said.

"Then I wish you the best and request an invitation to the wedding. But!" I added before she could slip away. "The onus falls on you to tell my parents about it."

"I was going to insist on it anyhow," she assured me. "After all, this is my doing. Vas..." She paused. "I hope that whatever happens next, you manage to find someone who makes you feel as good as Jonathan makes me feel."

"Jonathan?" Oh, my. "He's not Indian?"

"No." She laughed faintly. "I know my mother is going to murder me."

"Sonu, are you sure you'll be all right?"

"I will," she said firmly. "Now that I know I'm not hurting you, I have the courage to face the heat."

"Thank you for thinking of me."

"Of course," she said. "Always. You are my friend, and you always will be."

For a moment, I felt a twinge of regret that I would not marry this remarkable woman. Although I didn't love her, I did like her very much.

"I wish you the best of luck, and I can't wait to meet this Jonathan of yours. I will give him a stern brotherly warning about treating you right."

She laughed. "Thank you, Vas. Good night."

"Good night, Sonu. It's got to be late where you are; get some rest."

"The beauty of residency," she joked, then ended the call.

I stared at my phone before carefully setting it on the table beside my couch. The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the steady tick of the antique clock on the mantel.

I was no longer engaged.

Un-affianced.

Disentangled.

It was a strange feeling, to be honest. Sonu and I had been intended for each other for over a decade. While it was expected that I, at least, would have the occasional liaison before my marriage—and I certainly hadn't been celibate—there had always been the underlying solidity of that engagement beneath my feet. Sometimes, it had felt more like quicksand, but overall, I had never chafed too hard against it. Arranged marriages were accepted and common in my culture, after all, but now...

Now, suddenly, I was thinking about Jenna in an entirely different light.

What if she could be more than a one-night stand? What if she could be someone permanent? Could I let myself love her?

I walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse apartment, gazing out at the twinkling city lights below. The world suddenly seemed full of possibilities, each one more tantalizing than the last.

My mind was churning with too many questions and not nearly enough answers. I needed to think, weigh pros and cons, anticipate different angles and hypotheses... and yet, all I wanted to do right now was bask in the bliss of freedom and enjoy the huge potential that had just opened up for me.

I pictured Jenna's face, her blue eyes sparkling with intelligence and warmth, her blonde hair catching the candlelight at dinner. I remembered the way she laughed and the passion in her voice when she talked about literature.

Would she even be interested in me outside of our student-teacher relationship?

Perhaps I was rushing into things too soon.

I didn't want to squander my newfound freedom, but the possibility of being with Jenna was intoxicating.

I'd have to tread carefully, of course, and wait until the class was over to make sure there was no conflict of interest.

But after that...

I grinned, closed my eyes, and let myself dream of a future I'd never dared to imagine before. A future with Jenna by my side, her wit and warmth balancing my drive and ambition. A future where I could be myself, not just the heir to a business empire or a dutiful son fulfilling family expectations.

For the first time in years, I felt truly, deliciously free. Whatever came next, I knew one thing for sure—I wouldn't let this opportunity slip through my fingers. Jenna Carter had awakened something in me, and I was determined to see where it might lead.

Standing by the window, I allowed myself to bask in the possibilities that lay ahead while bracing for the challenges involved—telling my parents, dealing with the fallout, and figuring out how to approach Jenna.