Akbar and his mother sat at the dinner table with Khayyam and her family. She was dazzling—laughing and glowing with happiness. She was unable to take her eyes off of her younger brother who’d recently been acquitted of a kidnapping charge that had proven to be fabricated and groundless. Everyone had known that and yet, it had been an uphill battle to prove it.
Her parents looked stronger, as if a pressure had lifted off of their shoulders.
But Akbar had eyes only for Khayyam that night. It was likely the last time he was going to see her, now that she no longer felt she had to shield her parents by being the obedient and dutiful daughter. She could go back to her actual mission of saving the world.
She’d probably tell him to deliver on his word and call off the engagement. Akbar felt a sudden tug at his heart. He had admired her will and tenacity even in college, but now, he felt more than that. He had respect and a deep…oh, hell, he thought with disgust and an aching heart. Who was he kidding? He was in love with her…and wasn’t that just peachy! What a fool he was. She hated his guts. Found him lacking in everything; morality, depth, maturity, style. And he’d gone and fallen in love with her. He toasted his stupidity in silence.
After dinner, he walked back to the dining room where she was cleaning up, and getting things ready for the after-dinner tea. He wanted to see her one more time. Maybe bait her one more time, for old time’s sake.
She looked up and gave him an unusually pleasant smile.
‘I guess your reasons to stay engaged are obsolete now,’ Akbar remarked casually.
Still smiling, she shrugged and said, ‘And yours? I can assist you in your charade some more…if you like?’
He shrugged. He didn’t want a charade.
Silence.
She watched him from under her eyelashes. These past few weeks had been a revelation to her. Akbar Rasul had changed. And it was a change that made him even more devastatingly attractive than he’d been in college.
Khayyam broke the silence with her heart in her mouth, ‘Do you want me to…return your ring?’
A flash of something passed across his face, but it was enough for Khayyam. She knew what he’d done for her brother. She’d been an activist too long to not get to the bottom of things. Her brother had been victimized—she had known that. But then, out of the blue to be championed by one of the best lawyers in the country had been too unbelievable. It hadn’t taken much to convince the lawyer to tell her the truth.
Akbar wasn’t just the charming boy she remembered but a strong man, who could admit to his own faults and take ownership of his mistakes. That night he’d apologized for something that she had probably deserved.
But she had already pleaded with him once to get engaged. She wasn’t about to do it again.
He ventured slowly, ‘There is another option…if you think it could work, maybe?’
He looked at her casually as he said it, as if it didn’t mean anything either way.
‘Yes?’ she asked.
‘We could stay engaged…for real.’
‘Okay.’
She was afraid she may have said it too eagerly. He stared at her. He looked stunned…and then irritated.
‘That’s it. Okay.’
So she was still good, she thought with some wicked relief. She tried not to smile and looked at him innocently, ‘What else would you like me to say?’
He looked uncomfortable and hesitant.
‘I don’t know…’
‘Let me explain the obvious to you, Akbar. Even though you’re not the last man on earth, I’m willing to wear this atrocious ring…voluntarily. Now that’s got to account for something, right?’
He stared at her for just a second too long and then slowly, his eyes lit up and he smiled. His cocky grin replacing the hesitation and doubts on his handsome face, as he said, ‘You always were good at volunteering for noble causes.’
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Keep reading for an excerpt from She Loves Me, He Loves Me Not, by Zeenat Mahal, available as an ebook from Feb 14, 2015