IVORY LIES & CRIMSON TRUTHS (Under Editing)

3. Consent, in Absentia

Everyone assumed she was the last to know—
and that he, of all people, would never be part of the lie.

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The café was dim, warm, and just upscale enough for doctors trying to unwind without being seen by their patients.

Hridaan sat at the edge of his chair, eyes on the spoon in his untouched cup.

Kunal watched him, arms folded. "You're still not going to tell him?"

Hridaan didn't respond.

Pranav leaned forward. "Hri. The signature wasn't hers. You said that yourself."

"I also said," Hridaan said slowly, "that Gauri let something slip and it is a secret."

Kunal scoffed. "Come on. You know, Geeta didn't sign that proposal. And Dev thinks she did."

Hridaan's jaw tightened. "Exactly why I'm not telling him."

That earned a pause.

Pranav frowned. "You think he'll back out?"

Hridaan gave a short, humorless laugh. "You've met Dev, right? If he finds out her signature was forged—hell, if he even suspects—he'll burn the whole deal down out of principle."

Kunal nodded slowly. "He's... that guy."

"That guy," Hridaan said, "is too straight to bend, even when it helps."

"But it's a fake consent, Hri. You're okay letting your cousin walk into a marriage based on a lie?"

Hridaan looked away. "I'm not okay with any of it. But I'm not the one pulling strings here."

The pause that followed was weightier than silence.

Pranav spoke first. "And Geeta? What happens when she knows?"

Hridaan sighed. "All hell will break loose."

Kunal whistled softly. "She's really not aware?"

"No," Hridaan said after a beat. "If she did, all that would be left of Varadhans would be ashes."

The bell over the café door chimed.

Hridaan didn't even look up—he knew that footfall, that unhurried stride.

Dev Chandrakanth walked in with the kind of warmth that didn't announce itself. It just settled over the room like a cashmere coat—quiet, familiar, and entirely welcome.

"Hope I haven't missed dessert," he said, smiling easily as he pulled out the empty chair.

"You're not that late," Pranav said, glancing at his watch. "Just enough to avoid ordering."

Dev chuckled, the sound smooth and unbothered. "What can I say? Good timing is a skill."

He waved to the server, gave a polite nod, and settled in with an effortless charm that never felt rehearsed.

"Black coffee, please. No sugar."

Hridaan raised a brow. "Still bitter, huh?"

"Balanced," Dev replied, eyes crinkling at the corners. "The heart's sweet enough."

That earned a groan from Kunal. "We should've made him sit outside."

Dev looked at him innocently. "And deprive this table of its moral compass?"