Bound by Deception

22.1 Aria Makes a Decision

"Noah is going to be visiting us tomorrow," Lady Kumar announced promptly the next day. Seated in all her glory, she calmly sipped her tea and bit gingerly on a biscuit covered in rosy jam. "Bhuv, darling, make sure you get the servants to spray the garden for bugs. You know how the poor boy gets around those blasted flies."

"I will, my dear," Lord Kumar responded in an equally civil tone. He sat across from his wife, paging through the morning magazine and occasionally taking a mouthful of his crepe.

"I hope Aria decides to wake up on time for once," the older woman sighed, glancing at the door that led to the stairwell. "She's been so busy with her work these past few days, I hardly see the poor child catch a moment to breathe."

"She's like her mother," Bhuv snorted. "Aria takes the world's problems onto her shoulders and makes it her mission to fix everything. My sister was just like that."

"Yes, I remember." Tamasa placed a glistening egg on her plate. "Your sister was just as wonderful as Aria is. Sometimes I wonder if she got anything at all from her father."

"Thomas was a man much like my sister," Bhuv grunted. "I have a feeling his genetics are there, but they're so similar to Pinky that it doesn't make much of a difference to their daughter."

"I suppose so." Tamasa studied her manicured nails. "Do you think they'd be happy?"

"Of what?"

"Of us raising Aria."

"I have no doubt that Pinky would have wanted us to take care of Aria. She was the apple of her mother's eye."

"She was their only daughter, Bhuv."

"Regardless. Isn't Noah the apple of your eye?"

"He's our only child," Tamasa snapped, and immediately, she regretted it. Her stomach seemed to convulse into itself and she gagged, lurching against the table. Hurriedly, Bhuv put the magazine down and began to stand to approach his wife, but she lifted a hand and raised herself to a polite height.

"I'm fine," she said, clearing her throat. "I'm sorry."

"You have no reason to be sorry." Bhuv's eyes crinkled sadly. "It just came out of you, didn't it?"

"I didn't have to think about it," his wife whispered. "Did I forget...her?"

"Darling." Bhuv reached over the table and clasped his wife's shaky hand. "You could never forget her."

"B-But, am I replacing her? With Aria?"

"Aria filled a gap that our daughter left. That doesn't mean that you don't still have a place for her in your heart. Raising Aria made you understand what kind of mother you would have been to our daughter. Remember that in heaven, she has a mother looking after her; a woman who never got to hold her child."

"You're right." Tamasa took a napkin and wiped her glassy eyes. "Maybe we couldn't love her, but at least another woman got the chance."

"Exactly." Bhuv smiled. "Better?"

"Yes. Oh, but now that brings me back to Aria!" The woman let out an exasperated sigh. "That girl is losing all her prospects? I don't mind that she works, but she's neglecting her courtship with Lord James! What if he takes a fancy to another woman?"

"Then it's proof that he's not good for our Aria," her husband calmly replied. "There are other fish in the sea, my love. Perhaps Aria will find someone else who can accommodate her needs."

"Somebody better than Lord James?! My dear Lord Kumar, please don't play with my frayed nerves this early in the morning."

"I'm not playing with anything, my love." Bhuv took a lazy sip of his coffee. "Aria is a passionate and strong-willed girl. She knows what's best for her, and if she doesn't like Lord James, then who are we to deny her that right?"

"We have to say something, then!" Tamasa exclaimed. "Aria would be ruining her chance at a happy future if she rejects Lord James!"

"She would be saving herself from an unhappy marriage. That boy rubs me the wrong way."

"Oh, don't be crass. You're just saying that because you dislike anyone who takes an interest in your favorite niece! Why, you never paid as much attention to Noah as you do to Aria!"

"Can you blame me, darling?" Bhuv laughed. "Our Noah is a spitfire in his own way. He may listen to you, but that boy is deaf when it comes to me. It doesn't matter anymore, though. He has his wife to answer to."

"I hope Eloise joins us later today," Tamasa gushed. "Perhaps that will give Aria some incentive to marry. My, I would love to see some grandchildren before my knees become too old."

"Please don't bring up parenthood to Noah," Bhuv cringed. "I love our son, but I honestly can't imagine him as a father just yet. He's too young and inexperienced."

"As compared to Aria?"

"Aria has stated her desire to have children, my dear, but she's prioritizing her career right now."

"What does she do, anyway?" Tamasa huffed. "Aria is as quiet as you are, my Lord. Has she ever mentioned her job to you?"

"She works at the edge of town in the admissions office," Bhuv responded dryly. "She works with the border patrol, from what I could gather. It's a simple job, Tamasa. She's in no danger, and I know that there are soldiers always guarding the border, so she'll be protected if anything happens."

"I don't know," Tamasa grumbled. "She could be lying to us."

"Now, why would she do that?"

"I don't know! She's a young girl, Bhuv! A sexually deprived, young girl who's had no suitors at all! Not since...well, not since the accident, especially."

Bhuv's expression darkened. "We do not speak about that in this house, Tamasa."

"Right, sorry." Tamasa rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Bhuv, it was years ago. Please stop being so sensitive about it. Aria, Noah, and I are all fine."

"You and Aria maybe, but Noah...I think that jolt must've bounced his head around." Bhuv shook his head. "That boy lives in the clouds."

"Stop degrading our son!" Tamasa snapped. "He tries his best, and it's very cruel to joke about such an accident!"

"Were you not just doing so...?"

"No, I wasn't."

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It seems like Bhuv and Tamasa are having some quality time...what will we learn here? 

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