Sindoor | The Devotion Duet Book 1

꧁Chapter 1: The News Breaks꧂

Chapter 1

The ride to Thakur Mansion was tense. Dev and Tara sat in the backseat, silent, while the grandparents were in a different car, behind theirs. Both looked outside the window, their bodies turned away from one another. While Dev was still like a statue, Tara only tapped her nail against her phone screen.

Dev knew if he opened his mouth, he would only receive a death glare from his wife. And they had already fought enough for the day, especially when they were on their way for something significant.

"For the record, I am still not on board with what you are doing," Tara said.

"I hear you." Dev nodded. "But it has to be done."

Frustrated, Tara turned to look over at him. "Not like this!"

"There is no other way."

"Yes there is," Tara said and reached over to grab Dev's hand. "There is the right way. The only way which will protect the peace of this family."

Dev shook his head. He understood where Tara was coming from. He knew exactly why she was worried. And she was right. What he was about to do, was completely and utterly wrong. The chaos that would ensue after this, would take a while to manage. And he was ready to do it. "In our world, chaos is the only way to peace."

Tara sighed.

This time, Dev turned to look over at her. "Will you be there while I sort the mess out?" He knew the answer to that question, but hearing it from her had always given him the strength to charge into the battle.

Tara squeezed the hand she was holding. "I will never not be there. If there is anything in this world you can count on, it's that I will always be by your side in every mess."

Dev smirked. "While saying 'I told you so'?"

Tara smiled, and said, "While saying 'I told you so'!"

Dev pulled her to him, and she slid closer. Tucking her under his arm, he placed his head on hers, and whispered, "I know that this is not the right way, Tara, but I know that this is the only way we can get him to do it."

"Well, he does take after his father in being stubborn," Tara said.

That made him smile.

Aryan wasn't sure why he had to have dinner with the Thakurs, especially, after, what happened the last time they had dinner together. But he knew something was up.

His father had set up this dinner for a reason, and he just knew that he had to be careful. Especially because keeping this dinner over at the Thakur Mansion, meant that the Thakur's were somehow involved in what his father was planning. It meant that Kethaki would be physically around, and not just be locked up inside the big corner of his mind, which he opened on very special occasions.

Kethaki and Aryan didn't belong in the same room, was a fact, that everyone knew. And yet, their families kept forcing them to be in close vicinity of each other. But he knew he didn't have a choice, so, he parked his car in the garage and stepped out.

His family's cars were parked and he could see the drivers, sitting there, in their respective seats. The backseat was empty, which meant they were inside. So, he walked out and made his way over to the stairs that led to the entrance of Thakur Mansion.

He knew prayers were as meaningless as begging for mercy, and yet, before he rang the bell, he sent a quick prayer to whoever was willing to listen to someone like him, and said, "Just give me enough patience to deal with whatever is about to happen today," and rang the bell, then continued, "And if that's too much, then at least let it fuck her up, as much as it would, me!"