Faking It With a Billionaire || MaAn

Chapter 46 | Anuj

Even with his random appearance at the office this morning, I hadn't expected Vanraj to show up to dinner tonight. Family dinners aren't Vanraj's thing. They aren't typically mine either, I guess, but they're even less his.

Vanraj looks straight past me, his eyes zeroing in on Anupama behind me, on our clasped hands.

He jumps out of his seat, the chair flying to the ground behind him. "What the fuck?"

My mom's eyes go wide with shock, or maybe it's embarrassment. She looks around the restaurant, giving the innocent bystanders an apologetic smile.

Dad gives me an unreadable look before he reaches up and grabs Vanraj's shoulder. He pulls on it. "Sit down, son."

Vanraj's eyes burn with fury as he picks his chair off the floor and follows our father's direction.

"Mom, Dad." I smile softly at my parents. I feel slightly guilty pulling them into the drama that's about to ensue with Vanraj here. I really hadn't expected him to show up tonight. It was supposed to be an enjoyable pre-Thanksgiving dinner with my parents as I introduced Anupama as my fiancée. Now it's going to be drama filled. Vanraj was babied terribly. He's not used to things being taken from him. Add in the fact that he's been extremely competitive from the moment I established my own company, and there's no way this will end well. He's wanted to beat me at everything from the moment Dad off-handedly asked him at a dinner once when Vanraj was going to do something with his life like I had. I don't think Dad had meant it to be offensive. But Vanraj took it that way. Since then, he's been trying to win against me when I'd never been interested in even playing the game. When he finds out Anupama and I are engaged, he's bound to lose his cool. I'd hoped it would be over a phone call, not in a place that's always packed and takes six months to get a reservation unless you have an in with someone.

"I presume you remember Anupama?" I offer, turning my body so she can no longer hide behind me. She pinches my arm, clearly unamused by bringing her into the limelight.

I squeeze her hand, trying my best to reassure her. Neither of us had expected Vanraj to show up, but that may have been naive of us. She'd manage to hide from him all day at work. Leave it to Vanraj to never work hard for anything until now—until it came to winning her back.

My mom stands up with a warm smile on her face. She rounds the table and pulls Anupama into an embrace before she's even said hi to me.

"Anupama," she says lovingly, petting the back of Anupama's head. "It's been so long, sweetie."

Anupama hugs her back. It's only because I pay close attention to her every move that I notice how her back is tense and her hands are balled tight.

"Yeah, it has," Anupama responds uneasily.

As soon as my mom pulls away, my dad is there to pull Anupama into a hug. He always had a soft spot for her. Even after Anupama called things off with Vanraj, my dad never stopped asking about how she was doing.

While he and Anupama get reacquainted, my mom stops in front of me with a wide smile on her face. "My boy," she says, her voice filled with love.

Leaning down, I pull my mom in for an embrace, feeling comforted by the scent of the same perfume she's worn my entire life.

"I missed you," I say against her hair.