INTRICATE

CHAPTER 16

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S A M A I R A   Y A D A V

"When I said I owed you, this is not what I expected things to come to."

Vedan smirked as he held his hand out, looking down at the crowd. Samaira had been to several parties before, but none were as elegant as the one she had just stepped foot into. Shadows designed the walls as the chandelier overhead loomed with purpose, each of its shards a reminder of the vipers that slithered around. 

Taking a deep breath, she interlaced their fingers, holding on tightly. Vedan leaned down to her ear. "This is precisely why you shouldn't be vague with your promises. Take this as a lesson."

Samaira would after she successfully descended the stairs without tripping over and making a scene like the daughters-in-law in dramatic soap operas. Paying heed to her Venetian red Anarkali, she carefully made her way down in heels. "I'm regretting my decision already."

Vedan chuckled. "You haven't seen the half of it yet, Yadav. There's a lot more to face. The night has just begun, so stick to me."

She didn't want to rely on him to make it through, but Samaira knew better than to be naive. This was unfamiliar turf. She had no idea what each person in there was capable of and she wasn't going to take the risk to figure it out. "Fine, the same goes for you. If you even think of abandoning me, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life."

"I wouldn't dream of it," he assured, turning to her. "I might detest you, but I don't hate you, Yadav. Besides, I've faced enough of your wrath to last a lifetime. I don't plan on directing it towards me again."

"Wrath?" an unfamiliar voice inquired, making Samaira's head snap towards it. It was a mirthful old man. Her eyes clouded with confusion, but Vedan's cleared because of familiarity. He plastered a smile on his face at once. "Bhavesh Uncle! How are you? It has been a long time."

The old man, Bhavesh, laughed. "I'm good, Vedan beta! It has indeed been a while. You look better. I hope everything's okay now."

He nodded, his smile faltering for a moment when a woman joined them. She didn't look as old as the man, but her eyes darted between Vedan and her keenly like she wanted to figure something out. Too bad because there was nothing there. She greeted the old man, making a little small talk before turning to the pair. Her eyes gleamed. "Vedan! You look handsome as always. Who's this beauty?"

Samaira turned to Vedan with a beaming smile. She had to accept his invitation to the party because he didn't want to deal with women trying to set their daughters up with him. It was part of the deal. That didn't mean she couldn't have her own fun though. Vedan pointedly refused to look at her amused face. "This is Samaira, my girlfriend."

Something flashed in the woman's eyes as her gaze raked her from head to toe. "Oh, your girlfriend? That's nice. What does she do?"

Vedan gestured for Samaira to answer. It was quite an obvious thing to do, however, a look of surprise took over the woman's face like she had never witnessed allow someone to answer a question that was about them. Strange. "I'm a general surgeon at Lakewood Medical. Sorry, but I didn't catch your name."

"Kamakshi Basu, the daughter of Abeer Basu."

Was she supposed to know who that was? The unfamiliarity must have been evident on her face because another look of shock passed over Kamakshi's face. "You don't know my father? He's Abeer Basu!"

She shook her head lightly, genuinely hoping she wasn't offending the woman too much. She didn't want anything to come back to bite her in the ass later. "I'm not involved in the business world too much."