Before she could react to her mother’s misplaced anger at Vansh, the prettiest young girl in the exact pink and blue ghagra Naina was wearing ran up to her with a “Naina Auntie! You look so beautiful!” Then she noticed Vansh and flew into his arms. “Vansh Mama! I didn’t know you were going to be here! This is going to be so much more fun now!”

“Hey, Mishka. Look who’s talking,” Naina said as Vansh spun his niece around, then tucked her into his side. “You might be the most beautiful girl at the party.”

Naina loved the child, but she wasn’t ready for the crowd that had to be trailing her. Based on the way Mummy paled, they were all standing right behind Naina.

“Chandni, don’t you look gorgeous! Is that Sabyasachi?” Mina Raje air-kissed her mother’s cheek.

Having her sari complimented as a creation of her mother’s most coveted Indian designer by none other than her most coveted social contact made Mummy’s cheeks turn pink again.

“Always so graceful with the compliments giving, Mina!” Mummy said. “Is that one of the saris from royalty collection? It’s very gorgeous.” Mummy always pronounced it as George-us, no matter how many times Naina had corrected her as a child. She didn’t correct her mother anymore, but the instinct to protect her from embarrassment still nudged inside Naina every time she said it.

Mina looked down at her purple and gold brocade sari. Like all of Mina Auntie’s saris, this one had the look of an antique, rich with a deep history. “Yes, it’s Shree’s grandmother’s. Part of Ma Saheb’s mother-in-law’s trousseau.”

“Those are handed down from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law, are they not?” Mummy said.

Being Chandni Kohli’s daughter meant having to deal with her saying the most inappropriate thing in any situation, and here it was. To make everything worse, her mother threw the saddest look Naina’s way and teared up again.

“Well, I’m sure India will look lovely in it,” Naina said, her voice so devoid of emotion she even impressed herself. She was tired of having to think about navigating this mess all the time. All the damn time. Yash had chosen India over her. No one in their right mind blamed him for it. End of story. Could they stop hitting her on the head with it for one damn second?

Her mother’s nose turned red and teardrops slipped from her eyes. Mina handed her a tissue from her clutch bag and turned to Naina as though Mummy weren’t embarrassing them all. “You look beautiful, Naina beta. It’s good to see you.”

“It’s lovely to see you too, Mina Auntie.” Her damn voice wobbled and she kicked herself.