“I’ll get it,” Mira offers.

A few seconds later, Bina hears Mira’s voice and then a forceful “NO!” It’s hard to tell whether it’s angry or funny.

“Mira!” Bina shouts. “Is everything okay?”

She hears the thump of quick footsteps on wood, then tile.

“STOP!” Mira yells.

“Bina?” Deepak asks from the master bedroom, his voice muffled with sleep. “Is everything okay?” Anuj steps out of his room upstairs. “Mom?”

“Let me go check what’s going on.” Bina jumps up and briskly walks to the hallway. She sees the chin-length bob and petite frame before she gets to the front door.

Anita.

Anita shifts to the side of the foyer when she hears Bina’s voice.

That’s when Bina sees Bipin.

Shit.

“Bipin!” Bina exclaims. “What are you doing here?”

Bipin’s nostrils flare. He doesn’t even bother to say hi. “Where is Kavita?”

“She’s with us.” Bina points toward the living room.

Bipin walks past her without taking off his shoes.

Bina steps in front of him. “Is there a problem?”

“She needs to come with me.” Bipin raises his voice and adds, “Now.”

“We’re just talking.” Fear lodges in Bina’s chest as she takes in Bipin’s flushed cheeks. But she can’t just stand here. “What’s going on?”

“Bina.” Bipin holds up a palm in front of her.

Maybe she should stop. After all, Bipin and Kavita should discuss this between themselves.

But something about Bipin’s clenched jaw and hunched shoulders scares her and also pushes her to keep going. She glances at Anita, who is still standing by the front door with her arms crossed.

“What did you do?” Bina asks.

“Bipin called me and asked if I knew what Kavita was doing. She had texted me last night and asked if I wanted to come here with her. . . . I thought it was for another meeting, so when he asked, I told him . . . ,” Anita says, her face heavy with regret.

“Well, I hope you’re happy,” Bina says. “And just because you aren’t ready to talk to me doesn’t mean you had to do this to Kavita.”

Bina imagines how all this would play out if they were on one of those volatile talk shows she used to watch when the kids were at school. She would sit next to Natasha on one side of the stage. Karan and Anita would be on another. Anita would point to Natasha and yell, She ruined everything! Karan would then point to Natasha and add, She said I was boring in bed! In public! The audience would erupt in a loud Boooooo! A bald security guard would stand between them and hold out his muscular tattooed arms as buffers.