I made sure I kept a low profile while I checked into the hotel. The last thing I needed was to bump into Mrs. Fonseka. I didn’t know if she had heard about my fight with Kaavi last night, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I declined the services of a bellboy and carried my small suitcase into my room.

The first thing I did when I got in was throw open the balcony doors and go outside. I had a splendid bird’s-eye view of the Poruwa itself—the stage, which was already set up. Florists swarmed around it, fussing about with handfuls of flowers. If Mahesh had actually come through, I wondered if I could’ve just taken a shot from my balcony. That would have been so much easier. Wishful thinking, of course. Life was never that simple. You always had to end up getting down and dirty if you wanted something done. I had brought along a knife from my kitchen. It felt almost comical, smuggling it out here. It was no gun, of course, but maybe it’d still do if I had the element of surprise on my side? Who knew. And here I was sounding like a deranged person straight out of a badly written movie. Hell, I was a deranged person, and this movie would probably not even get made.

I sat on the bed and pulled out my phone at 10:10 a.m. I pumped a fist into the air. I’d take any consolation I could get. Kaavi would be getting ready by now. She’d probably be ready hours before the ceremony for the usual two-hour photo shoot. She was on the ground floor, maybe even just below me, and the thought made adrenaline flood my veins. Andre was probably fussing about her, telling her how gorgeous she was. Or maybe he quit in anger after the dress was destroyed. Who knew?

Sure enough, I clicked on her profile to see plenty of behind-the-scenes action on Instagram. Kaavi sipping champagne with her girlfriends. Kaavi beaming while getting her hair done. Kaavi smelling the flowers that would go in her hair.

“Change of plans, my lovelies,” she said in a short clip. “Looks like I’ll be wearing my Hayley Paige to the church ceremony after all.” Trust her to put a positive spin on a destroyed wedding dress.

I laid my head on the cool pillow.

Kaavi giggling at something the makeup artist whispered in her ear.

My head felt heavy. I hadn’t slept all night. Maybe I could just close my eyes for a few minutes. There was plenty of time until the ceremony. I set an alarm on my phone, just to be sure.

I fell asleep while watching a video of Kaavi waving into the camera, blowing her viewers a kiss.

TEHANI

Interview Transcript: Tehani Fonseka (abbrev. TF) Part 3 of 3

Date: January 25, 2020

Location: The Mount Lavinia Hotel