Thanks to all my hard work, Pink Sapphires was finally starting to take off. We’ve been providing so many opportunities for these young women to take control of their lives. It really has been rewarding, seeing it grow from a tiny operation to winning national-level awards in just a little over a year. The SheGives-Lanka Woman of the Year award was such a big deal. Fonseka Jewellers had to buy out so much advertising space from the chair’s husband’s newspaper just to secure it. It really was such an exhausting negotiation.

Anyway, all this talk about how I’m improving young women’s lives was really helping my image. I mean, it was worth the long hours and the small talk for the free press alone. I’d been on five different magazine covers since we launched, and the writers at Hi!! followed me around like puppies whenever they saw me at an event. It’s really helped my social media platform, too, and the brand endorsements have made a significant contribution to my little piggy bank.

And it’s not like I didn’t have a love life, though it obviously wasn’t to my mother’s taste. I was just not looking for anything serious right now. I’d hop on Tinder for a quick fuck whenever I traveled overseas; I mean, I am a feminist, after all, and it was usually enough to keep me going. I only had one rule—no one ever in Colombo. No one who even has a friend who’s Sri Lankan. All you have to do in this godforsaken town is fart before the entire west coast thinks you have diarrhea. Not a chance I was willing to take.

My reputation was my moneymaker. The golden girl of Cinnamon Gardens. And boy, did I have them wrapped around my little finger. Until, of course, Spencer decided to get down on one knee and complicate things.

19

KAAVI

Three Months before the Wedding

“Thank you. Yes, Aunty, of course I’ll give your niece a call about the flower arrangements. My congratulations to her for starting her own business. Please give my love to uncle also.” My jaw ached from the smile I didn’t dare let myself drop. It’s been an hour since the proposal. Didn’t these people have lives to get back to? Why wouldn’t they stop congratulating me?

I snuck a glance over to Spencer, who was shaking the hand of an older gentleman, also showering Spencer with his good wishes. Spence hadn’t moved from my side since the proposal, but we haven’t had a moment alone either.

After what felt like a lifetime, the aunties and the uncles and everyone else shuffled away, and Spencer leaned over.

“I’ve booked a private dining room at the Hilton for dinner. Shall we?”

I nodded. The sooner we could get away from this circus, the better. And it was a smart move, booking somewhere neutral for us to talk. Because Spencer sure had a lot of explaining to do.