Anyway, I’m not the whimpering little loser who followed her around all my life, only to be left a pathetic mess when she cut me out. I wanted her to know that. I wanted her to see how I’ve changed. How confident I am now. How I am everything. How I have everything.

“What do you think?” I asked. I knew the answer. It felt delicious to rub it in. I looked amazing. It wasn’t just Andre’s and his tittering assistant’s gasps of delight—I had eyes. I don’t know who circulated the memo that it was unbecoming of women to appreciate how they looked. Probably some insecure man. I mean, I worked out every day. I haven’t eaten anything deep-fried since last year. I spent an inordinate amount of time and money on my skin, hair, makeup, nails, and outfits. It is only right that I’m allowed to look in the mirror every once in a while and feel fantastic.

“You look amazing.” Bitch, I’m a fucking ten. I wanted you to know that. I wasn’t the stupid, shy little girl who came running to you all the time. You couldn’t hurt me anymore.

I kept my mind solidly on that until I hopped in an Uber and made my way to meet Mike.

23

KAAVI

Four Days before the Wedding

Walking into any public establishment in Colombo was a giant pain in the ass. Chances are that you’d bump into someone you knew. Literally every head in the building turned toward you the moment you entered, sizing you up, wondering if you were worth their time to say hi. Not making eye contact was the key. People were only obliged to say hello if you smiled at them first, so I kept my gaze stubbornly on my phone. If I didn’t see anyone, I couldn’t be accused of ignoring them, right?

The Cinnamon Grand lobby was laughably indiscreet. It’s pretty much guaranteed that the who’s who of Colombo would be swarming around, but I guess this wasn’t Mike’s first time.

I found him sitting in a corner tucked just out of sight, a baseball cap angled low on his face. As if that gave him even the smallest shred of anonymity. I would have laughed if I wasn’t so irritated. Any disguise he could have come up with was useless. Mike was white. He stuck out like a sore thumb anywhere in Colombo. Luckily, the hotel lobby wasn’t too busy today.

“Hi there, sweetheart,” he said, as I sat down across from him.

“Seriously, Mike?”

He gave me a cheesy grin and I tried my best not to let my exasperation show. Mike was doing me a favor, I reminded myself. Sure, I was paying him, but there wasn’t really anyone else I could ask, and he knew it.

“Seriously.” He held out a large folder but pulled back as I reached for it.

“You sure you want to know what’s in here, sweets? No going back after this.” I glared at him, pissed-off at how childish he was being, until I noticed him looking serious.