“But now that the cat’s out of the bag, I guess I can finally share a little bit about him. Apart from being ridiculously handsome, Spencer is quite the successful entrepreneur. His start-ups in San Francisco have done really well. Well enough that he can finally take some time off to plan the wedding! I don’t mean to brag, of course, but I am very, very proud of him.

“What plans for the wedding? Well, here’s another bit of exciting news! We’ve decided to get married in January. Now I know, I know. That’s only three months away. But you all know how traditional my parents are, and the astrologer told them that this is the most auspicious day for us.”

She gave a little eye roll and a laugh at this. She wanted her audience to know that she thought it was silly too. But not silly enough to hold off on the wedding. Three months. I felt like choking. I couldn’t believe this.

“I didn’t think that Spence would be all right with all this horoscope business, but funnily enough, he thought it was a great idea. Didn’t want to wait at all! So now we are gearing up to drive our wedding planner up the wall.”

Spencer, my Spencer, who gave me a hard time if I ever referred to myself as a Virgo, was suddenly all right with Sri Lankan horoscope readers? I guess people can change after all. But then I thought about the way my stomach would tighten whenever he came home from work, the way my heart would race when he smiled at me, told me I was beautiful. Could things really change that much? We’d dated all through college. Well, college for me. He’d dropped out in his first year to focus on his start-up. But we did date for four years. Long enough to really know someone. Long enough to discover each other’s secrets.

“I have time now for just one more question. AliFlowerx3 asked where we would live after the wedding, and some of you had suggested that I would be moving back to the States with Spence after we got married. It’s a nice thought, but it won’t be the case. My family’s business, which I am actively involved in, as well as my charity, Pink Sapphires, are both run from Sri Lanka, where I intend to stay. Luckily for us, Spence has decided to take a step back from the active role in his most recent start-up for a while, until we get settled as husband and wife, at least. So he’ll be moving to Sri Lanka, and we’ll be living in my parents’ guesthouse until our own house is constructed, just down the road from my family home.”

I tried to make myself take a deep breath. It didn’t work. A shudder escaped from deep within me.

Of course Kaavi would put her charity first. When she founded Pink Sapphires two years ago, I’d thought it was a typical Colombo 07 vanity project. To my surprise, Kaavi was quite serious about it, and the organization’s mission—to provide educational opportunities for girls from low-income households—was gaining quite a reputation.