Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors (The Rajes #1)(101)

Raja Ravi Varma’s brushstrokes had a way of trapping a million emotions into the faces he painted, and Sita’s expression softened in returned commiseration.

Trisha made her way to Esha’s room. As usual, it instantly relaxed her. Maybe it was the smell of incense, at once light and heavy. Maybe it was all the lingering memories—Trisha and her siblings had experienced so many of life’s significant moments here. Then again maybe it was the giant circular bed they had all loved to flop down on.

Yash was flopped there right now. Esha and he were on their backs, their heads almost touching, their bodies radiating at angles like two rays radiating from the sun that was Aji, who sat there, stroking their foreheads in turn. To Aji they would always be her babies, and they in turn lost all their adulting pressures when they were with her.

Trisha smiled. This was a part of Yash Raje his voters would never have. It was a selfish thought, but Trisha wasn’t ashamed of it. Yash needed something of himself for himself, for them, for her. Suddenly she was so exhausted, all she wanted was to put her head on Aji’s lap, too, and sleep for ten hours straight, maybe twenty. Aji waved her over and patted the spot where there was space for one more ray in the sun Esha and Yash were making.

“It’s been five days,” her grandmother admonished before letting Trisha lean over and kiss her cheek.

“Hey, Shasha,” Yash and Esha said together without opening their eyes.

The smile on Trisha’s face spread down to her heart.

“Why so sad, baby girl?” Esha asked, eyes still closed.

“What’s going on?” Yash asked, also not opening his eyes.

“How was your trip?” Trisha let Aji kiss her forehead before falling into her slot between her brother and her cousin and closing her eyes.

“The trip was successful. Nothing new. Now tell us,” Yash said, sounding like he might have turned toward her. “What’s bothering you?”

“I have a patient who might choose not to have surgery that can save her life because she’s afraid of going blind.”

The silence before Yash spoke was heavy and long. “It’s terrifying to suddenly be faced with a disability.”

Trisha had no doubt that every single person in the room relived the moment when they’d been told he would never walk again. “Does she have time?” Aji asked.

“Not too much. I’m hoping she’ll see the light soon. This new robotic technology, it’s amazing.” She had to clear her throat. “It can change how we remove tumors forever.” God, the robot was spectacular and she wanted to snuff out that tumor so badly she could feel her adrenaline rising. “But if she waits too long, it may not have a chance to help her.”

“Well, you have been putting all your time and attention into that technology for years, so it was bound to happen.” This from their grandmother whose hand stroked Trisha’s forehead. “When was the last time you ate?”

“J-Auntie wouldn’t let her up here without food,” Yash said, right as always. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to change her mind. But there’s something else going on, isn’t there?”

All Trisha could get out was a “hmm” laced with all the sadness she was feeling.

“Secrets can get heavy.” This from Esha. “Undressing a secret makes it naked and takes away its power.”

But how do you undress a secret that isn’t yours?

“Julia Wickham has been filming the patient. The one who’s refusing surgery.”

She felt Yash sit up. “Okay.”

Something in his voice made her open her eyes. She sat up, too, taking in his studiedly calm expression.

“She’s been doing these films and raising money for a while now.” Of course Yash would know this. “It would actually be a noble thing to do, if she weren’t taking half the donations.”

“I have a really bad feeling about this. I’m sorry, I should have pushed for more information when I found out that she knew DJ . . . that’s . . . um . . . my patient’s brother. Actually . . .” She turned to Esha.

“Your feeling is valid,” Esha said without opening her eyes. “But you can’t stop this.”

She said “this” and not “her,” and Trisha wasn’t sure if she meant they couldn’t stop Julia, or if she meant she couldn’t stop something else. Because yes, there were several things Trisha was currently trying to stop, like Emma making the wrong decision, the threat to Yash, the end of her sister’s marriage, the possession of her heart by an alien spirit who had fixated on a man who wanted nothing to do with her.

“Of course we can’t stop her,” Yash said. “We can’t stop anyone from making films on medical science, or anyone trying to make money to pay for the ridiculous medical bills in our country.” He cleared his throat. “And I’m pretty certain that the film that we’re really worried about was destroyed. And the NDA Julia signed was pretty watertight. She can’t talk about any of it.” He sounded calm and lawyerly, but there was a thread of strain in his voice.

Julia Wickham could destroy him and he knew it. No one would care that he’d been the victim, not in today’s climate. The worst part was that if he did get justice, if people did believe him, it could set the progress women were making back a hundred years. He would never want that.