Secrets of a Bollywood Marriage(38)
“Yes, one message,” Sandeep said. He glanced upstairs and lowered his voice. “Shreya Sen called.”
Dev exhaled slowly. Even the old manservant knew how Tina felt about Shreya. Everyone had noticed but him. He should have picked up on the clues. He hadn’t considered Shreya a threat to his marriage until now.
She had been a colleague and a family friend. She often called for advice. Two years ago his family had started discussions with hers about an arranged marriage. Dev hadn’t been enthusiastic about the idea but the union made sense. And then he had met Tina.
The marriage talks had stalled and then broken down completely. His parents thought he was rebelling. Shreya had thought they both needed one last fling before they settled down. But he had found something with Tina that he hadn’t thought existed. He had found love that didn’t hinge on his box office success. He had a private life. A world that wasn’t designed by publicity or the film industry.
He had allowed the fantasy of a family life to slip through his fingers. Now he had a chance to get it back and he was going to hold on tighter. Somehow he was going to get Tina to love him again. Only this time, the love would be stronger and wouldn’t shatter at the first sign of trouble.
“Sahib?” Sandeep said. “Would you like for me to get Miss Sen on the phone?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.” Dev raked his fingers through his hair. “From now on, if Shreya calls, I’m not here.”
Sandeep smiled with approval and bobbed his head side to side. “Yes, Sahib.”
Dev strode up the stairs and went straight to the bedroom. He was going to convince Tina once and for all that he hadn’t slept with Shreya.
He paused when he looked around the bedroom. She wasn’t there. He heard the scrape of the clothes hangers and immediately went to her walk-in closet. He followed the trail of her sandals that looked like they had been kicked off violently. Her dupatta was balled up in the corner.
He stood at the threshold, his heart stopping for one aching moment, when he saw Tina scooping up her clothes and throwing them into a suitcase. She was leaving. Again. She didn’t believe him. Didn’t trust him. Why did he think he could regain that trust?
“Don’t you think you’re overreacting?” Dev drawled as he held back the rising panic.
Tina didn’t look at him. She didn’t answer. She acted as if he wasn’t there.
“I will not accept the silent treatment, jaan,” he warned. He’d had enough of being shut out. “I’d rather have you shout at me and tell me what’s on your mind than ignore me.”
“Fine,” she said. “When I got married to you, I was seen as the obstacle that kept you and Shreya apart. I was the villainess in the story. The seductress that stole you from everyone’s favorite heroine,” Tina said as she tossed a shoe in the suitcase. “While I was gone, you take the role of a man who goes mad because he can’t have the woman he loves. That woman being Shreya.” She threw the other shoe with more force. “You want me to ignore the gossip, but it’s a little hard when everyone knows you handpicked Shreya to play Laila!”
“Those were creative and marketing decisions. It wasn’t personal.” People thought it was his finest performance as he played a man who was heartbroken and descending into madness because he couldn’t be with the woman he loved. He hadn’t been thinking about Shreya when he played the role. He had been thinking of Tina, who had spurned him and had disappeared from his life.