She bit her lip and looked away. “Dev, it’s perfectly natural to cry. It’s a release from stress and—”
“Not the way you were crying,” he said gruffly. “It was as if your whole world was ripped apart.”
She swallowed hard. “I’m not going down the rabbit hole again. I promise.”
“I think we should stay home.”
“Stay home? No, that’s not necessary.” She blinked as she suddenly remembered they were supposed to go to a wedding today. The daughter of a business associate was getting married in a huge three-day event. All of Bollywood was attending. Tina wasn’t ready to face the pomp and pageantry, but it was better than staying at home and avoiding Dev’s probing questions.
She felt Dev watching her intently and the silence was almost unbearable. Tina struggled to meet his gaze. She was taken aback when she saw the pain in his eyes. It was just like when he had told her that he had gone through hell with her. She didn’t want him to go through it again. This was her battle.
He didn’t need to suffer with her. Because of her.
* * *
The mehndi celebration was bigger and bolder than Dev had expected. The prewedding ceremony was traditionally to prepare the bride for the wedding. Now it was a huge party that was almost as extravagant as the walima.
The ballroom was decorated to give the impression that they were in an ornate tent. Gauzy white curtains and tiny strings of light were draped from the ceiling. The heavy scent of flowers couldn’t mask the aroma of the rich, spicy food. He glanced at the circular platform in the middle of the room. The future bride sat next to her groom as they watched a dancing troupe perform.
He noticed that despite the luxurious surroundings, the bride followed tradition and didn’t wear makeup or jewelry. Her hands and feet were decorated with intricate henna designs and she wore a simple mustard-yellow gown with a dark green veil over her hair.
The guests were a mix of Bollywood stars and members of the Hindi film industry. They were more interested in the other guests than the proceedings. This was exactly what Tina hated about the wedding extravaganzas of his contemporaries.
Dev looked around the crowd, searching for his wife. He wished she had stayed at his side. He liked linking his hand with hers, but she kept finding an excuse to part.
She was creating a distance between them and he was getting worried. Dev’s eyes flicked across the white-and-gold ballroom. Why had she been crying earlier today? It had been more than crying. It had been gut-wrenching sobs that had torn at him.
Instinct had guided him when he’d tried to break down the bathroom door. Dev rotated his shoulder as he felt a twinge of pain. He had panicked but this time he knew not to dismiss the signs.
This time. Dev pulled uncomfortably at his tie. Was she falling into a depression again? Was this arrangement triggering it? No, he decided. He refused to believe that.
Tina might think he had overreacted, but for the past two weeks he had noticed a change in Tina’s behavior. She had been listless and staring off into the distance. He had woken her from a bad dream the night before and soothed her back to sleep only for her to talk in her sleep. Why wasn’t she telling him what was troubling her?
Dev’s heart clenched when he found Tina. She stood among a circle of friends, tilting her head back as she laughed. He yearned to hear that sound more than the chime of her bangles or the faint jingle of her gold anklets.