Bound by Deception

17.1 Kissing Takes Practice

Lord Bhuv Kumar was a happy man. He had nothing to feel upset or guilty over, unlike other men of his social class. He had a loving but flamboyant wife whom he saw as the perfect beauty. He had a handsome son, who, while kind, was also a bit of a scatterbrain. He never cheated on his wife; Tamasa was his one and only, however, he often found it amusing to listen to his friends lament over their failed marriages, when it was their fault for looking at other women to begin with. He cherished their love and was always appreciative that their love had given them a beautiful boy (although Bhuv often wished that God had given his son more intelligence).

Since he was born to wealthy parents as the first child and first son, Bhuv was granted a generous estate and a good position in the government. He was the pride and joy of his family, and he loved all of his siblings dearly. His favorite, though, was his youngest sister - Pinky.

Pinky was not her birth name, however, she adored the color pink, hence her loving nickname. Their father had gifted Pinky a beautiful pink horse once, and she loved it so much that she requested everything in her possession to be pink. Even her plates and utensils were pink. By birth, however, she was Lady Aditi Kumar, the youngest of Lord Sandeep Kumar's six children.

Bhuv and Aditi shared a close relationship. He was the one who had introduced her to her future husband, Viscount Thomas Collins. Their relationship was as beautiful of a love story as Bhuv and Tamasa's was, and by Aditi's seventeenth birthday, she had (with Bhuv's help) gotten permission to marry Viscount Collins.

He was happy that his sister was happy - he truly was. However, Bhuv realized that he wouldn't understand true happiness until the birth of his favorite niece, Aria Kathryn Collins. Aditi and Thomas had been married for at least ten years before the birth of Aria. She was their golden child - the baby they had prayed for so long to hold. Bhuv had no desire for children until he held Aria for the first time. The sweet little girl who had inherited her mother's dimpled cheeks gurgled and beamed up at her uncle with the most beautiful smile Bhuv had ever seen. She was already like a daughter to him, and when Aditi would often fall ill or when Thomas would go out of the country for diplomatic meetings, it was Bhuv who was the first to offer to babysit.

As it turned out, his close relationship with his niece would prove beneficial, although in a solemn way. Aditi and Thomas's relationship soured in a sudden way; one that nobody was expecting. It was even more startling when the man who once wrote ballads dedicated to his wife shot her in front of their daughter. Their relationship was strained up until their death and nobody wanted Aria. His parents were dead and his siblings all had families of their own and were unable to have another mouth to feed (Bhuv found this selfish, though, because he knew his parents had left a hefty sum to each of their children, and those children in turn had also married wealthy socialites). Despite this, he was more than happy to bring Aria into his home, adopting her as his daughter. She was old enough to understand what had happened, and that Bhuv was not her father, but she loved and respected him just as much as she did her biological father....or how she used to respect him anyway.

Bhuv liked to think that he knew Aria better than anyone else in the family, which was actually true. She was everything he had hoped for his son to be; intelligent, cunning, and fiercely independent. Aria took slack from nobody and prided herself on her independence, something her parents and Bhuv had instilled in her from a young age.

He knew that one day, despite the bravado his niece often put on, Aria would marry. The stoic girl that completed her duties wordlessly and was frequently absent from the home used her disappearance as a coping method. She scarcely spoke or acknowledged any potential suitors, and for the longest time, Bhuv was worried that she'd remain single for the rest of her days, which was something he didn't want for his favorite child. He'd pray daily to the Gods that a man would find her attractive and marry her while being able to overlook the weakness below her waist.

But why, he lamented, out of all the men to take a fancy to her, it would be Edward.

Edward James was a spoiled, ambitionless brat - the son of a couple whom Bhuv daintily referred to as friends (although that word didn't exactly describe the sentiments he held for them). The boy had nothing to his name and was a blemish on the shimmering armor that was the pride of Rouver. It didn't help that Bhuv didn't trust the boy - after all, he was accused of mass murder and sentenced to be punished.

Even still, Bhuv could say nothing because of Aria's attraction to him. He hoped that this was merely a weak spark that would fade after a couple of weeks. Aria had no experience with men, and he kept consoling himself that it was because she was being given attention from someone who wasn't a family member that she was allowing herself to be swept away by his sweet words. Bhuv had no idea if Edward's feelings for her were genuine or not, and he was ashamed to admit that he was also entranced by the idea of Aria marrying into the wealthy James family, but after getting to know him, Bhuv was less than thrilled about the idea. He decided, not out loud, that he would have even been okay if Aria had gotten with the boy she had brought to Duke Gall's ball. A pity they were only friends.

He had tried to talk to Aria about the matter, but she shut him down quickly, just as usual. He supposed that it was awkward for an uncle to discuss his niece's personal affairs, but he didn't want her getting herself into trouble like Noah often did. No, she had to stay the way she was, because she was all he had left of his beloved sister.

And so, with a heavy heart and even heavier sigh, Lord Bhuv Kumar lifted himself from the couch and strode toward the oak doors, where a maid was hurrying to get to the knob. Upon noticing him, she stopped, and he dismissed her with a wave of his hand. Once she was gone, he opened the door, greeted by the bright, elvish face of Edward James. 

--------------------

So...we get a bit of backstory from Bhuv's perspective! What do you think of Aria's parents? What about Bhuv? 

VOTE/COMMENT/ENJOY :D