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Four can play the game.
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Valerio sits on his car seat, preparing to head back to his villa to get ready for a wedding that wasn't originally his choice. He's on the phone with his friend, Arthur, digging for information.
"What do you think of Miya Inayat Khan?" he asks the moment Arthur answers.
There's a moment of silence, as if Arthur has to delve into the dark recesses of his deviant mind to come up with an answer.
"I don't," Arthur responds succinctly.
Valerio mutters, "I've never even heard of this woman," hitting the horn when someone cuts in front of him in traffic.
"Yeah, because she's not one of the ones you've had in a row," Arthur retorts.
"Arthur," Valerio chides.
Arthur, one of Valerio and Michael's close friends who also works under them but is treated more like a partner, offers some insights.
"She's the only daughter of the Gwans family. Originally from Korea, but her father married into the Khan family in India, and they were so powerful that they had to adjust their values accordingly. Last I heard about Mia, she was living in India and teaching," Arthur explains, his voice dripping with disdain. "In other words, a teacher, doing God knows what and shaping impressionable young minds."
He sneers as he speaks, his contempt evident. It's clear that anyone in what Arthur regards as a basic job is beneath him. Like a teacher.
"She used to be a professor at some college," Arthur continues. "Though I don't believe she works there anymore."
The lightbulb moment hits him so swiftly that he swerves the steering wheel to the right, the car veering into the next lane and nearly hitting the SUV beside him. The driver honks and gives him the finger as he speeds away, leaving Valerio filled with irritation.
"Mia doing God knows what while in India? I could tell you exactly what," Valerio muses aloud.
The realization hits him hard. Michael, that bastard, was with his fiancée.
"India. Mia. Michael. What a match," he thinks bitterly.
Is she related to the damn Khans?
Valerio recalls Naaz Khan, the woman who punched him in the face last winter at the ballroom, accusing him of touching her juicy butt. And the next thing he knew, she was trying to make herself famous with this act. So that she can get some gold in return. He'll never fully trust a Khan.
"Why are you asking about her? What does she matter?" Arther sounds bored, but Valerio guesses he's also curious. He used to relish trashing Khans and plotting their downfall. That was before he became domesticated.
