Husband For Hire

18. You're Thirty!

18. You're Thirty!
Must suck to be poor.

Ashar and I bundled up in layers we found in the Costume Design team's closets. We ended up perched on top of the foldable director's chairs after moving silently around the sets as if avoiding waking up the afterlife.

"You could've at least brought food with you," I told Ashar. "I haven't eaten anything all day."

"Sorry, Your Highness," he mocked. "I'll be better prepared next time."

I huffed and hugged myself. I shouldn't have thrown that drink at Sunny's face. Had I drunk it, I wouldn't be feeling so parched.

Had I avoided going anywhere with Roshan, I'd be home right now, enjoying a cup of green tea.

"Why were you here so late anyway?" Ashar asked. "I thought you finished at five or so your mom's assistant claimed."

"Ask no questions and you'll be told no lies."

"Alright Mrs. Joe, as you wish."

I raised an eyebrow. "You know the reference?"

"I'm not illiterate, although I confess I'm not a fan of Dickens," he told me. "Classics are so boring."

"I disagree," I replied. "Have you read A Tale of Two Cities?"

"Or Pride & Prejudice?"

I frowned. "I'm drawing a line here. You can't disrespect Mr. Darcy and Lizzie in front of me."

He raised his hands in defeat. "To each his own."

"What do you read?"

He shrugged. "Anything that catches my interest. I have gone through various phases: memoirs, comics, anime, and even palmistry. That was short-lived though."

"Palmistry?" I asked curiously.

I could read his face in the dark and ended up scooting closer to him with my hands out.

"I—" he started to refuse.

"Read my hand! I wanna know."

He took my right hand in his and brought it close to his face. Only a few rays of light remained available to us sneaking in from wherever.

He met my eyes after a brief minute of studying my palm.

"You lied about being thirsty," he said simply. "You were drinking before I came to get you."

"You can tell that from reading my palm?" I scowled pulling my hand out of his grasp.

"No, I can smell the alcohol on your hands," he said. "What were you up to?"

"None of your beeswax."

"Ano?"

"What's your relationship with Sunny?"

He kept mum pretending not to have heard anything. Something was definitely fishy.

"How do you expect me to keep up with this fake relationship in front of your sisters when I don't know you," I told him. I didn't know why but I wanted to know more about Ashar.

I could barely see his expressions in the dark but felt him shift.

"How about you share one secret about yourself and I'll share one in return, but nothing about Sunny or my parents?"

I was about to protest but thought better of it. Mom's secretary would tell me everything about Ashar's parents and I can easily ask him about Sunny too.