Chapter 14: The King’s Choice

The silence after Sumati left was a physical thing, a heavy, suffocating blanket. I sat on the plush velvet sofa, my mind a chaotic mess of lust and confusion. What the fuck was I supposed to do now? My body was a live wire, every nerve ending humming with a desperate, aching need. Part of me wanted to jump on Janaki, to tear off her clothes and lose myself in the familiar, intoxicating heat of her body. The other, more reckless part of me wanted to chase after Sumati, to see where that sly smile and that promise of “soon” would lead.

Prakash, oblivious to the storm raging inside me, clapped his hands together with a cheerful, jarring sound. “Well, now that that’s settled,” he said, his wholesome grandfatherly act back in full swing. “I’ll just go and ... freshen up. You two kids behave yourselves.”

He winked, a lecherous, knowing gesture that made my stomach clench, and disappeared down the hallway, leaving me alone with Janaki.

The moment he was gone, the mask dropped. Janaki’s predatory smirk was back, her eyes gleaming with a sharp, analytical light. She turned to me, her body a languid, confident curve against the velvet cushions.

“So,” she purred, her voice a low, seductive hum. “What do you think?”

“About what?” I asked, my voice a little too high, a little too weak.

“Don’t play dumb, Sid,” she said, her voice dropping to a sharp, dismissive tone. “About Sumati. What did you think of her?”

“She ... she seems nice,” I stammered, trying to be cordial, trying to be the good student. “She’s very ... pretty.”

“Nice?” Janaki repeated, her laugh a short, sharp, contemptuous bark. “Pretty? Sid, I’m not asking for a fucking character reference. I’m asking for your real thoughts. Your gut reaction. The truth.”

I looked at her, at her beautiful, demanding face, and something inside me snapped. I was tired of being tested, tired of being manipulated, tired of being treated like a pathetic, scrawny kid.