The Betrayal

The Betrayal

Chapter Seven

"It really is a blessing to have your cousin here," Asha told Javed the next morning while she was getting ready. Javed was lying back in the bed, his head in the cradle of his arms. Hands behind his head. "I forgot what it was like to have someone to talk to."

"You can't talk to me? That hurts," Javed said, only half-joking. Asha pulled her kameez over her head and fastened the buttons on the side.

"I didn't say that," she said, a playful edge to her voice. "What I meant to say is you're not a woman."

"Ah, so you're trading secrets now?" Javed asked her. It was so easy to tease her. She was the kindest, most trustworthy woman he'd known so far. It was beginning to ache to deceive her, even though he was so well practiced at the trade.

"Hardly. Maybe about how to keep flowers alive. She told me that if she has a wedding, she wants me to arrange her bouquet."

Asha ran her hands down her dress, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles. That was just like Sonia. To use something as personal yet unlikely as her own wedding to get closer to Asha. Asha looked over at him while she threaded an earring into her ear.

"Is something wrong?" She asked him. Javed forced a smile and got out of the bed. He approached her from behind, his hands securing to her waist.

"How could anything be wrong when you are standing here looking so beautiful," he told her.

She'd had her hair trimmed recently. It framed her face and brushed her shoulders. He admired his wife in the mirror before them. She averted her eyes. Had he ever met someone so modest? His hands explored her cloaked curves. She was adept at hiding them and he was quite experienced in seeking them out.

Asha's breathing was uncoordinated. Javed's hands pulled her closer to him, against him. She wasn't like Priya or Sonia. She neglected her sexuality, making even the slightest touch an elicit indiscretion. Asha's desires were coiled and knotted around Javed.

"I can't. I'm about to leave," she told him, pulling away.

"Why? Can't the shop open late for one day during break?" Asha shook her head with a smile lingering on her lips and threaded the other earring.

"There are festivities at the chowk, today. I told you about this. I'm even having Priya help me." Javed wondered if she was taking Priya because she really needed an assistant or because she wanted to keep Priya close after Sonia brought up the accident the night before.

"You and Sonia should come later. We can all go out for dinner."

"She's going back to her hotel tonight. I think it would be too far for her to make it."

"Not if she stays with us," Asha said.

"Asha- I.."

"She's paying a fortune for a hotel room when should have her things sent here and stay with us. See more of the city. Please ask her," Asha requested. Her voice was so soft and difficult to refuse. Javed sighed.

"Ok, I'll ask her," he said. The thought of Sonia staying and causing any more damage was making his chest tight. "But I can't guarantee that she'll have the time or want to."

"I know she wants to. She misses you. She said so last night," Asha said. That baffled Javed.

"I don't remember her saying that," he said. Asha said nothing and just stared at him. "Ah, I see. Lady talk. Did you just break the bonds of confidentiality?"

"Somethings can be shared in marriage," Asha replied simply. Javed chuckled.

"Is that right?" Javed watched her walk out the door of the bedroom.

~

The house was empty, except for Sonia sitting on the couch in the living room, phone in hand. She was texting Dev, no doubt. Javed walked up to her and seized the phone, tossing it to the opposite side of the room. It smacked the wall and clattered to the floor.

Sonia just stared up at him with a cocky smile. She loved getting a rise out of him. Watching her look so smug was like having her nails under his skin. Javed glared down at her. She crossed her arms, eyes glinting.

"Did it not occur to you that this job was risky enough, especially after Ajay's death, without you showing up?" Javed asked her. His words were low, yet sizzling with rage.

"And has it occurred to you that the faster we get the job done, the better?" She shot back, her teeth flashing. "I knew you'd be too busy fucking that girl."

"I've been gathering intel. Besides, it's too late for you to work the con with me. We should have planned for that, if that's what you wanted," Javed said.

"Planned for it? How well has your plan been going so far?" She taunted him. "The clock is ticking Javed. You know as well as I do that we only have a couple of weeks, if that, with an inspector poking around."

"I will get it done," he told her.

"In a year?" She scoffed. "With me here, we'll have the money in a week."

"You'll get us both killed first. Or worse. Imprisoned for life."

"All in good time, Javed," Sonia joked. Javed paced the room. He wanted to escort her out the front door and slam it in her face.

"Asha mentioned you staying with us," Javed began. He had to force the words from his lips.

"As I suspected she would," Sonia responded. "Admit it, Javed. Maybe you're not as smooth with the ladies as you think you are. Otherwise, we'd be in Dubai by now." Javed stopped his pacing.

"If you blow this for us..."

"...then what, Javed? What are the chances that I'll actually do more harm than you have by gallivanting for months on end?" Sonia snapped. She got on her feet in front of him and jabbed her finger into his chest. "One day, and I already have Asha's trust. Two days, and I'll have Priya eating out of the palm of my hand," she stated.

Her hair was wavy and magnificent around her determined features, partially hiding one eye. Her chest was heaving from the effort of making her case. It always felt like she was proving herself to Javed, that he had no idea what she was truly capable of. It infuriated her.

And yet when his kiss raged upon her lips, she was receptive to the heat. To the unspoken rivalry between them and the pivotal desires held captive in their bodies. They'd never had better sex than when they were furious with each other.

Her nails scaled his shoulders, leaving marks in their wake. His hand gripped her hair. They fumbled with each other's clothes. His other hand pulled one side of her tank top up over her bronzed breasts. He was rough with it and her breathing was labored against his defiant lips.

She reached into his pants and he grunted. He wasn't the only one with the power here. She smiled as her fingers curved around his growing erection, summoning it. He closed his eyes for a moment, delighting in her brusque ownership of his cock. He snapped out of it like a man emerging from deep waters.

He pushed her against the side of the couch. He pulled her leggings down to her knees and helped her sit on the arm rest. His thumb dug into her panties, pushing them aside with every pass until he was probing her tender flesh.

"So, you agree?" Sonia asked him after a slight moan. "You need me." He was about to pull away from her, but her hand was fast on his arm, keeping his hand between her legs.

"Since when do you care about my opinion?" He replied. Their eyes were locked in a fight that neither would likely forget. She shook her head, slow with a grin.

"That's not what I asked for, and you know it," she said.

"So, it's not enough for you to endanger this entire operation, unannounced. You want me to pretend it's a good idea," Javed said.

"I want you to admit that you can't do it without me. Because obviously, you can't," Sonia said. Javed took a step back, jerking his hand back from her grip.

"Well, if you want a pep talk or a premature reward. You won't get it from me," he said. "Get the information and then we'll talk." Sonia laughed.

"You forget, I don't work for you." She slid down off the couch. "And believe me. I'm more concerned with my account balance than us."

"Ah, there it is. Out in the open," Javed said.

"So surprised? That I'd be focused on something other than you?"

"We would never work out because you weren't ever going to let us. It doesn't matter how much we make from this job. That will remain the same," Javed told her.

She pulled her shirt down. Her luxurious hard nipples vanished from sight. Her pussy was still drenched behind her panties. He could smell her and he wanted her, but she was being impossible. She smirked at him.

"Ah, competing once again when we could be fucking. Such a shame," she said. Instead of pulling her pants up, she pulled them off her ankles. Her ass shook as she walked away. "If only you'd swallowed your pride," she called over her shoulder.

She walked out of the room, leaving Javed fuming. He tried to collect himself. How was he going to be able to live with her while they were working the same con? They'd always had a plan that they'd orchestrated together. Sure, they'd competed before, but the stakes were never this high.

This job was different. He blamed it on Dev. Ever since he'd come into the picture, she wasn't as interested in the way they always did things. She didn't even listen to him anymore. Somehow, Dev murdering Ajay was fair game, but him taking a little longer to complete a con because he was trying to be careful was out of the question.

"Oh, and Javed," Sonia's voice came from around the corner. Seconds later, he saw her naked from head to toe. Her fingers tapping on the plaster, her eyes shining. "Be a dear and open the door for the driver. I'm having my things delivered from the hotel. I'll just be in the shower."

He clenched his jaw tight. She wasn't going to get a reaction out of him. Not from being arrogant or by teasing him with her perfect naked body. Of this, he was determined. Yet, her smiled stretched wider before she walked away, whipping her hair around as emphasis.

Javed couldn't figure out why she'd been so pleased with herself until he looked down at his pants. His erection was threatening to tear a hole through them.

Fuck.

If there was a score board between them, she already had quite an advantage over him.

Javed contemplated taking and leaving her luggage outside of the flat. Maybe even selling it. It would be worth it for her to come out of the shower and not have any clothes to wear because all of her things were being peddled away on the street. Javed sighed.

Besides, he did see her point. If their roles were reversed, he probably would have shown up and tried to handle the situation himself as well. He shook his head. No, she was wrong to do what she was doing and even if there were some reason to it, he was never going to admit it. No matter how many times she flaunted her tits and ass in front of him.

~

The sun was out. Priya was helping her mother close down the shop when she spotted a woman opening the door out of the corner of her eye. Her mother was in the back room, checking the temperatures of the fridges. They had a bad habit on going out in the hotter months, which would ruin entire shipments of blossoms.

"I'm sorry. We're closed-" Priya started before she realized who it was. Sonia walked in without hesitation. "Oh, it's you."

"So, this is the little shop your mother owns?" Sonia said. Priya nodded. "Busy today?"

"Mhm. We sold out of a lot of different varieties," Priya told her. The way Sonia said 'little shop' was dismissive and made Priya want to tell her off. "What are you doing here? I thought you would want to spend time with Javed?"

"Of course not. I came to get to know you two. His new family," she said. "Besides, he's a bit of a bore. I miss the old days. He was a lot more interesting."

Priya got back to work but it was difficult not to have one eye on Sonia in her thin grey dress. It extended to her ankles over strappy black wedges. It was sleek and had the appearance of being modest yet revealing.

"He's told me a lot about you, you know," Sonia said, watching Priya as she busied herself about the shop. She was used to intimidating other women, especially ones as young as Priya. She'd come to view it as one of her super powers, but she had to tone it down. Get on her good side.

"Oh?" Priya wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.

"He tells me that you are a very committed student, and an even more dedicated daughter. That much is clear."

"Uh, thanks." Priya locked some cases and threw out scraps that were left out on the tables.

"It must have been hard," Sonia went on. "Growing up without a father." Priya said nothing. "Harder to make friends. To go to school. I can't believe you are doing so well. I dropped out when my dad left."

Priya looked at her in surprise. She wasn't used to Sonia, who carried herself with power and poise. Hearing such personal things from her was strange in contrast to the way she talked and circled the store.

"Javed was there for me, too. Probably couldn't have gone through it all without him," Sonia said. "But I never told him that." Sonia looked away and laughed a little. Priya wasn't sure but thought she saw her eyes tearing up.

"How old are you?" Priya blurted before she could think better of it. Sonia had an ageless quality to her.

"Old enough to know that family is important," Sonia said. "I'm jealous of yours."

"But you had Javed," Priya said. She noticed that Sonia had evaded her question.

"In tough times, yes," Sonia said. "But you know. As cousins, it feels like we often live separate lives, even if we are close. I can't believe he's actually settling down. Never thought I would live to see the day."

"Why?" Priya asked. Asha walked in right then.

"Sonia? Is that you? I wasn't expecting to see you until dinner." Asha greeted Sonia with a hug which seemed to take her off guard for a second. She closed her eyes and smiled, embracing Asha. When she opened her eyes again, the look she gave Priya made it clear that her answer would have to wait for another time.

~

Dinner came sooner than Priya expected. The busy day had flown by without much preamble. This time, she was laughing. The tension that had been at the table the night before was almost completely gone without a trace. Sonia was telling jokes and Priya hadn't seen her mother laugh so hard in a long time.

"And then he took his shirt off in the middle of the game and waved it around like a flag. He was trying to surrender," Sonia described. She turned to Javed. "You were so awful at sports."

Even Javed had to crack a smile, despite still being at odds with her. For the first time in a long time, she was telling a true story about a different con with a few details omitted or slanted. No doubt, it would be used against him later. He remembered that day.

They'd been working together on and off. Gaining each other's trust, working a prospect together. He was trying to get close to their target. A millionaire's slacker son when he'd made a complete fool of himself in front of her and the entire team. He's gained both her and the target's trust but at a great cost. Humiliating himself in public.

"No wonder you turned to your studies. You had no future in football, that's for sure," she teased.

"You make it sound like I didn't have many options," Javed defended himself, but Asha and Priya were still beside themselves. Priya was letting her guard down, he could tell. She was sitting next to Sonia, which most woman would have avoided. Sonia was that gorgeous. Being in her shadow was a real threat to most women he'd met.

"You had a lot of ambitions." Sonia said before bursting into laughter again. "Like painting. Remember what you made me that one time?" Javed couldn't believe it. She was doing this on purpose. Bringing up actual memories between them.

"Hey, you took the same class. I don't remember you showing anyone what you made afterward," he said.

"I liked yours! It was just a bit ... of an ... awkward shape." That made Asha's eyes go wide before she laughed so hard, tears welled in her eyes. Sonia was making him feel like a bullied school boy.

"It was a horse," Javed retorted.

That only made everyone laugh harder. There was no fighting it. Sonia was getting closer to them both at his expense. Well played. Sonia had an arm around Priya and they were snickering and semi-leaning on each other.

They had taken a painting class after completing a job because they wanted to know what it was like to be rich and do rich people activities. They'd spent a lot of money so that they could drink and paint with other people and had a great time. Albeit, hilarious. He'd never thought she'd bring it up like this.

He felt like she was breaking down his persona on purpose. He'd spent so much time crafting the professor and fatherly persona for Priya to get close to and for Asha to consider marrying. Being embarrassed by Sonia in this way felt like an afront on his hard work, but as usual, she got her way.

~

That night, Priya was in the bathroom shaving her legs, wearing a robe over a tank and some shorts. Javed and her mother were already asleep. She had left the bathroom door cracked open. She almost jumped three inches in the air when Sonia knocked on the door and peeked through the crack.

"Can I come in?" She asked.

"Oh, do you need the bathroom?" Priya asked, scrambling off the edge of the bath tub.

"No, no. I just couldn't sleep. Besides, I could use some girl time."

"Oh, ok," Priya said, sitting back down on the sloped edge of the tub. Sonia checked herself out in the mirror before turning and leaning against the counter. She looked at her own legs and made a tsk sound.

"You don't by any chance have a spare razor, do you?"

"Um, sure," Priya said. "They are in that drawer right there. Here's the cream." Priya handed Sonia the items.

Sonia sat on the toilet and got situated. She was wearing a night gown that extended to her knees. She pulled it up and lathered cream onto her long, toned legs. Her legs were just starting to get hairy. She probably could have waited a few more days or a week even before shaving, but Priya didn't say anything.

Instead, she tried to focus on her strokes. Dipping the blade in a cup of water and shaking the hair off, getting it wet before starting again. She was trying hard not to look at Sonia's legs. They were perfect. After a while, she realized that Sonia was watching

her

.

"So, who's the boy?" Sonia asked. Priya looked up.

"Wh-what?"

"I just noticed your being so detailed. Like you have a date," Sonia said. "You said you weren't seeing Ajay... Who are you seeing?" Priya gave a forced, short laugh.

"Yeah, right. Like I can date. I've been so busy," Priya lied.

"Oh, come on. You can tell me," Sonia pressed. "Who would I tell, anyway?" Priya just looked at her.

"Fine, but I hope you're not dating some stupid boy. You need to be with someone who will take care of you. Not play around," Sonia said. Priya thought she detected something else in her gaze. An intention that she couldn't quite place. A hushed quite landed between them as they both focused on their legs, until Priya spoke.

"He's not a boy," she confided, her voice a bit uneven. "He's older than me, actually."

"Ooooohhh," Sonia said, her eyebrows raising. "You don't say." She kept her voice low.

"It's nice. A bit complicated though," Priya told her. She couldn't believe it. She hadn't told anyone, not even her closest friends that she was dating anyone even though the secret was more challenging to keep every day. She was only telling her half-truths, it was a relief to talk about it in any extent.

"Isn't it always?" Sonia sighed. "I already don't like him."

"Why?" Priya asked.

"It's obvious you're stressed about it. I wanted to ask you if something was going on earlier but it was never the right time. I figured it had to be guy trouble." Sonia shrugged.