The table was filled with people Adiraj had known for nearly half his life, and who knew him just as well. Abhinav and Prithvi seemed determined to bring up every embarrassing memory he would have preferred to remain buried—his drunken mistakes, his foolish attempts at pursuing his late wife, and even the time he had kissed a woman twice his age simply because his friends had dared him to.

Adiraj's ears burned with embarrassment as he repeatedly tried to make them stop and steer the conversation toward something he was far more comfortable discussing—business, money, anything that didn't involve his younger self making a fool of him.