Page 68 of Married in Vengeance

But as the car drove past his motionless form, she did look. Not at the man who’d broken her but at the man she loved.

And watching him watch her leave and not say a word to stop her broke her all over again.

Thirty-Seven

RAM

Ram staredinto his glass of whiskey, endless thoughts and recriminations swirling through his head. A sole lamp on his nightstand glowed, the only light in the room. He couldn’t stand to look at himself or his deeds any clearer than that.

His bedroom door clicked open, the sound loud in the quiet of the room.

“Do I want to know what you did?” Veda stood, silhouetted against the entrance to his bedroom.

“No.” Ram shook his head.

Veda came in and shut the door behind her, reaching for the light switch.

“Don’t.” He needed the shadows to survive the night.

Veda’s hand dropped away from the switch, her face softening with a mix of pity and compassion. This sister of his had an endless well of compassion. Which is probably why she’d been sent to see to him rather than the other one.

She settled herself on the bed beside him, drawing her legs up and sitting cross legged, her cotton kurta flaring out around her.

“How bad is it?” she asked, plumping the pillows behind her and making herself comfortable.

“Very.”

“Fixable?”

“No.”

“You’re sure?” She looked at him, her endless optimism grating against his misery and self-flagellation.

Ram turned his head to the side and glared at her.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked, not wilting in the least under his glare.

“There is no plan.”

“Of course there is,” she countered. “You’re Ram Gadde. You always have a plan.”

“Not this time. I’m done.”

“So, you’re going to sit here in the dark like a vampire and drink yourself silly?”

He didn’t deign to reply to that. Sitting in the dark like a vampire and soaking his liver in whiskey sounded good to him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked now. His sister was nothing but persistent.

“No.” He bit the word out. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about it.

Veda fell silent, her thoughtful gaze on his averted profile. Shame washed through him at the way he was behaving. Sighing, he said, “I should explain myself to her first. Explain and apologise. I can’t talk to anyone else about it before I do that.”

“Do you think it will make a difference?”

“No, Vedu. It’s over. Nothing I say or do will make a difference.”

“But you’ll still do it?” There was nothing but gentle curiosity in her voice.

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