Page 83 of The Ex Factor

“Which is it? Couldn’t, wouldn’t, or didn’t?”

“I mean, you don’t seem like the person who’d go dancing in a club.”

“Who said anything about a club?”

“Where then?”

“It’s a charity event, a ball of sorts.”

She burst out laughing. I heard her heels as she stepped away from her crew, and then I heard the sounds of the streets.

“Did you laugh at the image of me dancing at a ball?” I asked.

“No, I just flashed back to the debutant events Dad insisted on me attending.”

“Then you can dance, can’t you?”

“Oh, I can dance!” I heard the twinkle in her voice. “I just didn’t know you could.”

“Could or did?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does. If I couldn’t, I wouldn’t be able to at all. If I could but didn’t, I certainly would with you.”

“Sujit, this wordplay is getting tedious, and I have a lot on my plate today.”

“All right, I’ll pick you up at seven on Saturday, and it’s a black tie.”

“Saturday?” she said and went silent.

“Why? Are you busy?”

“Saturday is Christmas Eve.”

“Yes, it is a holiday party,” I argued.

“It is the wedding day,” she said with some ire. “Sujit, I told you it’s best if I am alone.”

“And I told you, you won’t be alone. Can you trust me on this one?”

“Haven’t I repeatedly told you that I trust you? I’ve trusted you since the first time I saw you at the hotel bar.” The annoyance in her voice was loud and clear.

“And that is the troubling part, isn't it?” I softly completed her statement.

“It is,” she said with a gentle sigh.

I let the silence hold between us before I spoke again. “Can I ask you something? Seriously, this time.”

She hummed in response.

“Are you uncomfortable about being seen with me at a public event with the press involved? Especially on Saturday?”

She sighed. “How much did you hear of what my brother said that day?”

“Enough to get the gist of it.”

“They feel it’s an embarrassment for them and should be shameful for us.”

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