Page 72 of My Sinner

He lifted his gaze to meet hers. “What do you want from me?”

“I want to talk.”

“And while I like this role reversal ofyouaching to talk tome, Avantika, I’m too hurt by you.”

“What did you expect?” She threw her hands in the air. “I couldn’t just tell you about Neil. You’ve been bad guy number one since years. I didn’t trust you. And later…”

“…and later, you allowed me inside your body, but you didn’t trust me enough to tell me that I have a son?”

Her cheeks reddened, and her lips parted at his harsh reminder of their sensuous lovemaking in London. Even thinking of the two of them tangled together like that made her skin tingle.

And their last kiss? She’d spent the last two days recalling that sizzling hot kiss he’d given her before he’d slammed the door on her face.

Avantika took a shaky breath. “It’s not the same, okay? I was willing to hear you out first, and then I would have decided.”

“Which still doesn’t give me a guarantee that you would have told me about him.”

“I’m tired of all you men,” she snapped. “You refuse to talk to me because I didn’t tell you about Neil, and my brothers are not talking to me because I told Neil about you.”

“Your deception is like a thorn stuck under my skin,” Dev said. “Its sting worsens with every passing second. You categorically chose to keep me in the dark about Neil even after everything that transpired between us. You never gave me a chance. I doubt you ever will.”

“I am willing, Dev.” She gentled her tone. “Let’s talk about the past and clear it out once and for all. I saw your scars. I believe that something drastic happened to you, too, back then. Talk to me, please.”

“No.”

She frowned. “What do you mean no?”

“I don’t trust you to hear me out fairly. You and your brothers have already judged me and declared me guilty, and now I’m no longer certain you will ever believe a word of what I say. Why should I put myself out there only to be disappointed again?”

“Then you need to figure out whether you want to take a chance on me or not. I sure am willing to take a chance on you.”

His eyes narrowed, yet he didn’t say anything. Seeing him so fixated on this, she let it go for now. She would take it up later, however. She sighed. The topics that needed to be discussed later and were getting put off, only seemed to be piling up.

“You need to talk to Sanjana as well,” she said. “She misses you, and I know she’s been very upset as well.”

“Not that upset if she’s planning Aaryan’s birthday party.”

“That’s not fair, and you know it.”

He didn’t reply.

“She’s always stood up for you, you know,” Avantika told him. “Even after Aaryan told her about the past. She’s never once believed you were evil. She has so much faith that you did what you did back then because you had a reason. Don’t exclude her from your life.”

Dev pressed his lips together, still not saying anything.

“She chose me, Dev, not Aaryan, as you believe it to be, even though she wouldn’t be wrong to choose him. She promised me she wouldn’t tell anyone about Neil, and she stood by it. So, if anyone is to be blamed here, it’s me.”

His continued silence was pissing the life out of her. The man was stubborn as a bull.

She sighed. “I’m going to attend Aaryan’s party. If you have even an ounce of a brain in that stubborn head of yours, you should come too. You need to talk to your sister, and I have to sort things with my brothers.”

His lips tightened, but he didn’t say a word, focusing on his laptop screen instead. What was she to make of it? God! He was exasperating when he wanted to be. She’d become too used to his constant teasing, his arguing and his cheeky replies to tolerate this annoying silence now. Frustrated, she lifted the first thing she saw on the table, but before she could launch it at him, he lifted his head and arched a brow.

“Your hand-eye coordination surely hasn’t improved since the last time you threw something at me,” Dev began, “so unless you want to break something in your house, I suggest you put that candlestick down.”

Damn, he was right. She looked at the candlestick in her hand and dropped it on the table with a thud.

She rose, and walked away in a huff. His amused chuckle followed her, grating her nerves, and she gave in to that urge that had been itching for too long. She lifted a book from the side table and tossed it at him. He didn’t even need to duck as it sailed way above his head and fell behind him.

---