Page 65 of Born in Sin

Celina was speechless. How had they gone from his head in her lap to this?

“No,” she said, her voice low and hard. “I won’t listen to my mother and I won’t listen to you. I am my own person with a functioning brain. I choose who I want in my life. And I choose you dammit.”

She stepped forward, slamming her palms into his chest and giving him a hard shove. She took him by surprise and had him stumbling back.

“I. Choose. You.”

Virat closed his eyes, his face a pained mask. She saw his hands clench into fists at his side.

“I will always choose you,” she said now, her voice softer. “I’ve told you a million times but I will say it again so it gets into your thick skull. I will never leave you, Virat Jha. You want to be rid of me? You’ll have to leave me then. Because I will never leave you.”

She threw herself at him, arms going around him, her face burrowing into his chest and holding on tight. “I will never leave you,” she whispered again.

For a long second, his hands hung at his side and then they came around her, holding on to her like his life depended on it.

“Celi,” he whispered. “I-“

A laugh floated over on the breeze. There was someone in the grove at the far end of the field. The trees grew too thick over there for whoever was hiding out to be visible but Virat glanced that way anyway. The lines in his face deepened, a tortured expression darkening it.

“What is it?” she asked. When he didn’t reply, she added, “Who is it?”

She didn’t think he’d answer but he did.

“I’ve been told it’s a ghost.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

CARA

She leaned against the rickety wooden table in the middle of the hall and stared at the screen on which Majid’s home was projected up. The furniture might be basic but the technology in the room was top notch.

On the screen, Majid was staring at his phone, one hand covering his mouth. She could see a corner of the photograph that Virat had sent him, the one of the girl she had been meant to be.

As she watched, the front door open and the rest of the Dusty Devils trooped in. Naveen, Ashish and Parash sat down and a heated conversation ensued. Majid had skimped on his security system and while his CCTV cameras had video there was no audio. Cheap ass. She watched him glance at her picture again. Fake ass.

The bedroom door opened, and Virat came out, his phone still in his hand. He looked calm but she saw familiar lines carving themselves into his face as his mind whirled. He walked over to where she stood, his gaze like hers on the screen.

“Emergency meeting,” he murmured.

She nodded. “Looks like it.”

Shourya, Virat’s team member, came in and gestured Virat over to where he stood by the door. Virat leaned a shoulder against the wall, head bent as he listened to what Shourya was saying. This was the first time she was actually watching Virat in his element. A fixer operated in the shadows, his very existence a mystery. And this was Virat…He’d been born a mystery.

“Hey Car.” Kabir approached her, pointing at her face.

Puzzled, Cara patted her face. “What?”

He used his thumb to brush the side of her lip gently, bending his head to murmur, “Nothing darling. Just a little drool. Stop staring at the man like he’s a prime slab of beef steak.”

“I’m vegetarian,” she told him coolly, pinching him under the cover of his shirt. She turned away with a small smile, only for her gaze to clash with Virat’s burning one. A blink and the tempest she’d glimpsed in his gaze vanished. He gave her a cool nod and turned back to Shourya who was still talking at a rapid pace. Another young girl entered the room, joining their conversation. Whatever she said had Virat’s entire body going rigid. Worry slid through Cara as she saw his fingers twitch by his side.

“You’re staring again baby girl.” Kabir’s annoyingly sing song voice had her frowning at him.

“Stop it!” She hissed.

“You stop it!” He hissed back theatrically.

“Excuse me.” Virat interrupted their hissing contest. “We have news.”