Page 135 of Illicit Games

Her face instantly brightens with hope. “Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me.”

“I have so many questions for you.”

“Ask them, please,” she urges earnestly. “I’ll tell you everything you wish to know.”

“Where did you grow up? You said you had no one when you became pregnant with me.”

“My parents died when I was young. I went to live with my aunt and her husband. Everything was good for the first two years. Once I was fifteen, things began to go downhill. My uncle lost his high-profile job, started drinking, which turned into addiction, and he became abusive.” A sheen covers her eyes as she sinks into the turbulent memory. “He started to take out his anger on me and my aunt. She wasn’t brave enough to leave him, scared of what society might say, and I was stuck with them. Assoon as I turned eighteen and got accepted into a decent college on a scholarship, I didn’t look back.”

“I am sorry to hear that,” I say calmly, even as anger burns through my veins. I could never hit a woman, certainly not in rage. Men like that are scum.

Wiping a tear, she smiles, “I studied hard and focused on my career. In college, I never paid attention to boys and kept to myself. Once I began earning a steady income and had a roof over my head, I yearned for more. It’s why I fell so easily for Rakesh’s lies. After I lost you, I couldn’t hold on to a job and fell into a deep depression. The pain of never getting to hold you, even once, was too much for me to bear. It took me years to cope with the loss of you. By then, I had lost the will to build a career. I just wanted a simple job, enough for food and rent. I’m truly sorry for abandoning you. I wish I was braver to fight for you. It’s the one and only regret of my life.”

Hearing the regret and pain in her voice, the lingering anger dissipates. I reach for her frail hand. “I forgive you. I know how much power my grandfather had; you could’ve never won against him.”

She sucks in a few breaths to gather her emotions. Holding on to my hand tightly, she smiles and switches the topic. “Would you tell me about your brother? You said you used to be close to him.”

I lean back, rubbing a hand across my jaw. “He doesn’t know the truth. He’s hated me ever since I left him. He reached out to me a couple of times, but he was young when I was kicked out and I didn’t want to complicate his world, so I kept my distance. I thought once he grew older, I’d explain, but there’s too much bad blood between us now.”

“Is it because of Iris?” Her tone is careful and judgment-free. “She was engaged to him when she met you.”

“They weren’t in love. It was a marriage of convenience.”

“May I ask how my coming forward will help?”

I contemplate how much to share with her. Then I realize that if I wish to let her in, I need to trust her. “My grandfather left a will. Whoever gets married first will have the controlling shares in Singhania and Sons as well as a seat on the board. Nathan thinks I’m going to steal the company from him. Making Iris mine didn’t help either. I want to eradicate his fears by telling him I’m the illegitimate son. That he’s worrying for no reason. I want him to stop coming after Iris and my relationship.”

My mother blinks, processing it all. Focusing on me, she says, “Would he be willing to listen to you? After I tell him my story, will he believe me?”

Our honesty won’t be enough for him. He’d think I’m tricking him. I’d probably react the same if I were in his position.

“We’re going to give him irrefutable proof.”

***

“Do you think he’ll come?” Iris asks.

I tuck her hair behind her ear. “He’ll show up.”

This conversation has been a long time coming. I’m ready to say my piece, tell my story, and after that, I’m done. I’m putting the tragic parts of my life to rest. It’s what Iris deserves. Our future won’t be tainted by treacherous secrets.

It took ten days to get the proof I needed before I invited Nathan to meet me at The Mirage on my night off. I picked my club for a reason. It’s the one place where our father will not catch wind of our meeting. He cannot know that I found my biological mother.

Not until it’s time to strike.

Again, it all depends on how tonight goes.

“You don’t have to be here if you don’t want to,” I offer to Iris, skimming my fingers up and down her thighs as she sits onmy desk. Wearing a yellow-and-orange summer dress, cinched at the top with a flowy skirt, she looks stunning.

Her hair falls in rivulets to the tops of her tits, those cute bangs of hers making her look innocent and tempting.

She places her palm on mine. “I’m not going anywhere.”

My gaze flicks to my computer beside her. I watch Nathan enter the social room on the live security feed. “He’s here.”

Iris slides off my desk and stands beside me with a hand on my shoulder. Together, we watch Nathan stroll deeper inside the club and pause near the red door, which leads to the private section. The guard scans his card to let him inside.

I look up from the screen to the open doorway of my office just as he appears in it. His cold eyes lock on Iris first, concealing whether he’s shocked or not at her presence, before they flit to mine and darken.