The moment he uttered the last sentence out loud, he willed it back. Damn! He should never have said that. With eyes popping out of their sockets, Ana was looking at him like he’d grown another head, her shock so apparent that her hand flew to her mouth in open dismay. He did not want her pity.He stared fixedly at a spot behind her on the wall, flushing every emotion so as to draw a blank in his mind, the way he’d always done as a child, in an attempt to survive. Like he’d done when he’d entered his mother’s shabby apartment, knowing that something had been wrong even before setting foot inside. At fourteen, he’d lacked enough maturity to understand the enormity of the situation, thinking that his parents had had a lover’s tiff, and his only concern had been that he didn’t want to lose his mother.So, the weekend which had followed, Devin had stealthily visited her against his father’s wishes, to persuade her to come back home. Surely her love for them wouldn’t be so consequential
A shoot of pain darted through Ana as she heard his savvy answer, a mere monosyllable with no flowery explanations, no pacification. There was not even an iota of remorse on his face or demeanor to indicate that he’d regretted his vile act, or that he was at least a tiny little bit sorry for having ditched her so heartlessly.She found herself imagining how the alternative would have resulted in, trapped in a loveless marriage with someone who hated her with all his might. While she was doomed to love only one man, there would never have been the merest hope that he would one day reciprocate her feelings. How pathetic was that?It seemed that she’d been spared a worse fate, even if it sounded weird. Hooked to a self-destructive man, one who was ready to trade his life in exchange for retribution, would have been the perfect recipe for total disaster.Except that the situation had not changed, only the victim. Instead of going after her, Dev was going to ruin her sister’s life with his
Hungry kisses rained between them, lips locking in vehement desperation until the passion started to inevitably steam up several notches too high. Insatiable in their quests, their mouths explored each other with a familiarity which was as scary as exhilarating. It seemed like their instincts recognized what their stubborn hearts were deliberately denying.Dev felt his iron-clad control slip through his hand when she touched him on his chest, the imprint of her palm affecting him like a burning furnace would. Groaning in iniquitous delight, he resisted the urge to rip her nightdress apart – a feeling which had ingrained itself in his mind ever since he’d seen the sexy black number on her. Like a gawky teenager, he fumbled inside needing the feel of her soft skin, and nearly howled when the straps fell from her shoulders granting him copious access.A frenzied excitement caught up with him, like a teenage jubilation awaiting his most precious gift, something he’d never experienced with
The week which followed passed so quickly that Ana felt like time was sifting through her hands like sand dust. Thankfully, she was gradually recovering from her ailing predicament, the aftereffects of her medications fading, and her drugged state improving. A condition she couldn’t associate to her deteriorating relationship with Dev.Although he’d regularly been visiting her, sleeping on a chair within confined space, dutifully bringing her flowers and chocolates, Ana could literally feel his withdrawal. It was scary and not to mention eerie that she was so attuned to him that she could read his mental affliction. Not a word had been spoken about their torrid lovemaking, both tiptoeing around the issue, and she knew it was merely the eye before the storm.Feeling like she was walking on eggshells around him, she was stunned when one fine day, without any prior warning or insinuation, he burst into her room with someone in toe. His announcement was even more uncalled for when without
With a sense of premonition, Devin held a glass of whisky in hand and stared broodingly at the A4 white envelope lying on his office’s desk, recently being delivered by a peon from Angel Agency. After three weeks of total silence, not even a word from her had been heard, he was facing a new challenge with apprehension, not wanting to know the content of the file.More than once, he’d been sorely tempted to call her under the pretext of informing about the status of her new mission. She’d been so adamant, so determined the last time they’d spoken that he felt like she was literally throwing him out of her life. What sane woman wouldn’t? What woman would want to deal with a monster like him for more than strictly necessary?Had she succeeded in her quest? Had she acquired the properties he would have given his life to possess only one month ago? Was that her final memorandum that she was sending him? A white envelope clearing his dues, with the subtle message to get the hell out of her
Eyes darting furtively across the room, Ana tried not to let it seem too conspicuous that she was searching for Dev who seemed to have vanished into thin air. It was silly that she was trying to avoid him, but any sign of weakness would be a dead giveaway that she cared.Why did she care anyway? She deserved so much better than an asshole carrying around a revenge agenda against some crime she hadn’t committed.Mood spoilt with self-recrimination, she returned back to her apartment, after having succumbed to the temptation of asking around for Dev. The guard had duly informed her that the latter’s car was no longer in the parking lot which had inexorably meant that he was already gone. Puzzled, she tried to figure out the reason for his second reappearance in her life although she had a pretty good idea. It was to thank her for returning back his bloody money.However, she was not in the mood to attach any undue importance to that man that evening. The mention of her mother’s name had
“There must be some mistake,” Dev announced to the lawyer as he entered his office dumping the files on his table along with his huge body on the chair opposite.Jeremy Miller stared at him for a second, before lifting the documents he’d flung on his table and presenting them towards him. “No mistake, young man. Anastasia specifically sent over the two transfer papers in guise of compensation for your family’s loss.”Her selfless act only served to fuel his anger. How dared she undermine what they had shared by paying him off like a vulgar gigolo? How dared she?“Really? How is she going to pay back for the other things we’ve suffered?” he inquired with sufficient amount of sarcasm to make the lawyer sit back in his chair and give him undivided attention. Trying not to squirm under the scrutiny, Dev frowned furiously to give more credulence to his anger. “You tell Ana that she will never be able to atone what her father did to my family.”Miller still stared at him with fascination,
It hadn’t been easy pushing Dev away so heartlessly, but Ana simply couldn’t give him what he was asking for. Forgiveness. She didn’t know if she had it in her to exonerate him for his crimes. It was asking too much of her - she wasn’t that much of a saint.Besides, he must have found out the whole truth from Uncle Jeremy, and that was probably the reason why he’d landed on her doorstep so early in the morning. A guilty conscience had the ability to meddle one’s head. But it was okay – she was okay now. Now that she’d settled that debt, she would find the force to continue her life without any ounce of happiness on horizon, wouldn’t she?Then, why did she feel that horribly heavy burden in her heart? Like someone had taken hold of the organ and wouldn’t let go? Bygones were bygones. Now, they both had to look forward to the future, but whatever life she was envisaging without him seemed bleak.Was she ever going to outlive that jinx? The curse of loving a man who simply didn’t deserve