Her eyes glued to the other man, she said, ‘Chandra. What are you doing here?’
‘The hospital called me.’
‘They did? Why?’
‘I am down as your emergency contact still.’ The man moved closer, his white teeth flashing nervously, his voice slightly accented, but not so much that Flynn believed he was recently arrived from India. ‘I called your Taaii Ameera.’
‘You did?’
‘She wanted to come but she has a big wedding fitting today. But she told me to tell you she’d come to help if you needed her.’
‘She did?’
‘Of course. She worries about you.’
‘I thought I was in her bad books.’
‘She may not approve of some of the choices you’ve made, but she does love you.’
Prita snorted. ‘She has a funny way of showing it.’ She frowned. ‘I still don’t understand why you’re here.’
He shrugged, the gesture made with his hands as much as his shoulders. ‘You’re my wife. I came to look after you and to bring you home.’
‘He’s your husband?’ Flynn asked at the same time as she said, ‘I’m not going home with you.’
They all stared at each other for a long moment before Flynn asked again, ‘He’s your husband?’
‘Yes.’
Damn. What hope did he have against someone who looked like this bloke did?
What was he saying? He didn’t want to have a chance. And yet, he couldn’t help the jealousy that arose at the affectionate way she’d looked at Chandra when he’d come in the door. The sad longing. Why on earth weren’t they still together?
Not that it mattered to him in the slightest. ‘Perhaps I should let you two talk.’ He took a step away from the bed.
‘No!’ Prita said so loudly, Chandra jumped a little. ‘I want you to stay.’
‘You two obviously have things to discuss.’
‘We have nothing to discuss.’
‘Prita,’ Chandra tried again. ‘You didn’t respond to my last request.’
‘There’s nothing to respond to. You know my thoughts.’
Chandra’s perfect features screwed up so he looked like a pouting child. ‘But you have to come back. My family is on my side in this. So is yours. Nobody understands why you took responsibility for that child. This isn’t like you going away on one of your work assignments. This feels like it’s permanent. How am I supposed to explain that?’
‘Tell them you don’t want a child and I do. Or that we’re working out our differences. Or we need a break. Your choice.’
A sour look crossed his face. ‘Your father should have taken him.’
‘You know that’s impossible.’
‘But it’s ruining everything we planned.’
‘Plans change.’
‘Prita.’ He sounded like a whiny child. ‘What we had was so good. Why would you ruin it like this?’
The whiny tone was getting on Flynn’s nerves, but it just seemed to turn Prita into stone. Her arms tightened around her middle, her jaw squared as she met her husband’s accusatory gaze.
‘It was good for you, Chandra, and I went along with it because I love you.’
Sucker punched, Flynn took a step back.
‘I love you too,’ Chandra said while Flynn was still processing her words. ‘So why would you ruin that?’
Her voice husky with emotion, she said, ‘Chandra, don’t you think it’s time to stop living this lie?’ She looked down at her hands. ‘It’s hurting you and Vivaan … and me.’ Back up at him. ‘I didn’t realise it until Carter came along, but we were stupid to think it would solve anything.’
Vivaan? Living a lie? Flynn felt like he needed to get a hold of something to steady himself, their words whipping around him. He shouldn’t be here. Should walk out of the room. But he couldn’t move as Chandra stepped closer to Prita, his hands outstretched like he was pleading with her.
‘It gave you what you needed for all these years.’
‘Yes, it did. And it gave you the ability to be with the man you love. But I can’t do that anymore. I won’t do that anymore. Not to myself and not to Carter.’ She looked up at him. ‘I want a family.’
‘We are your family.’
‘It’s not enough.’
‘What is enough?’
‘What I’ve got now. With Carter.’
‘What if I agree to be Carter’s dad?’
Prita made a chopping motion with her hands, eyes flashing. ‘Don’t you dare use that beautiful little boy. I let you use me, because I understand how hard this is for you, but I won’t let you use him.’
Chandra put his hands up. ‘Okay. Okay. Sorry.’
Prita sighed, her anger visibly dropping away as quickly as it had come. ‘So am I, Chandra, and that’s why I say this to you. You love Vivaan. You should be with him.’
‘I am with him.’
‘No. Not like you are. You should stop lying and be with him, out in the open. It’s not fair on any of us to keep pretending to be in a relationship with me. It’s not healthy, what you’re doing.’
‘You know I can’t do that. It would destroy my family. Besides, they’d disinherit me.’
‘I know all that, Chan. Don’t you think I know that?’
He kept talking as if he hadn’t heard her. ‘My whole family is saying I need to make you come home or divorce you.’
‘Then divorce me, because I’m not coming home. I’ve bought my own house and started my own practice. I’m staying right here.’
He looked like he was going to cry as he stood there, wringing his hands. ‘You put us in this position. You fix it.’
‘There’s no fixing it, Chandra. Can’t you see? We don’t want the same things anymore. We never really did. Marrying to fool our families into believing we were something we’re not isn’t helping anything. Neither of us were happy and don’t you want to be happy?’
They glared at each other for long silent moments while Flynn’s mind spun around everything he’d heard, finally landing on one truth. ‘You’re pretending to be married?’
Prita’s gaze shot to him, like she’d forgotten he was there. Her hand covered her mouth, but not before he heard her muffled, ‘Oh god.’ Her gaze opened even wider, pleading. ‘Please don’t tell anyone you heard any of this. I don’t want anyone knowing. Especially Carter.’
Carter? What did this have to do with Carter? But he didn’t ask now, simply saying, ‘I won’t. You know I wouldn’t.’
She nodded, but she still looked worried, and exhausted.
‘Do you want me to go?’
‘No.’ Her gaze flickered to Chandra. ‘I want you to go.’
Chandra crossed his arms, firming his stance. ‘We’re not finished our discussion.’
‘We’re finished. There’s nothing more to say.’
She began to cough then, the talking, the emotion, too much for her right now. He felt her frustration, her shame, before she even lifted her head, eyes pleading with him to do something. This is why she’d asked him to stay. Maybe she thought his presence would stop this conversation from happening. He sure as shit wished it had. He didn’t want to hear any more. It wasn’t only that it was too personal, or the fact she’d never mentioned any of this—that hurt more than it should, even though he knew all about not wanting to talk about things that hurt. But he hated seeing her like this, so small and defeated, not like the Prita he’d come to admire so much at all. And this man, he was part of having made her like this. A big part, according to what he’d just overheard.
He wanted to take the prick by the lapels of his expensive jacket and throw him out the door. But, of course, that would do nothing but create an even bigger scene and that was the last thing Prita needed right now. She’d been through enough. And he wasn’t going to stand here letting her be dragged through the ringer by this shithead who called himself her husband any longer.
‘Look.’ He took a step towards Chandra, somehow gratified that the o
ther man took a hasty step back. ‘You’re upsetting Prita. I think you should go.’
‘Who are you? What right do you have to tell me to go?’
‘I’m her … friend. I care about her—which is more than I can say about you at the moment, you selfish prick.’
‘Selfish! I’m not the one who’s being selfish. She’s the one who’s destroying everything with her selfishness.’
‘Selfishness!’ Prita choked out. ‘Just because I want a life of my own? Just because I want to be a mother to a little boy who needs me? I’m selfish?’
‘Yes. Selfish. You’re taking away my rights to be with the man I love.’
‘I’m not taking away anything. You can still be with Vivaan.’
‘He’s had to move out. It was raising eyebrows that the two of us were living together for so long and you not coming back. It didn’t mesh with the story of him being your friend.’
Her shoulders slumped and she looked grey with exhaustion. ‘That was always a stupid story. I don’t believe your family or mine ever truly fell for it. I’m pretty sure they know you’re gay, Chandra. How could they not? I know it’s hard, but it would be so much better if you just came out. The hiding who you are is making you miserable. It’s sure as hell making Vivaan miserable. He still calls me every week to talk about it. He wants me to force the issue because he knows you won’t.’
He stiffened. ‘Even if that’s true—which it isn’t—you’re both wrong. My family could never be seen to accept who I truly am even if they personally do. And you promised you would never give me away.’
‘I promised I would support you with whatever decision you made. You asked me to help you hide your sexuality from them so I did. I’m not going to break that promise. I’m not trying to out you, I just want you to ask yourself what you truly want.’
‘I want you to come back.’
‘That’s not what I meant and you know it. My coming back will solve nothing. In fact, it will just make us all more miserable. I’m not doing that to myself or Carter anymore. I can’t. And you asking me to is unfair.’
‘I’m not unfair. You’re being unfair!’
He sounded so much like Aaron when he was acting like a spoiled brat that Flynn almost burst out laughing.
Almost.
He was too furious now, too aware of how exhausted Prita was, how much she was desperately holding herself together in front of this man. He couldn’t allow this to go on any longer. ‘Look, mate. If you don’t leave now, I’m going to call the hospital security and ask them to escort you out.’
‘Why would they escort me out? I’m her husband.’
‘As I said before, you’re upsetting her and this is a hospital. The patient is king. They won’t care who you are if you’re causing her to relapse.’
‘Prita’s never been sick a day in her life.’
‘She’s not sick, you arsehole. Her house burned down. She’s suffering from shock and smoke inhalation.’
‘You’ve lost your house?’
Flynn almost growled at the light that flared to life in the other man’s eyes, his fingers curling at his side, ready once more to punch someone—and what the hell was with that? Prior to last month, he’d never been a violent man. He roped in the violent need and said through his teeth, ‘Show some compassion, mate. Surely this shit you’ve dragged her into could wait a few days until she recovers.’
‘But if she doesn’t have a house, she needs to come home with me.’
‘I’m not coming home with you.’
‘You’ve got nowhere else to go.’
Despite the fact they’d already discussed the loss of her house, he saw the impact of it hit Prita—face paling, shoulders slumping, the wince she couldn’t hide. Before he could help himself, he reached out and took her hand again. ‘She’s coming home with me.’
‘What? Who the hell are you?’
‘I’m her lover. That’s who I am.’
‘What?’
Two sets of shocked eyes looked at him. He couldn’t blame them. He’d shocked himself.
Chandra was the first to recover. ‘Prita might have slept around as a teen, but she’s not that kind of girl anymore. She wouldn’t be your lover unless she …’ His eyes flared wide. ‘Is that it? Are you being this stubborn because you love him?’
Prita blanched, her gaze skipping to Flynn then away as she said, ‘No. How could I? You know my feelings about that. But I’m entitled to sleep with someone, the same as you.’
Chandra looked between them and down at their clasped hands. ‘But, but, you said you never wanted to have sex again because you couldn’t stand the thought of someone touching you that way. Not after—’
‘Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!’
‘Not after what?’ Flynn’s mind was spinning even more now. Had someone done something to her? Had she been raped? He felt sick and yet, at the same time, he’d never wanted to kill someone as much as he wanted to kill whatever bastard had put his hands on Prita without consent.
She must have seen the question on his face because she began to shake her head. ‘It’s not what you think.’
‘You never told him?’ Chandra laughed. ‘Well, I guess you’re not as close as you think you are.’
‘If you don’t shut up now, Chandra, I am going to start divorce proceedings and then we’ll see who’s laughing.’
‘You wouldn’t.’
‘Try me.’ She started coughing again, gasping for breath. Flynn put his arm around her, rubbing her back, worried at the way she slumped against him, hardly seeming to have the strength to hold herself upright.
‘Prita?’ The bastard had stepped closer again. ‘Prita, you can’t go home with this man. Come home with me. We’ll sort this out together.’
Prita shook her head, tried to speak, but couldn’t stop coughing long enough to get the words out.
Worried, Flynn hit the buzzer for the nurse and looked up at Chandra. ‘I’ve called the nurse. You better be gone before she gets here.’
‘But I …’
‘Go. Prita’s not your concern now.’
He hovered for a moment, his mouth working, eyes flashing, but then he nodded. ‘This isn’t finished though, Prita. You know that. I’m going to stay until you’ve come to your senses and come home with me. I won’t even complain if you bring that child—although you should call your father and get him to take on his share of the responsibilities as he should have from the start.’
‘Get out,’ Flynn said, voice shaking with the effort not to yell, to let go of Prita and physically take the arsehole and throw him into the hallway.
Chandra muttered something in a language Flynn didn’t understand, and then almost ran out the door.
The nurse came in a moment later, hurrying over and putting a face mask on Prita to give her more oxygen. ‘Breathe. Slow and steady. That’s right.’
Flynn kept stroking Prita’s back, relieved when she stopped coughing and she began to breathe more easily. ‘Thank you.’
‘What happened?’
Prita went to pull the mask off, but the nurse said, ‘Nuh-uh. You need to breathe properly with no more coughing fits if you want to go home today.’
‘But I—’
‘Uh-uh, no arguing with the nurse or I’ll write this episode up and we’ll see how far that gets you outside that door.’
Prita slipped the mask back into place and waved her hands, indicating she was doing exactly as she was told.
The nurse nodded, a smile flickering on the corners of her mouth. ‘You doctors make the worst patients, I swear.’ She turned with barely taking a breath herself and asked Flynn, ‘Did something upset her?’
‘She had a visitor she didn’t want. I had to ask him to leave.’
‘Good idea. As you know, we need to keep her quiet and relaxed.’
‘Is it okay if I stay with her for a while, though? I don’t think she wants to be alone right now.’
Prita nodded as the nurse looked to her for
confirmation.
The nurse smiled and patted his arm. ‘You’re a good boyfriend, Mr Findlay.’
‘I’m not her …’
But he was interrupted by a voice over the intercom calling a code. ‘Crap,’ the nurse said, then made a ‘sorry’ face. ‘I’ve got to go. Buzz again if she has any more difficulties.’ Then she was gone.
Leaving him alone with Prita again. She reached for his hand, squeezed. He understood. She was thanking him. She never needed to do that though. He would do anything for her. She should know that. Although, the way he’d been behaving lately, perhaps she didn’t. Perhaps she shouldn’t. If she had been attacked or molested enough to be turned off men, and yet he’d gone and kissed her anyway, it’s a wonder she wanted him around at all.
Although, the kissing had been mutual. So, whatever had happened to her, it wasn’t something that stopped her from feeling passion. He wanted to ask, needed to ask, or it was going to rob him of the little sleep he already had at this time of year, and yet, how did you ask someone about something like that?
Fuck, why were things so bloody complicated? He longed for the days when he knew what was coming and could face it head on, no complications, no sticky emotions, no bubbling blackness under the surface, threatening to rise and swallow him whole.
And now this. So much about Prita made sense now, and yet, so much was even more complicated.
Instead of saying any of it though, he simply nodded and said, ‘I won’t let him bother you again. You’ll be safe at CoalCliff with me.’
She pushed the mask aside, lips pursed to say something.
‘No,’ he said, trying to take the mask from her and put it back in place. ‘You heard what the nurse said. You shouldn’t talk.’
She shook her head, pushed the mask away again, her lips moving, finger gesturing for him to lean in closer. Giving up arguing the point with her—she could be so bloody stubborn—he leaned down and put his ear near her mouth.
‘You don’t need to. Have me. And Carter. My personal life. Is a disaster zone. Always has been. I don’t want. You to put up. With Chandra too. He won’t stop. Coming around. We’ll find. Something. Else.’
He leaned back and stared into her eyes, his own stubbornness rising to the surface. ‘Like bloody hell you will. You’re coming home with me. No arguments. Now rest, or you won’t be going anywhere else today but this bed.’
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