Page 65 of Born in Ruin

“And that’s it?” she asked, walking over to yank on his arm and turn him around, forcing him to face her. “Just let it be?”

“Yes,” he said harshly. “What is it you want me to do? Grovel? Beg for forgiveness? Fall to my knees in front of her?”

“Yes, yes and yes!” Dhrithi shoved him, her palm to his chest. “What is wrong with you?”

“Everything.” The stark truth lay between them. “She deserves better, okay?”

“Sure she does.” Again with the easy agreement. “But she wants you, you idiot.”

“What’s going on here? Why are the two of you shouting?” Amay’s cautious voice had them both glancing towards the door.Virat stood behind him, eyebrows raised, taking in the sight of Dhrithi and Ishaan squaring off.

“Your friend is an idiot.” Dhrithi told Amay moving to where he stood. He wrapped his arm around her and drew her close.

“We know,” he said, not bothering to refute it for a moment. “But we love him anyway.”

“Gee thanks!” Ishaan snapped. “For the charity wrapped in the name of friendship.”

He shouldered past Virat, bypassed the lift and headed for the stairs. He heard his friends calling his name but he really wasn’t in the mood right now. There was only one person whose voice he wanted to hear and he was pretty sure that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. She’d rather see him dipped in acid than come by to help him feel better.

He took the stairs two at a time until he made it to his floor. He had his head down, laptop tucked under his arm, and his brain going a mile a minute and that’s why he didn’t see her until the last moment.

“Ishaan.”

His mother’s faltering voice had him coming to a grinding halt. Could this day get any worse?

“Mom.” He stared at her. “What are you doing here?”

She stared at him sadly. “We need to talk.”

“Do you need more money? You could have just sent me a message. I would have transferred it.”

He didn’t think it was possible but her eyes got even sadder. “I don’t need more money. You’ve sent us more than enough.”

“Then why are you here?” he asked her bluntly.

“You won’t come to us so I had to come to you.” Her eyes filled with tears but she blinked them back. “Can we please talk inside?”

He unlocked the door in silence, leading her in. He stood to one side watching her take in the luxurious space.

“Is he dying?” he asked, the words dropping into the silent space like rocks through glass.

His mother flinched. “No,” she said quietly. “Your father isn’t dying. Sorry to disappoint you.”

Ishaan met her gaze levelly. He wouldn’t let her shame him. She’d always protected his father, even at their worst, she’d been the loyal wife. She’d just forgotten to be the same type of mother for her children. She might not have caused their problems but she’d sure as hell enabled his father into his downward spiral.

“I’m sorry,” she said now. “For how things played out in the past, Ishaan. But it is the past. You have to let it go.”

“If you had to do it over, again, would you make the same choices?”

She hesitated. He saw it, the flicker of shame in her eyes, but to her credit, she chose the truth.

“Yes.”

“Then you’re not sorry.” He stepped to one side to put his laptop on the console table. “And it’s not the past.”

“He’s my husband.”

“And I was your child.” He stared at her, the woman who’d given birth to him. “The first time those boys at school stuck my head in a toilet, I called you. I begged you to bring me home. You told me to grow up and be a man.”

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