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Asha crossed her legs on the bed, her bare feet peeking out from under her jean-clad legs. She looked up at him wistfully. Even if we are related, we re so different. They re incredibly wealthy and I m used to being poor. They re American and I m Indian You re American, too, Kade growled, annoyed that Asha saw herself as less than compared to her siblings. And even if you weren t, it wouldn t matter. We were raised in different cultures. And they both look like our mother, Asha answered quietly. Maddie was a foster child, passed around from family to family, none of them giving a shit about her. She worked her ass off to get through medical school, and she had no family either until Max found her. Kade sat down on the bed and pulled Asha into his lap. She s excited about having a sister. And so is Max. Poor Maddie, Asha whispered sympathetically. Is she really happy now? Is Max? Kade s lips turned up in a small smile as he looked at Asha s troubled expression, touched by how quickly Asha could feel remorse about Maddie s earlier circumstances. She had a huge heart, just like Maddie. She was more like her sister than she knew. He d told her everything about Max and Mia s life, including the torture Max had suffered when Mia had disappeared for two years and was assumed dead. He d seen the same sweet concern when he d told her about that horrible time in all their lives. They re both ecstatically happy, Kade assured her, stroking the silky hair from Asha s face. They each married their soul mate. But neither one of them exactly had it easy. And they aren t so different from you. Their difficulties were just different. They never really had family either, Asha. Give them a chance. Give me a chance, too. Kade knew he was far from being emotionally healthy, but damned if he didn t feel like being with Asha was healing some of his emotional wounds from his past. She s mine. Do you believe in soul mates, relationships like Maddie and Max have with Mia and Sam? Do you believe there s one person in every life made just for you? Asha asked softly. A few weeks ago, Kade would have answered with a resounding hell no. He d always been the first one to give Max and Sam hell for being so nauseatingly sappy about their wives. Now, he just didn t know. He d been mysteriously drawn to Asha even before he d met her, through their game of cat and mouse, and then through her drawings. She was like a balm to his battered soul, a remedy for his loneliness. He d never felt like that about a woman before, and it confounded him. Yeah. Yeah, I think I do, he answered as he looked down into her eyes, losing himself in the swirling, molten brown of her gaze. Every cell in his body was calling out for him to claim her as his, and he had to clench his fists behind her back and in her hair to keep from stripping her naked and showing her what it was like to be really wanted by a man so desperately that he had to have her. He wanted to show her what it was like to be respected and cherished. He didn t care if she was related to Maddie and Max. And he couldn t care less if she couldn t conceive a child. He just wanted& her. And he wanted to stake his claim on her so badly that his big body shuddered with need. I think so, too. But what happens if you never find that person? she asked thoughtfully. You ve found him. You don t need to keep looking. You belong with me. I think it just happens, he answered aloud. If you re destined to be together, you find each other somehow. My foster mother always told me I was too fanciful. My drawings, my reading, my mind always everywhere except on the practical things in life, Asha said with a sigh. I guess in some ways, I didn t completely conform to being the practical Indian woman they wanted. You don t need to conform. You come from an Indian heritage, and you can be proud of that. Many Indians are kind people. But you re also American. And the majority of American women don t put up with a whole lot of shit. He lay back on the bed and stretched out his legs, his right calf starting to ache. Catching her around the waist, he pulled her down against him, resting her head on his chest. Her head popped back up and she looked at him excitedly. Have you been to India? He nodded. Several times. Harrison Corporation has business interests there. What s it like? she asked wistfully. Isn t it strange that I was raised in the Indian culture, but I ve never been there? I ll take you there one day. At least you can probably speak the language, he answered jokingly. Only if we go to Andhra Pradesh or an area that speaks Telugu, she answered thoughtfully. My foster parents and ex-husband were all from there and spoke Telugu. I never learned much Hindi. It always amazes me that two Indians can t necessarily speak to each other because there are so many languages in India, Kade answered. Asha laid her head back down on Kade s chest and started to fiddle with the buttons on his red shirt that was decorated with dancing banana characters. I know women get beaten there too, she said hesitantly. I ve been reading a lot about India when I get the chance. The domestic violence there is pretty bad. It s almost as if it s acceptable. Are most women treated badly there? Hitting a woman is never acceptable for any reason, Kade grumbled. Men who beat women, American or Indian, are fucking cowards, too afraid to pick a fight with someone who might actually win and mess them up. He sighed as he continued, I wish I could tell you that things are great, but the domestic violence rate in India is high. I was there on business, and I never was totally immersed in the culture, but it s still a patriarchal society and there s a large percentage of men there who don t value their women the way they should. And equal opportunity is definitely not there, even though there are laws to protect women now. They re just basically not enforced. The younger generation is trying to bring about change, but it s an uphill battle. And divorce is still taboo, she added wistfully. Kade couldn t lie. For the most part& yeah. It s not widely acceptable. But you aren t in India, Asha. Trying to change the subject, he asked curiously, You ve never told me why you still use your father s last name? If you were married, didn t you take on his last name? My married name was Kota, but I took my father s name back when I divorced Ravi. I guess it was my way of taking control of my own identity again. Kade actually liked the fact that she had taken her father s name back and no longer carried the name of an asshole. Will the butterfly ever escape from the cocoon? he asked distractedly, his hand toying with the silky strands of her hair. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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