Chapter 46
forty-six
. . .
I wasn’t expecting the black limo that fetched me the next morning, so my surprise to find a private jet waiting for me was a little hard to contain.
Still, the luxury was welcome since I’d spent the last two nights with minimal sleep, following Remo’s ministrations the first one and expecting him to arrive unannounced last night.
Fifty minutes, two glasses of wine and a scrumptious lunch later, I succumbed to the lull of the engine beneath me.
The second we touched down in Boston though; my eyes flew open and I accepted the warm washcloth the hostess handed me.
However, as soon as I stepped off the plane and headed for the waiting black limo, every cell in my body tightened, threatening to squeeze the air from my lungs.
The looming question, how my brother would react sat at the forefront of my thoughts.
When I stepped out of the limo, my uncle stood outside the hotel. “Welcome to Boston, Ishika,” he greeted with a soft smile. “Ever been?”
The hug felt awkward or maybe it was just my nerves acting up. “First time.”
“Come.” He gestured for me to follow him. Inside, the hotel was a lavish affair of dark red, stone and cream décor. “We’ve set you up in one of the penthouse suites.”
“You didn’t have to,” I murmured, stepping into the elevator behind him.
“Nonsense.” He laughed softly. “Only the best for family.”
I wasn’t certain if the edginess to his words was just my imagination and smiled. When the doors opened, I was hard-pressed to contain my awe and allowed my breath to ease out in a slow exhale, taking in the luxurious décor fit for royalty.
“You can wait in here.” My uncle guided me to another door which opened into a more intimate lounge.
“Thank you.” I nodded, waited for him to close the door behind him before moving to the window and focused on the view to dissuade my nerves from making an appearance. Sadly, that didn’t work.
When I heard the door re-open; tension pricked the tiny hairs at my back and tightened every muscle. Pressing a hand to my stomach, I pulled in deep breaths, urging calm into my body. Slowly, I turned.
I had no idea why the vision of a teenager came to mind when my uncle mentioned my brother but the person standing in front of me, was a handsome young man.
Our eyes connected and any reservations I might’ve held about him not being my brother dissolved because staring back at me was a face I remembered well.
Papa.
Everything, from those deep brown eyes, slightly rounded nose, full pink lips and straight black hair reminded me of my father. My lungs collapsed and expanded at the same time.
I smiled; he didn’t, his body language a guarded tension, as if ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. Another deep breath and I took a step closer. He just watched me. Cautious. Unsure. Lost?
“Hi,” I said softly.
An undisguised hesitation before he responded, “hi.” His voice was deeper than I expected and cold, or maybe it was fear.
My heart stuttered. My own brother feared me. I took a seat and gestured for him to do the same. “You don’t have to talk to,” I offered. “I just wanted to see you.”
Still standing, his jaw tightened. “They made me come.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, my tone gentle, apologetic.
He looked away, staring at the wall as though it was easier than looking at me. “I don’t remember you,” he murmured a second later.
“I know. You were just a baby.” I smiled even though it hurt. “Always trying to get out of your crib, crawling into small spaces to escape us–” my voice broke, but I forced out the words. “Dee and I always watched you while Mama cooked, every time we fed you, you’d bite my finger.”
His head snapped toward me, a flicker of something soft, curiosity perhaps crossed his face. “I did?”
I nodded. “You had terrible aim but very determined teeth or maybe my finger tasted better than baby food.”
A tiny sound escaped him, not quite a laugh, close though. He took a seat opposite me and that gave me hope. “Who’s Dee?”
“Dia. Our sister. We also had another sister and a brother. All older than me, us,” I swallowed the tightening lump in my throat.
Silence settled again, only it seemed less intense now. “Will they visit as well?” he asked at length.
Slowly, I shook my head. “Dia will as soon as I tell her about you. She’s something of a loner now, never settles for too long in one place, so it’s a bit harder to track her down. Our eldest sister and brother died in the accident with our parents.”
His eyes widened. “Died?”
Emotion I couldn’t described, punched a hole in my stomach at his shocked expression. “I can’t remember the details, only that Dia and I weren’t there at the time of the accident.”
“If they all died, who raised you?”
I shrugged. “Like you, we were raised by an adopted family.” Although Uncle Haru checked in on us occasionally, Carlo was largely responsible for our upbringing. Once Dia reached sixteen, she went off on her own and Carlo let her.
Kai scratched his head, his questioning gaze on me. “So, we’re both orphans.”
“Seems that way.” I laughed and that sound surprisingly, made him smile, faint, shy and another heartbreaking reminder of our father. “The second I found out my brother was still alive, I wanted to see you. I’m just sorry it took this long to find out.”
He tilted his head, his smile wider. “Your laugh, it sounds familiar.”
I laughed again. “I used to make funny faces to get you to laugh especially when you’d cry for Mama.
Sometimes I added grunting sounds that would make your eyes go wide and your cry disappear.
” This time, he laughed and the sound was literally music to my ears.
“Dee and I would always try to get you to say our names.”
“What did I call you?” he asked, quieter now.
My gaze stayed riveted on the window as memories surface and my eyes blurred. “You didn’t call me anything. You’d just pull my hair, really hard trying to say Isi now and then.”
He glanced down, his fingers twisting as if anxious, when he looked up conflict shadowed his eyes. “I don’t know how to talk to you,” he admitted. “I don’t know what you want from me. You forgot you had a brother,” he whispered the last part.
My throat burned with the truth. “Honestly, I have no idea why I couldn’t remember you.
A doctor friend suggested it was the trauma my brain suffered after I learned of my family dying in the accident.
Somehow, I shut you out.” I closed my eyes briefly, trying to remember the moment they told me.
I couldn’t. “I wish I hadn’t.” As I said the words, I realized I’d marry the devil if I had to just to take my brother back with me.
I didn’t mention the trade-off though, not sure how he’d react to that.
Yet in my heart I knew I’d do everything in my power to get us free from their rule.
“I don’t want anything from you, just the opportunity to get to know you, the person you’ve become, your likes, dislikes. ”
He leaned forward. “Can I tell you something?” I nodded. “When they told me you existed, I felt like my world tilted, like everything suddenly made sense because I’ve always felt like something was missing, like I was missing someone. I think it was you and maybe Dee too.”
My eyes stung. “Kai,” I murmured, swallowing my tears. This wasn’t the turn I expected when he entered the room all stilted and resolute but God it felt good.
“Was that my name?”
I nodded. “Our father was Japanese and our mother Indian. Their children had a mix of both nationalities.”
“Kai,” he mouthed as if testing the sound. “They changed my name. Mother did.”
“You don’t have to use any name you don’t want,” I whispered. “You get to choose who you want to be.”
“I don’t know who Kai is,” his voice cracked.
“I can help you find him, if you want.”
Slowly, his head lifted, his eyes locking with mine. I saw the uncertainty or maybe it was hope. “Do you remember me, even though it’s been so long?”
I tensed. “I forgot only because my brain suffered but it took just one small reminder, a photo and I remembered some things I guess. You’re my baby brother, you’re family.”
He let out a shaky breath. “Tell me about our parents.”
Relief flooded me, warm and overwhelming. “You look just like him, like our father. You have his eyes, his smile, his hair, even his laugh.”
That earned me another laugh, his shoulders softening, his gaze more direct. “Tell me more.”
I nodded and began to speak, talking about him, about us, about our house, the laughter, the happiness. He asked for more and every answer seemed to draw us closer, a bond hidden beneath years of memory loss that fizzled away with easy smiles.
When I finally fell silent, he sat up straighter, drawing a deep breath. “Can you come back tomorrow?”
My heart melted, in the best way. “I’ll come every day if you want me to.”
His eyes shone and he glanced away quickly, subtly wiping at them with the heel of his palm. And for the first time since I walked in, he appeared like the baby I lost, the brother I never got to protect, the family I thought I’d never have again.
“Yes, I’d like that,” he murmured giving me the only reason I needed not to return to Italy, for now.
Ten minutes later, we left the room and he allowed me a hug. I said goodbye with a kiss to his brow, reluctant to let him go but I possessed no way of stopping him. Not with my uncle hovering and the two men standing guard at the door or the other two escorting Kai out of the suite.
“Are you staying the night?” my uncle asked.
I dragged my gaze away from my brother’s retreating figure and accepted the glass of water he held out.
Taking a long sip, I enjoyed the feel of the cool liquid sliding down my throat.
“Yes,” I replied, setting the glass down on the coffee table.
“Thought I’d spend a few days here getting to know Kai, if that’s okay? ”
“I’m sure it will be fine. Perhaps meeting Ajay first might help clinch that deal?”