Chapter 71

Arif touched his cheek where Lena had slapped him. She looked furious, her green-lensed eyes glowing furiously through her mask.

"You fool. You almost..."

She caught herself, aware that they were surrounded by other guests. "Come on." She led him toward the door that led to the foyer. "Let's go before the bitch comes back."

He didn't move. The crowd was already starting to flow the other way, towards the glass doors through which he had seen Sarla exit earlier. The last chimes of the gong were still reverberating in the mansion.

Lena took several steps toward the exit then realized he wasn't beside her and turned back.

"I'm not leaving, Lena. You can go if you want to, but I'm staying till the end."

"Are you nuts? You told her my name. She's probably telling Myanmar about us right now. If we don't get the fuck out of here right now, we'll be dead meat. Come on! You screwed up, admit it. Let's cut our losses. I'll figure out some other way to get the job done. Next time, I'll get a real man."

Her face was contorted in a snarl. Her hands twisted into claws. The wounded panther.

Arif stood his ground, calmly. "Goodbye, Lena."

She stared at him, as if unable to reconcile her image of him with the reality facing her right now.

"Arif..."

"Forget it. I know you think I'm crazy. But I feel saner than I've ever felt in my life before. I'm going through with this, Lena. With or without you."

And this time, he was the one who turned and began walking away. Towards the glass doors through which the rest of the guests had gone.

An attractive young hostess in a beautifully embroidered silk kimono smiled and welcomed him in.

Without looking back to see if Lena was with him, he passed through the glass doors and entered the heart of the Perfumed Garden.