CHAPTER 77

CARMEN

“You’re not going to India, Carmen.”

I looked at Jasper as if he had just popped another head out of his shoulder as he told me those words with a cool air of finality, as if I shouldn’t dare argue with him about it.

“You can’t do that, Jasper. Not right now at least.” I shook my head at him. “I am going to talk to my mother today, and we can talk about this later. You can’t make that decision for me and just expect me to—”

“You’re not going!” He raised his voice, drawing attention from everyone present and causing me to flinch.

“You’re still hungover from the alcohol you took last night. I don’t want to believe that you want to argue about this right now, with your mother in there,” I raised a point, but he laughed about it right in my face.

“If you have any respect for her, then you wouldn’t be thinking of taking a leisure trip to a whole different country while she lays in there and needs you now more than ever,” he accused.

“This is not a leisure trip. A lot of things depen