Page 20 of Addiction

She observed him. Why her? What was it about her that this man had chosen to fight with her brother in a ring to get her attention? Why hadn’t he forgotten her in the four years they’d spent apart? And what was so special about him thatshehadn’t been able to forgethimeither? He’d told her that there was something between them, and if she were being absolutely honest, then she had to accept the truth in that. She sighed.

If he were any other man, she may have considered exploring this passion between them. However, he was who he was, and she’d promised herself a long time ago to never get entangled with a rich, handsome man. She never wanted to experience the same fate her birth mother had endured, which was heartbreak, betrayal, and mental trauma at the hands of exactly such a man. All that had ultimately led to her early demise.

Despite having lived with the best examples, her brother, Rajiv and her adopted father Anvay, who were also handsome and rich, Navya was too scarred by memories of her birth father to take a chance on a man like that for herself. Men like her brother and adopted father were rare and were one of a kind.

So, no, thank you. She would resist Armaan, always and every single time. She preferred men who were far simpler, notthat she’d allow herself to get close enough to a man to even trust him beyond one or two dates.

Besides, the last date she’d been on had been right before she’d left for London, and that awful experience had made her swear off men altogether. Ugh.

Armaan lifted his phone to his ear. She saw the security guard next to Reina answer his phone.

Worried, she stepped in front of Armaan. “Please don’t call her here. Please let her be.”

“I’m only calling her so you can speak to her. Don’t you want to tell her you’re safe?”

She stared at him in astonishment. Why was he being so considerate? Again, his behavior surprised her. Armaan spoke a few words in Russian and then passed his phone to her. His security guard gave Reina the phone and pointed in Navya’s direction.

Navya waved at her.

“Navya, thank God!” Reina gushed. “What happened? Are you safe? I told Vasily to find out what happened, but I haven’t heard from him yet. He told me that Armaan wouldn’t hurt you, but I needed to hear the words from you.”

“Hey, I’m fine. I’m with Armaan.”

“What does that mean? Please tell me he’s not holding you hostage again.” Reina lowered her voice. “If you want me to get you out of there…”

“No need for that.”

“Which means what? You’ll be there for how long, twenty minutes, half an?—”

“—yes, that. Why don’t you enjoy the party for now?”

“Understood. I’ll meet you at the exit in half an hour. Or else, I will get out of here, get my phone, and call Rajiv for help.”

Navya disconnected the line and handed it back to Armaan. She was thankful that she’d been able to get through to hersister. Now, she only had to ensure that she could get away from him in half an hour, before her sister called their brother. Then, all hell would break loose. And she didn’t want that. Not at all.

“All okay?” he asked.

“She was obviously worried.” Navya took a sip of her cola. “But you heard me. I told her to enjoy the evening.”

He stared at her for a long second, as if trying to discern if she was speaking the truth, but she looked into the crowd, ignoring him. All of a sudden, the music stopped, and the lights dimmed.

In the next second, hundreds of tiny red lights flashed in unison, and a cheer went through the crowd. She blinked in confusion. Everyone around her lifted their arms and she could see the red lights blinking on their wrists. Armaan lifted her hand and clasped something on her wrist too. His touch was fleeting, yet she felt that singular current shoot down her spine.

Ignoring it, she stared at the white wristband, now glowing with red dots, and then back at him.

“Trust me, it’s more fun with these on,” he informed her.

Before she could remark on that further, the deejay was welcoming on stage… Wait what…?! She couldn’t believe her eyes as all the members of her favorite band Coldplay came on stage.

Seeing the shock on her face, Armaan grinned. “I’m glad you like them.”

“Oh my God, I love Coldplay!” Despite her circumstances, excitement thrummed inside her. Reina and she would finally get to see the very same concert they’d been so eager to catch and had missed. “I cannot believe that they’re performing here. This is fantastic.”

The beginning strings of the band’s famous songViva La Vidabegan playing and the red lights blinked on everyone’s wrist. Without even thinking, she started humming the opening chorus of the song.

Right now, she didn’t care where she was and who she was with. Her favorite band in the whole world was playing a fabulous song, and she was going to enjoy every second of it for the next thirty minutes before she escaped.

From next to her, Armaan chuckled as he, too, began humming along with her.

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