Page 106 of Fixation

Reina glared at him. “I seriously doubt that.”

“Why are you mad at me again?” Vedant asked, looking baffled. “You were fine in the car.”

She had been fine, but now talking about Laila was reminding her of how he’d behaved with her in London, and it was making her blood boil again. She was angry at him, at herself, and at Laila.

“Alright, you guys,” Mihir said. “Focus. You both can hash this out later.”

“Yes, please,” Armaan said. “Your push and pull is sounding way too much like foreplay. So, go get a room when we’re done here. Until then, stop it.”

Vedant shot him an angry look. Armaan didn’t even react to it or him.

“Let’s reiterate,” Mihir took charge. “We assume that now Su Min knows Reina is Reina Mehra. Either she saw Armaan’s engagement on the news and made the connection, as did Ivan, or Ivan already knew that and he’d told her. But Laila… she doesn’t fit anywhere.”

“Laila never even liked me. Why would she want to meet me?” Reina asked.

“It could be casual,” Navya said. “Maybe she’s in town and wants to meet you genuinely.”

“But why are they both here at the same time?” Vedant asked.

“Coincidence?” Navya shrugged.

“You know,” Reina began, “That day when we were all kidnapped and brought to your London home, the first thing Laila said was that she’d want to travel with the money Mihir was offering us, and that she’d like to visit Dubai too. I mean, it could be innocent.”

“Or not,” Vedant said. “I just feel this whole thing is because of me. What if they know Reina is important to me?”

“Or they don’t know that,” Armaan said, “and are simply trying to use her because she’s Navya’s sister to get to me.”

Oh God. This whole thing was getting murkier.

“That could also be the case,” Mihir said. “But let’s circle back. Would either of these women have a reason to believe that Reina and Vedant were together in London?”

“Su Min suspected,” Reina said. “But I neither confirmed nor denied it then.”

Vedant faced Reina. “And like I’ve been saying over and over again, the only reason I said what I said to you in London was because I didn’t want Laila to think we were together. So now why would she think that?”

“Su Min and Laila still work at the same hospital,” Mihir said. “What if Su Min convinced Laila that Vedant and Reina were together? What if, and it’s a big if, Ivan is using Laila to get to us, and Su Min is completely innocent?”

“Oh God,” Reina said. “This is insane.”

“So, what are we going to do?” Navya asked.

“The only option is to meet them and find out,” Reina said.

“Absolutely not,” Vedant rejected the idea. “You are not meeting either of them.”

“Do I have a say in this at all?” Reina shot back.

Vedant kneeled at her feet. “Letting you go to meet these women scares the life out of me,moya milaya.For some reason, you are mad at me again, and I am sorry for making you feel that way. But please don’t ask me to risk your life like that. I won’t be able to do it.”

She sighed, taking his hands in hers. She had to let go of her anger. He was trying to fix things, and she too wanted to fix everything between them because living without him was next toimpossible for her. She needed him, and even though he made her mad, she loved him more than she’d ever loved anyone ever.

Letting go of her inner turmoil, she squeezed his hands. “I know you’re concerned about me, but we have this opportunity to find out if Ivan is planning something, and we have to take it.”

“Absolutely not,” Navya said. “I agree with Vedant.”

Reina looked at Armaan and Mihir. “Guys, you know I’m right. I have to do this. You all can protect me from afar. We can choose a safe location.”

“I hate to say this,” Mihir said. “But she is right.”

---