Page 77 of Fixation

“I agree!” Navya hooked her arm with Rajiv’s. “Come along, brother. We need to confer.”

Reina chuckled. Their game nights were always intense and competitive. Her parents and Sheena took the kids and sat on the benches on the side.

Rajiv and Navya returned, bouncing the ball between them.

“So, here’s how we are going to do this…” Rajiv began. “For every basket Navya and I shoot, Reina is going to answer a question either one of us asks.”

“What?” Reina gasped. “No.”

“Not giving you a choice here, Rei,” Rajiv said. “You’ve been unhappy for too long now. We’ve given you three weeks. It’s time to talk it out now.”

“Agreed,” Navya said. “Just because I don’t live here doesn’t mean I don’t know how you’ve been binge-reading romances and binge-watchingModern FamilyandGame of Thrones. That is very unlike you, Rei.”

“And you donated two million pounds out of the blue to one of mom’s charities!” Rajiv scoffed. “What did you think, we wouldn’t find out?”

Her eyes popped. Shit, her family had noticed everything. She’d just assumed no one at home would have noted the pain she was hiding behind all the smiles she gave them. She ought to have known better.

Her family was very protective of one another. They’d given her time, and now, they were confronting her head on. She sucked in a breath. She wasn’t yet ready to confide in them. It wasn’t as easy as they assumed it would be. In keeping quiet, she’d avoided a war between Rajiv and the Oshnovs. She wasn’t going to say anything to jeopardise that. She wouldn’t threaten the happiness Navya had found. She wouldn’t destroy her brother’s peace of mind.

“And what if Ananya and I shoot a goal?” she asked.

“Then good for you,” Navya said. “You’re not getting out of this, either way.”

Rajiv tossed the ball at her. She caught it with one hand.

“Rei, my littlest one, do you think we haven’t observed how sad and dull you’ve been these last weeks?” Rajiv said.

“Of course, we have,” Navya said. “Something is definitely going on with you.”

“Hey, why am I left out of this?” Ananya grumbled. “I have questions too.”

“You’re on the wrong team, sis,” Navya teased.

Reina’s heart raced. She looked at her parents. “Are you also in on this? Is that why you’re home on a weekend?”

Sara Mehra gave her a smile. “Out of all four of my children, you’ve always been the quietest one. You never speak about your problems, unless pushed. We all know how much you love London and your job there, and yet you left it all in a blink. And you thought we wouldn’t notice? Your siblings are offering you an easy way out. Win from them, and you can keep your secrets, else…” Her mom shrugged.

Ananya pulled Reina to the side. She touched the corner of Reina’s eye. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed the concealer you’ve got going. So, I’m also giving you a choice here. Either I play to win, which means you don’t get to answer all their questions. However, you will have to answer all of mine, privately. We can then decide how and what to tell the others. Or I deliberately lose to them, and you have to answer every question they pose. What’s it going to be, Rei?”

Reina looked at her elder sister. If she had to confide in anyone, then Ananya was the safest option. Navya was too emotionally involved with Armaan to think rationally, and Rajiv would act first without thinking of the consequences. Ananya, however, might just hear her out sensibly.

She sighed. “I’ll tell you everything.”

“Promise me that,” Ananya said.

“I promise.”

Ananya raised her jaw, looking victorious.

Reina studied her carefully. “This whole thing was your plan, isn’t it? You put the idea of this stupid game in Rajiv or Navya’s head. I simply walked into your plan, didn’t I?”

Ananya flicked her nose. “You’re right, and I don’t regret it one bit. You and I are going to talk tomorrow once Navya leaves. For now, let’s go show them what we got.”

They returned to the others.

“Best of fifteen points,” Rajiv said.

“One game only,” Reina declared. “After that, we play for fun. No more questions.”

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