Page 16 of Fixation

The tension between them immediately evaporated. Armaan put his arms around Vedant, holding him close. Mihir followed. Vedant put his arms around his eldest brother, feeling at home. Mihir was their north star. He was their home after a cold, dark day. He always had all the answers. He always put them first. He was the one because of whom three orphans from a nondescript orphanage in Rishikesh, India, had become some of the wealthiest men on the planet—all because when fate had granted Mihir an opportunity to move forward in life, he’d refused to take it without them.

Mihir was the quiet one. But beneath his silence was a wealth of strength, knowledge, and courage. He was the boldest and bravest one in their trio. Armaan, on the other hand, was naughty and witty. Armaan spread his happiness wherever he went. But now, Armaan looked sad and miserable. Just like Mihir. Heartsick.

Vedant hated how both his brothers were dealing with heartache because of two of the Mehra sisters. Oh, how he wished he could make things better for them. Because just by being here,theymade him feel better. He felt stronger than he had in days now that they were with him. His heart was at ease. They had so much to discuss and so much to process together, especially concerning Ivan and Karina. They would getto it. Right now, though, they were together, and that was what counted.

“It’s always been us against the world,” Mihir resonated Vedant’s thoughts. “We have no one but each other, and I never want to see either of you hurt ever again.”

Vedant nodded, as did Armaan.

Mihir addressed Armaan, “What I was trying to say before I got all emotional is that if you decide to be with Navya, then we can keep her safe.”

Armaan pinched his forehead. “Still not discussing this.”

“Asshole,” Vedant swore. Armaan was bloody stubborn when he’d decided on something. For now, though, Vedant decided he’d let him be.

“Tell me about Karina. Have we got any news of her whereabouts?” Vedant asked.

“Look,” Mihir began. “We both think it’s for the best that, right now, you only focus on getting better. Leave everything to us.”

“But…”

“No buts,” Armaan interrupted him. “You’ve barely recovered, and you want to jump into things. Get better first. And shave. I don’t recognise you like this.”

“Stop deflecting, Armaan. Tell me about Karina.”

“Do you need me to shave you?” Mihir asked in all seriousness.

Irritation rose inside him. “I’m fine. I don’t need either of you babysitting me. That’s why I need to talk about?—”

A knock on the door made him pause. He watched as Dr. Singh entered, followed by the nurse carrying a tray.

“Can’t you see we’re busy?” Vedant growled, his irritation with her jumping to the forefront of his mind. “Come later.”

“Sorry to interrupt,” she addressed his brothers, not sounding sorry in the least. “But it’s time for his medication.”

Mihir’s phone rang. He went outside to answer it while Reina came toward him. They’d barely interacted the last few times he’d been up. All their conversations had been formal and stilted. None of that laughter or shared smile had happened again. In fact, if he remembered correctly, he’d been waking up right about the time her shift with him was ending.

Tyrion couldn’t stop raving about her though and seemed very familiar with her. That also annoyed Vedant. He huffed out a breath; he definitely had hit his head when he’d been injured. He was behaving stupid and ridiculous. Why the hell was he so curious about this doctor?

Reina began checking him with her stethoscope. Something twitched in his chest. He put it down to the pain that had become his constant companion, niggling all the time, sometimes bearable, other times not.

Vedant scowled at her. She shook her head, looking exasperated with him, and checked his vitals on the screen. She captured his wrist in her cool hand, and like always, his skin jolted, and his heart stuttered under her touch. It happened every single time she did it.

Fuck. What was wrong with him?

Once again, he felt the loss of her touch the second she released him. Oh, he hated feeling vulnerable like he did around her. And that was the crux of the problem he was trying to decipher, if only he could get her alone to do so. He wanted to understand why only she affected him so and why, like a fool, he was so fixated on her. It made no sense at all.

She detached the empty IV bag connected to his hand and administered some injections to him through the IV cannula.

“That fucking hurt.” Actually, it didn’t hurt all that much, but he was annoyed at himself and his body’s reaction to her, and that made him lash out. “I hate needles.”

Reina didn’t respond. She lifted the second injection and went to work with that.

“You’re such a baby,” Armaan snorted, sounding all too amused.

“Shut up,” Vedant retorted, his eyes on his doctor, who was yet to speak a word to him.

“How many times a day are you going to keep injecting me?” he questioned instead. Since she wouldn’t talk to him of her own will, he’d definitely make her.

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