Page 88 of Fixation

“Can’t you see, brother? We are training,” Armaan said.

“Are you?” Mihir queried. “Looks like you’re making him pay for something he probably didn’t do.”

“Oh, now you’re on his side?” Armaan stormed.

Mihir scowled. “I’m on the side where we all talk it out like adults rather than removing our frustration on a mat.”

Armaan faced Vedant, his lips twisted in a sneer. “Have you got our elder brother to side with you now? Is it because you can’t take me on? Do you think your attack has made you weak?”

“Show me what you got,” Vedant growled.

“Fucking fools,” Mihir cursed.

Armaan let loose a barrage of punches, which Vedant deflected until Armaan punched him on the left shoulder.Vedant stumbled back as sharp pain stabbed him. He breathed heavily.

Armaan circled him. “Since when did you become an asshole? Has the attack affected your brain to think you could use Reina for fun?”

“What?” Vedant asked. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Seems to me it was exactly that. Did you or did you not break her heart by being cruel to her and then refusing to allow her to leave?”

“I…”

Armaan slammed a fist into his chest. A huge oof escaped Vedant’s mouth. Fuck, Armaan knew exactly where his weak points were and was deliberately targeting them now. But what his brother had forgotten was that Vedant had been training with Tyrion and the other guards for weeks now. Which meant that while there was still some pain lingering in certain parts of his body, he could hold his own in a fight now.

Vedant landed a lightning-fast jab on Armaan’s face, followed by several strikes on his chest and shoulders. Finally, he landed a hard upper cut on Armaan’s temple. His brother staggered back, wincing in pain.

Removing his gloves, Vedant threw them on the mat. “I am not fighting you like this. You want to talk, sure. I am ready to talk, but you will also have to listen to what I say.”

“I shouldn’t be listening to anything you say after all that I heard last night.”

“I love her, Armaan.”

Armaan’s eyes rounded. “What?”

“Yes.”

“No, I don’t believe you.”

Vedant’s jaw clenched. “Did I ever question you even once when you told us that you were in love with Navya?”

It maddened him that his brother was dismissing his feelings so easily.

“Why would you?” Armaan shot back. “I never hurt her. Whereas you?—”

“—I made a mistake, okay!” Vedant shook his head. “And why don’t we circle back to the fact that Navya had said some not-so-nice things that hurt you too? You forgave her, didn’t you? But all that seems to have been conveniently forgotten by you now that you are completely under her spell.”

Anger flared in Armaan’s eyes. Good. Vedant was mad too. Mihir stepped in between them, palms out.

“Enough,” Mihir yelled. He faced Armaan. “He has a point there. If you could forgive Navya, then maybe he needs a chance to find out if Reina can forgive him as well. We need to hear him out at least.”

“Alright,” Armaan looked at Vedant. “Tell me what happened.”

Vedant told his brother everything. His fear after Anita was killed. His insecurity in his own capability of protecting Reina.

“So, you behaved terribly with Reina to push her away,” Mihir reiterated. “Did you not even once think that maybe you could have told her the truth?”

“At that time, I hadn’t realised I was in love with her. I only knew that she was important, and I wanted to keep her safe at all costs,” Vedant breathed out. “If Ivan could get Anita killed after I went on three dates with her, then what would he do to the woman I actually cared about? I thought once I ended things with Reina, then she’d be safe forever. Now, in retrospect, I could have handled everything better.”

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