Page 97 of Fixation

Vedant caressed her cheek. “Aren’t you going to say anything, beautiful?”

She finally looked up at him, her mind made up. “I want you to finish your story.”

He blinked. “What? Now?”

“Yes.”

He flicked her nose. “You are deflecting.”

“Maybe, now finish your story.”

“I thought I told you I’ll finish it when you and I are alone next.” He rotated a finger to indicate the crowd around them.

She smirked. “Come with me.”

Without waiting for his response, she stepped out of his arms and weaved her way through the people, confident that he’d follow her anywhere.

Her heart lifted. She’d been miserable for weeks, and it had all been because she’d been heartbroken that he didn’t feel for her what she felt for him. She loved him so much, and she was tired of battling him and everything she felt for him.

He was all she’d ever wanted, and she finally believed he loved her too. That didn’t mean she’d make it easy for him, though. No way.

34

Vedant followed Reina through the throngs of people on the lawn as she made her way inside the house. She quickly rounded a corner and went down a corridor, opening the first door. The room, a study, was lit by a single lamp. Reina walked inside and plonked on the desk, dominating one side of the room.

She spread her arms out. “Alone enough for you?”

He smiled. If this was her way of showing him that she was giving him a chance, then he was all for it.

“Now tell me why you said the plan was for allfourof you to leave?” Reina queried.

He smiled. He’d hoped her curiosity would bring her to be alone with him again, and here he was, right where he wanted to be. Nearing her, he leaned against the desk.

“Her name is Karina,” he began, “She’s our sister.”

Reina’s eyes widened. “What? You have a sister? No one knows that.”

He nodded slowly. “She is our biggest secret.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s lost and we are trying to locate her.”

Reina shook her head. “Start from the beginning.”

He looked in the distance, assembling his thoughts. Finally, he said, “Mihir, Armaan, Karina, and I—we became a family in the orphanage. Since the beginning, it had been us against the others there. The year we were to leave with Alexander, we had all turned eighteen, except for Karina. Mihir was waiting for her birthday to tell her the plan. You see, there was this boy at the orphanage, Dorab. He was vile and awful. He hated us and was jealous of the bond we all shared. But Karina had a soft corner for him. She remained friends with him, despite what we told her. We didn’t want him to learn of the plan before it was time. We thought that he would stop her from coming with us or make her believe that it was a foul plan.”

Vedant sighed. “Anyone would’ve been sceptical that a random Russian man wanted to adopt four Indian orphans. Especially for a girl, it would have been hard to accept. After all, there are so many terrible things you hear happening to poor orphaned children once they are taken to a faraway land.”

“And you were all kids, merely eighteen,” Reina added.

“Exactly,” Vedant said. “But we trusted Alexander and believed that he wouldn’t betray us. It was a huge gamble that we were taking. But it could also be a wonderful opportunity if we put our faith in him. Mihir insisted on going with him, and we believed in him. Anyway, when the time came to tell Karina, she was nowhere to be found. We discovered that she’d run away with Dorab. She’d even left us a note telling us not to look for her and that she was never returning. We were all so hurt by her betrayal. We waited weeks for her, hoping she’d miss us and return, but she didn’t. And so, we went to Russia with Alexander. But we did leave a number with our old matron to contact us if they ever got news about her. It was only recently we found new evidence that suggests that Dorab may have sold her off or that she ran away from him and is now either hiding or living in fearof him. But we will find her soon and be reunited with her one way or the other.”

“Oh my God, that’s just awful,” she looked at him. “Are you sure she’s alive?”

“We have to believe that. Mihir’s got an old picture of her from Mrs. Braganza. Through some very intelligent AI tools, we created an image that depicts what she may currently look like. We have men searching for her as we speak.”

She understood his hope and his belief. She caught his hand. “Then I hope you find her, and I hope she’s safe.”

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