Page 1 of Obsession

PROLOGUE

Four years ago

Dubai

Ananya Mehra looked around the opulent yacht.

Hisyacht.

The excitement that had been buzzing in her veins ever since she had decided to trespass his event doubled now that she was standing in the middle ofhisgrand and lavish party.

“Oh my God…” Ananya whispered as she took in the luxury around her.

Coming from a family that owned a huge shipping corporation, she was used to extravagance. But this here tonight was opulence at another level. Her nerves thrummed.

She continued to scan the gorgeous wood, marble, and steel décor around her—the purple lights flashing overhead, the gold glittering in the wall columns, the polished floor beneath her feet, the expensive alcohol being served, the food that looked too exquisite to eat, and every one of the guests who looked like they’d stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine.

But none of that mattered. All that mattered was getting a glimpse ofhim.

Mihir Oshnov—the only man she had ever loved…and lost.

More than three years ago, she had thought he’d died, that fate had cruelly snatched him away from her. But he hadn’t—he had lived. Like a literal phoenix, he had risen from the ashes of the fire and destruction from that awful, unfortunate night, and become this different man, the one she’d been tracking ever since that one day nearly a year back when she had stumbled upon a grainy picture of him online, announcing him and his two brothers the heirs of the late Russian oligarch, Alexander Oshnov.

Hope had flooded her being, and her dead heart had started beating again. Although the picture had been unclear, she’d been certain it was him. After all, how many men had the name Mihir Oshnov?

But along with that certainty had come several doubts and questions. If he was truly the Mihir she had loved, and who she knew in her bones had loved her as well, then why had he allowed her to believe he had died? Why hadn’t he contacted her in the years that had passed? Had he lost his memory? Had he forgotten her? And then he’d suddenly moved to Dubai from Moscow? To her city? Why? She had too many questions.

Tonight was her opportunity to find those answers—andhim. She wanted to see, once and for all, if the man she had been tracking for so long was indeed the same man she had fallen in love with while studying in London. The man she’d… No. She wasn’t thinking about that reality right now.

She’d scoured magazines, newspapers, and articles—both online and offline for any information she could get about him. But there was very little, and not a single proper picture of him. Being in the media business, she had established contacts in Russia to track the Oshnovs, and finally, her sources had sent a picture of him from a Russian magazine. Her heart had stumbled when she had recognized him.

It washim, her Mihir, and he had so obviously forgotten her. But she hadn’t given up. She’d used all her resources to contact him, to try and get in touch with him. When all those attempts had failed, she’d even reached out to his office to do an interview with him forNoir, her fashion magazine. Alas, all her attempts had been in vain. But his rejection had only fueled her obsession. Researching him and learning as much as she could about the reclusive billionaire that Mihir Oshnov was had become her passion.

She sighed. Everything she had learned about him now was contrary to what she had known of him at one time. The man she had loved had been kind, warm and modest. But this man, she’d learned, was the complete opposite. The Mihir Oshnov in whose yacht she now stood was hard, cold, and ruthless. She’d even heard that he was affiliated with the Russian mob. He was extremely dangerous and didn’t forgive easily.

Yet, she hadn’t thought twice before trespassing on his private boat. She took a shaky breath. She’d played a huge gamble when she had walked into this dangerous man’s den. And like a fool, she had gotten her younger sister, Navya, and their friend, Sheena, involved in this madness.

A sudden shiver of foreboding ran down her spine. What if Mihir wasn’t the man she’d known and loved? What if she was mistaken, and he was someone else altogether?

Taking a calming breath, she plucked three flutes of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray and walked to where Navya and Sheena were standing. She handed them a glass of champagne each, feigning an indifference she didn’t feel. In fact, her stomach was beginning to clench in unease.

Ignoring it, along with all the warning bells ringing in her brain, she took a sip of the cool champagne.

“People are staring at us,” Sheena said, looking around.

“They are bound to,” Navya replied. “We are three gorgeous girls without any men with us.”

Worry shone in Sheena’s eyes. “If Rajiv finds out…”

“He won’t,” Ananya said, “because we won’t tell him.”

Sheena gulped. Ananya’s elder brother, Rajiv, and Sheena had the hots for one another. To Ananya’s knowledge, neither of them had accepted that to the other yet. Knowing Rajiv, Ananya was certain he would definitely blow his top if he learned she had gate-crashed the Oshnovs’ party and had brought Sheena along with her. Well, he wasn’t going to find out. She’d ensure it, which meant she had to find Mihir fast, verify who he was, and then get the hell out of here.

Walking a little distance away from Navya and Sheena, she stepped out onto the deck. A sudden cool wind blew her hair, and a raw, electrifying energy slithered down her spine. Goosebumps spread across her skin. She was being watched. Her heart thundered.

Hewas close.

She felt it in her bones that he was near and that he was watching her. She looked to the left, and then to the right. Emotions crashed inside her. Fear, excitement, anticipation, joy, all of it mixed and swirled under her skin. As if a twine connected her to him, her body turned and she looked up at the deck above her.

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