Page 119 of Obsession

“Does everyone in your family know?” Avi asked.

“My sisters only know about the baby. They don’t know anything else. I will tell my family soon, at least about the baby.”

“I can’t believe you’ve kept your marriage a secret for seven years,” Avi said.

“It doesn’t even matter now; it’s over.”

“Is it?” Avi asked carefully. “This baby will tie you to him forever, you know.”

She looked at her friend. “I’m scared, Avi.”

Avantika wrapped her arms around her. “I know. I was too, when I learned I was pregnant with Neil, and that it was Dev’s child. You know my screwed-up history with the man. It took us twelve years to figure it all out.”

“But he’d loved you throughout.”

“And I’d hated him throughout. At least, I’d convinced myself I did,” Avantika said. “If Mihir says he wants to get back with you, then why don’t you give him a chance?”

“You’re asking me to do this, despite knowing how much he’s hated me in the past?”

“The line between love and hate is extremely thin, Ananya.” Avi gave her a sad smile. “Look, you don’t need to decide anything today. Just remember that if you love him, and if you are truly convinced that he regrets everything that happened in the past, then forgive him. You weren’t the only one that fellow Zeeshan betrayed. Mihir was a victim too. Yes, he should have spoken to you and cleared things. The problem, Ananya, is that when one is hurt badly, that hurt doesn’t allow us to see a situation from a different angle. You only see your own hurt and what you lost in the process. I know, because that’s exactly what I did with Dev, and that’s why I get where Mihir is coming from. He suffered too. Don’t forget that.”

Avantika looked at the sky. “The light is perfect right now. I have to finish this. But think about what I said, okay? And remember that I will be there to help you with this baby, no matter what.”

Giving her a smile, Avantika went to get her camera. Her friend had left her with more questions than before. Ananya knew of Avi’s stormy history with Dev. But Mihir and she were not like that. She was still so angry at him for everything he’d put her through.

Mihir appeared in front of her, a smile painted on his face.

“What do you want?” she queried angrily. “Why did you need me to be here?”

His eyes raked over her slowly, as if assessing she was fine. “I wanted to see you.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “And throwing a tantrum was the best way for you to do that?”

“You’ve been ignoring my calls and texts, Anna,” he said. “How else do I get to see if you’re doing alright? I was desperate to see you, so I did what I could to bring you to me.”

She spread her arms out. “Now you’ve seen me, so go ahead and stand there for the damn shoot. My friend can’t wait forever.”

He chuckled. “You’re so bossy.”

She threw him a dark look.

“Alright, alright, I’m going.”

She watched Mihir walk over to Avantika. Avi told him where to stand and at which angle. Ananya watched him pose for several minutes, and her forehead wrinkled. Mihir looked flustered, his poses stiff and awkward, and by the way he kept rubbing his scar, it looked like he was damn uncomfortable doing the photoshoot.

Her heart lurched. Mihir had always kept himself hidden from the world, and to a large extent it had been because of the scar, and yet he was here—facing his insecurities—for her. Because he knew, all too well, that once his photos appeared in Noir, the world would go crazy, and Noir’s anniversary edition would be the hottest issue to hit the stands everywhere.

She went to him, marching right onto the set. His surprised eyes landed on her.

“You agreed to do this photoshoot knowing that it would be hard on you?” she asked.

“I did it for you. You told me in Moscow that my scar doesn’t define who I am. You were right. I’ve let it and the past pull me down for far too long. But now, I want to rise above it. Step one is to come out of the shadows and show the world who I truly am.” He grimaced. “What I didn’t expect was for step one to be this hard.”

“Is it because of the scar?” she asked gently.

His throat worked, and he lowered his chin in a nod.

Seeing him feel insecure twisted something inside her. She ran a hand down his scar. “This is a reminder of your resilience and your survival. You ought to wear it with pride.”

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