Page 120 of Obsession

She turned to the front and signaled Avi to come to them.

Avi alternated her gaze between Mihir to her. “Your lover boy is too conscious, Ananya.”

“That’s because of his scar,” Ananya replied.

Avi’s eyes widened. She addressed Mihir. “You were all awkward and stiff because of the scar?”

Mihir sighed. “Yes.”

Avi held her right arm out. Her sleeveless t-shirt revealed all her tattoos. She continued, “Do you know that my ink hides hundreds of tiny scars? They go all the way up to my neck.”

Horror filled Mihir’s eyes. “Fuck.”

“She’s not telling you this to be sorry for her,” Ananya said. “She’s showing you how she’s turned her wounds into something beautiful. That even though she was hurt, she’s moved past it and forged it into something better.”

Avi addressed Mihir. “Only you can decide whether your scar will weigh you down for the rest of your life or stand as a battle wound—a mark that says you were there, you fought, and you survived. Not everyone could have made it out of what you went through… but you did.”

“Own it, Mihir,” Ananya added. “Show the world that Mihir Oshnov bows to nothing and no one.”

Mihir inhaled sharply. His back straightened, and his jaw lifted.

He looked at Avi. “Shall we try again?”

Ananya moved to the side as Avi began firing instructions. Across the distance, Mihir’s eyes met hers. His gaze was stronger, steadier, before he focused on Avi. He looked up, down, to the side, hands in his pockets, then one hand on his tie as he looked straight into the camera.

Fuck. He was splendid. Poise and grace oozed out of him. Mihir had always been bold. His effortless confidence had turned heads wherever he went. But now, something was different. The weight that once lingered in his eyes was replaced by a quiet fire. He stood taller, freer—no longer caged by the scar.

Pride filled her chest to see him like this. Mihir was already so magnetic… But now he was more.

She sighed. She was supposed to be getting over him, not ogling him like she was. Still, her eyes remained on him for the remainder of the shoot.

About half an hour later, Mihir returned to her.

“Thank you, for earlier,” Mihir said. “You knew exactly how to make me feel better. I thanked Avantika as well.”

Ananya nodded.

He tilted his head to the side and gave her a cocky smile. “I’m glad to see you were so affected by my discomfort. I like knowing that you care for me, Anna.”

Even she couldn’t deny that she hadn’t liked him not being himself. And the awful man knew it, and was now teasing her about it.

She glared at him. “Wipe that arrogant smile off your face. I still have to write your story. I can make you look very bad.”

“You can tell the world whatever you want to about me,” Mihir said. “I have faith you will tell my story well.”

“Or I could paint you as the villain,” she snapped.

He winced. “I leave it you, Anna. I already told you I don’t want to read the interview beforehand. I’ll wait to see your final version, and thus your verdict on me.”

She saw the sincerity in his eyes. It confused her already scrambled brain. She chewed her lip. What was she going to do about him?

“Earlier, you said step one was to come out of the shadows,” she said instead. “What’s step two and three?”

As usual, her curiosity about him was limitless.

“All the next steps involve getting you to forgive me.”

“That will never happen.” She clucked her tongue. “Nothing you say or do will change my mind about where I stand on this situation between us.”

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