Page 20 of Obsession

When the waitress looked at Mihir, Ananya cut in before she could open her mouth, “He doesn’t want to eat. That will be all. Thanks.”

The waitress dashed away.

“You still are so bossy.” The brown in his eyes melted to a golden hue, softening his expression. A ghost of a smile crossed his face. He realized what he was doing, and instantly, his eyes hardened, and his usual sour expression was back on.

“And you were much more pleasant in the past,” Ananya said, her tone fierce. “Why did you want to meet me?”

“Last night, you said something about a divorce,” Mihir reminded her.

“And you said you wanted to stay married as some form of revenge.”

The words made her feel angry and hurt. For years, she had never initiated the divorce, hoping that since he hadn’t done so either, it was because he felt something about her. She’d taken it as a sign that he’d probably reconcile with her at some point. Last night, she’d finally realized how wrong she’d been.

“I’ll set up the paperwork, and we can sign the documents,” Mihir went on. “I can have everything arranged within days.”

He was so supercilious about the whole thing, like he’d decided the next steps, and she only had to comply with him.

She placed her hands in her lap, resisting the urge to punch his smug face. “I suppose my threat of publishing about our marriage in Noir has triggered this.”

He gave her a hard look. “Anna, you ought to know by now that nothing you publish about me in your gossip rag affects me in the least. It only reeks of your obsession with me.”

Now, she really wanted to hit him. “I’mnotobsessed with you.”

He flicked an imaginary piece of lint from his lapel. “You following me last night speaks otherwise.”

“Fucking bastard,” she snapped. “Don’t throw that in my face, when you’re the reason I had to resort to following you. If you weren’t such a jerk, then we could have had a normal conversation a long time ago.”

She hated how calmly he watched her, seemingly unfazed by anything she said or did, while she was a simmering ball of anger. She exhaled, trying to calm herself.

“I don’t want our families to find out about our situation,” Mihir said, ignoring her outburst. “I don’t want a problem with them. I’m sure you feel the same. So, are we in agreement,da?”

The waitress returned with their orders. Ananya broke a small piece of the croissant and popped it into her mouth. She shut her eyes on a sigh. So delicious. The sweet treat managed to calm her.

When she opened her eyes again, she found Mihir watching her, his eyes fixed on her mouth. She wiped a crumb away from her lips.

“Anyway,” he said. “I’ll organize everything.”

“Not so fast.”

He frowned.

She took another bite of her sweet treat. “You seem to have conveniently forgotten that my offer for a divorce was based on certain terms and conditions.”

Mihir glared at her. He took a sip of his piping hot coffee before saying, “Alright, let’s hear your terms and conditions.”

“First, you and I will announce to our siblings that we have buried the hatchet and will attend their weddings in the other’s presence.”

“And?”

“Second, you and I will have to prove to our siblings that we can get along. Just announcing it will not be enough. Which means you have to talk to me like a normal human. It may not be a lot, but you have to be civil and reasonable with me in front of them. No more snide remarks, snarky comments, threats, or disappearing in a huff when you see me.”

“What else?”

“That’s it. No, wait. We will have to socialize and attend the same events, so our siblings believe our charade of getting along.”

He studied her, his jaw set. “What if I say no to all of it?”

“Then you know what will happen; don’t make me repeat it,” she replied.

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