Page 26 of Obsession

“Exactly my point,” Vedant continued. He looked at Mihir. “Do you know that both of us still have nightmares about that night? We wake up dreaming that we couldn’t get to you in time, and that you died.”

Mihir exhaled a rough breath. He hadn’t known that. He opened his mouth, but Vedant cut him off with a shake of his head.

“Thank God, Armaan and I were in London that night,” Vedant continued. “I thank God every night that Armaan badgered you to tell us where you were going that evening. Even today, we don’t know who you were going to meet, why you were at that house, how that house caught fire, and how you managed to escape. We tried for so long to get in touch with you, and we couldn’t. Then we saw the news and heard about the fire in the same area. We drove like madmen on an instinct that you may be hurt, because you never switch your phone off. We searched every inch of the empty field near that doomed house until we found you—bruised, battered, and dying. You could have died, Mihir, and all because, as usual, you chose to tell us only what you want. Till date, we have no idea who hurt you.”

“I don’t know who it was that tried to hurt me then either. Alexander tried for years to find the people responsible for the attack on me, but he got nothing,” Mihir said softly.

“But you did know that Ananya was involved in some way,” Vedant shot back. “Why the fuck have you not asked her? Why the fuck did you never tell us that she was the woman from that café all those years ago, the one Armaan was thinking of flirting with? Only recently, Armaan and I put two and two together.”

“Hey, Vedant,” Armaan said softly. “It’s over. All of that is in the past, you know. We are fine. We are all fine.”

Vedant stood. “That’s just it. The three of usneverspeak of that night. Of how Mihir changed because of that. He’s become this cold, ruthless person who never shows any emotions, except when it comes to you and me. We only know that Ananya was somehow involved. We accepted everything he chose to tell us and never questioned what he kept from us. But what Mihir needs to remember is that it’s not just the three of us anymore. What he does or doesn’t do now affects everyone in the family.”

Mihir stood too. “And that is why I went alone to meet those fucking Estonians. You have women who love you. Thanks to them, you have an extended family that cares about you. Your lives are important.”

Vedant threw his hands in the air. “And so is yours, Mihir. And with Ivan’s threat on your life, us losing you could be a real possibility with you taking such risks. When will you understand that Armaan and I won’t be able to survive if something happens to you? What will happen to the women we love then? Your ill-thought-of actions are affecting us all. We are a family, all of us. Which means you have to act likeyouare also a part of this family. You going off alone all by yourself to face our enemies is not acceptable. You not being there for the events we are at is no longer acceptable to us. Ananya is Reina’s and Navya’s sister. So either you tell all of us what your problem with her is, or you learn to coexist with her.”

Silence flared between them after Vedant’s outburst. But Mihir didn’t know what to say to make it better. How could he tell them his sordid history with Anna? How could he tell them that he had married her, and that she had destroyed him? That she had chosen her sisters, the same women they were in love with, over him? Especially now, when he could see how much his brothers liked Anna.

At Mihir’s silence, Vedant said, “Are you not going to say anything?”

“I’m thinking,” he blurted out, unable to say what he really wanted to, which was that he would fix this for them.

Vedant glared at him before storming out of his office.

“Now you have really poked the bear. He’s never like this, and you know it.” Armaan stood. “Much as I am always taking your side, Mihir, I’m afraid Vedant’s right. We see how you’re alienating yourself from us all because you’re too damn stubborn to be in the same room with Ananya. This friction between you two is hurting all of us. Also, you going to fight the bad guys by yourself is unacceptable to me too. Vedant, you, and I—we are a trio. It’s not Ivan who is causing a rift between us.Youare.”

Mihir looked at Armaan in horror.

At Mihir’s silence, Armaan touched his shoulder. “Think about it, Mihir. You know we only mean well. And you know how to make it right. Choose us, brother.”

Choose us.

Armaan’s words echoed in his ears long after he had left. Mihir’s heart was heavy as he stood in front of his laptop. Armaan was right; they were a trio. Standing together was their biggest strength, and he couldn’t lose sight of that fact.

Mihir would always choose Armaan and Vedant in every single lifetime. Perhaps, it was time to show it now.

7

One week later…

Midnight rendezvous, covert assignations with #wasitthemafia? What secrets is this Russian billionaire hiding? Worry not, readers. Our Miss Butterfly is here to uncover every tiny detail.

Bloody fucking hell. She’d done it again. But why was he even surprised? Anna had witnessed him meeting those men. After he’d refused to talk to her about it, he ought to have known that she’d never let it go. True to her style, she’d retaliated by posting about it on Noir’s socials—just to provoke him.

This had been going on for months now. All this while, she’d regularly published petty gossip about him, but this? This was taking it too far.

As of now, no one was openly pointing a finger at him, but sooner or later, she would post something that might point straight at him, and this piece of news would come to bite him back. Gossip of this sort could destroy his carefully built credibility. And while he kept telling her that he didn’t care what she posted about him, trash news items like this one specifically, did make him care. Especially now, when he was on the brink of closing a major deal that his board had been skeptical about.

He sighed, dropping his phone onto the coffee table next to him. She finally had managed to get a reaction out of him, exactly as she wanted. Bloody fucking hell. He had to talk to her today and put some more rules in place. That is, if she did turn up at all. His last message to her had gone unanswered.

I’ve organized a pool party at my house tomorrow evening. Come by 6. We’ll show our siblings that all is well between us.

He’d sent this text last evening. The least she could’ve done was acknowledge his message. But no. Anna had to behave as contrary as possible.

He looked around the massive Olympic-size pool in the lawns of his mansion. The water shimmered gold under the sun. A barbeque grill was set in one corner. Soft music played in the background. A light breeze ruffled his hair. It was the perfect Sunday afternoon for a pool party.

His brothers and sisters-in-law hadn’t yet turned up. But they would. If nothing else, Armaan would make sure of that. Armaan had become the self-appointed mediator between Vedant and him ever since Vedant vehemently refused to talk to Mihir.

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