Page 32 of Obsession

“I’m fine, Rajiv.”

He studied her. “Have you gotten over him?”

She clucked her tongue. Before she could argue, Rajiv held a hand out.

“I entertained the idea of being friends with Mihir because he’s kept his distance from you and assured me that he wanted nothing to do with you. It isyouwho’s been obsessed withhimall along. I’m more than happy if you’ve decided to let go of him, Ananya. You need to get closure, and if you both have decided to let go of your problems for the sake of your siblings, then I’m all for it. You both are important to all of us.”

Her brother was always brutally honest.

“However,” Rajiv continued, “You will always come first to me. And your well-being and happiness matters the most.”

“I truly am fine,” she said.

He nodded. “Good. But remember, if you ever want to talk, then I’m right here.”

“Thank you, Rajiv,” she whispered, feeling overwhelmed by his kindness. She pressed a kiss on his cheek. “You really are the best brother.”

He grinned. “I know that.”

Rajiv looked into the distance. “Looks like I have to go rescue Mihir from my kids. They’ve taken a liking to him, as you can see.”

She turned to where Rajiv was looking. Mihir was still in the pool. Shiven and Nia were sitting on one of his shoulders each, holding their hands above his head, bouncing up and down. She watched Rajiv jump into the pool and take Shiven from Mihir. Sheena handed them a ball, and the five of them began to toss the ball around.

She smiled at the scenario. She loved seeing her brother happy like this. A light entered his eyes when he was with his family, as if they were the reason for his entire existence.

Rajiv was the backbone of her family. He treated all of his sisters equally and adored them all. The world had forgotten that Navya and Reina were their adopted sisters. The girls were actually her maternal uncle’s daughters. They had come to live with them after their mother had passed away when they were twelve and eleven. Ananya’s parents, Sara and Anvay Mehra, had managed to adopt the girls a couple of years later. The four of them were as close as real siblings. They fought and laughed and chatted and fought again, all in the space of a few hours. Ananya loved them all to bits.

She watched as Rajiv high-fived Mihir as they continued playing. This bond between Rajiv and Mihir was unexpected, but she knew it was important to Rajiv. Rajiv had very few friends, and Mihir was definitely on that small list. Her brother genuinely liked and cared for Mihir. His friendship was also reciprocated whole-heartedly by Mihir, and that was visible today.

It reinforced her belief that she was doing the right thing. Rajiv didn’t need to know about her marriage to Mihir. Without question, Rajiv would side with her, and that would create an unmendable rift between the two men. And she didn’t want that. Telling her sisters… God, she couldn’t even imagine doing that. They would go to war with the men they loved for her.

Even before her family had become so intricately involved with the Oshnovs, it hadn’t made sense to disrupt their lives with her news. As it was, they hadn’t known much about her short-lived relationship with Mihir. They only knew that she had fallen in love with him while studying in college in London and that he had died in an unfortunate accident. Years later, when she had learned that he was alive, it had been too late to tell them. After the yacht incident, she hadn’t wanted to tell them at all. And now, it made no sense to stir things up.

Mihir and she had made a mistake in the past. They’d barely known one another when he had proposed to her. Hence, for the sake of their siblings, they’d simply end their marriage quietly and go on with their lives with no one being the wiser.

It was best that way. The only way forward.

9

Mihir stepped out of the pool, pushing his wet hair behind. He picked up his white shirt and wore it again. It clung to his wet skin. From the corner of his eyes, he saw his brothers nearing. Their women were both in the pool now, playing with Rajiv and his kids. To his left, Anna was rummaging through her bag, talking to Sheena. He swore. He didn’t care in the least what she was doing. He had to stop keeping track of her whereabouts. He’d told himself that several times already, but his eyes refused to listen to that dictate from his brain. At every instant, he knew where she was, what she was doing, and who she was with. Bloody fucking hell.

“Navya and Reina told us everything,” Armaan began, the moment he and Vedant were in front of him. “Is it true?”

A loud laugh caught Mihir’s attention. Without thinking, his eyes found her, laughing with Sheena.

Irritated with himself, he faced Armaan. “Is what true?”

“That Ananya and you have decided to call a truce for our sakes,” Armaan said.

Mihir nodded.

Vedant stepped closer to him. “Thank you for this, brother. It makes us all so happy to see you both here enjoying with us. I’m glad you finally understood this.”

“Well, you did make a rather stern point about it,” Mihir said. “And you were sore about it for days. Something had to be done.”

“I’m sorry, brother!” Vedant wrapped his arms around Mihir. “The last week has been so damn tough. I hated being at odds with you. You mean the world to me.”

Mihir held him close. “And you mean the world to me. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for your happiness.” He held a hand out to Armaan. “And yours. So, are you both going to start planning your weddings now?”

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