Page 83 of Obsession

At Mihir’s silence, Zeeshan continued, “Devina and I are dipping now. If you’re ready, we can come with you guys. Mihir, you have your car, right?”

Devina eyed Mihir. “So, can we come with you?”

He really disliked these two friends of Anna. He didn’t like the way Devina eyed him and the way Zeeshan followed Anna around.

“No,” Mihir said before Anna could reply. “Anna and I will leave later.”

“What happened?” Anna asked once her friends left.

“I wanted to be alone with you for a little bit more.” From the corner of his eye, he saw the ladies she’d been talking to staring at them.

He subtly tipped his head in the direction of the ladies. “What’s up with them? Who are they? Why are they staring at us?”

Anna laughed. “They’re Asha’s aunts. I’ve never met them before, but they approached me asking about my family, where I was from, what I was doing, if I was married, and if not, then would I be interested in meeting Asha’s cousin—basically, they were matchmaking.”

“What?” Mihir threw a glare in the direction of the ladies. They immediately looked away.

Anna laughed, wiping the frown from his face with her fingers. “Calm down. I pointed you out and told them that I was with you. They took one look at you and said that we make a beautiful couple. That we were both very lucky and that you should marry me ASAP before someone else steals me away.”

“Um… what?” His heart skipped several beats.

She laughed. “Yeah, they said that. Can you believe it? These aunties everywhere are just the same.”

Anna waved at someone in the distance, but he didn’t bother to check who had caught her attention. His sole focus remained on her words still echoing in his ears.

You should marry me ASAP, before someone else steals me away.

Although spoken in jest, her words struck him deeply. Anna tugged his arm. He couldn’t move. Everything in him screamed at him to make her his. When he still didn’t budge, she arched a brow.

“Marry me, Anna,” he said.

Her brown eyes widened and her mouth fell open. “What?”

She put both her hands up, shaking her head. “Wait. Wait. You know those aunties were only teasing me. It was all a joke. It wasn’t serious.”

“But I am serious. Marry me.”

She stared at him, shocked.

“Why?” she finally asked.

“I love you.”

She inhaled a heavy breath. Her eyes shut close, and when they opened again, she was smiling.

He took her hands in his. “This… us… we’re perfect. I’ve never been more certain of anything than I am about my love for you. I love you. You’re the other half of my soul. My heart is yours. I am yours, Anna. I will always only be yours. Marry me. I know it’s sudden. It’s too soon, but it just feels right. You and I feel right. This moment feels right. I want to live the rest of my life with you. I want to spend every waking moment hereon knowing you belong to me and that I belong to you.”

“You’re so intense.” A tear escaped her eyes. She chuckled, wiping it away. “I love you, Mihir Oshnov. That day in that café when our eyes met, I knew… I knew in that moment that you would change my world. And you have. I love you so much that every moment without you feels like a punishment.”

“So, will you marry me?” He looked around. “This temple is decorated so prettily. Marry me here, right now. Let me make you mine.”

“I want to…”

The temple bells began to ring loudly, as if giving them a sign.

She shut her eyes and opened them again. “Oh God. My parents. Rajiv… My sisters. How do I tell them? I…”

“Let’s not tell them then. Let’s not tell anyone. This is for us. A commitment to each other.”

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