Page 90 of Obsession

Mihir felt Anna stiffen. From the corner of his eyes, he saw her pull out her phone and type furiously into it.

“You’re right,” Mihir said. “Well planned, I must say. I can’t hurt you here, but you can’t hurt me either. So why are you really here?”

“To tell you that I’m not afraid of you. To tell you…” Ivan said, “that I’m watching you and the people you and your brothers care about. I know their names, their faces, and their whereabouts. I’m here to warn you that I will hurt everyone you love, until you don’t return what rightfully belongs to me. O-Corp is mine. Everything your brothers and you call yours is mine.”

Mihir stared at him for a long moment, pushing his anger aside so he could think clearly.

“You’re wrong, Ivan,” he finally said. “O-Corp is my kingdom, my domain. I will fight for it. My brothers will fight for it. Alexander left it to us because we are worthy of it. He never trusted you, and he liked you even less. He knew, since a long time, that you were too morally corrupt to take charge of his carefully built empire. That’s why he adopted us, trained us, and ensured we were capable of handling his legacy. What you forget is that we have money;youdon’t. You will never get to us or to the people we love. We will protect them with everything we have.”

Ivan’s eyes sparked with fury and hate. “Tell me, Mihir, are you really able to protect all the women in your life? What about the women who are far away? I hear you’re still looking for someone. For how long do you think she will be safe if she’s not with you?”

Fear for Karina stabbed his chest, but Mihir didn’t let it show on his face. Instead, he moved his arm from Anna and coolly twirled his cufflink.

Straightening his jacket, he took Anna’s hand in his again before he addressed Ivan. “What makes you think we haven’t found who we are looking for? Perhaps the only reasonyouhaven’t been able to find her is because we’ve ensured she’s somewhere safe. Have you even considered that?”

The shock on Ivan’s face gave Mihir the upper edge he needed to calm himself. Clearly, his bluff had worked for now. It also proved that Ivan didn’t know where Karina was.

“You’re here because Vedant stopped all your money channels,” Mihir said. “You are here because you are out of options and resources. Your threats all seem rather empty in these circumstances. Tell me, can you even pay the five million dollar bounty you’ve placed on my head? Is anyone willing to take that offer up?”

Anna’s head whipped around to look at him, but he continued. “Every thug and criminal in the world knows by now that I will pay them double if they reject your offer to harm me or mine. I’m sure you know that as well. Hence, you’ve come here with the intention of provoking me to attack you, so you can ruin the reputation and goodwill I’ve built over the years. And since that plan also clearly failed, now you’re trying to intimidate me and threaten me?” Mihir scoffed. “All this only makes you look weak and pathetic.”

Ivan advanced toward him.

“Go ahead, Ivan. Why don’t you make a scene? Hit me, I dare you to.” Mihir laughed, taunting him in exactly the same way Ivan had just a few minutes ago. “I suppose you’re here because one of your supporters on the board told you what happened in the meeting earlier today. However, I’m sure your supporters are no longer on your side. Since we are in the UK embassy, my hands are tied tonight. I cannot do anything to you. But I promise you this, that I will find you soon, and that day will be the last day of your existence,” Mihir vowed.

Then he smiled. “My brothers and I have mostly remained silent about what you’re trying to do to us. No more. We’ve already told O-Corp’s board, and now we will tell the whole world. So, enjoy the hospitality tonight. It will be the last time you are welcomed anywhere.”

Ivan was vibrating with anger now, his fists clenching and unclenching.

Mihir smiled. “The thing is, Ivan, I have all the power and all the cards are in my favor. Remember that before you come after me and mine again. You will never win against me.”

Mihir turned to walk away, pulling Anna with him.

She tugged on his hand. “One moment, Mihir.”

Leaving him, Anna rushed to Ivan. Swinging her fist out, she punched him in the nose, before keening him in the groin. A loud gasp resounded around them as Ivan crumpled to the floor. Everyone around them stopped talking and stared.

Leaning down, Anna addressed Ivan. “If he’d hit you, it would have caused an international incident. But me hitting you is only going to make everyone think that you did something absolutely ghastly tome. They wouldn’t be wrong. I wasn’t prepared when you and your lackeys hurt me. Try it again, and I will find you and murder you in your sleep. Touch Mihir or anyone else I love, and see how I destroy you. If you know who I am, you must know that I have the money and means to act on my threat.”

Her head held up high, her gait poised and regal like a queen, she left a writhing Ivan on the floor and returned to Mihir.

“Now we can go,” she told him.

No words came out of Mihir’s mouth. Absolutely none. He couldn’t come to terms with what she had just done… or said.

Touch Mihir or anyone else I love, and see how I destroy you.

Did that mean she still loved him? He halted that thought. He couldn’t allow it to stay in his head. Already, his emotions were all over the place when it came to her. He couldn’t add her feelings for him into the mix. He wouldn’t. He refused to get his heart broken again. This between them was not forever.

But her bravery, her daring... God, she’d floored him. So many questions flooded his mind. Questions about the past, about Ivan, about her, but he silenced them all for now.

“Are you okay?” he finally managed to ask her.

“Now, I am,” she breathed out.

Ignoring all the eyes on them, she took his arm and marched him out of the ballroom and into his waiting car. His mind replayed her words to Ivan, the ones he’d overheard before he reached her.

That scar is merely a mark on his skin. It doesn’t change who he is. If at all, that scar makes him a warrior for facing and surviving his trauma. And frankly, I like it. It just makes him look sexier. Hotter. Mihir is flawless, every part of him, including the scar.

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