Page 41 of Obsession

“Very typical of him,” Ananya said. “That’s alright, Leah. I’ll take it from here.”

Her assistant left, shutting the door behind her. Before Ananya could even open her mouth to address him, he tossed a manila envelope in front of her.

“These are our divorce papers. Sign them,” he growled.

Her brows shot up at his haughty tone.

She glared at the papers and then at him. “Do you think you can walk in here and simply order me around?”

“I want you to sign the damn papers, Anna.”

“And I don’t want to see your face,husband,” she retorted. “Looks like we both aren’t getting what we want.”

He stormed closer to her desk. “We made a deal, Anna.”

“The deal was that we have to convince our siblings that we can get along,husband,” Ananya said.

“My siblings are convinced,” he barked.

God, he was always so angry. She hated it, and then she cursed herself. She didn’t care if he was angry. He could go to hell for all she cared.

She stood, crossing her desk to stand in front of him. “Mine are not.”

“Then that seems like your problem. I’ve done my part of the deal.”

She tossed the envelope to the side. “Just being seen together once doesn’t constitute proving that you and I can get along. The thing is, Mihir, I don’t trust you. I don’t trust you not to back out of your word to me once I sign these papers. This divorce is the only leverage I have over you.”

“Apart from that video, you mean.” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Alright, we do it your way. But that means some more rules and boundaries have to be put in place.”

She leaned against her desk. “Go on. Clearly, you’ve come with a list.”

“That video you showed me, do you know how dangerous it is for my reputation?”

She lifted a shoulder and dropped it, looking uninterested. However, she was glad that she had managed to rile him up. He deserved some sleepless nights for all the pain he had caused her over the years.

“Had you not threatened me that day, I never would have shown you the video,” she said.

“I want that video gone, Anna.”

She bent just a little closer to him. “Too bad I don’t dance to your tune,husband. However, I can assure you that as long as you don’t threaten Noir, I will never use the video.”

“No, you will just keep publishing whatever you feel like about me,” he snapped. “That is unacceptable. I know I said I didn’t care what you posted about me, but since you have no sound judgment of what information is acceptable for public consumption, I want you to stop publishing anything about me in your magazine.”

“You and I are not going to agree easily on this. Let’s table this for now before we have a full-blown argument. What are your other conditions?”

“No touching. Definitely no kissing, not even on the cheek. And what happened that day in the pool house can never repeat. Had you not initiated it, nothing would have happened. Stay the fuck away from me, henceforth.”

“You think I initiated it?” She gaped at him. “Wait. Are you blamingmefor that incident?”

“Yes.”

She studied him carefully. Eyes ablaze, jaw tight, and fists clenched, Mihir looked like he wanted to punch something. It dawned on her that the only reason he was blaming her for that fiasco was because then he could deny his own part in it. That he’d also felt something for her that afternoon. She’d been there. She’d heard his ragged breaths and felt his hard erection pushing at her core. He had wanted her. And now, he didn’t want to accept that. He didn’t want to accept that he, too, had felt that charge… that electricity that always crackled between them when they were close. That he, too, had been helpless against the raw chemistry that had erupted between them. That he’d been a slave to the demands of his body.

She wet her lips. Saw his gaze latch onto her mouth for a brief second before he looked away.

“Coward,” she said, feeling more certain of his attraction to her.

His brows shot up. “What did you just call me?”

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