Page 4 of Obsession

She focused on her surroundings. To her left, Sheena and Navya were fighting with some men. Her pulse skittered. She had to escape; she had to get them all out of this damn yacht. She never should have gotten them here in the first place. Her heart pounded as she looked at Mihir again. His icy gaze was still on her, his large hand still clasping her arm.

Even though her heart was hammering, she looked into his eyes and lifted her chin. “I’m not afraid of you, Mihir. Despite the words coming out of your mouth, do you really think you can hurt me?”

Lifting her hand, she boldly traced his scar. He jolted. Using his shock against him, she shoved his chest. Mihir staggered a step behind. Spinning around, she ran towards the other two girls. Together, they hurried down the yacht to the exit.

Something terrible had happened to Mihir, and for some reason, he blamed her for it. But right now, she couldn’t allow him to catch her.

Ananya had just about put her foot on the first rung of the ladder when she heard Sheena scream. She turned. Mihir had caught Sheena, while another man had captured Navya. Fear slashed through her insides, and she hesitated on the step.

“You have to go, Ananya,” Sheena screamed. “It’s not us he wants, it’s you.”

The yacht engines roared to life. Indecision gripped her heart. Victory flashed on Mihir’s face as the yacht pulled away from the marina. She knew, without a doubt, that she couldn’t allow herself to be captured by him.

Acting on pure instinct, she leapt, landing on the hard ground. She pushed to her feet, steadying herself. Mihir’s hard eyes were the last thing she saw as the yacht sailed away into the open sea.

Panic tightened like a noose around her chest. He had Navya and Sheena. Fuck, she was a coward to have left them with him. She exhaled. Mihir had wanted her and not them. If that was the case, then he wouldn’t hurt them. God, even the possibility of Mihir hurting anyone would have been so far-fetched at one time. But now…now she didn’t know who he was anymore.

She ran to her car and drove off immediately. More fear twisted inside her. Rajiv would never forgive her for her actions tonight, but he was the only one who could get Navya and Sheena back from Mihir. However, until Rajiv reached them, she prayed that the man she had loved and married still existed behind those hard, cold eyes and that he wouldn’t hurt Sheena and Navya. With a heavy heart, she dialed her brother’s number.

1

Four years later

Dubai

It was official. She hated Mihir Oshnov. He was a selfish jerk and a bully.

Ananya Mehra stood in a quiet corner of the lawn and looked around at the party happening at her home. It was her younger sister Reina’s birthday in a few minutes. Their parents, Sara and Anvay Mehra, had thrown this party to bring in her special day. It was a small event, with just family and very close friends in attendance. All around her was a feeling of cheer and celebration.

Everything looked beautiful. Tall sconces of lights bathed the lawns in a warm, inviting glow. A delicious buffet was set up on the side. A guitarist, set up in another corner of the lawn, sang soulful romantic songs. The sky was clear—a few stars were visible, and a cool breeze was blowing. November in Dubai was always great, and the weather didn’t disappoint tonight either. However, amidst all the happy chatter, the clinking glasses and the clatter of crockery, were the sad faces of her to-be brothers-in-law, Vedant and Armaan—Mihir’s brothers.

“I absolutely loathehim,” Ananya whispered to her sister-in-law, Sheena.

Sheena’s eyes twinkled with laughter. “Really? Who?”

Ananya made a face. Of course, Sheena knew who she was talking about. They all knew there was only one man she disliked from the very bottom of her heart.

Ananya tipped her head in the direction of her brothers-in-law. “Armaan and Vedant’s faces light up every time they sense someone entering the lawns. They keep hoping it ishim. But it never is. They’re sad, and them being sad means Navya and Reina are sad too. Reina was really hopeful that Mihir would come tonight. It is her birthday, after all. But he has zero feelings about anyone else. Fucking selfish bastard.”

Sheena sighed. “You know, Rajiv has also tried hard to get him to come tonight. It’s annoying how pig-headed he is.”

On the night of the disastrous yacht incident and in its aftermath, Ananya had never imagined that four years later, the Oshnovs would storm into her family’s lives. Her middle sister, Navya, had fallen in love with Mihir’s middle brother, Armaan. And her youngest sister, Reina, had fallen for Mihir’s youngest brother, Vedant. That night, her elder brother, Rajiv, had been forced to come and negotiate with the Oshnovs for Navya and Sheena’s release. But now, surprisingly, Rajiv had become good friends with Mihir.

The Oshnovs had invaded her life. Yet,hechose to shun her at every turn. He refused to talk to her and be in the same room as her, even though they shared a history older than all this.

At one time… Ananya shook her head. She wasn’t going down memory lane again. All that was in the past and the only thing one got from rehashing the past was endless pain and sorrow.

She flicked an agitated hand through her hair, focusing on the present. “All four of them are sad because he’s not here, andhe’snot here because ofme. What’s worse is that they cannot get married because of me.”

Sheena glared at her. “Don’t you dare think that. None of it is your fault.”

“You do know that Mihir has categorically told Armaan and Vedant that he will not attend their weddings as long as I am present. And I refuse to not be there for my sister’s weddings. Which puts them all in a deadlock, thanks to this… conflict between Mihir and me,” she sighed. “Maybe I?—”

“—don’t even think of it,” Sheena cut her off. “Navya and Reina will not marry without you, and Rajiv and your parents will never accept you not attending the girls’ weddings. Nor will I.”

Ananya gave her a sad smile. She studied her sister-in-law. Dressed in a black shimmery dress, Sheena looked stunning, her bearing regal. Sheena belonged to the affluent Sehgal family from Mumbai. She came from privilege and her entire demeanor screamed of her refined upbringing.

Sheena was one of Ananya’s closest friends. Yet, Ananya had never told her the truth about everything that had happened between Mihir and her in London all those years back.

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