Page 54 of Obsession

Ananya looked around her bedroom. “I’m going to miss this house, you know. We had some good years here.”

He smiled, looking nostalgic. “We sure did. Looking back, moving to Dubai was the best decision.”

“I agree,” she said.

“Dubai has been good to us,” Rajiv said.

To all of her siblings, for sure. They had all found their special someone here, and while she didn’t envy them their happiness, sitting at home the last few days had made her realize just how lonely she truly was.

Rajiv looked at her for a long moment before turning to the TV again.

She threw a kernel at him. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.”

“Nonsense.” She wrinkled her nose. “What’s the real reason you’re here?”

“Sheena’s taken the kids for swimming lessons,” Rajiv replied. “Why is it so hard for you to believe that I really want to spend time with you?”

She threw another popcorn at him. He caught it and popped it into his mouth.

“I’m fine, you know,” she told him, understanding his concern. “You don’t need to worry.”

He studied her. “Are you?”

She nodded.

He tilted his head. “Do you really think I haven’t noticed that you’re sleeping with a light on? That you flinch every time there is a loud sound or a sudden movement in your periphery.”

She shut her eyes with a heavy exhale.

Rajiv clutched her arm. “I know you, Ananya. Just because I have a family of my own, doesn’t mean I don’tseeyou. You and I have been partners in crime for all our lives. I know you’re hurting. I know you’re afraid.”

Her eyes burned with unshed tears. Rajiv had indeed been her partner in crime for the longest. They’d fought and made up and fought again, thus repeating that endless sibling cycle, all through their lives. Being just two years apart in age, Rajiv had always understood her better than anyone else. She loved Navya and Reina, as did Rajiv. But the bond Ananya shared with her brother was above and beyond everyone. And she knew he reciprocated this feeling.

“I’m going to confide in you,” she said. “But I need you to promise me not to tell anyone else. I don’t want everyone fussing and worrying over me.”

“You have my word,” he reassured her.

She looked into the bowl. “That moment when I was stabbed… all I could think about was that I was dying and there was so much unfinished in my life. That I had so much left undone. I didn’t… I didn’t want to die.”

He put his arm around her. She snuggled into his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent. Allowing it to soothe her nerves. Rajiv had always been her go-to person for everything in life.

“The attack,” she continued, “…was so unexpected and so easy for them to orchestrate. It makes me wonder how easy it would be for them to get to me again. And I’m so scared about that. I can’t sleep easily at night, and when I do, I wake up panicking. This wasn’t a situation where I had time to even think or act to protect or defend myself. Thinking about it makes me feel so helpless.”

Rajiv kissed the top of her head. “No one will get to you again, I promise. I’ve increased the security around all of us, and well, so has Mihir. I didn’t know he had someone following you, until I heard that his guy, Anton, had managed to capture the man who hurt you. But now, he has two people following you. They’re outside even now.”

She glanced at her window and then shook her head. “What am I going to do about him, Rajiv? I want to hate him. I’ve tried hating him. But even that is so hard.”

“Hmm, perhaps I have a solution for you.”

She sat up. “What do you mean?”

“This morning, Armaan and Vedant came to me with a problem. I believe you posted something on Noir’s socials today, again pointing to Mihir.”

Her eyes rounded. “Seriously, what is everyone’s problem? Today’s was a good post.”

She opened the post and read it aloud.

---