Page 79 of Obsession

Ananya stepped in between both the men, her hands raised. Facing Mihir, she pushed at his chest. “Okay, Mr. Intense, he’s a friend.”

“Do you give all your friends permission to manhandle you?” Mihir asked.

She gasped. “Are you mad? He wasn’t manhandling me.”

Finding Aditya watching them, she stepped back and said, “Let’s start over.” She addressed Mihir first. “This is Aditya Wahi.”

Mihir’s gaze hardened.

She looked at Aditya. “And this rude man is Mihir Oshnov. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know how to be nice.”

“Another Oshnov?” Aditya’s gaze skimmed over Mihir before landing on Ananya. “Rajiv seems to be biased toward this one. But to me, it looks like you’re hanging out with the worst one.”

Mihir’s eyes turned feral. She pressed both her hands into his chest, pushing him back.

“Don’t you dare move from here,” she yelled. “I will handle this… and him.”

When Mihir’s expression still didn’t change, she gentled her tone. “Look at me.”

His eyes finally latched onto her face, and softened.

“He’s a friend,” she said. “I’m going to talk to him for a minute, alone. You will stay right here, and not behave like a savage. Am I clear?”

His lips tightened a fraction, and then he lowered his chin slightly. Leaving him, she went to Aditya, pulling him to the side.

She asked, “Why the hell were you antagonizing him?”

“Because it’s so much fun.”

She threw him an annoyed look. “Earlier, you mentioned something Rajiv asked you to do… Well, did my brother ask you to check on me? Is that why you’re here?”

Aditya’s smile was enough of an answer.

She pressed a hand to her hip. “Why?”

He tipped his head at Mihir. “Because you have history with him, and Rajiv was concerned about you. He was restless knowing you were alone with Mihir here, so he asked me to check on you.”

“And he couldn’t have checked on me over the phone?”

Aditya studied her. “You know it’s not the same.”

“It’s barely been a day since I’ve been here,” she said, irritated. “I can’t believe that he sent you to check on me like this. Wait, how did you know where to find me?” She looked around her. “Is he having me followed? God, I’ll punch Rajiv if he’s doing that.”

“Of course not!” Aditya laughed. “I was going to call you. But then Noir’s socials showed you here in Arbat Street. My hotel is close by, so I decided to step out and see if I could find you.”

She glared at him. “I don’t like this.”

“Don’t like what? That your brother is worried about you?” Aditya asked gently. “What did you expect?”

“For him to know that I can handle Mihir.”

“That won’t stop him from worrying.” He looked at Mihir. “But clearly, you can handle him. So, all is well.”

“Yes,” Ananya replied.

“Good, which means I can continue with my plan and fly to Singapore now.”

Aditya was a good friend to do this. He’d gone out of his way to check on her. And her brother… Although she was irritated with him, she could understand where he was coming from.

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