Page 103 of Right Where I Belong
A tear slipped down her cheek. “The days after that were unbearable. Aisha was in the hospital, wounded and battling severe PTSD. I was grieving Ajay, and still had Ahaan to look after. My mother-in-law… she couldn’t cope. Ajay was everything to her, and losing him broke her. She blamed Aisha for his death and refused to even see her in the hospital. She lost all interest in the restaurant, and in life itself. I had no choice but to step in and keep it running, because how else were we to survive?”
She blinked through the blur of tears. Sniffing, she saw Aditya’s jaw was tight, his eyes dark with pain and anger. His hand closed around hers, his thumb brushing gently over her knuckles.
She continued, “I found out much later that Ajay had never stopped gambling. He’d lied to me and had in fact amassed a huge debt. I had no choice but to put the restaurant up as collateral for a bank loan just to cover what he owed. But keeping up with the installments quickly became impossible. I didn’t know how I was going to manage. My mother-in-law refused to sell the café, clinging to it as a memory of her son, uncaring how I’d make ends meet. Those days were so Goddamn hard. But then Aisha got engaged to Rithwik, and… and I suppose you know the rest.”
He gave a small smile. “I was there all through Rithwik’s contract engagement with Aisha. I witnessed them fall in love and get married. I heard how Raashi bought the café from you and gave you a job at one of her restaurants. I never thought of it much back then, but now I understand everything. How did you even convince your mother-in-law to agree to sell? From what I’ve seen of her, she’s very difficult.”
“She was worse in those days. She refused to forgive Aisha, and they had a very strained relationship for two years, until Aisha finally stood up to her and made her realize the error of her ways. Since then, they at least talk, but my mother-in-law never really changed much. She continued to keep Ajay on a pedestal. She was mostly cold to Aisha and me, and she became sort of obsessed with Ahaan.”
“Yes, I remember you mentioning she’d stopped talking to you because of me. Is that the status quo even now?”
Sabrina smiled. “Things are better now, actually. My mother-in-law and I… we’ve finally sorted our differences. And she’s been talking to Aisha too.”
Surprise flickered in his eyes, but he stayed quiet. Sabrina took his hand in hers and kissed it before giving him all the details of that conversation with her mother-in-law.
“That night, when I finally stood up to her, something shifted between us. She now accepts how much you mean to me. She realized how happy I was with you, and how much happier Ahaan became with you in his life. That made her realize how wrong she’d been, and she confessed she didn’t want to hold us back from having a better life anymore. She was even upset when I told her I’d broken up with you because of my past. Even though I never confided in either Aisha or her about my past, they both encouraged me to be with you and to tell you everything… to let you decide what you wanted to do about our relationship after you heard it all.”
He grinned. “I’m happy to hear that. Is that what you wanted to talk to me about at Mom’s birthday?”
“Yes.”
“What about Ahaan? How does he feel about us?”
“He’s delighted. He joined Aisha and my mother-in-law in convincing me to take a chance on you.” She smiled. “He misses you.”
“You know,” Aditya began slowly. “When you broke up with me, that’s when it really hit me that I hadn’t just lost you, but Ahaan too. It dawned on me that I was missing him so much because I love him too. He’s wonderful. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with your son as much as I fell in love with you. And I want to be part of his life. I want him to be mine. I want to share my world with him and watch him shine.”
Hearing Aditya speak of her son with so much affection made her heart swell with happiness. Her lips quivered and tears fell down her face. Aditya pulled her into his arms. She rested her head against his chest and heard his heartbeat roar in her ears. She loved him so much. She looked up, the words ready on her lips.
His phone beeped. Picking it up, he checked his messages and smiled.
“Armaan wants to know when I’m bringing you to Dubai.” Aditya smiled. “Shall I tell him we’ll be there tomorrow?”
She nodded.
“You’ve been so brave, Sabrina,” Aditya said. “You sacrificed your own happiness to build a stable life for yourself and your son. But now, you don’t need to worry about anything. I will keep you safe always.”
“And I’m going to see my brothers!” She grinned. “I can’t wait. Tell me about them—” Something struck her mind. “Wait. You told me that my brothers are involved with Rajiv’s sisters, correct?”
“Yes.”
She put her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing. “Are these the same sisters who had a crush on you?”
His eyes sparkled as he laughed. “Reina and Navya.”
She shot him a dark look. “You seem far too pleased about it.”
“You’re adorable when you’re jealous,” he said, his grin turning wicked. “And for the record, making your brothers jealous was even better.”
“I amnotjealous,” she huffed.
He stepped closer. “You were jealous of Kanika at Mom’s party. And you’re jealous now of Reina and Navya. Admit it, beautiful. The thought of me with anyone else makes you crazy.”
He crowded her back against the wall, making her breath hitch.
“It does make me crazy,” she whispered. “You’remine, Adi.”
His answering smile was slow and hungry. “And you’re mine too. Never forget that.”
