Page 107 of Right Where I Belong
“You speak Russian?” she gasped. “That’s amazing.”
“Is that the first thing you’re going to say after Armaan’s outburst?” Vedant asked, studying her carefully.
She frowned, and then her brow cleared. “Oh, you mean what he said about torturing and killing Dorab?”
Armaan looked at his hands. She lifted his jaw up. “I’m never going to judge you for what you’ve done in life to reach where you have. That was your journey, and the path you had to walk. And I’m glad you hurt that bastard. I wish you’d hurt him more.”
They all laughed.
She studied each of their faces. “We’ve been apart for so long. Let’s not spend the remainder of our lives hiding behind careful words or walls. You don’t need to hold anything back from me, ever. I love you all, no matter what.”
“You’re still as kind as ever,” Vedant said.
“And you’re still as quiet as ever,” she said softly.
Vedant had been too quiet as a child, too, and she could see that hadn’t changed about him. He’d stayed silent throughout her conversation with her brothers.
“Oh, he only likes to talk to Reina,” Mihir said. “He’s talking nonstop to her always. It’s a side of him he hides from us.”
“I’m sure Reina will tire of him in a few years,” Armaan said with a devilish smile.
Vedant glared at him. “Fucker, why don’t you tell her how you’re always tongue-tied around Navya?” His bespectacled gaze landed on Mihir, and he pointed a finger at him. “And you? We just have to address Ananya as Anna, and that’s all it takes to get you all worked up.”
“Anna?” Sabrina queried.
Mihir immediately stiffened. Her brows shot up. Armaan and Vedant laughed. Sabrina stared at them, not quite understanding what was going on.
“The thing is…” Armaan began. “Only Mihir is allowed to call her Anna. And he’s fucking mental about it.”
She laughed. “I’m so glad you all are okay and happy.”
“And we are so glad you’re finally with us,” Mihir said.
“Today is a good day indeed,” Vedant said.
“Okay, enough sad talk!” Armaan raised a hand. “We need to address the elephant in the room. Aditya and you. Is it serious?”
“We’re friends…” she said, her words careful.
“Friends with benefits, you mean,” Vedant stated.
She blinked, feeling flustered.
“Don’t forget, we saw you wearing his shirt on the video call,” Armaan intoned naughtily.
Her throat worked, but she stayed silent.
“You can talk to us, you know…” Mihir said.
She couldn’t tell her brothers what she truly felt about Aditya, not until she’d told him first. He needed to hear that she loved him before she explained her feelings to her brothers. Besides, they still had to talk about his mother. With everything that had been going on, they hadn’t touched upon that concern yet, and that’s where all her hesitation lay.
Seeing her brothers waiting, she said, “This… Aditya and I… it’s too new. I don’t know where we are headed. Somewhere good, I hope. Besides, I have my son to think of. It’s not easy for a man to be with a woman who already has a child. I mean, it won’t be easy for his family to accept us, and Ahaan is the most important person in my life.”
Apart from accepting her, Aditya’s mother needed to accept Ahaan too. And while Aditya already loved Ahaan and her, he loved his mother as well.
“I’d rather not talk about Aditya and me at all, right now,” she said. “But when I’m ready, I will talk to you about it.”
“Why him, though?” Armaan groaned.
