Page 76 of Right Where I Belong
More panic flared in her veins. She backed several more steps. She couldn’t be here. She couldn’t be clicked. She couldn’t afford her face in the papers, couldn’t risk recognition. She had kept herself hidden too carefully, too deliberately. One picture in the wrong hands could unravel everything.
She edged backward, tugging Ahaan with her, needing space, needing to breathe. A hard shoulder slammed into hers, jarring her off balance. She nearly pitched forward, catching herself at the last second.
The man who’d bumped into her turned, his glare sharp and accusing, as thoughshewere at fault. Her gaze lifted to his face, and the blood drained from her body.
No. No, it couldn’t be. But it was. That face had haunted her for years. She thought she’d killed him that night, but here he was, very much alive.
JD.
He looked older. More gray peppered his hair. Dressed in trousers and a shirt, the same gold bracelets dangling on his wrist, he still had the same menacing look she’d seen on his face years ago. He was standing in the VVIP section of the stadium as though he belonged there. Perhaps he did. But why was she still gaping at him? She ought to turn away. She ought to leave. She couldn’t risk him recognizing her.
He frowned, head tilting slightly, as though trying to place her. Her heart thundered. Then, as if done with her, he turned, moving forward again. That’s when she noticed the two-armed men following him. Her heart quaking in fear, she clutched Ahaan’s hand tight and pulled him with her.
“Mom!” Ahaan protested, stumbling as she dragged him toward the exit. “Why are we going outside? The match is going to start soon.”
Her voice trembled as she answered, “We can’t stay, Ahaan. We’re leaving.”
“What? No!” His voice was sharp with frustration. “I want to watch the match with Uncle Aditya. You go if you want to, but I’m staying!”
“No, Ahaan. Not today. We have to go,” she said, dragging him with her.
“No!” he snapped. “You’re ruining everything. I don’t care, I’m staying here!”
“I said NO,” she yelled, her pulse pounding in her ears. “Not today.”
He quietened immediately, but his lips curled in anger. She tugged him firmly through the gates and out onto the street. A passing cab slowed, and with trembling urgency she flagged it down. The driver stopped, and she opened the door, guiding her furious, sulking son inside before sliding in after him. She gave the driver her address, and the cab pulled away. She stared outof the window, her heart hammering. JD was alive. She hadn’t killed him. And then, she realized what she’d done.
In her panic, she’d left without a word to Aditya.
Her pulse skittered in her veins. He must be so furious with her for vanishing like that. The sight of that horde of reporters, the blinding camera flashes, the questions, all that had sent her spiraling. And then JD…
In that moment, she realized something vital. Aditya wasn’t just the man who kissed her in the privacy of a hotel room or teased her at her kitchen table. In her need to be with him, she had ignored a very important fact—he was a public figure. A prominent personality. A man the world wanted to photograph and talk to.
By standing beside him, she would eventually be pulled into that light too. Until now, they had lived in a bubble, sheltered from the outside world. Singapore had been their untouchable secret. Even here, in Mumbai, they had managed to carve out a cocoon around themselves. But tonight had shown her how fragile that cocoon truly was.
She couldn’t allow herself—or worse, Ahaan—to be dragged into the glare of cameras. Not when JD and Dorab were alive. She’d bumped into JD here by chance. If she remained with Aditya, if they walked into a future which she had dreamed of, then her photo would appear by his side. Which meant that, sooner or later, Dorab or JD would find her.
The thought of them finding her… finding Ahaan… or even Aditya, made her cold with terror.
Her phone rang. It was Aditya. She didn’t answer his call. Her mind was all over the place. But she did owe him some explanation. So, she sent him a text.
Sorry. I wasn’t feeling well. I took Ahaan and went home. I’ll call you later.
His reply came in immediately.
Aditya
I’m coming over to your place. We need to talk.
Please, can we do this tomorrow?
Aditya
No, now.
She pressed a hand to her aching heart. She loved Aditya. So much. Tonight was supposed to be the night she told him this. He was safety and strength, tenderness and fire, everything she had thought she would never find. But now she stood at a crossroads. If she stayed with him, she risked exposure, risked dragging her son and him into her dangerous past. If she walked away, she risked breaking her own heart and his. Both choices led to pain, and both choices promised loss.
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