Page 101 of My Sinner

“And Avi made us promise all those years ago never to hurt you,” Vihaan said. “if not for that then…”

“Thank God for that,” Avantika said. “I asked you for that promise because my son needed you both. I needed you, and now I’m glad I did it. We thought the worst about Dev. We didn’t believe in him and his loyalty toward us. We didn’t have faith when we should have had.”

Dev acknowledged her words with a nod.

“I did try talking to Aaryan,” he said. “That day, before he told me that he had taken Sanjana as his captive, I tried to talk of the past, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Twelve years’ worth of resentment is kind of hard to let go in one meeting,” Aaryan said.

“Through Shaurya, I found you and Vihaan, but I didn’t have a single word on Avantika. It was as if she didn’t exist. It killed me to even consider that she may not be alive. It was only after Vihaan lost that bet with me and told me she was alive and well that I could breathe easily again.” He studied Aaryan. “As far as you and Sanjana are concerned, I was always going to return her to you. She was yours the minute she told me she loved you and that she was the one who told you to keep her hidden. She tried to end this war between us even without knowing my truth.”

“You are my brother.” Sanjana lifted her chin. “I believed in you. I knew you had a good heart.”

“Despite that, I had to use you to find Avantika. I was running out of options, but then she came to bargain with me, and you know the rest.” He looked at Avantika. “Everything I ever did was for you. I wanted you to be safe first and foremost. I love you; I’ve only ever loved you.”

She sniffed harder. “I’m so sorry you went through what you did. While I had my brothers, and Sanjana lived her life unaware of your problems, you had no one.”

She hugged him. “Even without us knowing, you were fighting for us as best as you could. You became a slave to your father’s wishes just to ensure he kept believing we were dead and never questioned that night. You suffered him to ensure Sanjana was safe.”

He kissed her forehead. “I’d do it all over again…for you. For all of you.”

Aaryan touched his shoulder. “All this time, I believed that you were mixed up with your father. That you had betrayed us when the truth was that you tried to save us. You became his puppet to ensure he never set his evil eye in any of our directions. And for that, I thank you.”

Aaryan pulled him in a hug. A tear fell down Dev’s cheek. This—gaining acceptance from his closest friend, seeing that he believed him—this was what he’d waited for more than a decade.

Dev turned to face Vihaan. Seeing Aaryan and Dev together, he spun on his heel and left the room.

Dev shifted from Aaryan, intending to follow Vihaan.

Aaryan caught his arm. “Let him be. He will come to terms with this. Vihaan has always been very vocal about how he’s felt about you. Allow him time to sort his feelings out. I’m overwhelmed, and I’m sure so is he.”

Avantika put her arms around Dev. “I love you so much. Don’t worry about Vihaan. He will understand too.”

Dev hoped what she said was true. He’d been lonely for too long. He wanted to be back in the close circle of his friends. He wanted to be a part of their family again, and he couldn’t do that without Vihaan. He’d do what he had to for Vihaan to accept him back.

He rested his chin on Avantika’s head, feeling relieved. He was finally free of the burden that had haunted him for far too long. He was finally where he ought to be—with her, loving her, and having her love him. It had taken him years to reach here. Now, Avantika was finally his, with no secrets between them. Only good things lay ahead for them.

28

“How are you doing?” Avantika asked Sanjana.

The two of them were walking behind the house, heading to the forest. Aaryan and Dev had left in the morning to visit the site of the explosion, and Avantika had insisted on a stroll after lunch.

“I’m fine,” Sanjana replied. She was furiously rubbing her scars. The skin around them was red, angry.

Avantika put her hand on Sanjana’s wrist, stopping her. She’d seen her do this through the morning, ever since Aaryan had left the house.

Sanjana gave her a watery smile. “I supposed I ought to stop this habit of touching my wrist each time I’m worried.”

“Hey, you don’t need to put on a brave face in front of me,” Avantika told her. “The reason I insisted on taking a walk with you is because I know you are upset, and clearly, you’ve been hiding it from Aaryan.”

“He has enough to process as it is. I didn’t want to burden him with my troubles.”

“You know you can talk to me.”

“I keep wondering how a parent—my dad—could be so cruel to hurt both his children to get his way.”

“Greed and envy bring out the worst side of people.”

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