Fixation (Fatal Attraction #3)

Chapter 23

23

V edant hadn’t slept the whole fucking night. He couldn’t forget the look on her face—of the shock, the betrayal and the utter hurt. He had behaved awfully with her, but he had to do it. Armaan had gotten it right when he had stayed away from Navya just to keep her safe. The second he’d gotten back with Navya, she’d been kidnapped. Fuck. Now, Armaan would spend the rest of his life worrying about her each time she stepped out of his sight.

His heart pinched. Reina. Fuck, he’d hurt her. His equation with her was different from Armaan and Navya’s. He and she were just beginning. His only option had been to end whatever it was that was evolving so strongly between them. He was forced to end it before it became more, before Ivan or his men found out that she was important to him. And she was so Goddamn important to him. However, her safety came first. She didn’t deserve to be pulled into his battle with Ivan.

What would Ivan do to Reina once he learned how important she was to him? And now, Su Min had also left. His heart shrivelled. Panic burst through him. Reina had to be safe, and he would keep her safe no matter the cost, beginning with keeping her here, at least until he found Su Min and understood what her motives were. But Reina… Oh, she’d hate him thoroughly, and he deserved it. But Reina would have to remain in his house until he made the world a safer place for her.

He’d done what he could to quickly cut things off between them so that neither he nor she made a move on one another ever. Simply telling her gently that he wanted to end things would have been rather unbelievable, considering the explosive chemistry they shared. One of them would have succumbed to it at some point, and once again, they’d be back to square one. Which couldn’t happen.

She hated him now, which meant even if, in a moment of weakness, he tried to fix things with her, she’d never agree and hopefully never allow him to be near her again. And he had to stay far fucking away from her at all times, no matter how much it hurt him to do so.

He pressed a hand to his chest. It hadn’t stopped aching since the previous night. Letting her go hurt. It fucking hurt so damn much.

Despite their limited time together, he’d felt a deep connection with her. He’d seen her eyes brighten when they fell on him. He’d experienced first-hand how she’d completely surrendered herself to him. He was certain that she felt the same pull toward him that he felt toward her. He’d foreseen the possibility of them having a future, one he’d wanted to desperately explore.

With a heavy heart, he walked toward his study, where he was scheduled for a meeting with his medical team. Reina had been right last night when she’d suggested reducing her team to half. He didn’t need full-time care anymore. This meeting was exactly for that. However, only two members of the team were in the study waiting for him.

“Where’s Dr. Singh?” he asked.

Laila remained silent. Stefan stepped forward. “Last night, after Laila told me that you’d called for this meeting, I went to Reina’s room, and she wasn’t there. This morning, too, her room was empty; her bed hadn’t been slept in. I checked the lounge, the kitchen, the pool, the gym, and all the places she likes to walk around, but I couldn’t find her.”

His heart drummed in fear. He looked to the side and Tyrion stood at the entrance. Seeing Vedant busy with his medical team, he hesitated. Vedant beckoned him in with a finger.

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Tyrion spoke in Russian. “I can come later.”

“No, wait,” Vedant replied in English. “Can you check on Dr. Singh for us? No one has seen her since last night.”

Tyrion’s face fell. He continued in Russian. “She left last night.”

Vedant rocked back. “What do you mean she left?”

From beside him, he heard the shocked gasps from Reina’s team. He immediately switched to Russian. “Why the fuck did you let her leave?”

“She called your brother, Mr. Armaan, and he ordered me to open the gates and let her go.”

“Armaan ordered you to let her go? Why? And why the hell did you not call me before putting her through to Armaan?”

“She used her own mobile phone to call him, Sir.”

Shock made his pulse skyrocket. How did Reina have a phone on her? Mihir had told him that he had taken away the cell phones of the entire medical team to ensure none of their enemies tracked Vedant through them. And Mihir was very thorough. Which meant one thing only. Armaan had given her phone back to her. Her calling Armaan to let her leave further cemented that in his mind.

He turned to face the others. “I’m sorry, but we will have to continue later.”

He faced Tyrion the second they left. “Tell me what exactly occurred last night.”

Tyrion related everything to him. Once he was done, Vedant called Armaan.

“Why the hell did you let Reina go without speaking to me first?” Vedant yelled the second Armaan answered.

“I’m so fucking mad at you,” Armaan shot back. “You’re the calm brother, the kind one, the one everyone looks up to, and yet you hurt her. How could you?”

A wave of jealousy swept over him. It annoyed him to think that Reina had turned to Armaan for help. He hated that she could confide in Armaan so easily. What was going on between them? What hold did Reina have over his brother that she’d manage to secure her phone and her freedom via him? The more he thought of it, the more he saw red.

Armaan continued, “She was weeping when she left. She sounded miserable, yet she refused to talk to me about it.”

“It’s none of your fucking business,” Vedant stormed. “Who is she to you anyway?”

“A friend. She’s a friend,” Armaan said. “And you insinuating something other than that makes me want to hit you in the face. I love Navya; never doubt that for one fucking second.”

Fucking hell. He pinched his forehead. What was he even thinking of accusing his brother like that? What had gotten into him?

“I’m so sorry, Armaan,” he lamented. “I wasn’t thinking straight. She’s gone, and I am afraid for her.”

“She’s safe.”

“Will you tell me where she is?”

“I will not ,” Armaan raged.

“Do you know her brother? Is that how you know her?” Vedant asked, finally putting everything in proper perspective. “Tyrion overheard her say something along the lines of ‘God help us all, if her brother found out’ or something.”

When Armaan stayed silent for a long moment, Vedant asked, “What exactly are you not telling me, brother?”

“If she didn’t confide in you, then it’s not my fucking job to tell you her story. She trusted you when she doesn’t trust men easily. You created this mess, you fix it, that is, if you ever get a chance to fix it. And Vedant, even God won’t be able to help us once her brother learns that she was held hostage here, and then she was forced to leave because of something you did.”

Armaan disconnected the call without giving Vedant a chance to explain what had happened. He felt sick to his stomach. He’d hurt her. He’d expected Reina to be enraged by the way he’d ended things with her, but he’d completely overlooked her sadness, her pain, and her determination to get away from him. Fuck. He was a complete idiot. He exhaled and inhaled. And now she was out in the open, where, thanks to Su Min, Ivan could locate her easily. His throat soured. Fear twisted his gut. Armaan had told him she was safe. But Vedant would believe that only once he ascertained that for himself.

She’d be safe, and he’d ensure that she remained safe always. But for that, he needed to find her first. If Armaan wasn’t willing to tell him where she was, then he’d look for her himself. He would find her and keep a watch over her, always.