Fixation (Fatal Attraction #3)

Chapter 32

32

T hree days later, Vedant sat with Armaan in his brother’s Bentley as they made their way to the Mehra home in Dubai’s Bay Estate. It was the night of Armaan and Navya’s engagement party. He and his brothers had taken the plunge. The ball was in motion.

Once Rajiv Mehra had endorsed this plan, everything had been quickly put in place. Yesterday, Navya and Armaan had held a press conference in O-Corp’s office to announce their engagement to the world. The next issue of Ananya’s Noir Fashion magazine was going to have a centre-spread feature on them. Already, the world was abuzz with the news of Armaan’s newfound happiness. Armaan and Navya were being spoken about on every news channel and magazine. Tonight’s party at Rajiv Mehra’s home would further cement the news of their relationship.

It was very heartening to see how Rajiv had offered his full support to them. Vedant needed to meet him soon. He was in love with the man’s sister, and he needed him on his side. Besides, both Armaan and Mihir genuinely respected Reina’s elder brother. Perhaps, one day soon, he too could boast of a mutual respect and friendship with Rajiv, that is, if Reina ever agreed to give him a chance again. He sighed. She would. She had to. Any other alternative meant the end of his world. Even the mere thought of that made his pulse skitter.

He calmed himself. He needed to be patient and give her time. That’s why he’d stayed away from her and not visited her during her early morning swim sessions again. He wanted to see if she missed him—if she craved him as much as he craved her.

He’d started telling her the story of his life with the hope that one day she’d also tell him all her secrets. He’d left her in suspense, hoping that if she genuinely cared about him, then she’d seek him out to listen to the rest of it… but if she didn’t… He shook his head. He wasn’t thinking of that.

In a few minutes, he’d be seeing her again. He needed to be calm when he met her. He faced Armaan, who was looking out of the window, his knee bouncing restlessly.

“It’s going to be okay,” Vedant said. “Everyone is going to be safe. We will ensure it.”

Armaan faced him. “I know, but I am shit scared nonetheless.”

“So am I…” Vedant sighed. “But this waiting and worrying is killing me. Ivan will act, and we will be there to thwart him. We won’t let him hurt anyone we love ever again.”

Armaan nodded. He looked dapper tonight dressed in a black suit, navy blue shirt and matching tie. Like him, Vedant too was dressed in a black suit, but with a black shirt and black tie.

Their car stopped under a porch.

“I wish Mihir was here,” Armaan said, looking sad. “Navya’s whole family is going to be here for her tonight, and I don’t get to have my elder brother beside me. It just sucks big time.”

“Hey, I’m here for you. Besides, you know how Mihir feels about coming to her home.”

“Yeah!” Armaan clucked his tongue. “I just wish Ananya and he could set aside their differences for Navya and me.”

Vedant squeezed his shoulder and the two of them climbed out of the car and stepped inside the large mansion. An older couple immediately reached them. Armaan introduced him to Reina’s parents. Anvay and Sara Mehra greeted him warmly and welcomed Vedant into their home. They quickly whisked Armaan with them to introduce him to their guests. Left alone, Vedant wandered inside Reina’s house. The place was buzzing with people. The outer elegance of the house matched the interior furnishings, which were top class, and screamed wealth and privilege.

Glass doors separated the living room from the lawns outside, where he spotted the vibrant blue of a pool. At the corner of which, he saw a live band playing soft numbers.

His heart tugged him forward, and he knew without a doubt that she was outside. He began moving in that direction but was accosted by Vogue Arabia’s editor-in-chief. Vedant had met the man before on several occasions. Soon, others from the fraternity joined them, several of whom he knew from before and others he was introduced to. Reina’s family had gone all out to ensure that the most exclusive people from the media were present to take note and mention this event on their news outlets, thus ensuring the buzz around his brother’s engagement continued for longer.

Half an hour later, he finally made it outside to the lawns. He looked to the right, and his eyes zeroed in on her immediately. His heart skipped a beat. Dressed in a silver strapless gown, with her caramel-streaked hair flowing down her back in loose waves, Reina was a vision.

A hand caught her elbow, pulling her closer to whisper in her ear. She threw her head back and laughed. The man next to her said something, and she slapped his shoulder playfully before she caught his arm. Then, the two of them leaned closer to one another, speaking as if they were privy to some great big secret. Raw anger coursed through him, making his vision crimson. The urge to pull her away from the man and claim her as his, right here in front of every single person present tonight, consumed him.

“That is Aditya Wahi,” a voice said from beside him.

He looked to the side and saw Navya standing next to him. He’d been so focused on Reina that he hadn’t noticed her approaching.

“He’s cool, right?” Ananya said, sliding to his other side. Both the sisters watched Reina and this other man.

“She’s crushed on him like forever,” Navya told him.

“What?” Vedant choked out.

“Hmm, and they look so good together,” Ananya added.

Vedant alternated his gaze between them. “Are you saying all this to make me jealous?”

Navya looked at him. “Is it working?”

“What do you think?”

“Good. You deserve to suffer for what you put her through.” Ananya smoothened the folds of her white gown. In front of them, the man, Aditya, held a hand out to Reina. She put her hand in his, and he took her to the dance floor set up in front of the live band. His heart twisted to see Reina, his Reina, dance with another man.

“Yes, I agree, he might just be good for her,” Navya said.

Vedant really didn’t need to stand there and listen to Reina’s sisters voice out why they preferred another man over him for her. But before he could move a step, Ananya said, “Unfortunately, he’s not the one Reina wants.”

He froze, and then shifted to face them.

“Armaan told me that you’re in love with her,” Navya said. “Are you?”

Vedant looked her in the eye. “Yes.”

“He also explained why you behaved the way you did,” Navya added.

“And?”

Navya studied him for a moment before she slowly lowered her chin. “I may not have spent a lot of time with you, and most of our communication has been on the phone, but I do like you.”

Ananya smiled. “And I trust her judgement. So, we are going to help you win Reina back.”

His eyes rounded. “Why would you do that?”

Navya shrugged. “See, the thing is, we all say and do ill-advised things in the name of love. I’ve made mistakes as well. But I do believe your intentions were right.”

“Of course, you shouldn’t have hurt her,” Ananya added. “But like all stupid men, you thought you knew better, when you actually didn’t. None of you do; you simply take us women for granted.” She made a face. “Also, the most important reason we want to help you is because we suspect that she’s in love with you as well. She’s just too mad right now. But we’ve seen how miserable she’s been these last weeks. And then she saw you at Club Poseidon, and it was like something had woken up inside her. She doesn’t realise it yet, but she’s been smiling more often since then. So yes, we will help you, with a clear warning—hurt her again, and we will destroy you.”

“Agreed,” Navya said.

The two of them looked so fierce standing together, facing him, like two mother hens protecting their little chick.

He lowered his head. “I promise never to hurt her again.”

“Good,” Ananya announced.

“Thank you, both of you.”

He genuinely was grateful for their acceptance. He looked in the direction of the dance floor again. Reina was still dancing with Aditya, and he didn’t like it one bit.

Ananya clucked her tongue. “Oh, stop getting mad. Come with me.”

“Where?”

“If you want the girl, then you have to claim her.” She rolled her eyes. “Do we have to teach you everything? Seriously?”

He laughed and followed Reina’s elder sister. At least now he had more confirmation that, in all probability, Reina was indeed in love with him. Now, he’d take on the world if he had to, just to get her to forgive him and give him a second chance.