Obsession (Fatal Attraction #4)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

Four years ago

Dubai

A nanya Mehra looked around the opulent yacht.

His yacht.

The excitement that had been buzzing in her veins ever since she had decided to trespass his event doubled now that she was standing in the middle of his grand and lavish party.

“Oh my God…” Ananya whispered as she took in the luxury around her.

Coming from a family that owned a huge shipping corporation, she was used to extravagance. But this here tonight was opulence at another level. Her nerves thrummed.

She continued to scan the gorgeous wood, marble, and steel décor around her—the purple lights flashing overhead, the gold glittering in the wall columns, the polished floor beneath her feet, the expensive alcohol being served, the food that looked too exquisite to eat, and every one of the guests who looked like they’d stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine.

But none of that mattered. All that mattered was getting a glimpse of him .

Mihir Oshnov—the only man she had ever loved…and lost.

More than three years ago, she had thought he’d died, that fate had cruelly snatched him away from her. But he hadn’t—he had lived. Like a literal phoenix, he had risen from the ashes of the fire and destruction from that awful, unfortunate night, and become this different man, the one she’d been tracking ever since that one day nearly a year back when she had stumbled upon a grainy picture of him online, announcing him and his two brothers the heirs of the late Russian oligarch, Alexander Oshnov.

Hope had flooded her being, and her dead heart had started beating again. Although the picture had been unclear, she’d been certain it was him. After all, how many men had the name Mihir Oshnov?

But along with that certainty had come several doubts and questions. If he was truly the Mihir she had loved, and who she knew in her bones had loved her as well, then why had he allowed her to believe he had died? Why hadn’t he contacted her in the years that had passed? Had he lost his memory? Had he forgotten her? And then he’d suddenly moved to Dubai from Moscow? To her city? Why? She had too many questions.

Tonight was her opportunity to find those answers—and him . She wanted to see, once and for all, if the man she had been tracking for so long was indeed the same man she had fallen in love with while studying in London. The man she’d… No. She wasn’t thinking about that reality right now.

She’d scoured magazines, newspapers, and articles—both online and offline for any information she could get about him. But there was very little, and not a single proper picture of him. Being in the media business, she had established contacts in Russia to track the Oshnovs, and finally, her sources had sent a picture of him from a Russian magazine. Her heart had stumbled when she had recognized him.

It was him , her Mihir, and he had so obviously forgotten her. But she hadn’t given up. She’d used all her resources to contact him, to try and get in touch with him. When all those attempts had failed, she’d even reached out to his office to do an interview with him for Noir , her fashion magazine. Alas, all her attempts had been in vain. But his rejection had only fueled her obsession. Researching him and learning as much as she could about the reclusive billionaire that Mihir Oshnov was had become her passion.

She sighed. Everything she had learned about him now was contrary to what she had known of him at one time. The man she had loved had been kind, warm and modest. But this man, she’d learned, was the complete opposite. The Mihir Oshnov in whose yacht she now stood was hard, cold, and ruthless. She’d even heard that he was affiliated with the Russian mob. He was extremely dangerous and didn’t forgive easily.

Yet, she hadn’t thought twice before trespassing on his private boat. She took a shaky breath. She’d played a huge gamble when she had walked into this dangerous man’s den. And like a fool, she had gotten her younger sister, Navya, and their friend, Sheena, involved in this madness.

A sudden shiver of foreboding ran down her spine. What if Mihir wasn’t the man she’d known and loved? What if she was mistaken, and he was someone else altogether?

Taking a calming breath, she plucked three flutes of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray and walked to where Navya and Sheena were standing. She handed them a glass of champagne each, feigning an indifference she didn’t feel. In fact, her stomach was beginning to clench in unease.

Ignoring it, along with all the warning bells ringing in her brain, she took a sip of the cool champagne.

“People are staring at us,” Sheena said, looking around.

“They are bound to,” Navya replied. “We are three gorgeous girls without any men with us.”

Worry shone in Sheena’s eyes. “If Rajiv finds out…”

“He won’t,” Ananya said, “because we won’t tell him.”

Sheena gulped. Ananya’s elder brother, Rajiv, and Sheena had the hots for one another. To Ananya’s knowledge, neither of them had accepted that to the other yet. Knowing Rajiv, Ananya was certain he would definitely blow his top if he learned she had gate-crashed the Oshnovs’ party and had brought Sheena along with her. Well, he wasn’t going to find out. She’d ensure it, which meant she had to find Mihir fast, verify who he was, and then get the hell out of here.

Walking a little distance away from Navya and Sheena, she stepped out onto the deck. A sudden cool wind blew her hair, and a raw, electrifying energy slithered down her spine. Goosebumps spread across her skin. She was being watched. Her heart thundered.

He was close.

She felt it in her bones that he was near and that he was watching her. She looked to the left, and then to the right. Emotions crashed inside her. Fear, excitement, anticipation, joy, all of it mixed and swirled under her skin. As if a twine connected her to him, her body turned and she looked up at the deck above her.

Her heart came to a stop before it began beating again with renewed vigour as her eyes scanned the man watching her from the railing above.

Standing under the lights, she could make him out clearly. Windswept hair over a wide forehead, the same dark, knowing eyes, those carved cheekbones covered with stubble and those gorgeous, full lips. Her heart sighed and then began to pulse, as if coming alive for the first time in years. It was him .

“Mihir…” her lips whispered his name.

Happiness danced inside her. This man was her Mihir indeed. The urge to run to him and wrap her arms around him burst inside her. She took a step forward. His gaze narrowed on her, freezing her in place.

She studied him again. His eyes were hard, cold chips of ice, and they were swirling with anger and…hate. She staggered a step back.

Everything about this man seemed different. Yes, he was impeccably dressed in a full black suit and black shirt, but even his fine clothes couldn’t hide the danger dripping out of him. Yet, she couldn’t look away and break eye contact with him. A frisson of awareness ran down her as he studied her from top to toe. His lips tipped to the side, and a predatory gleam shimmered in his eyes.

Her stomach bottomed out. Shit. What if he had truly lost his memory? What if he had forgotten her?

Someone approached him from behind. His eyes never leaving Ananya’s, Mihir tipped his head to the side. She gasped when she saw the scar that ran down one side of his face from his temple down to his cheek.

Oh God, what had happened to him?

A woman came to stand next to him. She was tall, blonde and beautiful. She spoke a few words to him and ran a hand down his throat. Jealousy blazed through Ananya. It was instant and wild. She wanted to climb upstairs and pull that woman off Mihir. She wanted to claim him as hers, but she couldn’t.

Too much time had passed, and too much remained unresolved and unanswered between them. Yet, one thought reigned supreme. Mihir was her… He was her…

No. Even though her heart was protesting, she wasn’t going to voice that thought aloud.

Her heart cracking, she watched as Mihir wrapped his hands around that woman’s slim waist and tugged her towards him. The blonde fell on his chest, laughing, her arms going around his neck. Turning to lean her against the railing, Mihir dug his face into the side of the woman’s neck, his hard eyes still locked on Ananya.

Revulsion filled her as the woman cuddled into his throat, running her hands through his hair. His hands snaked up and down the woman’s bare back before he tipped her chin up, and his mouth descended on hers.

Ananya looked away immediately, her heart splintering and breaking all over again. This wasn’t the Mihir she had loved. That man wouldn’t have hurt her so cruelly. He wouldn’t have made her watch while he fondled and kissed another woman. He wasn’t unkind. This man, however, was indeed the cold, brutal and ruthless billionaire she’d heard of—a different man from the one she had loved.

She shook her head, her eyes burning with tears. She didn’t want to know him. She didn’t want to meet him. She just wanted to leave before her heart shattered again for this man, who had clearly forgotten her.

She rushed to where Navya and Sheena were still standing.

“We’re leaving,” Ananya announced as she snatched their champagne flutes and dropped them on the table behind them.

“What?” Sheena looked shocked.

Grabbing each of their arms, Ananya began pulling them in the direction they’d come from.

“Ananya, what is going on?” Navya halted. “I thought you wanted to meet him.”

“No. I’ve changed my mind. We’re leaving. Now.”

Tendrils of fear crept down her spine. She had to leave. Something in her heart told her to leave before things spiraled.

Before he caught her.

They rounded a corner, and two European men in suits stepped in front of them, arms crossed on their bulky chests, blocking their way. Her eyes widened as one of them unbuttoned his suit to reveal a gun encased in a shoulder holster. He tapped something on his ear as if listening to some instruction before he stepped closer.

“You have to come with us,” he said in a heavy accent. He pointed to the second man who stepped behind them, thus preventing any chance of escape.

“No,” Ananya balked.

“We’re not going anywhere with you,” Navya put forth.

Sheena took a step forward and lifted her jaw. “Move.”

“We do this the nice way, or we can do this the hard way,” the man in front of them said. “Your choice.”

Ananya exhaled a heavy breath. This was happening because of her. Because Mihir had seen her and now he wanted to meet her. While this was exactly what she’d hoped for when she’d decided to gate-crash his party, now, after seeing that cold look on his face and sensing the danger that surrounded him like a shroud, she didn’t want anything to do with him. She didn’t want Navya and Sheena anywhere near him. She’d made a terrible mistake.

One of the men swept a hand forward. When they didn’t move, he tipped his head to the gun in his holster. Shit. They had no choice but to follow him. Another man stepped in place behind them. They led them to the side stairs and up to the deck of the next floor.

Her mind spun. What did Mihir want? Did he remember her, or was he summoning her because she’d trespassed on his yacht? Fuck, it was all so confusing and intimidating.

The sounds from the party subdued as they moved further away from the ongoing entertainment. They crossed a private and empty Jacuzzi, its blue glare flashing in the night lights like an ominous omen. Her heart rate escalated with each step that she knew was taking her closer to him .

From beside her, both Navya and Sheena looked as panicked as she felt.

“I’m sorry,” Ananya whispered to the two girls. “I’m so sorry for getting you both stuck in this mess.”

How could she have forgotten that Mihir Oshnov was considered to be one of the most dangerous men on the planet? Too many years had passed since she’d loved him, and… Ananya left the thought incomplete. Right now, with the annoyance and anger she felt for Mihir, their time together was the last thing she wanted to think about.

The man in front of them opened a door, and then all of them entered into a lavish living room. The breeze filtering through the room caused the hair on her arms to rise. Without a doubt, she knew he was here.

“Hello, my beautiful Anna. Were you trying to leave without saying hello? And that too, after taking so much effort to sneak onto my ship.”

Ananya froze. She turned slowly toward that thick, accented, but familiar voice and finally came face to face with the man who had at one time meant everything to her. The only man she had ever loved and believed she had lost to death. The man she had never forgotten, and who, she now realized, had clearly not forgotten her.

Mihir Oshnov— her husband .

Oh God. Despite their circumstances, a feeling of pure joy spread through her veins, making her heart beat with renewed energy. It filled her whole being as she took him in fully after three long years—three very long years. Mihir was alive and breathing. He had lived.

“Mihir…” Ananya stared at him. “You really are alive.”

“No thanks to you, da ?” he scorned. “After all, you did try to get me killed.”

Her eyes widened. Wait, what? Her annoyance resurged at his words.

What did he mean?

Her heart skipped a beat when she finally realized what his words meant, no thanks to the look of pure hatred on his face. He thought she’d tried to…. Her heart shriveled. No. How could he ever think that? This was crazy.

She studied the harsh angles on his face, his icy cold eyes and the long scar that ran down the side of his face, cutting across his temple down his cheek. His entire demeanor screamed dark and threatening. Everything about him was different now.

Mihir’s eyes ran over her. He took in her short royal blue strappy, flowing dress and her high heels, and then his eyes slowly traversed her body in reverse before finally halting at her mouth. Every molecule and atom in her body came alive under his perusal. Tingles erupted all over her skin, and her body began to hum in pleasure, as if waking up from a long slumber, reminding her that he was the only man who made her feel like this.

“Tell me, Anna,” Mihir drawled. “Do you think I’d let you go so easily? You walked in of your own free will; now you will leave only with mine. Unfortunately for you, you got your friends involved too. Now, all of you are my captives until I let you go. If I let you all go, that is.”

His words infuriated her. But before she could say anything, Sheena cut in, “Do you know who I am? And who both of them are?”

“Of course, I know Navya—Ananya’s sister.” Mihir tilted his head to look at Sheena. “Sheena Sehgal, right? My men sent me pictures of you with Ananya.”

Ananya’s jaw dropped. Fuck. As if his vile assumptions about her weren’t enough, she was now learning that he had someone following her. For so long, she’d been trying to get in touch with him. And all this while, he’d had someone fucking following her and reporting about her to him . Blood roared in her ears so loud that she couldn’t hear what was being spoken around her.

She focused on Mihir. She saw him lift a hand to touch Sheena’s cheek, and Ananya saw red. She stepped forward and slapped his hand away before he could touch Sheena.

“What do you want, Mihir?” Ananya asked.

His gaze hardened. “You. I want revenge from you, and I will have it.”

He looked at the two men. “Take her friends upstairs. I need to have a chat with her. Alone.”

Mihir grabbed her arm. Something raw ignited under her skin. He stared at her arm in awe, as if he too felt that energy, that pull that had always existed between them. That spark that still continued to dance on her skin while he held her. His eyes turned glacial.

“You never should have come here, Anna,” Mihir whispered. “You should have left me alone. But now… you will face the consequences of your actions.”

His words were laced with threat. Mihir wanted to punish her but she had no idea for what. Fear resurfaced in her chest once again. At one time, she could never have imagined fearing Mihir, but right now, seeing his hate-filled gaze and the tick in his jaw, she was scared.

She focused on her surroundings. To her left, Sheena and Navya were fighting with some men. Her pulse skittered. She had to escape; she had to get them all out of this damn yacht. She never should have gotten them here in the first place. Her heart pounded as she looked at Mihir again. His icy gaze was still on her, his large hand still clasping her arm.

Even though her heart was hammering, she looked into his eyes and lifted her chin. “I’m not afraid of you, Mihir. Despite the words coming out of your mouth, do you really think you can hurt me?”

Lifting her hand, she boldly traced his scar. He jolted. Using his shock against him, she shoved his chest. Mihir staggered a step behind. Spinning around, she ran towards the other two girls. Together, they hurried down the yacht to the exit.

Something terrible had happened to Mihir, and for some reason, he blamed her for it. But right now, she couldn’t allow him to catch her.

Ananya had just about put her foot on the first rung of the ladder when she heard Sheena scream. She turned. Mihir had caught Sheena, while another man had captured Navya. Fear slashed through her insides, and she hesitated on the step.

“You have to go, Ananya,” Sheena screamed. “It’s not us he wants, it’s you.”

The yacht engines roared to life. Indecision gripped her heart. Victory flashed on Mihir’s face as the yacht pulled away from the marina. She knew, without a doubt, that she couldn’t allow herself to be captured by him.

Acting on pure instinct, she leapt, landing on the hard ground. She pushed to her feet, steadying herself. Mihir’s hard eyes were the last thing she saw as the yacht sailed away into the open sea.

Panic tightened like a noose around her chest. He had Navya and Sheena. Fuck, she was a coward to have left them with him. She exhaled. Mihir had wanted her and not them. If that was the case, then he wouldn’t hurt them. God, even the possibility of Mihir hurting anyone would have been so far-fetched at one time. But now…now she didn’t know who he was anymore.

She ran to her car and drove off immediately. More fear twisted inside her. Rajiv would never forgive her for her actions tonight, but he was the only one who could get Navya and Sheena back from Mihir. However, until Rajiv reached them, she prayed that the man she had loved and married still existed behind those hard, cold eyes and that he wouldn’t hurt Sheena and Navya. With a heavy heart, she dialed her brother’s number.