Chapter 19
19
T he interview was going well, Mihir thought. Anna was sharp, persistent, and direct, and her questions were intelligent and well-thought-out. He’d never given interviews in the past because of her. After he was attacked, he’d shied away from the media. Hence, it was bizarre that the first interview he was giving was to her. Fate had definitely charted out a path way different from what he’d expected.
He watched her swipe on her iPad while sipping her water. Dressed in a black sweater and dark brown leather pants, her hair swept up in a ponytail, her skin glowing, she looked amazing.
They’d grabbed a quick brunch, during which Anna had explained how she was going to conduct the interview. Then, he’d brought her here, to his glass-enclosed patio that overlooked the vast lawns, now white because of the heavy snowfall last night. It was beautiful outside, with the morning sun playing hide and seek with the clouds.
Anna had her iPad on her lap, and her mobile was on the table between them, recording their conversation. So far, she had asked about his role and responsibilities in O-Corp, how he managed his massive business empire, and what his dreams and plans were for its future.
She raised her head and found him watching her. A blush crept up her cheeks. She licked her lips, and immediately, his gaze was drawn to that movement. Like a fool, his mind rewound to this morning, and all the times he’d been moving inside her. His heart rate quickened.
Fuck, he still failed to comprehend how utterly perfect each moment with her had been. How utterly perfect she had been. How he’d lost all control of his body and mind around her. Anna had always managed to completely enamor him, and that hadn’t changed. She was right. She did remember how to make him beg. His skin pulsed. Fuck, the way she had taken him in her mouth, the way she’d… He breathed out, slowly.
He wasn’t supposed to feel like that about her. But he couldn’t deny that she’d made him feel whole again, that she’d made his heart settle, and he wanted to feel that again. And therein lay his dilemma. His heart and mind were rioting against one another. His mind wanted him to keep a distance from her, while his heart continued to crave her.
Her question from earlier was valid—what were they doing? And how exactly would they go ahead now?
But one thing bothered him more than anything else.
“Anna,” he called out gently. “We didn’t… I mean, I didn’t use protection.”
Her brown eyes landed on him. “I think it’s safe. Not the right time of the month.”
He nodded, still annoyed with himself that he hadn’t even thought that far so as to use protection. His mind had clearly stopped working the moment he had decided that he was going to claim her again.
Anna cleared her throat. “Next, I want to talk about your conservation passion project. Congratulations to O-Corp on winning such a massive contract with the UK government to help them maintain their natural resources.”
Mihir smiled. “Thank you. You’re right. This project is close to my heart. The way we are all going, if we don’t conserve our natural resources, what are we leaving behind for our future generations?”
“Tell me some of your plans.”
“Cleaning up the waterbodies—oceans, rivers, and lakes. Using wind energy as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, soil restoration, managing the carbon footprint, reforestation drives—it’s all really a long-term process. It won’t happen overnight, but the sooner more countries adopt our proposed methods and use our technology, the better it will be for our future.”
She smiled. “That’s awesome, Mihir. Your father would have been proud of you.”
He nodded slowly. “Yes, he would’ve been delighted to know that his legacy was being used to help improve the environment. He was a big environmentalist. He taught all of us well, and my brothers and I are happy to follow in his footsteps to make the world a better and cleaner place to live in.”
“Have you always been such a strong supporter of conservation?”
“I grew up in Rishikesh, by the holy waters of the Ganga,” he said, keenly watching her face for a reaction. “I used to work with organizations to clean up the river in my spare time. That’s where I met him—my father—for the first time.”
Her eyes rounded. She paused the recording on her phone. “Rishikesh?”
“Yes.”
He could see the wheels of her brain turning. He’d just dropped a bombshell in her lap. The Oshnovs had never spoken about their childhood, ever. The world didn’t know that the three of them were adopted from an orphanage in Rishikesh. But now, it was time to open up all their cards and hope they won this gamble they were playing.
A long moment later, she said, “I know you gave me permission to ask you any questions I want. But do you really want me to publish this information? I can leave it out, you know. There has to be a reason why you all haven’t spoken about this to the world at large.”
“That’s because we chose to be private.”
Her brows furrowed. “Then why are you choosing to tell it all now?”
“You’ll know once you ask all your questions.”
He was well aware that by speaking about his past, he was handing her the biggest scoop of her life, and seeing the shock flashing on her face, she had figured it out as well. Noir publishing hitherto unknown details about the Oshnovs was going to skyrocket her magazine, and Anna was too smart to not have understood that. Besides, he’d decided to do this interview for Karina. They needed to find her quickly, and hopefully, once published, Anna’s article would help them get to her sooner.
She tapped her phone and started recording again before she asked, “So, Rishikesh? Were you born there?”
“I can only guess that I was born in Rishikesh or somewhere nearby. The matron at our orphanage told me that I was left there in the middle of the night when I was just a few days old.”
Her eyes softened. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be. I ended up exactly where I was meant to be. My brothers and I were lucky; many others not so much. Armaan and Vedant wholeheartedly agree that that life has led them down the road they were meant to walk in order to meet their soulmates.”
“That’s beautifully put,” she said.
He shrugged. At one point, he’d thought the same for himself. He’d thought she was the one for him—his soulmate. But life had taken him down a different road. She had made him walk a diverse path from what he’d intended. In one single stroke, she had changed his future.
But now, after this morning, and his absolute inability to stay away from her, he’d further complicated everything between them. He didn’t know what the future held for him, but the one thing he knew with absolute certainty was that he wouldn’t fall for her a second time. This between them was just sex. Pure, unadulterated lust. He’d simply satisfied a craving with her, and that was all. He would never give her any control over him again.
“Armaan, Vedant, and you—you’re not real brothers. I mean, I know you don’t share parents, but you’re all so close. Can you tell me how that came about?”
Mihir looked into the distance. “Although the orphanage was run by some decent people, it was hard growing up there amidst poverty and so many other kids, everyone struggling to survive. The kids could get very nasty, and as always, in such an environment, only the strongest thrived. My brothers and I… We all used to sleep in the same corner of the room. We bonded with each another very early in life and chose one another over everyone else. We became a clique, and very soon the others learned that if they messed with one of us, then they messed with all of us. That hasn’t changed till date. We are one another’s chosen family—bound together by heart and not by blood. We listen to each other and always have one another’s back. Armaan and Vedant are my everything,”
“And I know they feel the same about you,” she replied with a smile. “Why weren’t any of you adopted before Alexander? Weren’t you all well in your teens when he took you in?”
“Strangely, none of us got adopted as babies. I suppose it was destiny…” Mihir smiled, reminiscing the past. “As we grew older, we promised each other that we’d always stay together. So, whenever a couple came for adoption, we’d hide, or if that wasn’t an option, then we’d deliberately behave difficult and mischievous. Many times, we’d even get into a pretend fight. Obviously, no one wanted to adopt such naughty children. One of the matrons at the orphanage was a very kind woman, and she had a soft corner for us. When she realized we didn’t want to be separated, she stopped parading us for adoption.”
“That’s sweet.”
“She was… is a very sweet woman,” he said.
Her eyes rounded. “Are you still in touch with her?”
“Yes, I speak to her on and off.”
“Are you okay to share her name with me?”
“Mrs. Braganza.” He chuckled. “Till date, none of us knows her first name. Can you believe that?”
“Are you in touch with anyone else from the orphanage?”
“A few from the old team, but many from the new management. You see, we at O-Corp offer sponsorship for the children who wish to study further. We also offer them jobs if they want them. It’s our way of giving back to the place where we grew up and to give others a better chance like us.”
She stared at him in awe. “I don’t know what to say. That is simply amazing.”
“It’s the least we can do.”
“Can we move on to talk about how you went from a poor orphan in Rishikesh,” she waved a hand at him, “to this billionaire MD of O-Corp?”
Mihir checked the time and then looked outside the glass doors before facing her again. They’d already been talking for a few hours now.
He stood. “Shall we take a walk and continue? The sun is out now.”
“It looks cold,” she said.
“Then layer up. Trust me, you will love the fresh, unadulterated air. Pure oxygen in your lungs.”
Shutting her iPad, she paused the recording on her phone. “Alright, let me get covered up and meet you back here.”
She took her things and moved to the door. She paused and turned. Her mouth opened, as if to ask him a question, but then she shut it, pivoted, and left the room.
He really had complicated everything with her, and he had no one but himself to blame for that. Sighing, he went to fetch his own jacket.