Chapter 37
37
“W hat does Andres want now?” Armaan asked Mihir. “It’s been three weeks since we last heard from him, and now suddenly he lands up in Dubai out of the blue?”
“It sounds suspicious to me,” Vedant said.
“He’s insisting upon a meeting with me,” Mihir replied. “He?—”
Vedant’s phone rang, and he spoke to the person on the other end. Mihir lifted his mug of ginger and turmeric tea and took a sip of the hot beverage. The liquid was soothing. The brothers were seated in their study of their house. Thanks to his damn cold, he hadn’t gone to the office today. He dabbed his nose with a tissue, sniffing. The cold had completely caught him unaware. He’d woken up feeling unwell with a body ache, a slight fever, and cold.
However, despite the illness, he’d spent most of the day working from home. His brothers had just returned a little while ago, and as was usual for them, they were catching up with him before they both headed to their own wings of the house, where Navya and Reina would be waiting for them.
He sighed. He’d been disheartened not to see Anna today, but he’d not gone to class so as not to risk passing his infection to her.
Vedant ended the call and looked at Mihir. “Sorry, that was our PR team. I’ll get to that bit. But first, you continue.”
“Andres says he knows Ivan’s whereabouts and will show me the proof when we meet in person.”
“Why in person? Why has he come here himself?” Armaan asked the very questions Mihir had been pondering over.
Vedant said, “He knows we are willing to pay millions to anyone who tells us where Ivan is. Of course, he’s here for the money.”
“Perhaps that’s the case,” Mihir said.
“This time, you’re not going alone to meet him, Mihir,” Vedant declared.
“This time, I’m not going until the fucker shows us proof that he knows where Ivan is. I’ve told Chekov to hold him off.”
“Then what do we do?” Armaan asked.
“Chekov is waiting on some information,” Mihir said. “We’ve been trying to locate Ivan ever since he left Moscow. I have an idea of what’s going on, but I need further proof. I’ll tell you both when I know more.”
Vedant pushed his glasses up his nose before rising to fix a drink for Armaan and himself. It was late evening now. Anna must have finished her class and gone home. He checked his phone and was disappointed once again. She hadn’t called or messaged to check on him; he’d been hoping she would.
These last few days, he’d felt Anna warming up to him. She spoke to him cheerfully and usually came early to class, knowing he’d be waiting for her. That half an hour when they sat outside class, in the waiting room, chatting, had started becoming special to him. He only met her on alternate days, but he’d truly believed that something was evolving between them. But now he wasn’t quite sure. Had he imagined the way her eyes lit up when she saw him? Had he imagined her happiness when she was with him?
Vedant handed a glass to Armaan and took his seat on the sofa in their study again.
“You should be in bed,” Vedant told Mihir. “You don’t look a hundred percent.”
“I’m fine,” Mihir said. “It’s just a cold. I’m taking the medicines Reina prescribed.”
“Still, you look pale,” Armaan argued. “We can continue tomorrow.”
Mihir ignored him and said, “I’ve been in touch with our men in India, the ones in JD’s organization. JD returned to India last evening.”
“Oh, fuck,” Armaan cursed.
Mihir continued, “Also, Ivan has again contacted JD to help him look for Karina. This time, JD answered his call.”
Armaan almost dropped his glass. “What?”
“Bloody hell,” Vedant cursed.
“The good news is that JD refused.”
Armaan glared at Mihir. “You purposely did that to work us up.”
Mihir chuckled.
“You sure look happier now, you know,” Vedant pointed out.
“I am mostly happy,” Mihir said. “I just wish I could convince Anna to forgive me sooner. Then she’d be here with me and all would be well. But I don’t want to push her.”
Vedant nodded. “She’ll come around. Reina mentioned that Ananya looks happier as well.”
He was relieved to hear that. It gave him hope that things were progressing in the right direction. But then, why hadn’t she called or texted him today?
Armaan scowled. “Can we not discuss Mihir’s love life and focus on what Mihir was talking about earlier?”
Mihir threw him a glower. “Seriously? You’re always interested in my love life, and now that I have one, well, sort of, you don’t want to probe?”
“You’re here, and Ananya isn’t,” Armaan said. “As per me, that indicates no love life.”
“Asshole,” Mihir muttered.
“Let’s get back to JD,” Armaan said flatly.
“Yes. Why did he refuse to speak to Ivan?” Vedant wondered. “I’m sure Ivan must have told him about us and how rich we are. He could find Karina and then use her to extort money from us. It would be so simple.”
“I agree,” Mihir said. “However, our men said that JD clearly told Ivan that he wasn’t keen on spending resources on a woman who’d never meant anything to him. Nor was he keen on working with Ivan. Apparently, the news of Ivan having no money has reached JD. He taunted Ivan as such and cut the call.”
“That’s good to know,” Armaan said. “And a relief.”
“Absolutely,” Vedant said.
“Well, my worry is that JD knows who we are, and that we’d be willing to pay anything for her. What if he tries to look for her himself? Although, as of now, he hasn’t made any move in that direction.”
“Let’s cross our fingers that situation stays that way then,” Armaan said. “I’m honestly relieved to know that Ivan can’t use her to get to us.”
“But that also means he’s out of options now,” Vedant said. “We need to be prepared at all times.”
“I’m hoping with my interview out now, Karina gets in touch with us herself,” Mihir said. “I hope she reads it and learns that we are looking for her.”
Armaan pointed at the latest issue of Noir that lay on the coffee table between them. “What did you think about it?”
Mihir picked up the magazine and smiled. He did look good. Anna’s friend Avantika had photographed him very well. His scar was unmistakable in the picture Anna had selected, standing out boldly for the world to see. He’d read his interview and cover story multiple times already. Anna had brilliantly narrated his story to the world, portraying him as someone who was blessed and grateful for everything he’d gotten. She’d painted him to be a philanthropist, a family man, and someone extremely dedicated to his work.
“So?” Vedant queried him. “What did you think?”
“I think she’s done a brilliant job,” Mihir said. “She’s captured the essence of our story and brought it out beautifully.”
“She has, indeed,” Armaan concurred. “To be honest, we liked it at once, but we were quite worried about your reaction.”
Mihir frowned. “Why?”
“Because you’ve stayed out of the spotlight for years,” Vedant explained. “And now, suddenly, you’re all over in a magazine. Our PR team has informed me that you’re trending. They’ve received numerous requests from various news and media outlets to interview you.”
“And the news of us having a sister is storming the internet,” Armaan said. “Our PR team is inundated with emails from thousands of women claiming to be Karina. Now, we have the arduous task of filtering those emails.”
Mihir picked up his iPad and opened the picture of Karina. “We can start by asking all these women to send in their photos. Mrs. Braganza had confirmed that the picture we have is quite accurate. We can use it to cross-verify with the pictures we get. Let’s put our most trusted people on this.” He tapped on the iPad to send the picture to his brothers and their PR team.
His heart tugged, and immediately, he looked to the side. Anna was standing there watching him, with Dmitri behind her.
“See, I told you, he’s been working the whole day,” Dmitri complained aloud.
Leaving his iPad, he stood. “Anna, what are you doing here?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I heard you were unwell, so I came to check on you. Imagine my surprise to find you here working.”
He was delighted. She was here. She was here because she cared for him.
She threw his brothers an angry glance. “And you two? Don’t you know better than to make him work when he is this unwell?”
His brothers exchanged an amused glance with each other as they stood.
“At least now we know he will listen,” Dmitri said, laughing.
“Your love life is back on track, brother,” Armaan intoned naughtily, switching to Russian. “Now, let’s talk. Give us the details.”
Both Vedant and Dmitri laughed.
Anna put her hands on her hips. “Care to share the joke, boys?”
“Armaan’s an idiot. Ignore him,” Mihir said. “I usually do.”
She stepped closer to him and stretched up to touch his forehead with her palm. “The fever seems mild.”
Her concern warmed his insides.
“He’s not been eating very well, you know,” Dmitri grumbled in his accented English. “He doesn’t listen.”
The older man looked to be enjoying himself thoroughly, unloading all his complaints on Anna.
“Yes, he doesn’t listen,” Armaan added.
“Not to us, at least,” Vedant said. “Why don’t you try, Anna ?”
Mihir growled.
“Then get him something to eat,” Anna told Dmitri. “And me also. In my condition, I’m hungry all the time, and right now, I’m hungry and angry.”
“Your condition?” Dmitri asked, looking between Anna and Mihir. “Are you alright, Miss?”
Mihir glared at him. “Really? You’re actually not privy to something going on in my life? Miracles do occur, it seems.”
Armaan chuckled. Vedant laughed.
Mihir sighed.
Dmitri ignored them all and kept looking at Anna.
“Don’t look so worried,” Mihir said. “She’s fine. She’s pregnant with twins, and I’m the father.”
The older man’s eyes widened. “What? Pregnant? Twins? Mihir ’s twins? We’re going to have children in this house?!”
Anna threw her hands in the air. “Whoa, whoa, slow down. Don’t get ahead of yourself, old man. I’m having his babies, but we’re not together.”
“Last I checked, we’re still married,” Mihir said.
“You’re what?” Dmitri touched his chest most dramatically. “Why has no one told me? I think I’m going to die of all the shocks I’m getting today.”
“Oh, please,” Armaan scoffed. “You’re not dying anytime soon.”
“If you’re married, then why aren’t you together?” Dmitri asked.
“We’re not together yet ,” Mihir stressed. “She’s mad at me.”
“I know that,” Dmitri said. “You behaved like an ass.”
“Yes, he did,” Vedant said. “He’s an ass.”
“And an idiot,” Armaan said.
“Great, all of you enjoy at my expense,” Mihir addressed Dmitri. “Please can you organize dinner for us. I’ll take her to my wing. We can eat in my room.”
Dmitri left with a nod.
Anna’s gaze fell on Noir’s latest issue on the coffee table.
She looked at him, chewing her lip. “What did you think?”
“I loved it,” he said. “Thank you.”
She gave him a brilliant smile that warmed every inch of his heart.
“By the way, we loved it too,” Armaan put his hands up. “Just saying, you know. In case anyone was interested in our opinion.”
Her lips curved in a wide smile. As she began to sit, her eyes fell on Mihir’s open iPad and the image on display. “Who’s that?”
Mihir lifted the device up. “That’s Karina, our sister. This is the AI-generated image we are using to look for her.”
Anna smiled. “She’s pretty.”
“Thanks to your article, we’re hoping to find her soon,” Vedant said, crossing his fingers.
She nodded, and then her eyes drifted to the iPad again. She squinted, chewing her lower lip as she studied it intently.
“What is it?” Mihir asked.
“It’s just that… I don’t know…” Anna began. “I feel I’ve seen her somewhere.”
“What?” Vedant gasped.
“Seriously, she looks familiar. I’ve seen her somewhere.”
Mihir exchanged a glance with his brothers. He saw his hope mirrored on their faces.
“Are you sure?” Mihir asked.
“Yeah… Wait!” she said, and then clicked her fingers. “Aditya! She was the girl with Aditya in the photo.”
When the men refused to react, she prodded, “You guys know my friend Aditya Wahi, right?”
“What does that fucker have to do with Karina?” Armaan growled.
“I don’t like him,” Vedant said.
“The same guy your parents wanted you to marry?” Mihir groused. God, he didn’t like the guy one bit. Even the mention of his name was annoying him.
“You all are crazy. Absolutely mental.” Anna threw his brothers a dark look before her angry gaze landed on Mihir. “First, Aditya likes somebody else, so there’s no question of me marrying him, and second, is your collective annoyance fucking relevant right now?”
Mihir’s lips flattened. “Sorry, do go on.”
She narrowed her eyes and then shook her head. “Anyway, I told you that the last time Aditya met me, he was talking about this girl he likes from Sheena and Rajiv’s friend circle in Mumbai. The one he couldn’t confide in about to anyone else?”
“You also mentioned that she is a widow and has a child,” Mihir said.
“Yes,” she continued, “Well, I’ve seen a few pictures of her, and I’m pretty sure that she looks just like Karina.”
“Oh fuck,” Armaan dropped down on the sofa.
“How do we verify this?” Vedant said excitedly. “We need to check this right away.”
“Have you shown this picture to Rajiv or Sheena?” Anna asked.
“We actually haven’t told them about Karina,” Mihir replied. “Although they may now know because of the article.”
Anna said, “I’ll call Aditya.”
Mihir scowled.
She held a hand up. “Do you want to find out about your sister or not? Then stop making that face.”
“Of course, I do,” Mihir grumbled. “But I don’t have to like the means of getting to it.”
She rolled her eyes, putting the phone on speaker. A few moments later, Aditya answered. “Ananya? What happened? It’s midnight in Singapore. Is everything alright?” He sounded like he’d just woken up.
The voice of a woman in the background addressed Aditya. “Who is it?”
“Sleep. I’ll return shortly,” he said softly to whoever was with him. They could hear him shutting a door.
“Tell me, Ananya,” he said. “What’s up?”
“I’m so sorry to call you like this,” Ananya said. “But this is important. Remember, you told me about this woman you liked. I forgot her name.”
“Sabrina?” he queried. “Why are you asking about her?”
“Sabrina!” Mihir whispered. His heart was running away. His brothers stared at him, both of them looking as anxious as he was.
“I’m going to send you a photo, okay?” Ananya said. “Can you please confirm if that is Sabrina?”
Ananya quickly took a snapshot from the iPad and forwarded the picture to Aditya.
“From where did you get this?” Aditya’s tone turned serious. “Ananya, I need some clarity before I answer any of your questions.”
Ananya held the phone to Mihir.
“Hi, Aditya,” Mihir said. “It’s Mihir Oshnov. My brothers Armaan and Vedant are also with me.”
“I’m not sure what’s happening here,” Aditya said.
Mihir sighed. The few times he’d met this man, he hadn’t been really nice to him, and now he was expecting him to share some vital information about a woman he possibly liked.
“I apologize for the late hour and all the questions,” Mihir said. “But if the woman Sabrina is indeed the same as the one in the photo Anna forwarded to you, then she is our long-lost sister, Karina. My brothers and I have been searching for her.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Aditya said. “Sabrina’s from Mumbai.”
Mihir shared a look with everyone around him, his heart pounding.
“Do the photos match, Aditya?” Anna asked.
“Yes.”
Mihir exhaled, pressing a fist to his mouth. Armaan caught Vedant’s arm.
Mihir cleared his throat. “I know this sounds unbelievable, Aditya, but could you help us reach her? It would mean a lot to us.”
Aditya took a brief pause before he said, “So… she’s actually right here, with me, in Singapore.”
“Oh God,” Armaan said as he came to stand on Anna’s other side. “Can we talk to her, please?”
“Actually,” Anna cut in, “have you seen the latest issue of Noir?”
“I have…” Aditya said.
“Then can you please show Sabrina Mihir’s photo? Please, Aditya,” Anna said. “Can you do this for me?”
“Give me a few minutes,” Aditya said. “Let me call you back.”
A tense silence filled the room as they all waited for Aditya to call them back. Mihir paced up and down. He sneezed several times in quick succession.
“You look awful. Can you not sit down?” Anna pointed to the armchair beside her.
“I’m too tense to sit,” Mihir replied.
“My hands are cold,” Vedant added. From beside them, Armaan let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his face.
The phone rang, and all of them stiffened. Anna put it on speaker.
“Ananya,” Aditya began. “Sabrina is with me, but before she talks to anyone, she has a question. Mihir, Sabrina wants to know what did you give your sister for her protection.”
Mihir took the phone from Anna. “A knife! I gave her a knife. It was… it was a sharp and serrated knife. I was teaching her self-defense, and I gave that knife to her as added protection. Karina, if you’re listening, then you should know that we found Dorab and he told us everything. We know that he deceived you and he tried to sell you off to that man, JD. We know you stabbed Dorab and JD and ran away.”
A choked sound filtered down the line, followed by a sniffle. “Mihir… is that really you?”
Mihir felt his eyes water. Anna put her hand in his and squeezed.
“Karina! Yes, Karina, it’s me,” he said. “We found you!”
“Switch to video,” the woman on the other end said. “I want to see you.”
Mihir did as asked. The phone screen lit up, and he laid eyes on his sister for the first time in fourteen years. He sniffed through his tears, laughing.
“There you are!” His heart was bursting with happiness and relief. They’d waited fourteen long years for this moment.
“Oh God, Mihir…” Karina said, wiping her tears. “I’ve missed you. Sorry, I had to make Aditya ask you that question, but I’ve been in hiding for so long. I couldn’t take the risk.”
“I understand,” Mihir said. “Wait, Armaan and Vedant are here too.”
He positioned his phone to include them.
Tears poured down Karina’s face. “Oh God, you’re all there, and you look so good, all of you.”
“Hi,” Armaan said, wiping his eyes. “We found you.”
“We sure did!” Vedant sniffed. “Hi, sister.”
She laughed, wiping her face. “Aditya showed me your picture, Mihir. You look so fine and important. So successful.”
“And you look beautiful,” Vedant said, “Even better than the AI image we generated of you.”
“AI image?” she asked.
“We have so much to tell you,” Armaan said, smiling. “We’ve been looking for you for so long.”
“I saw Mrs. Braganza at a mall in Mumbai, you know,” she said.
“We’ve been in touch with her,” Mihir said. “She was helping us find you.”
“I didn’t know that,” Karina said. “I was so afraid to acknowledge her. I didn’t want Dorab finding me. My son…”
“He’s safe now,” Vedant stressed. “You are safe. Dorab’s gone. He will never be a threat to you again.”
“Thank God,” she whispered. “I’ve been hiding from him for so long now.”
“We’ve waited so long for this day and to see you,” Vedant said.
“I read in the article that you went with Alexander to Russia,” she said.
“We did,” Armaan replied. “He was amazing, Karina. I wish you’d come with us.”
“I wasn’t meant to,” she said. “My life turned out the way it was supposed to, just like yours.”
“Your son,” Mihir said gently. “How old is he?”
She grinned. “Ahaan… He’s almost eleven, and he’s amazing. He’s in Mumbai with his grandmother, my late husband’s mom.”
Armaan grinned. “We have a nephew. Imagine that.”
“Send us photos,” Vedant said.
“You will love him, and he will be so happy to meet you all,” Karina said.
“Can you come here? To Dubai, to meet us?” Mihir asked. “We can send you the jet.”
She turned away from the phone to speak softly to Aditya.
“Aditya just told me that you are friends with Rajiv and Sheena,” she said. “Imagine the coincidence!”
Mihir went to Anna and angled the screen so Karina could see her. “Meet Anna… She’s Rajiv’s sister, and she’s the love of my life, and she’s also my… my…” He looked at Anna, not sure what to say. Amidst all this happiness he was feeling at finally finding Karina, there was this whole question of what was going on between Anna and him.
Anna took the phone from him. “Hi, Sabrina! Or Karina? What should I call you?”
“Either is fine,” Karina replied.
“I’m Ananya, Rajiv’s sister. And what Mihir was trying, but failing, to do was explain our very complicated relationship. He’s my husband and the father of my unborn children.”
Aditya peeped into the phone. “What?”
Karina’s eyes widened. “Oh God, Mihir’s married and is going to have twins?”
Aditya came back on the screen. “Don’t forget it’s complicated also.”
Mihir looked heavenward. Why? Why did his sister have to be involved with his man?
Anna laughed. “Come here to Dubai. There’s a lot all these men have to tell you, as I’m sure you have too.”
“Alright, I’ll come!” She laughed. “I am so eager to meet you all.”
“I’ll bring her to meet you all as soon as possible,” Aditya said.
Karina looked at the screen again. “Thank you for finding me. This is the best day of my life. I can’t wait to meet you all.”
She disconnected the call, and Armaan whooped in joy. “We did it. We found her.”
“Armaan, will you coordinate with Aditya and ensure Karina reaches us soon?” Mihir asked.
“Yes, absolutely.”
Vedant kissed Anna’s cheek. “Thank you. You found her for us.”
Armaan pulled her into a hug. “Thank you. You are the best. Now, please, can you forgive our brother? He’s made mistakes, I know. But you don’t need to make them too. He’s so miserable without you that he’s gone and fallen ill.”
Anna laughed, and then she gave them a naughty smile. “How do you all feel to know that your sister is involved with Aditya? Do you realize that she was the one in bed with him when he answered the call?”
“Perhaps, not,” Mihir said.
She grinned like a little devil. “Sure, keep believing that. Also, please ignore the very obvious fact that she was dressed in a man’s shirt and Aditya was sitting right beside her on the bed.”
Armaan groaned.
Vedant made a face. “Why him?”
“Fuck. Why him?” Mihir repeated.
Anna patted each of their cheeks. “Karma has a way of coming and biting you in the ass. Each one of you has been nasty to Aditya at some point, I believe. Now what?”
“Now, we are not talking about it,” Mihir said.
“Aditya?” Armaan shook his head. “Of all the men in the world?”
Vedant’s eyes brightened. “Do you think we can make him disappear?”
“Stop talking like the bloody mafia,” Anna scolded. “No one is doing any such thing. You all are going to behave like adults and respect your sister’s decisions.”
Hearing Vedant and Armaan continue to grumble, Anna laughed. “Go now, both of you. I’m sure you have to share this news with Navya and Reina.”
“We’ll be on our way,” Vedant looked at Mihir. “Looks like you’re in good hands, brother.”
“Good to see you finally here inside our home, Anna ,” Armaan said, his tone full of mischief.
Mihir couldn’t help the growl that erupted out of him.
Armaan gave him a cheeky wink as he left.
Anna’s bright brown eyes landed on Mihir, and it felt like his world had aligned. She was the most important person in his world, and because of her, he had found his sister.
He kissed her forehead. “Thank you for finding her. I cannot tell you how much that means to me.”
She shrugged. “Happy to help.”
“How are you?” he asked her.
“Hungry all the time, but good.”
He angled his head. “I’m glad to know that you missed me in class and decided to come check on me. Guess you are starting to like me again, Anna.”
She ignored him and said, “Why do you get so mad when anyone calls me Anna?”
He blinked. “What?”
“You make this angry sound whenever Vedant or Armaan call me Anna. I’ve noticed it many times before tonight as well. You get mad when anyone, including Nia or Shiven, calls me Anna. Why?”
He clasped her face. “Baby, sweetheart, darling—all those are just titles. But when I say Anna, it is my heart speaking and feeling all those emotions. That’s why Anna belongs only to me.”
She gaped at him.
“Loving you is the only truth I know,” he said, and then stepped back. “I have a cold; I don’t want you to catch it.”
She threw herself at his chest, wrapping her arms around him. “I don’t know what to do with you, Mihir. One part of me simply wants to accept you and end all the emptiness I feel when you’re not with me, but the… the saner part of me wants me to be careful and not get hurt again.”
“What if I promise never to hurt you again?” he said. “I love you, Anna. So much.”
She looked up at him. “I… I need time to say it back. Not yet.”
He kissed her forehead. “As long as you feel it in your heart, it’s enough.”
She lowered her face, but he didn’t miss her smile. His heart sighed in happiness. This, him and her, had been inevitable. They’d taken a long time to reach this point, but they were here now. She was already his. But he’d wait for her to say it out loud too.
For now, it was enough that she was standing in his house and was ready to give him another chance. Plus, she’d helped him find his sister. Falling sick had been worth it.