Chapter 44
44
I t was three in the morning by the time Mihir returned home. He’d brought Anna to his house straight from the hospital. Thankfully, she was fine, and their babies were also doing well. Luckily, he’d gotten Anna out before she’d inhaled too much smoke. He couldn’t thank his stars enough for this grace.
He wanted to spend time simply holding her. However, now Navya and Reina refused to leave her alone. Reina wanted to check on her herself, to ensure all was as the doctors in the hospital had said. Leaving Anna with the girls, he went to his bedroom. After a quick shower, he returned to his study. He needed to talk to his brothers, to ensure everything was in order with the police and everyone was alright.
Once satisfied all was well, he returned to his bedroom, feeling exhausted, the events of the day finally taking their toll on him.
Navya and Reina were seated in his sitting room They stood when they saw him.
“She’s in the shower,” Navya told him.
The girls exchanged a look before they rushed to him, wrapping their arms around him.
“Thank you,” Reina said, tearing up.
“Thank you for bringing her back safely,” Navya cried. “If anything had…”
“Hey,” Mihir cut in gently. “She’s fine. We all are fine.”
The girls held on to him.
“She’s been our strength for so long,” Navya said. “We’re so glad you two sorted everything out.”
“We just want you both to be happy,” Reina added. “You’ve both suffered enough.”
“We’re going to be stronger than ever,” Mihir assured them. “I promise I’ll make her very happy. But it’s three in the morning. Don’t you think you both have monopolized my time with my wife enough?”
The girls giggled and with a happy wave, they left the room.
He went inside the bedroom. Anna appeared, wearing a pair of black leggings and a black t-shirt—borrowed from one of her sisters for sure. She came straight to him and hugged him hard.
“How are you feeling?” She touched his forehead. “With everything that happened, I forgot that you were sick. But you seem fine.”
“I am tired, but fine,” he said. “I think the fear of losing you cured me faster. I forgot my illness, I forgot my fears; I only wanted to see you safe.”
He tugged her to his chest again.
“It’s all over now,” she said. “Ivan’s gone, and you found Karina.”
He sighed. “It’s hard to believe that everything worked out. Armaan got in touch with Aditya. He’s confirmed that he’s bringing Karina to Dubai tomorrow… today, actually.”
“That’s wonderful!”
“It is, and I couldn’t be happier,” Mihir said.
“Can I have my ring back now?”
Smiling, he fished out a chain from his pocket and clasped it around her neck. She lifted the locket and stared at the heart-shaped red diamond set on the platinum band of his ring.
“This is beautiful, Mihir,” she said. “But it’s not my diamond.”
“But this one is.” He opened his palm to reveal her red round diamond set on a circle of smaller diamonds in a brand-new ring, before going down on one knee.
She gasped.
“You’d told me once that you wanted a ring with a red diamond identical to this one. So, I got that for you to wear around your neck.” He offered her the ring in his hand. “But this diamond has always been yours. It’s the one with which I proposed to you all those years ago. I’ve reset it onto a ring that will fit you. Is it acceptable?”
A tear fell down her eye. “It’s perfect.”
He held her left hand. “There is a Japanese art form called Kintsugi. It involves fixing a broken object using lacquer and gold. The end result is that the object gets fixed but is even more beautiful than before. You and I have been broken for too long. Let’s fix us and make our relationship even more beautiful than before.” His chest swelled as he gazed at her. “Anna, you are the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. I want to share my life with you. I want to grow old with you. I want to raise my children with you. You make my world better and brighter. You make me a better man. You have always been only mine, just like I’ve always been only yours. Will you marry me again?”
“You’re just so intense.” Another tear escaped her eyes. She chuckled, wiping it away. “You’re a nice guy, Mihir Oshnov, and I’m anything but nice. I’m bossy, temperamental, hard to please, and very high-maintenance.”
He laughed, remembering their first meeting and the time when she’d said those words to another man while looking at him.
“I love all that and everything else about you, Anna,” he said. “You own me, heart and soul. I can’t say that I won’t drive you mad—I’m sure I will—but I will also love you so much that you will never need anything more.” He slipped the ring on her finger. “Marry me and plan the biggest, loudest wedding you want. What do you say? Shall we renew our vows? Shall we choose happiness above everything?”
“Yes. Absolutely yes to happiness.” She helped him stand and kissed his lips. “I love you, Mihir. I want to fix us and make us even better than before.”
His hands sank into her hair as she attacked his mouth. Her hands went to remove his t-shirt, but he stopped her, placing his hand on her belly.
“Are you sure we can do this?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m pregnant, not sick. And don’t even give me the excuse of you being sick. I need you right now, like I need air to breathe, so make me yours, husband .”
“Whatever you say, wife .”
Lifting her into his arms, he carried her to the bed.
* * *
The sky had turned dark, and all the lights around them were turned on. It was late evening as Mihir stood on the steps of his house with Anna, her hand in his, while he waited for his sister to arrive. A few steps below, Armaan and Vedant stood with Navya and Reina, with Rajiv and Sheena next to them. They were friends with Karina, and it only made sense to have them here on this momentous day. Mihir had told them everything, and they’d been shocked to learn that their friend Sabrina was actually the Oshnovs’ long-lost sister.
He checked the time on his watch again and rubbed his scar impatiently. Any minute now.
Anna squeezed his hand once again. He exhaled, glad to have her beside him. Lifting her hand, he kissed it. The red diamond glittered on her finger. It looked perfect on her hand, like it was finally where it was always meant to be. He’d spent the wee hours of the morning making love to her. When he’d woken up later in the day, his heart was at peace, and his arms were around her. This was how he wanted to wake up for the rest of his life. He and Anna had spent a lot of time together by themselves, talking about their future. His chest rumbled in happiness.
Finding his eyes on her, Anna looked at him.
“Are you feeling alright?” she checked.
He nodded. He was better than ever.
The sound of a car entering the estate made him look to the side. He released a slow breath.
“It’s going to be perfect,” Anna told him. “You’ll see. She will love you all.”
He lowered his chin. The Rolls-Royce stopped under the porch. Mihir followed his brothers down the steps to it. Aditya climbed out first. He looked at all of them waiting and leaned inside to whisper a few words. He held out a hand, and a beautiful, dark-haired woman stepped out.
Karina paused, taking in the faces of her brothers, and then she rushed to them. Vedant held her first. Her eyes filled with tears as she took him in.
“Vedant!” she cried aloud. “I can’t believe I’m actually seeing you… touching you.”
Vedant drew her into a hug, his eyes misty. “You’re here, Karina. You’re safe. We are always going to keep you safe.”
Armaan went to her next.
“Hi,” he whispered. “You look all grown up.”
She chuckled. “And your smile is still the same. So naughty. I missed you so much.”
Armaan held her close for a long moment, and then she went to Mihir. She threw herself at his chest, hugging him hard.
“Thank you,” Karina said. Tears dripped down her cheeks. “That knife you gave me saved my life more than once. You taught me to defend myself, and because of that, I lived a good life.”
“Hey,” Mihir kissed the top of her head. “You’re my sister. I’d do anything for you. All of us would do anything for you.”
She stepped back to study him. “You look even better than before.” She touched his scar. “How did this happen, Mihir? I’ve been thinking about it ever since I saw your pictures in the magazine. It must’ve hurt, didn’t it?”
“It’s a long story, sister,” Mihir said.
“I’m sure. And I can’t wait to hear it,” Karina said, pulling him in for a hug again.
Then she held her hand out to Armaan and Vedant, wrapping her arms around all three of them at once. Mihir felt his throat clog with emotion. They had waited far too long to be reunited with their sister. But now their broken circle was finally whole again—their quartet was finally complete.
“I’m so glad we found each other again,” Karina said. “I have so much to tell you all.”
“We’d like you to meet some very special women first,” Armaan said. He introduced her to Navya first, then to Reina, and then to Anna.
“Hi, Ananya,” Karina drew her into a hug. “I’ll forever be grateful to you for reuniting me with my brothers.”
“Hey, I’m glad I could help,” Ananya said.
Sheena went to Karina and gave her a hug.
“Come on,” Rajiv said cheerfully, “let’s take the party inside.”
All of them moved inside to the living room. Anna and her sisters had all agreed that it was better that Mihir, Armaan, and Vedant speak to Karina alone for a while. So, his brothers led Karina straight to the study.
When Mihir hesitated, Anna said, “Go on. You know this makes sense. You are meeting her after years. There’s so much she must have to tell you. She’s been in hiding even from her closest ones. Rajiv and Sheena also don’t know her story. Talk to her privately and hear her out. I’m sure she needs space to decide when and what she chooses to tell everyone.”
Mihir kissed her cheek. “Have I told you how incredible you are?”
“And while you’re inside, I’ll make sure to entertain Aditya,” she teased.
He growled. “Don’t test my patience, Anna.”
“You’re impossible!” she replied.
“You already know that.”
“Oh, just go, will you?”
“Behave, Anna,” he warned. “No touching him unnecessarily.”
“You do know that he’s involved with your sister, right?”
He made a face, but left to go to the study where all his siblings were waiting.
Two hours and several cups of coffee later, they’d told Karina their story and heard hers. They learned that Karina now went by the name Sabrina Solanki and was a successful chef with her own event planning and catering business. She’d told them how she’d met and married Ajay Solanki, her late husband. They’d learned about their nephew Ahaan, and that Karina had a wonderful set of friends in Mumbai who knew nothing about her past, including her sister-in-law Aisha, who was also her closest friend. Until last night, even Aditya hadn’t known everything, but she’d finally confided in him.
They also warned her about JD and mentioned that they’d need to keep an eye on him to ensure he didn’t look for her. Their sister was quite optimistic about that and hadn’t sounded concerned in the least. As per her, she really was irrelevant to JD for him to try and even bother to look for her. With Dorab out of the way, she felt free. He was the one she’d always been concerned about, and now that he was gone, she felt safer. Nonetheless, Mihir told her that he’d have someone protecting her and Ahaan always. They also told her that Mrs. Braganza was no more and how that had come about.
“I wish I had acknowledged her that day,” Karina lamented. “Perhaps then she’d still be alive, and I would have met you all sooner.”
“Okay, enough sad talk!” Armaan grinned. “We need to address the elephant in the room. Aditya and you. Is it serious?”
“We’re friends,” she said, not meeting his eyes.
“Friends with benefits, you mean,” Vedant stated.
She blinked, looking flustered.
“Hey, we saw you wearing his shirt when you video-called us that night,” Armaan intoned naughtily.
Her throat worked, but she stayed silent.
“You can talk to us, you know,” Mihir said.
She exhaled. “This… Aditya and I is too new. I don’t know where we are headed. Somewhere good or probably nowhere. Besides, I have my son to think of. It’s not easy for a man to be with a woman who already has a child, and Ahaan is the most important person in my life. So, right now, I’d rather not talk about Aditya and me at all.”
Armaan and Vedant nodded.
“Just remember, we are there for you,” Mihir assured her.
“And we know how to make people disappear!” Armaan winked.
She chuckled. “It still amazes me how powerful my brothers have become.”
“Yes…” Mihir sighed. “We’ve all had a very different journey than what we all imagined at one time.”
A tear splattered over her cheek. “But now we’re here, exactly as we were meant to be.”
“You’re a mom,” Armaan said with a laugh. “Our sister is a mother, and we are uncles already.”
Laughing, she wiped her face. “I can’t wait for you all to meet Ahaan. He’s fantastic. And he will love you all.”
“We will love him too.” Vedant kneeled in front of Karina, squeezing her fingers. “We are so glad to have you amongst us again.”
She hugged him first and then stood to hug Mihir and Armaan.
“We are all together,” she said, grasping their hands each. “I never thought I’d ever see this day.”
“Sometimes we find happiness at the most unexpected times,” Mihir said. “Our family is complete now. The future looks brighter already.”
“It does,” she said. “There is so much to look forward to. You three were my strength at one time, and now, once again, I feel stronger with you by my side.”
“Shall we join the others?” Mihir said. “I’m sure they’re all waiting for us.”
They all returned outside to a happy atmosphere, with Anna and the girls chatting with Aditya. Rajiv and Sheena were sitting aside, talking to each other. Everyone turned when they entered.
Anna stood, her eyes finding Mihir. “All ok?”
He smiled.
“Wonderful!” She clapped her hands, smiling beautifully. “It’s time for a celebration. Champagne?”
So easily she’d broken the tense moment in the room.
“I’ll get it,” Armaan said.
Karina went to Rajiv and Sheena. “I know I haven’t been entirely honest with you and everyone else in our circle. But know that I had my reasons, and I need to talk to Aisha before I tell you both my story.”
“Hey, that’s fine,” Sheena said warmly. “We are here for you despite everything.”
“I will never be able to call you anything but Sabrina,” Rajiv said.
“Sabrina is fine,” she said. “Actually, I prefer it. It’s who I am now.”
“Well, then, Sabrina it is,” Anna said.
Armaan arrived with Dmitri behind him. They poured champagne in flute glasses, passing them around.
Mihir went to Anna, who was holding a glass. “You’re just holding that for show, right?”
She gave him a dirty look. “I can see how difficult you’re going to be throughout my pregnancy.”
He held a hand up. “Hey, I was just asking.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of course, I’m holding it for show. I know I’m not supposed to drink while I’m pregnant.”
He grinned. He looked up and saw his sister watching them. He beckoned her to him.
Anna gave her a smile.
She studied Anna from top to toe. “How far along are you?”
“About six weeks,” Anna said. “And I’m just realizing how freaking mental Mihir is going to be.”
Mihir put an arm around Anna. “I only want you and the babies to be alright.”
Anna kissed his cheek. “I know you mean well, and I love you for it.”
“He’s going to be a great father, you know,” his sister grinned. “He took care of all of us when we were kids.”
Mihir raised his glass in the air, speaking loudly. “A toast, everyone.” Everyone raised their glasses up.
“Welcome back, Karina. I mean, Sabrina,” Mihir said. “Well, damn, that is going to be hard to get used to.”
Everyone laughed.
Armaan continued, his arm around Navya, “Sabrina, our lives are complete now that you are back in our midst. We all are so happy to have you with us.”
“Cheers to happier times ahead,” Vedant concluded, kissing Reina’s cheek.
“And we are happy that Aditya is here with us,” Rajiv added, giving Mihir a naughty wink. “He’s also the reason you found your sister. So, cheers to him too.”
Mihir shared a look with his brothers. This was going to be the hardest to get used to, but they’d have to, for the sake of their sister, if she decided to be with Aditya. Big if, right now—that was their only consolation.
Aditya raised his glass. “Cheers, everyone.”
Everyone clinked their glasses.
Mihir spoke up, “We have one more reason to celebrate.” He took Anna’s hand and raised it up, showing off her ring. “Anna has agreed to marry me, again.”
“Oh my God,” Sheena exclaimed. “That is amazing.”
“We saw the ring,” Navya said excitedly. “But we were waiting for you to tell us.”
“We’re so happy,” Reina said.
“Finally, that is done,” Rajiv said. “I can now relax knowing that all my sisters are going to get married soon.”
Anna went to Rajiv, as did Navya and Reina.
“You’re the best brother ever,” Anna said, kissing his cheek.
“What can I say?” he replied. “I was blessed with the best sisters.”
“So, what date are you thinking for the wedding?” Sheena asked.
Anna looked at Mihir. He gave her a nod.
“Well,” she began, “We are thinking in a week. And I want it all—three days of celebrations, grand décor, extravagant menus, all the shenanigans. But as of now, we only know that we want the wedding and reception here at the house by the beach.”
“W…what?” Sheena sputtered on her champagne. “A week? How can we plan in a week?”
Sabrina raised a hand. “I can help. I have experience in these matters.”
“Perfect,” Anna said. “Oh, and I told Mom and Dad earlier. They’re on board with the plan.”
Dmitri gave Mihir a thumbs up and a smile before disappearing in the direction of the kitchen. Mihir was glad to have him and his unwavering support. He really had done some good deeds to have such good people around him.
Everyone began animatedly discussing Anna and his wedding. Plans were being made, venue options were listed, and the girls discussed hair, makeup, and clothes. Sabrina sat on the rug near the coffee table, making notes on a notepad someone had handed her, as everyone pitched in.
His heart warmed looking at all of them. His family. He walked to the garden, gazing at the sky above. Seeing him standing by himself, Anna came to him.
Putting an arm around his waist, she rested her head on his chest. “This feels so good right now. I never thought I’d be this happy again.”
“ You are my happiness, Anna. As long as you are with me, my world is in perfect harmony.”
They stood together, watching their family from a distance. He’d been so fortunate. He was indeed blessed.
He looked at the sky above, sending a small prayer of thanks to his father.
Thank you, Papa. For everything. Because of you, I found Anna, and now we’re back together. We’re also going to be parents to twins. I’m so happy. I’m sure you’d have loved my children. I am remarrying the love of my life next week, and then Armaan and Vedant will also get married soon. We’ve also found our sister, and she is as wonderful as we knew her. Everything is finally alright. Except we don’t have you here.
A lone star twinkled brightly in the sky above. He blinked—and when he looked up again, the stars were still. It made his heart happy to think that maybe that was his father telling him that he was with them, always.
Mihir’s world was brighter now—like everything had aligned exactly as fate had planned, and as his father would have wished for him.