Chapter 9 #2
“And so what?” Ganesh’s voice suddenly rang out, pulling me from my thoughts.
I stepped back, averting my gaze, but Sasha’s touch never left me, his fingers still absentmindedly caressing my nape as he turned his attention to Ganesh as well.
Ganesh frowned, withdrew his hand from mine after giving it a gentle pat, and said, “She can have two families, can’t she?
Look at my Anjali, tomorrow she will gain a second family.
” He sighed, a hint of sadness in his voice, I smiled softly at him.
“And she will be very happy,” I reassured him, understanding his feelings.
After all, Anjali was the last family he had left.
Ganesh had once had a brother and a sister.
Their parents had died years ago. His sister had passed away a few years later from cancer, leaving behind her daughter, Anjali.
As for his brother, he had met a far more contemptible end, one I had witnessed myself, when Ganesh had executed him with his own hands for betraying him.
“Sienna!” the girls suddenly called out to me from the buffet.
I waved at them, “I’m going to join them before there’s nothing left,” I laughed, standing up.
I moved to remove Sasha’s jacket, but his hand settled against my back.
“Keep it. It’s chilly,” he said, his gaze sliding over my outfit.
I sighed. “All right,” I replied, walking away, because I was really starting to feel hungry and cold.
And it had absolutely nothing to do with the scent he carried. Nothing at all.
—
I leaned against the doorframe and smiled at the sight of Anjali laughing and glowing while the women of her family, seated around her, sang.
The villa’s living room had been decorated with flowers, leaves, and yellow fabrics for the Haldi ceremony.
The evening had come to an end, and most of the guests had been sent to nearby hotels to return the next day for the wedding.
Only the close family had been allowed to stay, and I was honored to be among them.
Suddenly, the married women of the family began to approach Anjali, who was dressed in a simple yellow dress, bowls of haldi in their hands.
It was a paste they had prepared by mixing turmeric, sandalwood paste, and rose water.
They began to apply it to my friend’s body, on her forehead, then her cheeks, her arms, legs, and feet.
It was a ceremony symbolizing purification before marriage, a blessing for a happy union, protection against negative energies, and above all, fertility.
After the married women, it was the cousins’ turn, and finally the friends’.
I was gently pushed toward the bride with a bowl in my hands, “Sienna,” Anjali smiled at me.
I returned her smile and took some of the paste, applying it to her cheek.
“I hope you will be happy all your life, Anji. You deserve it,” I said, gently pulling my hand away but she caught it before taking some paste from my bowl and rubbing it onto my own cheek.
“You too, Sienna. You deserve it too. More than anyone,” she said, her bright gaze locked on mine.
All the years we had spent together, crying, laughing, flooded my mind, and a tear escaped.
She had grown up so fast. I stepped back as Anjali was pulled to her feet to dance with her paternal aunts.
I sighed, handing the bowl to one of her cousins before slipping out of the room.
I was going to cut my evening short. I was exhausted, and we had to wake up early the next morning.
I headed toward the second floor, where the few guest rooms were located.
I had been assigned the one at the end of the hallway, since I was a light sleeper.
Anjali hadn’t wanted me to be disturbed if the festivities lasted late, she knew me so well.
I kept humming one of the tunes that had lodged itself in my head during the dances, and I opened the bedroom door, spinning as I did so, the hem of my dress lifting from the floor, which made me laugh.
I had had two glasses, just enough to make me euphoric.
A cry escaped me when my body collided with something, someone.
Another body.
Warm.
Damp.
Naked.
I stepped back in a rush, the thought that I had entered the wrong room flashing through my mind, especially since the scent of men’s shower gel filled the air. Fuck, what an idiot.
I stammered apologies with my eyes closed, trying to retreat toward the door, but my feet caught in the hem of my skirt and I gasped as my body tipped backward. Warm hands wrapped around my arms, preventing an embarrassing fall as I lifted my gaze to the person holding me. Blue.Cold. Peace.
Sasha stared at me, eyes wide, his damp hair falling over his forehead Sasha, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Sasha, standing in the room that had been assigned to me.
His brows furrowed as his gaze slid over my cheek, then dropped to my lips, from which my uneven breath escaped.
“Enna?!” Kenji’s voice suddenly exclaimed behind me as I pulled free from the Russian’s hold and turned around.
Kenji, Ashwin, and several women from Anjali’s family were standing in the doorway, staring at us probably after hearing me scream.
“What… what the hell are you doing in my room?!” I snapped, turning back to Sasha. He didn’t flinch. On the contrary, he crossed his arms over his bare chest and raised an eyebrow, behind me, I heard the girls giggle, which only fueled my anger. What was so funny?
“It’s Anjali who told him to sleep here,” Kenji said, leaning against the doorframe, his hands buried in his pockets, while Ashwin nodded behind him.
“Anjali?” I repeated, stunned, once the shock passed, anger surged, “Anjali,” I hissed between clenched teeth before turning back to the idiot.
He still hadn’t moved an inch, his gaze fixed on me.
“Very well,” I said, lifting my skirt as I walked out of the room, chin held high, heading toward the door of the bedroom next to mine Kenji’s, “I’ll sleep with Kenji in his roo…
” Suddenly, an arm barred my way, braced against the doorframe just above my head, “I don’t think so,” Sasha growled against my ear.
I slowly lifted my gaze to his over my shoulder.
He was very close. Too close. “Excuse me?” I breathed, my fingers itching to dig my nails into his skin, his pecs, maybe.
Or better yet, his back. I clenched my teeth at the sheer stupidity of my thoughts.
“You heard me perfectly well, moya malen’kaya gadyuka,” he replied calmly, unfazed by my death glare.
“Anyway, Sienna,” Ashwin’s voice suddenly echoed behind me, but this time there was no way I was going to look away first, “Kamal, Suraj, and I were planning to spend the night in Kenji’s room, reminiscing about the good old days.
” I frowned and turned sharply, a satisfied smile stretching my lips when Sasha growled as my hair whipped across his face.
“That’s fine, I’ll sleep with the girls then.
There must be a spare bed somewhere…” “Sorry, Sienna, we’re already full,” they laughed before slipping into their rooms and locking the doors.
“Good night, Enna,” the traitor Kenji said as he shut the door to my room, Ashwin’s laughter echoing behind him.
I stared at the closed door, mouth open, unable to believe I had just been abandoned, trapped by my Shadow, the head of the Indian mafia I regarded as a father, his niece, and his men.
The world had gone completely upside down.
I startled when I heard a chuckle near my ear and turned to see Sasha still in the same position, leaning over me, his hand braced against the door.
His blue eyes gleamed with amusement as he laughed harder at the sight of my face.
Damn it, he was sexy.
But right now, my anger outweighed my desire.
“You’re laughing,” I said, starting to remove my heavy earrings.
His laughter cut off instantly at the tone of my voice, I threw the earrings onto the nightstand, hard enough that one slid behind the piece of furniture.
“Sienna, let’s talk,” he said, starting to step back, one hand gripping his towel, only to trip over one of my sneakers lying on the floor.
Yes, I was messy. So what?
He straightened quickly, never taking his eyes off me.
“You’re making fun of me,” I continued, slipping off the sandals I’d put on when my feet had started to get cold.
“This amuses you, doesn’t it? You like driving me crazy”.
I threw his own words back at him, the ones he had said to me a year ago, in that kitchen.
He remembered them too, I saw it in the way his gaze darkened.
“Telling me you wouldn’t come near me anymore, then following me,” I went on, stepping closer while he stayed still, watching me.
“Ignoring me for more than a week, only for me to find you here. Acting like I belong to you”.
I murmured the words as I placed my palm against his stomach.
He closed his eyes, inhaling sharply, his muscles tightening beneath my touch, “Sienna,” he murmured, his breath brushing my forehead.
I slowly lifted my gaze to his face and met his eyes, blue, cold, peace.
“Why are you here, Sasha?” I asked, gently pulling my hand away but he caught it and placed it against his chest. Over his heart, “I am where you are, Sienna,” he said, his gaze never leaving mine, “I always will be, no matter our promises, our fights, our anger. I will always be here” I felt his heartbeat beneath my palm.