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“Of course we will,” Ananya assured him.
And then, with a quick nod, he left the room. Sheena stared after him. What was going on with him? Who had called him and thus ruined his mood as such?”
Navya squeezed her hand in reassurance. “Hey. Don’t worry. I’m sure it’s a work thing.”
“Perhaps, you are right,” Sheena said slowly. But something in her gut told her that it wasn’t work, and it wasn’t alright.
She stood too. “I can take a cab, you know. You guys needn’t bother coming all the way to drop me home.”
“Hey, it’s fine,” Ananya said. “We’d love to drop you home. That way, we can talk some more on the way.”
After his fight with Armaan Oshnov, Rajiv had told his sisters in elaborate detail how she’d taken on Armaan for hurting Rajiv. Since then, the girls had been more in awe of her. They’d always been nice to her, but now, they went out of their way to ensure she was comfortable around them. Everything had been going great between them all. She and Rajiv were so happy together. However, right now, in her heart, she could feel that something was going to happen. Something unpleasant.
She looked at the door from where Rajiv had exited. She only prayed that she was imagining things and that nothing came in the way of the happiness she’d found with him.
31
It was the middle of the next day, and she hadn’t had a chance to have a proper conversation with Rajiv. He’d sounded very off when she’d spoken to him the previous night, and this morning, when she’d tried to meet him in his office, his assistant had told her that he was out for some work. This was not unusual for him. He was a busy man. Despite that, she usually got at least a dozen text messages from him till afternoon, no matter where he was. Today, so far, there had been none. Nor had he replied to the texts she’d sent him. She let out a heavy breath. She needed to talk to him and figure out what was on his mind. He was not himself, and that was enough indication for her that something was definitely wrong.
She was studying some of the notes she’d made on a counseling session she’d had with a team member when her phone rang. Her smile dropped when she realized it wasn’t Rajiv but her brother calling her.
“Hey, Kabier,” she greeted her sibling, trying to infuse happiness into her voice. The last thing she wanted was her brother worrying about her and landing up in Dubai to check on her.
As it was she hadn’t told him about Rajiv and her, and she’d made her friends and grandfather promise not to tell him just yet. She was still waiting for Rajiv to tell her those three words. Although, why she was waiting to hear him confess his love for her before she told her brother about him was a mystery to her. She could have told Kabier about him long back, yet she hadn’t.
“Hi, Sheena.” Kabier sounded serious. “So, have you seen the latest Dubai Vogue?”
“Umm, no why?”
“Your so-called friend Rajiv is plastered all over it with some Indian model he’s been sleeping with. Apparently, he’d dated her in the past as well. They’d broken it off a few months ago, but now they’ve gotten together again.”
“What?” she squeaked, unable to believe her ears.
She quickly typed Dubai Vogue on Google, and sure enough, there were several pictures of him and a model, many of which looked fresh. The magazine claimed they were from last night. And then, there were older photos of them from a couple of months ago. There were so many pictures of them together in various poses, outside nightclubs, restaurants, and attending red carpet events. In one picture, she was kissing his cheek, just near the corner of his mouth. The magazine was agog of how they’d rekindled their relationship. Pain swelled inside her when she read the article title.
ThePlayboy strikes again!
After a long hibernation, Rajiv Mehra is back in the spotlight. Has he been hiding this relationship of his? Is it serious this time around?
“No, this can’t be true,” she whispered more to herself.
“Fuck,” Kabier cursed. “I knew something was going on between you and him, and that’s why I’ve had someone monitor the media for news on him. And now, to hear you sound sad confirms my suspicions. You are dating him, aren’t you?”
She stared at the pictures. The article saidlast night. Last night?! He’d told her he had an important thing to take care of. She’d assumed it was work related. But these pictures showed him coming out of a restaurant with a model, holding hands. It didn’t look anything like work to her.
“No, this isn’t true,” she repeated, her eyes still on the picture of Rajiv with that model. She wasn’t going to believe a media article on him again. “I have to talk to him. There has to be an explanation.”
“Sheena, open your eyes,” Kabier told her. “I told you he wasn’t the right man for you. Come home. I’m worried about you.”
“Not yet. I have to talk to him first,” she said.
“Okay…but take care of yourself. And if you need me, you only have to call, and I’ll take the first flight out to you.”
She disconnected the call, her mind spinning in circles. She couldn’t believe the images she was seeing. Rajiv had told her that not everything that was written about him was true, and she’d chosen to believe him then. She chose to believe him now also. He owed her an explanation, and she was going to get one from him.
Her phone rang again. It was Ananya. She declined her call. A moment later, Navya called her. She declined her call, too. They weren’t who she wanted to talk to. She dialled Rajiv. There was no answer. She snapped a picture of the article and sent it to him as a message.
“What is this?”she typed.
