Page 12 of Right Where I Belong

Rishi Sehgal, Raashi’s brother-in-law, was also one of Aditya’s good friends, but ever since his wife Mehak had gotten pregnant, he rarely saw him. Rishi had once been nicknamed the heart wrecker because of the number of broken hearts he left behind in his many escapades. But those days were long over for him now.

“How is Mehak? Which reminds me I need to call Rishi,” Aditya said. “And wow, Shauna is working in Singapore? I’ll check in on her when I go there next, not sure when that will be though.”

“Yes, please do that…” Raashi smiled. “Mehak is good. We’re all so excited about the baby.”

“Okay, now, what’s the ring Aunty mentioned?” Keya asked. “It sounded important.”

“It’s a family heirloom that went missing several years back. I’ve been searching for it.”

Keya frowned. “Heirloom?”

“Yes. It’s eight-carat, with a square yellow diamond in a gold setting.”

Rithwik whistled. “Nice.”

“Wow, that sounds stunning,” Raashi said.

“It does, indeed,” Keya added. “Tell us more.”

“It belonged to the Maharajah of Patialgarh. He had gifted it to one of his accountants—some great ancestor of mine from my mother’s side—when the maharajah’s heir was born. Itbecame a treasured family heirloom passed down three or four generations to my mother. However, she was forced to sell it, along with a lot of other pieces of her jewelry after my father ran the business into the ground. She’s been looking for it for years. Recently, we learned through some contacts of a way to locate it.”

“That’s great,” Raashi said. “I hope you find it soon, then.”

They drifted to lighter conversations centered on their spouses, kids, and their mutual group of friends. They chatted about everything and nothing in particular. It was the kind of conversation that was filled with warmth and laughter.

An hour later, Rithwik stood. “Alright, you seem to be cheered enough. Hence, the therapy session is over. Time to go to work.”

Aditya laughed, rising as well. “Thanks for coming, all of you. I know you were concerned about me, but you don’t need to be. I’m just angry that I didn’t see Kanika for who she was earlier.”

Raashi smirked. “Next time, just listen to us.”

It struck him strange that no one close to him had ever really liked Kanika. Why had he never pondered on that before? More importantly, what the hell had he been thinking, even considering settling down with Kanika? She would’ve never fit in with his circle. Knowing her, she’d have eventually forced him to choose between his friends and her. And that ultimatum would’ve torn them apart. Thank God, he’d ended things before they got that far.

Next time, he’d be smarter. Any woman he let into his life, if he ever found someone, would have to fit intoallof it—his friends, family, and the works. Because one thing was certain: he wasn’t going against his friends or his mother for anyone.

“Let’s go out one of the nights,” Aditya said. “It’s been too long since we went a bit wild.”

“Yes, let’s…” Keya said as they all headed out.

“Agreed,” Rithwik said. “You all know how much I like to party… Uh, minus the tequila shots though.”

They all laughed. Aditya smiled as he waved them away. His friends had known exactly what he’d needed and had lifted his spirits. He was grateful to have them in his life, grateful that they had found love and built something solid. His friends were lucky. Maybe he wouldn’t be. Maybe he wouldn’t find the kind of love they all had.

But for now, being surrounded by the right people felt more than enough.

4

Her kitchen smelled like vanilla and mischief. Dough was everywhere—on the counter, on her son’s nose, and suspiciously on their pup, Maya’s, tail too. Her son, Ahaan, stood at the counter, carefully pressing chocolate chips into a slightly lopsided blob of dough.

“How do they look, Mom?” he asked, proudly holding up a tray that looked like a cookie graveyard.

Sabrina chuckled. “Masterpieces.”

Ahaan was eleven, and he loved baking cookies with her. Actually, he loved eating them even more. His eyes lit up as she placed his tray in the oven and set it to the required temperature.

“Those will come out delicious, I’m sure,” she said.

“Thanks, Mom,” he said, excitedly.