Page 79 of Right Where I Belong

From beside him, Kush’s eyes caught on the bright red-and-yellow figure of a clown juggling near the bouncy castle. With an excited squeal, Kush wriggled out of Aditya’s hold. Kabier stepped forward, and the boy immediately reached for his father’s hand, tugging him toward the clown with eager little steps, his laughter trailing behind him.

He looked ahead and smiled as he saw Sheena, Kabier’s younger sister, approach him.

“Hi Aditya,” Sheena said, her face lighting up.

Aditya’s lips curved into a smile. He leaned in, giving her a warm hug. “It’s good to see you again, and so soon. I didn’t know you were coming too.”

Sheena laughed softly. “Luckily, Kush’s birthday fell on the weekend, so we could make it. It’s good for the kids to be with their cousins.”

Aditya nodded. He’d caught up with Sheena and Rajiv recently, during his trip to Dubai.

A familiar voice joined them. “Aditya.”

Rajiv appeared at Sheena’s side, his easy smile in place. Aditya clasped his hand and pulled him in for a brief hug.

“Hey, Rajiv. How are you?” Aditya asked once they parted. “How are your sisters doing?”

“I’m good, but my sisters…” Rajiv rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “They’re a bunch of troublemakers. As you know, I’m glad Navya and Reina are somewhat settled. I’m just hoping they decide to marry soon. But Ananya…” His tone dipped with concern. “I’m still worried about her.”

Aditya addressed Rajiv. “It was one thing for Navya and Reina to fall for the younger Oshnov brothers. But Ananya! I still can’t believe she had a history with the eldest brother.”

Rajiv grimaced. “I never thanked you when I met you in Dubai.”

“For what?”

“For everything,” Rajiv said. “You went to Moscow for her. It means a lot.”

“No worries,” Aditya replied.

Aditya smiled. Of the three sisters, he was closest to Ananya. They usually caught up when he was in Dubai, and this time when he met her, she’d noticed his misery at once. Gently but firmly, she’d coaxed the truth out of him, and before he realized it, he had told her everything that had transpired between Sabrina and him. He’d even shown her a photo of them, one they’d clicked on one of their outings in Singapore.

Back home, he hadn’t even considered the possibility of discussing his situation with Sabrina with anyone else. There would be too many opinions and judgements formed. Too many of his friends were closely tied to Sabrina. But Ananya was different. She hadn’t judged, nor had she tried to fix anything. She had simply listened to him. Talking to her hadn’t erased the hurt, but it had eased the weight on his chest, if only for a little while.

She’d taken him for dinner to her house, where he had seen firsthand the complexity of her own life and the dilemma she was in, with regards to her own love life.

Aditya spoke to Rajiv and Sheena for a few more minutes before they left to attend to their children. Keya joined him immediately.

“Hey, I’m back,” she said. “I’ve told Kabier to watch over the kids. Now we can catch up.”

Aditya smiled as he addressed Keya, “Your kids are growing too fast.”

“They are,” she said, eyes glowing with happiness.

From the crowd, he saw Raashi nearing him.

“Hello, handsome,” Raashi said. “Where have you been? We haven’t met you in ages.”

“I know,” Keya said. “First, you were in Singapore for so long, then you returned and kept insisting you were too busy to meet us, and then you went off to Dubai. Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” He smiled at the girls, masking the tightness he still felt inside his chest.

“I missed you. We all missed you,” Raashi said. “Come on, give me a hug.”

“Are you sure?” Aditya teased, glancing around with mock caution. “I don’t want your husband targeting me. You know how Sameer still gets annoyed whenever Rithwik so much as stands close to you.”

Raashi’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “Oh, Sameer’s ire is reserved only for Rithwik.”

Aditya chuckled. “Rithwik was an idiot before he met Aisha.”