Chapter 37: Chapter 36 - The End of an Era (1)

Firdaus, Sameer and Vijay turned up later that evening.

"I send you to another city to keep you safe, and you still manage to run into trouble," Firdaus snapped as soon as he saw me.

I looked away, hurt, my smile fading.

Sameer threw his arms around me and I hugged by little boy.

"I missed you," he mumbled into my jacket.

"I missed you, too, sweetheart," I told him. "I missed your Furry bhaiya, too."

"I think Furry bhaiya missed you, too. He kept fighting all the time with this other Auntie he brought home after you left," Sameer said innocently.

A cold fist closed around my heart. I am not a particularly jealous person, but there are only so many ways you could interpret the child's words.

I glanced at Firdaus, who refused to meet my eyes. I turned to Vijay, who gave me a pained smile and turned away.

I pushed down the nausea that welled up in me. There were things to be done, and I could deal with my feelings later.