Faking It With a Billionaire || MaAn

Chapter 47 | Anupama

"It was good to see you again." My words come out so quick they sound all jumbled as I stand up from my seat. I give them both an apologetic smile. I was really looking forward to catching up with them, but I'm seconds away from losing Anuj's retreating form in the crowd of diners.

"We'll speak with you later, darling," Anuj's mom says, giving me a soft smile. I don't even bother to look at Vanraj. It's beyond me how I gave years of my life to that man. He fails in comparison now that I've gotten to know Anuj. It's wild to me that I'd spent weeks crying over someone who clearly didn't deserve me. Hell, I don't know if any woman deserves him. He's as pathetic as they come.

I give them one last wave before I rush toward the exit. Anuj disappeared in the few seconds it took me to say goodbye to his parents. When I fly out the front doors of the building, I'm disappointed when I don't see Anuj anywhere. My heart thumps in my chest as I look in every direction, trying to find where he went.

Fighting past the panic of where he went, worried about how angry he was and him being alone, I pick a direction and search for his body through the throng of people. He's nowhere in sight. I stop in front of a narrow alleyway, pulling my phone from my handbag in hopes I'll be able to get ahold of him.

I'm about to click on his name in my contacts when a hand snakes around my waist and pulls me deeper into the alleyway. I let out a loud shriek, gasping for air as I prepare to scream for help. The body engulfs my back, pulling me against a familiar chest. I'd know him anywhere by his smell, the scent I've grown far too attached to.

"Anuj." I let out a sigh of relief, only now realizing how worried about him I was.

He turns my body to face his, backing me up until my shoulders hit the brick of a building. I immediately wrap my arms around his middle, going underneath his suit jacket so I can feel the heat of his body as I do my best to comfort him.

His hand comes up to cradle the back of my head, holding it against his chest. "I'm so furious he spoke like that to you, Anupama," he admits, his voice hoarse. "I can't begin to apologize enough on his behalf."

I squeeze him tighter, relieved to have found him. His heart beats against my ear, the rhythm wild and untamed. "You don't have to apologize for him."

"He never should have spoken to you like that. Fuck, I could kill him for that."

Pulling away, I cradle his cheeks between my hands. He presses his left cheek deeper into my palm, his eyes searching my face frantically. "Forget about it. It doesn't matter."

"Of course it matters."

I shake my head at him. God, the intensity in his eyes has me locked in a trance. I'm drawn to the pure anger radiating from him. I feel something deep inside that his anger is in defense of me. "It doesn't. Not one bit. We're what matters, Anuj. Not him."

A muscle ticks angrily away at his jaw, like a visible countdown before he loses the restraint of his control. He places his forehead against mine, taking a deep breath. For a long moment, we breathe in each other's air. I hope my steady breaths help calm his erratic ones.

"No one gets to talk to you like that. I don't care if you love him or have history. I'm not okay with it."

"Loved."