Intertwined - Tangled series (Overprotective famous brothers)

Wait. Half a million?

Alisha

It had been a few weeks since the talk I had with Salman. Everything had been going smoothly. We were taking off security slowly, starting from the outmost circle of those threatened. Our house had just begun to look like a house again instead of a fortress. I was allowed to go around the mansion and school without an escort, and Dimitri was more than happy to not have someone stalking him. People like Nidhi, and some acquaintances and old friends were now off security, they were now off our radars. They had their privacy bad, and I felt relief wash over me. Very few people appreciated the privacy they enjoyed, but I hated to steal it away from them, providing only an illusion of the same. 

There was, of course, the question of Adrian. Mike had insisted that nobody would harm him, and that he didn't need to protect my ex anymore. But I wanted him to have protection a little bit longer, and get it off only when we were back to complete normalcy. It pissed him off, but he stayed in LA to keep his word of protecting him. Adrian knew there was probably someone shadowing his family, but he didn't speak up against it. We didn't talk about it. We let it go the way it was, and I was secretly glad we didn't have to have the extremely awkward conversation about bodyguards. 

I understood where Mike's anger came from. Mike was extremely mad at Adrian for behaving the way he was. The paparazzi sometimes stalked him, and he was up being a complete asshole to most of them. My Adrian would smile and take the pressure graciously instead of calling them out as 'attention whores' and 'desperate bitches'. My Adrian would thank the people who gave him a mini celebrity status, instead of insulting a mutual fan of ours on twitter. 

But he wasn't my Adrian anymore. He had, very conveniently, unfollowed me on twitter and Instagram, unfriended me on Facebook and refused to text me back on nights I fell into the trap of memories and texted him. I was a fool. He was just fine. He was doing just fine without me and I did not know how to deal with it. 

The media had noticed these changed. The lack of spotting together, the PDA on social media, the hints at each other, nothing. They had noticed the unfollowing, and they had been spamming me for weeks. I didn't reply, but today was perhaps the day to put it out. Today we would have completed a year together.  

Twitter

BeingAlisha: I was trying to contain myself but I cannot stand the questions. SO, let's get one thing clear. Having an obsession with teenage relationships is creepy

BeingAlisha: I'm pretty sure we have Ebola and ISIS to deal with first, both of which are more important to be written about than my relationship status

BeingAlisha: 130 people, including children, were killed today after a bomb strike in Syria. However, nobody cares about those lives

BeingAlisha: But wow, Alisha Khan's love life must be of utmost importance. 

I was going to get into a whole lot trouble with my twitter rants. Cassie was going to snap while other did damage control. But I did not give any amount of care into their views. The last I checked, I could have control over my own life and I didn't need the staff to dictate how I behaved. 

Sighing, I unpacked my bags in my Russian hotel room. 

Russia was having their annual gymnastics meet, where they invited a dozen or so countries for a competition. It looked just like another meet for any strangers, but insiders knew this meet was vital. A lot of officials kept close tabs during gymnasts, using this as an opportunity to try and assess their options to build the gymnastics team. Of course, there was an official qualifying competition, but that wasn't the final word. And with the kind of fierce competition in the US, we had to give this one our best.