Aman had always known that Arnav Singh Raizada was not a man prone to… reactions.
Arnav didn't react.
He executed. He controlled.
He commanded.
But today?
Today Aman saw cracks.
Hairline fractures forming in a man who was not supposed to have any.
After the meeting, Arnav had walked back into his office with his usual stiff posture, but the moment the door closed—
Something in him snapped.
Aman watched from the small glass window in the hall as Arnav pressed both hands to the desk and bowed his head.
Not dramatically.
Not explosively.
Quietly.
Like a man trying to breathe through something consuming him from inside.
Aman pretended to review files, but really, he was observing—calculating, piecing together a puzzle he was afraid to solve.
He saw the way Arnav's fingers trembled once before he clenched them into a fist.
He saw the way Arnav's jaw twitched sharply, like he was biting back something violent.
He saw the way Arnav blinked too long, breathing like someone had just kicked the air out of him.
Aman whispered to himself:
"Sir… what is happening to you?"
He wasn't sure he wanted the answer.
Because if ASR was losing control?
The consequences would not be small.
---
NK wasn't the type to overthink.
Life was food, fun, and a little flirting.
Crisis was something that happened to other people.
But now, leaning against the vending machine, he watched Khushi from across the office floor—
—and felt his stomach twist.
She wasn't herself.
NK could read people the way others read street signs—fast, intuitive, accurate.
And Khushi right now?
Khushi looked…
Shaken.
Her shoulders were stiff.
Her fingers kept tracing her wrist—as if someone's touch still lingered there.
Her breathing was uneven, too shallow.
Her eyes were wide, unfocused, soft with confusion.
NK had seen women flustered before.
But Khushi wasn't flustered.
She was affected.
Deeply.
His smile faded as realization dawned.
This wasn't some silly office crush.
This wasn't admiration for a powerful boss.
This was…
Dangerous.
Her innocence, her softness, her bright-eyed kindness—
They were mixing with something that did not match her world.
NK watched her try to steady herself with a deep breath.
Then another.
Then another.
Her fingers kept trembling as she arranged files, then rearranged them again for no reason.
He muttered under his breath:
"Khushi-ji… yeh kuch zyada ho raha hai."
Something is happening.
Something big.
Something she doesn't even understand yet.
NK pinched the bridge of his nose.
And the worst part?
He had also seen Arnav's expression when Khushi walked into the meeting.
It wasn't a normal look.
It wasn't even an interested look.
It was…
Possessive.
NK shivered.
He wasn't sure which of them he should worry about more.
---
The two men crossed paths at the printer station.
NK gave a small, nervous laugh.
"Uh… Aman bhai… does ASR look…
different to you today?"
Aman stiffened.
Different?
That was one word for it.
Dangerous?
More accurate.
Aman swallowed. "Why do you ask?"
NK pointed subtly at Khushi.
"Because she looks different too."
Aman followed NK's gaze.
He saw her lost in thought.
He saw her trying to appear composed.
He saw the faint tremble she tried to hide.
He felt ice settle in his stomach.
NK whispered, "Do you think they… um… happened?"
Aman nearly choked. "No. Definitely not."
But he wasn't sure.
And that scared him.
NK sighed in exaggerated despair.
"Then why does the office feel like we are all extras in a suspense movie?"
Aman didn't laugh.
Because he'd felt it too—
the tension
the electricity
the shift in the air that came from two people trying very, very hard not to collide again.
He met NK's eyes.
"This isn't normal."
NK nodded slowly. "Yeah… yeah… I thought so."
Aman's voice lowered further.
"And it's not harmless."
NK swallowed.
Both men turned their heads at the exact same moment—
—to look at the exact two people they feared for.
Arnav, standing alone in his glass cabin, staring at nothing…
but clearly thinking of someone.
Khushi, sitting at her desk, one hand still over her wrist…
still remembering someone.
Aman exhaled shakily.
NK rubbed the back of his neck.
Neither said it, but they both knew:
Something had started.
Something intense.
Something magnetic.
Something they could only watch…
…and hope wouldn't destroy either of them.
---
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