Heeriye

Twenty Three.

Sidharth

It's not like I don't already have a lot on my plate.

Suyansh is still missing.

My team managed to pilfer one of Aarush's samples of Sopernik and, coincidence of coincidences, it happens to be chemically identical to Venera. Which only confirms what I already knew to be true: that unoriginal bastard not only abducted my lead chemist; he's also ripping off my moneymaker drug right before my eyes.

If that weren't enough, I have a moron for an assistant who I can't bring myself to get rid of, just in case she's replaced with an even bigger moron.

And now,she's here.

Prime time for Shehnaaz to start fighting back. Right when I'm too fucking weak to resist her. To resist this.

All those weeks of keeping my distance, all those times I turned away from her—all those little moments have built up and I can feel the dam start to crack. I should have let her run out of this office like she clearly wanted to.

But I didn't.

So now, she's trapped between me and the desk, her eyes fixed on mine with a fire that makes me think she's not all that mad about it.

"Maybe I should make you my whore again. Is that what you want?" I murmur as I move in on her.

She pushes her shoulders back and her chest out. It's a fighting stance. But honestly, she doesn't really need it. Everything about her right now tells me that she's more than ready to do battle if she needs to.

"I would tell you what I want," she says. Her tone is cold and focused. "But you wouldn't understand."

I lean in towards her, grazing my lips from her ear to her cheek. "I understand that you're good at this game."

"That's exactly the difference between us: this is not a game to me."

I pull back a little and make the mistake of meeting her eyes. They're so bright right now, shining with whatever you call the thing that comes before unshed tears.

"No?" I ask. "Tell me something: why did you really come in here?" She flinches. I wonder if I've stumbled on something here. Curious, I dig my heels in and place my hands on either side of the desk, locking her in. "Tell me."

Her lips part.God, what I would give to bite down on those lips right now. The things I'd do. The prices I'd pay.

"I knew you would refuse me," she admits. "But you came anyway. See?" I say triumphantly. "It is a game."

"You call it a game; I call it survival." Her breath catches for a moment and, just when I think she's done talking, she says, "Yes, I came here even when I knew you would say no. But I just wanted an excuse to be in your space. I wanted to be near you. Because... because I miss you so damn much. Even if you're not here."

Is this real? My body is completely won over and it wants her so badly that every breath I spent not inside of her is absolute agony.

But my heart remains cautious. My mind is wary.

I can't let her in again...

"I'm right here," I rasp. "What's there to miss?"

She shakes her head and lifts her hand to my face. Her fingers are light as a feather as they dance along my cheek. "No, you're not. You're not here at all. I miss the old Sidharth. The man who carried me to bed after I fell asleep. Who covered me with a blanket to make sure I wouldn't get cold at night. I want the man who took care of the kids for me so that I could fall apart in peace. I want the man who looked at me as though I was special. I want that man."