Aarvi arrived the next morning with a forced smile and tired eyes, hoping the world wouldn't notice the night she barely slept. But the moment she stepped into the office, she felt it—
that familiar heaviness in the air.
Someone was watching her.
She didn't need to look to know who.
Riyan stood inside his glass office, arms crossed, gaze fixed on her the second she walked in. Not sharp. Not cold.
Just… observant in a way that unsettled her more than his anger ever could.
She sat down quickly, pretending she didn't feel the weight of his eyes.
Pretending last evening never happened.
Pretending his "Are you alright?" didn't replay in her mind until dawn.
But pretending never made problems smaller.
It only delayed them.
---
The lie begins to crack
At 10:17 a.m., her phone buzzed.
Hospital: Test results pending. Payment required to proceed.
Aarvi's stomach twisted.
She quickly hid the notification, her hands trembling.
Not now.
Not in front of him.
Not here.
She stared at her screen, blinking hard until her vision steadied.
But Riyan noticed everything.
From inside his office, he watched the exact moment her shoulders stiffened, the moment her fingers faltered, the moment she swallowed back an emotion she didn't want anyone to see.
She had lied to him yesterday.
She wasn't fine.
And something inside him tightened at that realization.
---
"Aarvi, come inside."
His voice was calm but left no space for refusal.
She stood slowly, walked to his office, and closed the door behind her.
He didn't ask her to sit.
He just looked at her—deep, focused, searching for the truth she refused to say.
"Is everything alright today?" he asked.
It was the same question as yesterday.
Only today, it felt heavier.
"Yes, sir. Everything is—"
"Don't."
His tone wasn't harsh, but it stopped her completely.
"Don't say you're fine when you're clearly not."
Aarvi's throat tightened. "It's just… personal matters. They won't affect my work. I promise."
"That's not what I asked," he replied quietly.
Her eyes dropped.
She couldn't meet his.
He leaned forward, elbows on the desk. "Aarvi… lying doesn't fix anything. It only delays the damage."
His words cut deeper than she expected.
She looked up, startled. "I'm not lying to protect myself, sir. I just… I don't want to trouble anyone."
Riyan went still.
Anyone.
Not just him.
He didn't know why that bothered him more than it should.
---
The tension breaks
He stood abruptly and walked around the desk toward her.
Aarvi's breath caught.
He didn't stop until he was standing in front of her—close enough that she could see the strain in his eyes, the conflict he wasn't hiding well anymore.
"Aarvi," he said softly, "if something is wrong, you tell me. Not because I'm your employer… but because I—"
He paused.
His jaw tightened.
He turned away before finishing the sentence.
Because he what?
Because he cared?
Because she mattered?
Because watching her struggle was the first thing to shake the walls he'd spent years building?
He wouldn't say it.
He couldn't.
But the silence said enough.
Aarvi stepped back, overwhelmed.
"Sir… I really don't want to be a burden."
His head snapped toward her.
"You're not a burden," he said instantly—too quickly, too honestly for a man who guarded his emotions like armor.
The room fell quiet.
Their eyes met.
Something wordless passed between them—something neither of them was ready to admit.
---
But problems don't disappear just because someone cares
A knock on the door forced the moment to end.
"Sir, the finance manager is here," an employee said from outside.
Riyan didn't look away from Aarvi.
Not immediately.
"Send him to the conference room," he said, his voice steady again. "I'll be there in a minute."
The employee left.
Aarvi stepped aside to exit, but Riyan spoke again—quiet, firm, impossible to ignore.
"Aarvi," he said, "don't hide things from me. Even small lies become big problems."
She nodded slowly and walked out.
But as she did, one question kept echoing in her mind:
What happens when the lie she's hiding isn't small anymore?