Aarvi kept her head down for the rest of the morning, hoping the uneasiness inside her would dissolve if she stayed busy enough. She typed faster, double-checked files, avoided unnecessary conversations.
But hiding emotions never made them quieter.
If anything, they grew louder when ignored.
Every few minutes, she felt Riyan's gaze slide toward her through the glass.
Not demanding.
Not cold.
Just… watchful.
It made her heart beat in strange rhythms she didn't understand.
---
The problem finally explodes
Around noon, her phone buzzed again.
Hospital: Urgent. Payment required today.
Aarvi's hands shook as she turned the screen face-down.
She didn't notice Riyan walking out of his office until he was standing near her desk.
"Aarvi."
His voice was low. Controlled. Too controlled.
"Inside. Now."
Her heart plunged.
Did she make a mistake?
Did he overhear the message?
She followed him quietly into his office. He shut the door behind her, not harshly, but with an intensity that made the air shift.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Her lips parted in surprise. "Nothing, sir. I was just—"
"Aarvi," he interrupted, eyes narrowing slightly, "you've checked your phone five times in the last hour. You're pale. And your hands are shaking."
She immediately curled her fingers into her palms.
"I'm fine. I promise."
He stared at her with a frustration so raw, so unlike him, it made her breath catch.
"Stop saying that," he said quietly.
Aarvi blinked. "Sir—"
"You're not fine. And the more you lie, the more it—"
He stopped himself, turning his face away as if revealing too much.
"It won't fix anything."
Her eyes softened.
"I don't want to be an issue at work."
His jaw clenched, emotion flickering across his usually unreadable face.
"You're not an issue," he said firmly.
"Your silence is."
---
His protectiveness slips out
Aarvi looked down.
"I just… I don't want anyone to think I can't manage my own problems."
Riyan moved closer, slowly, as if he didn't trust himself to stand too near.
"You're allowed to struggle," he said quietly.
"You're allowed to need help."
She shook her head. "Not from my boss."
Something in his expression darkened—not anger, but something deeper.
"Don't call me that when you're hurting."
Aarvi's breath hitched.
She wasn't sure what shocked her more—the words or the emotion behind them.
He took another step, then froze, as if stopping himself from crossing a line.
"If someone—anyone—makes you uncomfortable again, or if something is wrong…"
His voice dropped.
"You come to me."
"But sir—"
"Aarvi."
His eyes locked on hers.
"I won't ask again."
Her heart fluttered in ways she didn't know how to handle.
---
But protectiveness has consequences
Later that afternoon, the HR manager arrived on the floor.
She spoke softly to Aarvi.
"Miss Sharma, the CEO requested an update on your medical insurance status. Is everything okay?"
Aarvi froze.
Her throat tightened.
Her heart sank.
He had checked on her.
Behind her back.
"Why… why would he ask that?" she whispered.
The HR manager shrugged. "He didn't explain. He just said it was urgent."
Urgent.
Aarvi felt her chest close.
Her secret was slipping out.
Her independence… exposed.
She stepped away and went straight to Riyan's office without knocking.
He looked up the moment she entered—eyes sharp, instantly alert.
"Aarvi—"
"Why did you talk to HR about me?" she asked, voice trembling.
"You had no right."
His expression didn't change, but something in his eyes hardened.
"You're struggling," he said. "I'm fixing it."
"I didn't ask you to," she whispered.
"You didn't have to."
Her throat tightened.
"This is overstepping, sir."
He stood slowly, walking toward her with a quiet intensity.
"If protecting you is overstepping," he said, "then yes, I did."
Aarvi's breath faltered.
His protectiveness wasn't just professional.
It wasn't distant.
It wasn't logical.
It was personal.
Too personal.
And that terrified her more than her financial problems.
Because if he kept crossing lines for her,
one day she would too.