The room fell into a silence so heavy it felt like it was pressing against the walls.
Riyan stood in front of her, jaw clenched, shoulders stiff, every emotion he didn't know how to express flickering behind his eyes.
Aarvi stood opposite him—hurt, confused, overwhelmed by everything he wasn't saying and everything she didn't want to feel.
"You shouldn't have talked to HR about me," she repeated quietly, her voice trembling but steady enough to carry her anger.
Riyan didn't step back.
If anything, he stepped closer.
"You think I don't see what's happening?" he asked, his voice low but intense. "You're working two shifts in one body. You're skipping lunch. You're exhausted. And yesterday—"
He stopped himself, but Aarvi already knew what he was referring to.
The phone call.
Her mother.
Her struggle.
Her chest tightened.
"That doesn't give you a right to interfere in my life," she whispered.
"You're my responsibility."
"No." She shook her head. "I'm your employee."
He flinched slightly—barely visible, but it was there.
She had struck the nerve she wasn't supposed to touch.
---
His voice changes—soft but firm
"Aarvi," he said quietly, "I didn't do it to control you. I did it because you deserve support. You don't have to carry everything alone."
She looked away, blinking fast to keep her tears from falling.
"I've carried things alone my whole life," she whispered. "It's what I'm used to."
"That doesn't make it right."
"But it's my choice."
Riyan ran a hand through his hair, the conflict in him tearing through his usually calm mask.
"You want to fight the world alone?"
His voice cracked with frustration.
"Fine. But you don't get to shut me out when I'm trying to help."
Aarvi stared at him.
The billionaire everyone feared…
soundly undone by her refusal to depend on him.
It didn't make sense.
It didn't fit the man with strict rules and colder eyes.
"Why do you care so much?" she whispered before she could stop herself.
The question froze him.
His eyes softened in a way she had never seen—raw, unfiltered, unguarded.
"I don't know," he said honestly.
"It wasn't supposed to matter."
Her breath caught.
Riyan rarely admitted anything.
He certainly didn't admit weakness.
But this—
this was something he couldn't hide.
---
A silence that says everything and nothing
Neither of them moved.
Aarvi's heartbeat echoed in her ears.
Riyan's chest rose and fell too slowly, like he was holding every emotion hostage.
"I'm not used to people stepping into my life," she said softly.
"I'm not used to caring," he replied.
Their eyes held each other, tangled in a moment neither of them knew how to handle.
And that was when the fear slipped in—
If he cared too much,
and she let him…
something irreversible would happen.
---
She breaks the moment first
"I should get back to work," she whispered, stepping back.
He didn't stop her.
But his jaw tightened as if the distance physically hurt him.
"Aarvi," he said as she reached the door.
She turned.
"This conversation isn't over."
Her breath faltered.
Not because of the words—
but the way he said her name.
Soft.
Certain.
Like he had already decided she wasn't something he could let go of.
She nodded faintly and walked out, her heart shaking with every step.
---
Inside the office, Riyan sat down slowly.
He rubbed his hands over his face, exhaling a breath that felt too heavy.
"What are you doing to me…?" he muttered under his breath.
He didn't have an answer.
But he knew one thing clearly—
Aarvi Sharma wasn't just breaking his rules.
She was breaking his walls.
And he wasn't sure how much longer he could pretend he didn't feel it.