The next morning, Aarvi woke up earlier than usual — not because she wanted to, but because sleep had refused to stay.
Every time she closed her eyes, she heard his voice:
"I care about you."
"Don't run away from me."
"When we're alone, don't call me sir."
Those words had wrapped themselves around her heart, refusing to leave.
She got dressed slowly, her fingers trembling more than once.
Today… she would have to face him again.
And everything between them would feel different — even if nothing physical had happened.
When she reached the office, she paused at the entrance, breathing deeply before stepping inside.
But nothing prepared her for what happened next.
---
He noticed her the second she walked in
Riyan was already in his office, leaning over documents with his sleeves rolled up.
But the moment he saw her through the glass wall, he straightened — and his entire expression softened.
Not the controlled CEO expression.
Not the indifferent one.
This was something else.
Something quiet.
Something warm.
Aarvi's breath hitched.
She looked down quickly and walked to her desk, pretending she didn't feel the weight of his gaze.
But she felt it.
Every second.
---
He didn't call her in immediately
Normally, he summoned her early with files, schedules, or instructions.
But today, he didn't.
Not because he didn't want to talk.
But because he was giving her time.
Space.
A choice.
It was the gentlest thing he had ever done without saying a word.
But the silence between them wasn't cold.
It was warm — the kind of silence where two people feel each other even when they're not speaking.
Aarvi typed slowly, but she couldn't concentrate.
Her heart was doing strange things — beating too fast when she felt him look at her, slowing down when he didn't.
---
By noon, the tension was impossible to ignore
She walked past his office to deliver documents to another department, thinking he wasn't paying attention.
He was.
His eyes followed her until she disappeared around the corner.
His assistant noticed and quickly shifted her gaze away, pretending she hadn't seen anything.
Riyan didn't care.
His world, without him wanting it, had started orbiting around one person.
And it scared him more than it should've.
---
He finally called her in
Around 12:40 p.m., her phone buzzed.
"Come to my office."
Just five words — but her heart reacted instantly.
Aarvi stood, wiping her palms against her skirt nervously, then walked to his door.
When she entered, he stood up from behind the desk.
She froze.
Today, he looked different —
not just handsome, but softer.
More open.
More… reachable.
A contradiction to everything she thought he was.
"Close the door," he said quietly.
The request didn't feel intimidating today.
It felt… personal.
When the latch clicked, Riyan looked at her like he'd been waiting for a moment that kept slipping from his control.
"Aarvi," he said softly, "are you alright today?"
Her chest tightened.
He always asked that now.
But today, it felt deeper — like her answer mattered more than anything else.
"I'm fine," she whispered.
He stepped closer.
"Aarvi."
Her name held emotion.
Concern.
Something dangerously close to longing.
"Please don't hide from me today," he said.
"Not after everything I said yesterday."
Aarvi looked away, eyes softening with a vulnerability she didn't want him to see.
"I'm not hiding… I just don't know how to act around you anymore."
Riyan froze.
Then something gentle, almost heartbreakingly soft, passed over his features.
"You don't have to act," he said quietly.
"You just have to be honest with me."
She swallowed hard.
"Honest about what?"
He held her gaze, his voice low, controlled, and full of something unspoken—
"About what I mean to you."
Aarvi's breath caught.
Her heart raced.
Her cheeks burned.
"I don't know what you mean to me," she whispered.
"But you feel something," he said, stepping just one inch closer.
"Don't you?"
Silence.
Aarvi didn't answer.
She didn't have to.
Her silence said more than her words ever could.
Riyan saw it.
Felt it.
Understood it.
And for the first time in a long time, a small, genuine smile touched his lips — soft, rare, unguarded.
"Good," he murmured.
Because now, he wasn't the only one whose feelings refused to hide anymore.