The announcement didn't come with drama.
No press conference.
No scandalous headlines.
Just an internal memo sent to every senior department head — precise, formal, undeniable.
Subject: Conflict Disclosure and Structural Adjustment
Aarvi read it once.
Then again.
Her name wasn't mentioned directly.
But the meaning was unmistakable.
Riyan Malhotra had disclosed a personal involvement.
He had formally removed himself from any authority connected to her role.
And the board had accepted it.
Not happily.
But officially.
---
The office reacted in silence
People didn't whisper this time.
They stared.
Some with curiosity.
Some with discomfort.
Some with quiet respect.
Aarvi felt every look, but she didn't shrink.
She sat at her desk, spine straight, fingers steady.
She wasn't being hidden.
She wasn't being reassigned.
She wasn't being erased.
She was being acknowledged.
---
Riyan felt the weight immediately
Meetings changed tone.
Questions became sharper.
Decisions took longer.
He wasn't untouchable anymore.
And he accepted that without regret.
Because power meant nothing
if he had to sacrifice integrity to keep it.
---
They didn't meet privately that day
Not because they couldn't.
Because they didn't need to.
Their choice was already visible.
That evening, Aarvi packed her bag calmly and stood.
Riyan noticed.
He didn't call her in.
Didn't follow.
He waited.
---
The moment they shared — without hiding
In the lobby, they stood side by side.
Not close.
Not distant.
Equal.
"You okay?" he asked quietly.
"Yes," she replied.
"Are you?"
He smiled faintly.
"I will be."
They walked out together.
No secrecy.
No avoidance.
Just two people stepping into consequences they chose.
---
That night, Aarvi understood something
She sat on her bed, phone in her hand, heart steady in a way it hadn't been in weeks.
This wasn't a fairytale.
There would be scrutiny.
Discomfort.
Resistance.
But there was also clarity.
He hadn't stayed because it was easy.
He had stayed because it was right.
---
And Riyan understood something too
Standing alone in his apartment, city lights stretching endlessly beyond the window, Riyan finally felt something settle.
Peace — not comfort.
He had lost a layer of control.
But he had gained something far rarer.
Self-respect.
---
The truth changed everything
They didn't say we're together.
They didn't define anything.
They didn't rush.
But the truth had stepped into the open —
and it refused to be hidden again.
And that was enough.
For now.