Assignments excite him.
They always have. Action is his addiction.
“We go undercover as Mehul’s new bodyguards. He’s planning to expand—reach further into educational security contracts. He’s in talks with a security company that handles school surveillance, daycare protections, transport systems for vulnerable kids. It’s the perfect setup. He’ll probably run the company dry. Maybe even acquire it.”
Of course it is.
I stiffen in his arms.
Because this is exactly how men like Mehul Bedi win—by hiding behind playground fences and “children’s charities.” By smiling for cameras while slipping kids through the back door.
By preying on the exact kind of place I once called home.
And now, I’ll have to walk right into it.
“Greesha...” Vir says, a rare hesitation coloring his voice. “The security company is GenVault.”
My entire body stills.
GenVault.
That’s where Advik works.
Fuck.
I force a shrug. A casual tone. Something resembling indifference. “And am I supposed to care?”
Vir doesn’t flinch. “He’s the senior partner who’ll be working directly with Mehul Bedi.”
I hum, squeezing him tighter against me. “Well... I’m fine with that. It honestly doesn’t matter.”
“Are you... sure?” he asks gently. “He—I don’t know—he hurt you enough to make you volunteer for the Karim operation.”
I know what he’s trying to do. I understand the concern buried beneath his calm. But after everything, after all this time... I think I’ve made peace with it. Or maybe I’ve just buried it deep enough tofakepeace.
“That’s fine,” I say quietly. “The only issue is that he thinks I’m dead.”
Vir nods, his hand drifting up to trace the scar along my cheek—Karim’s legacy, etched into my face. His touch is gentle, almost reverent.
But I know what this is.
It’s a silent warning.
A reminder.
This scar will be the first thing Advik sees.
And it will be the last confirmation he needs to know: the woman he knew is gone.
Because the truth is, she is.
The fallacy of it all is that the Greesha Advik knew—the one he claimed to love, the one who stood by him despite everything—is the only version of me that ever really existed. Orwantedto exist.
The only one who still believed in softness.
In truth.
But he didn’t choose her.
