Something burned inside him. It always did when she smiled like that.For others.It was raw jealousy that his wife smiled freely with them in a way she never did with him. But he refused to name it as such, and always pushed that feeling aside under the excuse that none of the Goels had the right to smile like that. Carefree and happy.
“Rajat. Abhimanyu,” he said sharply. “We need to discuss the other projects. In my cabin. Now.”
The two men exchanged a look, sighed in unison, and followed him out. Mishti felt a strange sense of relief knowing he was finally back from Dubai. But this relief was soon replaced by nervousness at the thought of the 03:00 p.m. meeting with Karan. She would have to brief him on the Trinity project, on everything she had worked on so far, and she knew better than to underestimate how closely he would scrutinise every detail.
Pushing the thought aside, she returned to her desk and immersed herself in her work again to prepare herself.
**************
Conference Room at 03:00 p.m.
When Mishti arrived at the conference room, alone, Karan was already there. He was seated at the head of the oval table, jacket off, sleeves rolled up, his attention fixed on his tablet as he skimmed through something. He did not look up immediately when she entered, and she was not sure whether that was intentional or simply a habit. Either way, it did nothing to calm the tightening in her chest.
She set her stuff at the first chair of the table, right next to him and then connected her laptop to the projector. Once she was done and waiting at the projector screen before them, Karan finally leaned back in his chair, ready to pay attention to whatever she had worked on over the past two weeks.
This was just a formality. Through his team, he was already aware of how far the project had progressed.
Mishti began her presentation, breaking the Trinity project down into sections. The groundwork she had laid, the preliminary assessments, the areas she had prioritised first, and why. For someone who had just joined, she had covered a lot.
Every few minutes, she turned toward him briefly, and a few loose strands of hair slipped forward, brushing her cheek. Without interrupting her flow, she tucked them back behind her ear and continued.
Karan listened. Or at least, he tried to because at this moment, more than his ears, his eyes were busy.
She was dressed in another salwar suit today, one of her usual choices, soft and elegant, always covered. No unnecessary exposure. No deliberate attempt to draw attention. And yet, every movement of hers did exactly that. It was a style that belonged to her, one she wore effortlessly despite her position on the company board. She didn’t try to compete with the sharp silhouettes of power dressing. She did not need to. There wassomething about the way she carried herself in such simple attire that made her look refined.
She continued explaining, pointing out figures on the screen, outlining timelines, and describing how she had begun aligning the teams even before his return. He caught himself nodding once, then twice, not out of politeness but because what she was saying made sense. More than that, it was good. Thoughtful. The kind of work he expected from someone who belonged in that room, on that project.
As she spoke, she turned toward him again, and for a brief moment their eyes held a tension that had nothing to do with the presentation and everything to do with the weeks that had come before it.
But Karan forced his attention back to the screen.
This was exactly why he needed distance from her.
Having her around was not going according to plan. He had wanted to strip happiness from her life. Instead, he was becoming overattentive towards her. Possessive. Obsessive. Watching her too closely. Hence, somehow, every attempt felt incomplete, ineffective. He could not break her the way he had once thought he would.
The problem was her innocence, her honesty in the way she breathed life into her relationships, her quiet defiance, and at the same time, the small, unassuming ways she kept trying to win his heart, all worked against him. Together, she weaved a web around him which he wanted to tear himself free, yet with every passing day, he was more deeply trapped.
The kiss two weeks ago had been proof of that. His control had never failed him before. That night, it had. And he had known immediately that it was dangerous. So, he had flown to Dubai the very next day, needing distraction, distance and a way to remind himself why he was doing all of this.To fuel the revenge again.
But even there, he had never truly been away from her.
He had watched her through the cabin footage more times than he cared to admit. Seen her working late, chewing thoughtfully on the end of her pen while reading through files. Seen her tuck her hair back repeatedly, sip water from her bottle, and lick her lips absently when she was concentrating. He had watched her lean forward at times, resting her head briefly on the desk when fatigue crept in, stretching her arms in her chair after hours of sitting.
He had even noticed the strap of her sleeveless kurta slip from her shoulder once or twice, revealing the smooth curve of her neck before she pulled it back into place. He had seen all of it. And he had no idea how he was supposed to live with that.
So he had flown back, fully aware that distance had done little to help him regain control. Dubai had not dulled the pull she had over him, nor had it strengthened the resolve he had gone there to rebuild. And now, here he was again, in the same room with her, discussing a project that mattered deeply to him, and yet his mind was busy focusing onherthan the presentation.
This could not continue.
Because right now, the decision to marry Mishti felt like the worst mistake he had ever made in the name of revenge.
Mishti finished the presentation. She moved to take the chair beside him at the oval conference table, close enough for him to reach out and touch her arm without effort. Once again, the proximity unsettled Karan.
“Was it good?” she asked softly.
Her fingers toyed with the pen she had picked up from the table, twisting it slightly as she waited for his response.
Karan forced himself to pull his thoughts together.
