One week Later:
Zara arrived at the floor and quietly settled into the seat that once belonged to Rohan. The desk felt unfamiliar yet oddly comforting, a new chapter waiting to unfold. She placed her bag neatly on the side, arranged her notepad and pens in order, and switched on the laptop. The clock on the corner of the screen read 8:35 a.m. It was still early for Ayaan to arrive.
She took a deep breath and walked into the washroom. Standing before the mirror, Zara studied her reflection, the faint nervousness in her eyes and the slight tremble in her fingers. The mere thought of handling everything on her own terrified her, though a part of her believed it would be no different from how she had managed things with Rohan.
“Come on, Zara, You’ve worked hard to be here. You can do this.” she whispered to herself, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She straightened her posture, adjusted her blazer, and applied a light shade of lip gloss.
“He’s tough, not impossible. Just stay calm, stay sharp, and don’t let him see your nerves” she murmured, giving herself a final look of quiet confidence. With renewed determination, she smiled faintly at her reflection. Lifting her chin, Zara walked out of the washroom, her steps steadier this time.
Strong footsteps echoed through the quiet floor, pulling Zara out of her thoughts. Her heart skipped when she saw Ayaan step out of the elevator, tall, composed, and radiating that unmistakable authority that made her straighten unconsciously. She immediately stood, her pulse racing, and greeted him with a polite nod as he walked past her without a word, heading straight into his cabin.
Taking that as her cue, Zara hurried into the pantry. Her hands moved quickly, almost instinctively, as she prepared his coffee, exactly the way Rohan had taught her. The rich aroma of freshly coffee beans filled the air, grounding her nerves a little. Taking a steadying breath, she carried the cup into his office.
Ayaan didn’t look up as she entered, his attention remained fixed on the screen before him. Zara placed the cup gently on his desk and opened the iPad, reading out his schedule in a calm tone. But Ayaan’s sharp eyes noticed the faint tremor in her hands, the way her grip tightened around the sleek device as if it were her only anchor.
He leaned back slightly, taking a slow sip of his coffee, his gaze lifting to meet hers for a brief moment.
“I need a complete finance report and analysis for the current quarter, with a detailed comparison against the past five years. And I want it on my desk before the end of the day”, he said, his tone calm but carrying that unmistakable weight of authority.
Zara froze for a moment, stunned by the sheer scope of the task and the impossibly short time frame. Her mind raced, trying to map out how she could gather and compile all that data in just a few hours. Still, she forced herself to hum softly in acknowledgment, trying to mask the panic rising in her chest.
“Yes, sir,” she murmured, her voice steadier than she felt. She returned to her cubicle and took a gulp of water and then fingers hovered over the keyboard, ready to start.
But just as she was about to open the spreadsheets, the intercom started ringing. She answered it immediately and Ayaan’s voice cut through it.
“Check the meeting room schedule for tomorrow. Follow up with the managers from the overseas branches to schedule a meeting in two days. I want to review current sales figures and discuss new marketing strategies. Ensure everything is updated.” he said and Zara blinked, caught off guard by the string of seemingly trivial tasks. She opened her mouth to respond, but Ayaan had already cut the call. It was clear he wasn’t going to let her focus without interruption, testing her composure as much as her efficiency.
Her mind already calculating how to tackle the mountain of work while handling the minor interruptions that came her way.
By noon, as usual the driver arrived with lunch and Zara entered Ayaan’s room and placed it on the tea table. She picked the plate, cutleries and water bottle from the fridge and placed them neatly above the table.
Just as she thought she could leave, Ayaan settled on the couch, absorbed in something on his mobile, and gestured for her to serve the lunch.
She opened the box, and the aroma of freshly prepared food hit her like a gentle wave, warm and comforting. It stirred something deep inside her, a longing she had grown used to suppressing. Having lived in orphanage and later alone all her life, Zara had rarely tasted home-cooked meals. Most of her meals had been hurried hotel orders or packets of instant noodles. Yet now, the smell reminded her of simpler times at the orphanage, when she had learned to cook with care, and later, of the small apartment she had made her own, where she had tried to recreate that same warmth.
For a moment, she simply inhaled, letting the scent ground her, before carefully placing the food in front of Ayaan, a quiet smile tugging at her lips.
“You may leave,” Ayaan said without looking up from his mobile.
Zara nodded and stepped back, licking her lips subconsciously. She returned to her cubicle and her eyes drifted to the food delivered from the cafeteria, but the aroma wafting from Ayaan’s lunch box made her chest tighten with an ache for home-cooked meals, something she had never known in her life. She shook off the longing, aware that such luxuries would never be hers. With a quiet sigh, she closed the box and returned to her work, forcing herself to focus on the mounting tasks in front of her.
Meanwhile, Ayaan’s gaze lingered on Zara through the screen of his mobile. A sharp, venomous thought coursed through him, unspoken but searing.
“A woman like you, who thrives on the flesh and blood of innocent people, doesn’t deserve care.” he thought and the words tasted bitter even in his mind. With a slow exhale, he placed his mobile upside down on the table, finally turning his attention to the food before him.
His movements were calm, deliberate, almost ritualistic yet every bite was accompanied by the simmering storm of his thoughts, his restrained fury he harbored for her.
By evening, Ayaan called Zara to his room. She walked in, trying to steady her racing heart, and noticed him sitting at his desk, his posture sharp and composed, the glow of the laptop reflecting in his intense eyes.
“Report,” he said, his voice calm but carrying a weight that made her stomach churn.
Zara fidgeted with her fingers, glancing briefly at the floor before meeting his gaze. “Sir… I’m… I’m halfway through the report you requested. It takes more than a few hours to get it done,” she admitted, swallowing hard, the fear evident in her voice.
Ayaan’s eyes narrowed, the deadly glare sending a chill down her spine. He leaned back slightly, letting the silence stretch, before speaking slowly, each word cutting through the tension in the room.
“Call it inefficiency, Miss Ramkumar, and I don’t expect that from someone who is supposed to hold everything at the tip of her fingers”, he said, his tone icy.
Zara’s heart skipped a beat. She wanted to defend herself, to explain that she was doing her best, but the weight in his gaze pinned her words before they could escape. She nodded instead, forcing herself to swallow the lump in her throat, her fingers tightening around the iPad.
Ayaan returned to his laptop, but his gaze flicked to her from the corner of his eyes, sharp and assessing, as if silently measuring whether she could rise to the challenge he had set before her.
” I will get it done by tonight, I just need few more hours. I can prove that I m capable of the role I m being chosen for ” Zara muttered slowly raising her head to look at him.
Their eyes locked for a while. Her orbs weren’t pure black nor completely brown, they were glossy and deep, like molten coffee under sunlight, warm, restless, and quietly defiant, as if holding a storm she refused to show.
She was unable to decipher the emotions behind the strong intensity of his dark brown orbs so she just averted her gaze to the table. The moment her eye lash slid down a drop of tear escaped and spilled on the table.
” Leave ” Ayaan muttered without averting his gaze from her and Zara left instantly. Once the door shut behind her Ayaan looked at the drop of tear she left behind.
” Another drama of hers to get my attention ? What does she has in her mind now ? “
He picked up his mobile and called his Chief Security Officer who answered the call immediately.
” Whats happening ? Why are we still stuck up with the same information until now ? I wanted to know whom she is working for ? How is that possible that she hasn’t contacted anyone all these days especially now that she works for me directly ? Did you forget that bastard Varun and Pratap ? I don’t want to be a fool and wait for another few years to find whoever the enemy is. I lost my Zara already and I will not lose anyone from my family. I would rather ruin this world for all I care ” Ayaan roared pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Sir, the truth is she hasn’t contacted anyone, nor has anyone reached out to her so far. Our men even check every takeout order before it’s delivered. I’ve replaced the entire apartment staff with our people ………. the gardener, plumber, electrician, everyone. She’s completely isolated. Not a single message has been sent from her phone or laptop. The only option left is to bring her into custody and begin direct interrogation, but that could alert whoever she might be working for. If she’s connected to a terrorist network, we may have to wait for some form of communication. She could very well be a sleeper cell. Sleeper agents can blend in as ordinary citizens for years …… even decades until they receive an activation order. At this point, sir… things are no longer in our control.” he said and Ayaan grit his teeth hearing his words and hummed knowing he was 10 percent right.
” Break into her house and place bugs everywhere. See if you get something that might help us ” Ayaan ordered.
“I’ll get it done, sir. Tomorrow, once she leaves for the office, the task will be completed. It’s already late, and she could return any moment. We don’t have enough time to execute it tonight,” the chief security officer reported.
Ayaan simply hummed in response and disconnected the call. He walked toward the glass wall stretching from floor to ceiling and stared down at the busy road below.
” What if she is not a sleeper cell? No… no, that can’t be possible. But if she’s working here, then I’m clearly their target. Whatever they want, it has to come through me or end with my death. I can’t let this slip out of control. I won’t wait helplessly like we did with that bastard Varun and Pratap. I will avenge my Zara ” He whispered the promise to himself, then returned to his seat.
A sharp throb pulsed through his skull, as if his head might split open. He opened a folder on his laptop and stared at the photographs taken on the day Zara died in the blast — pictures of them together before she left the manor. She was smiling at him through the mirror, her eyes filled with a warmth that now felt like a ghost pressing against his chest.
Tears slipped down his cheeks, but before he could wipe them away, the door opened and Zara stepped inside carrying a cup of coffee. Ayaan immediately swiveled his chair, turning his back to her.
“Why are you here? And why didn’t you knock before entering my room? Know your place, Miss Ramkumar.” he barked, forcing the tremor out of his voice and wiped his tears quickly, then turned to face her.
Zara swallowed hard when she saw the redness in his eyes.
“Sir… its late. I thought you would need coffee so I brought you one. I m sorry, please excuse me,” she whispered, and hurried out, closing the door behind her while Ayaan’s mind drifted to his past.
“Ayaan what are you doing here all alone and why haven’t turned on the lights ? “
“Zara, babe, my head is aching like it would burst. I thought you would have felt my pain and got me coffee.”
” Nonsense, are you reading any cliche novels ? How would I know about your head ache without you telling me ? You could have messaged and I would have got you a hot coffee and a hot kiss “
” Aww thats so sweet of you love, I thought soulmates could feel each other like the werewolf mate kind of thing “
” Stop reading novels Ayaan, get back to business, you have an empire to be taken care of baby “
Ayaan threw the cup in the trash and picked a tablet from the draw to kill the head ache.
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A/N:
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