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New chapter enjoy 🥀

Vidyut's POV:-

The office was quiet.

No—

not the office.

Me.

I had been unusually quiet these past few days.

Lost somewhere between thoughts I didn’t want and answers I wasn’t ready for.

My eyes remained fixed on the laptop screen in front of me, though I hadn’t processed a single word for the last five minutes.

A knock on the cabin door finally pulled me back.

“Come in.”

The door opened and Sikha stepped inside holding a file neatly against her chest.

“Sir, you need to sign these documents for the new campaign approval.”

I nodded slightly, taking the file from her hands.

She waited professionally before speaking again.

“And regarding the campaign face selection… after the final review, the board approved Ms. Nia as the official face of the campaign.”

I flipped through the papers silently.

Everything looked finalized already.

Before I could respond—

The cabin door suddenly opened again.

Without a knock.

Without permission.

Nia walked inside casually while removing her sunglasses.

“Seriously, tumhare staff ko itna attitude kis baat ka hai?” she muttered. “Mujhe bahar wait karwa rahe the.”

Sikha straightened immediately.

“Ma’am, sir was occupied—”

“Relax,” Nia interrupted lightly. “Main koi outsider nahi hoon.”

I slowly closed the file in my hand.

The sound made the room fall silent.

My eyes finally lifted toward her.

“Nia.”

She smiled slightly.

“Hm?”

“You knock before entering.”

Her smile faltered a little.

“Come on, Vidyut. Itna formal mat bano.”

“This is an office.”

My tone stayed calm.

Flat.

Tired more than angry.

“And offices work on professionalism.”

For a second, she looked embarrassed standing there in front of Sikha.

But she still tried to laugh it off.

“Tumhare best friend ki cousin hoon. Itna toh chalta hai.”

I looked back at the documents again.

“It doesn’t.”

Silence.

Heavy silence.

Nia shifted awkwardly while Sikha quietly lowered her eyes.

I signed one of the papers before speaking again without looking up.

“Personal connections don’t change company policies.”

The atmosphere became uncomfortable almost instantly.

Nia’s expression tightened slightly.

“You’ve changed.”

Maybe.

Or maybe I was simply too exhausted to entertain unnecessary familiarity anymore.

But instead of saying that aloud, I just placed the signed papers back on the table.

“If the campaign details are finalized, coordinate with the marketing team.”

The dismissal in my tone was impossible to miss.

Nia stared at me for a moment like she expected me to say something else.

I didn’t.

Eventually, she picked up her sunglasses quietly.

“Fine.”

Then she walked toward the door with an unreadable expression on her face.

Before leaving, she paused slightly.

“You really know how to make people feel unwanted.”

My grip tightened faintly around the pen in my hand.

But my voice remained calm.

“Close the door while leaving.”

And she left.

The silence that followed felt heavier than before.

I leaned back against the chair slowly, exhaustion settling inside me again.

Sikha still stood there quietly with the file in her hands.

I finally looked toward her.

“Legal team ko forward kar do.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And Sikha.”

She paused.

“From next time onward… nobody enters without permission.”

“Understood, sir.”

I nodded once.

“You can leave.”

The moment the cabin door closed again—

I shut my eyes briefly.

But somehow…

even silence wasn’t peaceful anymore.

Author's POV:-

The moment Nia walked out of Vidyut’s cabin—

the confidence she had entered with was visibly shaken.

Her heels echoed sharply against the marble floor while Sikha quietly stepped out behind her with the signed files in her hands.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

The entire staff area had already gone unusually silent after witnessing the tension inside the cabin.

Nia removed her sunglasses slowly, clearly annoyed.

“Tumhare boss hamesha itne cold rehte hai kya?”

Sikha maintained her professional expression.

“Sir unnecessary closeness avoid karte hai, ma’am.”

Nia let out a small scoff.

“Funny.”

A pause.

“Mere saath toh pehle aise nahi the.”

Sikha didn’t react immediately.

Years of working with Vidyut had taught her one thing very clearly—

the man only gave importance to things that truly mattered to him.

And unnecessary attachments were never one of them.

“Sir professional boundaries ko seriously lete hai,” she replied calmly.

Nia’s jaw tightened faintly.

But then a small smile appeared on her lips again.

The kind that carried confidence mixed with stubbornness.

“Distance zyada din maintain nahi hota.”

Sikha looked at her silently for a moment before speaking in the same composed tone.

“Sir apni personal aur professional life kabhi mix nahi karte.”

Something unreadable flashed through Nia’s eyes at that line.

Maybe irritation.

Maybe challenge.

Maybe both.

“Dekhte hai,” she said softly.

And then she walked away.

Leaving behind a strange heaviness in the atmosphere—

the kind that quietly warns you something is eventually going to change.

---

Vidyut's POV:-

I don’t know when exactly I stopped understanding my own mind.

Maybe the day her voice started haunting me.

Or maybe the day I realised my peace depended on someone who didn’t even know what she was doing to me.

By the time I reached Abhimaan’s office—

I was exhausted.

Not physically.

Mentally.

Emotionally.

The kind of exhaustion that silently settles inside your chest and makes even breathing feel heavier than usual.

Rishab was already there.

Laughing about something.

Abhimaan looked up from his laptop the moment I entered.

And slowly—

their expressions changed.

Because people who know you deeply can hear silence too.

I quietly removed my watch and placed it on the table before sitting down on the couch.

No greetings.

No conversation.

Just silence.

A long one.

Rishab frowned slightly.

“Kya hua?”

I looked down at my hands for a few seconds before leaning back tiredly.

“I think…”

My voice stopped midway.

Not because I didn’t know what to say.

Because saying it aloud would make it real.

Abhimaan quietly closed his laptop.

The soft sound echoed inside the room.

“What happened, Vid?”

I laughed once.

Weakly.

“Pata nahi.”

And honestly—

that was the truth.

I didn’t know what was happening to me anymore.

For the last few days, my mind had become a mess of songs, memories, unanswered questions… and her.

Always her.

I rubbed a hand over my face slowly before speaking again.

“What if…”

Silence.

“What if the person you love the most…”

My throat tightened unexpectedly.

“…belongs to someone else?”

The room fell completely silent.

Rishab stopped moving entirely.

Abhimaan simply watched me carefully.

And suddenly—

I regretted speaking.

Because now even my own words were hurting me.

Rishab spoke softly this time.

“Ruhi?”

I closed my eyes briefly.

That one name alone was enough to make something ache inside me.

“She sings the same way.”

Abhimaan frowned slightly.

“Who?”

I swallowed slowly.

“…Vidushi.”

Even saying that name aloud felt dangerous now.

My voice had become quieter.

“She says things without realising… remembers things she shouldn’t… and every time I try to ignore it— another piece connects.”

I looked away toward the glass windows.

The city lights outside looked blurred tonight.

Or maybe my mind was simply too heavy to focus properly.

“But maybe…” I smiled faintly. Painfully.

“Maybe I’m just forcing myself to believe it.”

Nobody interrupted me.

Nobody rushed to answer.

Because some pain doesn’t need advice immediately.

It just needs space to breathe.

“And the worst part?” I whispered quietly.

Neither of them spoke.

“I don’t even know if she loves me.”

Silence.

Pure silence.

“I look at her…”

I stopped again.

Because this part hurt the most.

“…and sometimes it feels like she’s trying to say something.”

A pause.

“And other times…”

My jaw tightened faintly.

“It feels like I’m standing between her and someone else.”

Rishab frowned immediately.

“Kis basis par soch raha hai yeh sab?”

I shook my head slowly.

“I don’t know anymore.”

And that was the scariest part.

Vidyut Singhania always understood situations before anyone else.

But this—

this was the first time emotions had made me feel helpless.

Abhimaan finally stood up and walked toward me quietly.

Then instead of giving advice—

he simply sat across from me.

“Tu usse pyaar karta hai?”

I didn’t look at him while answering.

“Haan.”

The word came out instantly.

Without hesitation.

Without doubt.

I smiled faintly.

A painful one.

“Itna… ki agar uski khushi kisi aur ke saath hai…”

My throat tightened slightly.

“…toh shayad main apne feelings side par rakh kar bhi usse uska pyaar de du.”

Silence.

Heavy silence.

Because loving Ruhi had never happened loudly.

It happened slowly.

Silently.

In comfort.

In waiting.

In habits I never noticed forming around her.

In the way my entire day unconsciously revolved around her presence now.

I looked down again.

And for the first time in years—

my own voice sounded unfamiliar to me.

“I don’t think I’ll survive finding out she belongs to someone else.”

The confession barely came out above a whisper.

But it still destroyed the silence of the room completely.

Rishab looked away immediately.

Abhimaan’s expression softened slightly.

And I hated this feeling.

Hated how vulnerable she had made me without even trying.

I leaned back against the couch slowly and closed my eyes for a second.

Tired.

So unbelievably tired.

“I can handle rejection,” I whispered.

A pause.

“But not her.”

Author's POV:-

Silence filled the office after Vidyut’s last words.

Not an awkward silence.

The heavy kind.

The kind that appears when someone finally says the thing they had been hiding from themselves too.

Rishab looked away first, rubbing a hand over his face slowly.

Because hearing Vidyut Singhania sound this broken felt wrong somehow.

Abhimaan stayed quiet for a few seconds.

Watching him carefully.

Really watching him.

The tiredness in his posture.

The fear hidden behind calmness.

And most importantly—

the way he kept talking about losing Ruhi before even trying to understand her completely.

Finally, Abhimaan spoke.

“Tu ek cheez notice kar raha hai?”

Vidyut slowly opened his eyes.

Abhimaan continued calmly,

“tu har possibility maan raha hai… except the one jisme Ruhi tujhe pyaar karti ho.”

The room went quiet again.

Vidyut’s jaw tightened faintly.

Because that possibility scared him the most.

Not because he didn’t want it.

Because he wanted it too much.

Rishab leaned forward slightly.

“Vid… tune kabhi genuinely uski side se socha?”

He frowned lightly.

“Kya matlab?”

“Matlab,” Rishab exhaled softly, “tu sirf observe kar raha hai. Feelings assume kar raha hai. Lekin tune kabhi directly Ruhi se baat hi nahi ki.”

Vidyut looked away toward the glass windows again.

“She hides things.”

“So do you.”

That answer came instantly from Abhimaan.

And it hit harder than expected.

Because it was true.

Vidyut himself had never openly shown what Ruhi meant to him either.

Not through words.

Not through confessions.

Only through silent care that people noticed only if they looked carefully enough.

Abhimaan’s voice softened slightly.

“Tu usse pyaar karta hai, Vid.”

A pause.

“Toh trust bhi kar.”

Those words settled somewhere deep inside him.

Painfully.

Quietly.

Rishab nodded slowly.

“Ruhi tujhe hurt karne wali ladki nahi lagti mujhe.”

“And honestly?” he added softly, “agar woh sach mein Vidushi hai… toh maybe she’s just as scared as you.”

Vidyut stayed silent.

But for the first time since entering this office—

his silence felt different.

Less hopeless.

More thoughtful.

Because somewhere deep down, beneath all the fear and overthinking—

he knew one thing very clearly.

Ruhi had never intentionally hurt him.

Not once.

Abhimaan stood up and walked toward the coffee machine before speaking again casually,

“Ek proper conversation kar le usse.”

Rishab nodded immediately.

“No assumptions. No overthinking. Bas truth.”

Vidyut lowered his gaze slowly.

A proper conversation.

Simple words.

Yet somehow the hardest thing for him right now.

Because conversations could give clarity.

But they could also destroy illusions a person secretly survives on.

The room remained quiet for a few moments more before Vidyut finally exhaled slowly.

Then very slightly—

he nodded.

“Hm.”

That one small response was enough for both Abhimaan and Rishab to understand.

He had decided.

Maybe not completely.

Maybe not fearlessly.

But enough to finally stop running from the truth.

Thanks for reading 😌