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CHAPTER - 8

THE FINE LINE.

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Rajveer ~

"Your daughter is acting out, Vijay. She is stepping into things she will not be able to handle, no matter how strong she thinks she is and you know it." I had to warn him for the sake of her.

"I know, boss. But she has always been so stubborn and head-strong. If she puts her mind to something, she will go for it no matter what but I will talk to her mother, only she is the one who knows how to deal with that girl, occasionally." He sighed, taking a seat opposite my desk and pushed some files in front of me.

"Australia?" I asked, leaning back against my chair, trying to get that woman out of my head.

Vijay nodded before he saw himself out and the door shut behind him, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling slowly.

Aadya Sharma was becoming a problem.

She had already taken on Ahaan's gang up front with her human trafficking exposé and now if she gets herself involved with one more of the stories where he had his involvement, he will order a kill on her.

No one who sought protection from me, knowingly or unknowingly dies, not on my watch.

And that is why she was also becoming my problem now.

Rohan was still watching her from a distance, updating me about any irregular movement of people like us around her. Fortunately for her, she was in clear for the moment but neither did I trust her nor did I trust Ahaan to maintain this status quo.

He lacked basic morals, she lacked any sense of survival and I was loosing time to catch up with work that mattered to my empire and a consignment and should have had my full attention.

Instead, all I could think about was her.

"Boss, we have a lead on who leaked the location of the arms consignment to one of Ahaan's clowns." Dhruv had brought me out of my thoughts, while he stood at the door.

I motioned him to come inside and take a seat before pinching the gap between my eyes. This was going to be a long night.

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"Boss she's meeting people, visiting places, trying to piece together what happened in front of the commissioner's office." Rohan gave me with the weekly update.

It has been a week for fuck's sake.

I lean back in my chair, eyes locked at the twinkling night skyline of Mumbai.

I can handle threats.

I can handle rivals.

But there is one thing I cannot handle and that is a woman who refuses to listen when her life is on the line.

"Where is she?" I asked him, looking at the time, it read 11:30 PM.

"Still in her studio." He replied before I hung up.

I slam my hand on the desk, uncharacteristically.

I do not have time for this.

But I also don't have time to watch her get herself killed because of her damn pride and that is why I grabbed my car keys and stepped into the parking lot, heading straight for my car.

By the time I pulled up to her office, the building was mostly empty with a few people left, still working.

I stormed into the building, ignoring the stares that followed me and searched for her desk.

There she was, typing furiously. She was so absorbed in her work that she did not even see me walk in.

I did not mean to stare. But there she was, so caught up in her work, completely unaware of me watching.

The way her hair fell in soft waves around her face, a few stray strands brushing her cheek, made her look even more real.

She also loved herself in sarees.

I did not knock. Instead, I pulled out the chair across from her and sat down, the sound of the chair scraping against the floor pulling her attention to me.

She looked up, her eyes narrowing. "What the hell are you doing here?"

I did not answer her because I knew she was not going to hear any reason before she would cut me off.

That is why I slid the file across the desk, the heavy folder landing with a soft thud.

She glanced at the file but didn't touch it, her eyes back on me. "What is this?"

I leaned in, "This is a warning. A list of people who disappeared after they dug too deep into Ahaan's business. People like you, people who get too close to the truth."

Her lips curled into a half-smile, a flash of defiance in her eyes. "Is this supposed to scare me?"

I leaned even closer, not breaking eye contact. "It should."

Her gaze hardened, and I saw the flicker of stubbornness behind her expression.

"Who the hell is Ahaan and how do you know him??" she asked, crossing her arms, her brow furrowing in confusion."

I couldn't help the bitterness that crept into my voice. "Aap khud ko crime journalist kehti hain na reporter sahiba, phir aap Ahaan ko kaise nahi jaanti?" I scoffed.

(TRANSLATION - You call yourself a crime journalist, don't you, Reporter Sahiba? Then how do you not know about Ahaan?

Her eyes widened, her jaw tightening. "What do you mean?" she shot back, clearly caught off guard.

I leaned back in my chair, my gaze hardening at her, "Contrary to what you believe, I'm not the worst of them."

The lesser she knows about him, the better. I was not here to feed her information, I was here to warn her.

"I am not here to blame you for my broken family Mr. Ranawat because that was my father's own decision but let me clear up your delusion. You are no saint so stop pretending to be one. I don't need your protection. I will rather die than let someone who has blood on his hands try and save me. This is also precisely why I refuse to talk to my own dad." She narrowed her eyes at me and scoffed.

Then, she got up on her feet, picked the file and threw it into the bin outside her cubicle.

I stared at the bin, then back at her.

She had just tossed a file filled with death warrants into the trash, like it was junk mail.

Unbelievable.

I exhaled slowly, pressing my tongue against the inside of my cheek. "You are both brave and an idiot, Miss Sharma."

She crossed her arms, her chin lifting in defiance. "And you just wasted your time, Mr. Ranawat."

I let out a low chuckle, void of humor. "I should let you dig your own grave, you know?"

She shrugged. "Then why don't you?"

My jaw clenched. "Because I dislike unfinished business."

"We have no business together at all." She said, pointing at the air column between us.

I stared at her, my patience wearing dangerously thin.

I should walk away.

I should let her deal with the consequences of her stubbornness.

But for some forsaken reason, the thought of finding her body dumped somewhere in the back alleys of Mumbai refused to sit right with me.

I took a deep breath, reining in my frustration. "Aadya, you might think that you are fearless, but there is a thin line between bravery and stupidity. Right now, you're leaning dangerously close to the latter."

Her eyes darkened at my words as she sat once again. "Are you done?"

No. Not even close.

I stood up this time, towering over her as I placed my hands on the desk, leaning in. "You refuse to develop any sense of self-preservation, don't you?"

"Mr. Ranawat, mujhe yeh samajh nahi aa raha hai ki aapki problem kya hai? Aap apni duniya mein khush rahein aur mujhe apni duniya mein apna kaam karne dein. Humara dur-dur tak koi lena dena nahi hai toh aap kyun mujhe dhamki dene aa gaye hain yahan?" She leaned back in her chair but continued to glare at me.

(TRANSLATION - Mr. Ranawat, I don't understand what your problem is. You stay happy in your world and let me do my work in mine. We have no connection whatsoever, so why have you come here to threaten me?)

I leaned in again, slightly more and said, "Aap aayi thi meri duniya bhaagte hue mein Reporter sahiba, mai nahi. Aur jab meri duniya mein koi aa jaata hai voh tab tak nahi jaa sakta jab tak mai usse jaane na doon, samjhi aap?"

(TRANSLATION - You were the one who entered my world running, not me aqnd when someone enters my world, they cannot leave until I let them go. Do you understand, Reporter Sahiba?)

Her lips parted slightly, and for the first time this night, I saw something flicker in her eyes—hesitation, uncertainty. But as quickly as it came, she masked it with that defiance again.

She scoffed, shaking her head. "Aapko lagta hai ki main aapse kisi bhi baat ki permission maangne waali hoon? Yeh koi gangster film chal rahi hai kya yahan Mr. Rajveer Pratap Ranawat ki aap mere hi office aake mujhe hi dhamki de rahe hain?"

(TRANSLATION - Do you think I'm going to ask you for permission for anything? Is this some gangster film playing here, Mr. Rajveer Pratap Ranawat, where you come into my office and threaten me?)

I clenched my jaw, my patience wearing thinner by the second as I pulled away from her. Why does she turn a blind eye to the fact that I am fucking trying to protect her.

Her fingers curled into fists on the desk as she continued, "Pata hai aap jaise logon ki problem kya hai? You think you can scare people into submission. But I refuse to be intimidated."

(TRANSLATION - Do you know what the problem with people like you is?)

I exhaled, running a hand through my hair as I looked at her. This woman was impossible.

Every single person I had ever dealt with knew better than to test my patience. When I spoke, they listened. When I warned, they obeyed. But this one?

She was hell-bent on making my life difficult.

Instead of responding to her ridiculous outburst, I pulled a blank piece of paper from her desk, took a pen, and scribbled my personal number on it. Then, I slid it toward her.

She didn't take it.

"Aadya," I said, my voice edged with irritation I could not control, "if you so much as feel like something is out of place, one wrong step, one shadow where there shouldn't be, you call me immediately."

She stared at the paper for a while.

Then, to my absolute disbelief, she picked it up, rolled it into a tight ball before tossing it straight into the bin.

It landed with a soft thud.

She tilted her head, her lips curling into a slow, mocking smile, her eyes gleaming with triumph. "Nishana accha laga leti hoon na mai, Mr. Ranawat?"

(TRANSLATION - Nice shot, don't you think Mr. Ranawat?)

My jaw locked.

This woman. This goddamn woman.

I leaned forward again, my palms pressing against the desk as I stared her down.

"You," I said slowly, my voice dangerously low, "are an insolent little kid who does not know when to shut up and listen."

Her eyes sparked with anger and amusement all at once. But she leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, that same smile still on her lips.

"And you," she shot back, "are an overgrown control freak who thinks he can boss me around just because he's used to people falling in line."

I clenched my jaw so hard I could feel the tension in my skull.

"You are utterly exasperating, Miss Sharma," I muttered, turning on my heel. "Do as you please. But when the consequences catch up to you, do not expect me to clean up the mess."

I did not wait for a response. I walked out, my fists clenching at my sides.

She was the most infuriating woman I had ever met.

But the worst part was that I knew that I will still end up saving her anyway, even though every fibre of my being would be against it.

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Aadya ~

I sat there for a moment, watching him storm out of my office, trying to collect my thoughts.

What the hell just happened?

This guy, Rajveer Pratap Ranawat, came into my office, threw threats at me like they were nothing, and acted like I should just drop everything and listen to him.

I didn't need his protection, no matter how much he thought I did. I was perfectly capable of handling myself. I always had been.

"Rakshas, Rakshas, Rakshas. Ab agli baar saamne aayega toh Hanuman Chalisa padhni shuru kar dungi, aadha khoon jala ke chala gaya mera." I banged my head on the keypad of my laptop, my article still half edited.

The man had a way of getting under my skin like no one else had before, and I hated it.

I shook my head, pulling myself together. I needed to focus.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard, but I found myself staring at the screen.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard again, but the words didn't come.

All I could think of was his angry face, his voice, that damn smug look.

I groaned and rested my head in my hands and then I grabbed my bag and logged out for the day.

The article will have to wait.

When I did, I found myself heading toward Vishesh's place.

I reached his building, parked the car, and climbed up the stairs, refusing to wait for the elevator. My mind was racing, trying to shake off the anger and frustration that had built up. He opened the door before after I rang the door bell twice and as soon as he saw me, his face had confusion.

"Are you just going to keep ignoring me, Vishesh? Is that it?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended, but I couldn't help it.

He stepped aside, letting me in. "Aadya, I've been....."

"I don't care about your excuses," I cut him off, walking past him into the living room.

He followed me inside.

I turned to face him, and before I even knew what I was doing, I pulled him toward me and kissed him.

He hesitated for only a second before responding, his arms wrapping around me as the kiss deepened.

I felt his hands on me, pulling me closer, and I didn't pull away. His touch was hot, insistent, as if he was trying to make up for something, or maybe I was.

Before I knew it, he had me against the wall, his body pressing into mine. His hands were all over me, quick and urgent, tugging at my clothes.

His touch grew more demanding, and I gave in without thinking.

As he unbuttoned my saree blouse, my thoughts drifted for a moment. Was this what I wanted?

I couldn't even remember why I was here, why I had let myself be this close to him when all he had done for the past few months was ignore me.

He kissed me again, and I felt my chest tighten.

What I used to have with him was lost.

There was no connection, just physicality.

"Vishesh, stop, stop please." I said, not even recognising my own voice.

Yes, I did start this but I did not want for it to go on, at least not till the time we had sat down and talked as to what exactly was going on.

I could feel him inching closer, his breath warm against my skin, his lips trailing across my neck and jaw.

" Aadya, we both need this. Things will be fine again once we let ourselves close to each other again. The distance won't matter. I promise. It's us, remember?" His voice was low, demanding.

I wanted to push him away, to tell him that this wasn't the answer.

But my actions betrayed me, and I lay there, motionless for a few moments. He kissed me again, more urgently now, his hands pushing me deeper into the bed.

The logical part of my brain screamed at me to stop, to break free, but something else... something weaker inside me kept me still.

I couldn't even understand why I was letting this happen, why I wasn't stopping him when everything in me told me this was wrong, it was like brain fog.

And then, just as quickly, it snapped. The fog lifted.

"No." I breathed out.

"No, Vishesh. Stop." My words were so commanding that they even surprised me.

I pushed him off of me, shoving him away and the room was suddenly too quiet.

"You've got to be kidding me." he growled, his voice raw with irritation. "The last time we were here, you wouldn't even let me touch you. And now, when I'm trying to get things back to normal, you pull this shit?"

I stood up from the bed, my chest heaving as I tried to steady my breath and buttoned my blouse back.

"Because you wouldn't talk to me! You have been ignoring me for a long time now. You refuse to even reply to half of my texts! You can't just pretend like things will magically fix themselves because we do this. I need more than that." I confronted him, getting up.

His face darkened, his anger evident as he ran a hand through his hair. "You think I don't have needs too? Do you think I can just sit back and watch you push me away every time?"

I shook my head, tears threatening to spill, but I wasn't going to let him see that. "I'm not some damn toy, Vishesh. You can't keep treating me like this and expect everything to go back to normal."

He stood there, staring at me with a mixture of frustration and guilt. "I'm trying, Aadya. I really am."

"Ignoring your girlfriend and then not respecting what she wants is not called trying Vishesh. It will never be called trying." I said before storming out of his house, more mad at myself than being mad at him.

He did change and not for the good.

Aadya's Look ~

Hey guys! This is the next chapter. I hope you all like it. To unlock the next one, at least 90 comments are required on this one.

I love you all. Until next time. Byee!!