"No, no... I can't let Reha be caught in the middle of all this."
I had to keep her safe, at least until Khanna came for her. Leaving her like this, in such a vulnerable state... I couldn't do that. I wouldn't.
I opened the door slowly, almost cautiously. I thought she'd be scared... or maybe crying. But she wasn't. She was asleep, restless, as if her soul couldn't find peace.
The moment I opened the door, moonlight from the lobby window poured in, soft and silver, spilling right over her face. But she didn't wake up. Only a few stray strands of hair had fallen across her face, making her frown in her sleep, like they disturbed her.
I walked up to her slowly... knelt beside her. And gently, I reached out to brush those strands away from her face.
That's when she woke up. This time, she was scared.
"Reha… get up. Come to my room. With me."
My voice was low, firm, not a demand, but not a request either.
She looked up at me, confused… and afraid. Not of me. Of what she thought I might want. Her eyes shifted, her fingers slipped from mine as she took a step back.
"I'm not coming. I'm fine here. Just… leave."
Her voice shook, but her eyes didn't blink. She was scared… yet she spoke to me like she knew I wouldn't hurt her. Like, even if her heart was racing, she believed mine wouldn't cross the line.
That… that shattered something inside me.
I stepped back, too, jaw clenched, swallowing the storm building within.
"Fine. Then stay here," I said, my voice now colder, laced with quiet fury."Stay with those guards who've been watching you all day like wolves. Maybe that's where you'll finally feel safe. Satisfied."
She froze.
And then… her hand found mine again.
No words. Just that one small gesture.
And that was enough. We walked to my room, silently, the air thick between us.
Inside, she looked around, then whispered, almost shyly, "I need to change. I can't sleep in these clothes."
I walked to the cupboard, opened it without looking back. "Take whatever you want. Whatever feels comfortable."
She stepped beside me, quiet, her presence far louder than any voice. She picked one of my oversized t-shirts… soft, worn, the kind you never throw away. And a pair of loose pajamas. Then she turned and walked into the bathroom.
I stood still.
I didn't sit. Didn't move. Every second passed like it was testing my patience. Like time itself was watching.
Then… her voice. Soft. Playful. A little unsure.
"Hello? Mr. Stalker? Hey… come here. Quick."
Something about the way she said it made my chest tighten. She was teasing me. And I—I almost smiled.
Almost.
But men like me… we don't get to smile. Not when we're made of shadows and regrets.
I walked to the half-open bathroom door. She stood there, facing the mirror. Still in her blouse, the t-shirt in her hands.
"I can't reach the tie at the back," she said without turning."Can you... Help me?"
At that moment, it wasn't about skin or clothes. It was about her letting me get closer. Letting me touch her… with trust.
I stepped in. Slowly. Quietly. She didn't flinch. She just breathed.
My fingers found the tie behind her blouse. I untied it carefully, like touching something holy.
In the mirror, I could see her reflection, calm on the outside, but her eyes… they gave her away.
She wasn't trying to be beautiful. She wasn't even trying. And yet… There was something about her, something. Something I couldn't name, but couldn't look away from either.
I leaned in, just a little, close enough that my breath touched her skin. Close enough that I could hear hers catch.
Then, softly, just near her ear, I whispered,
"I'm not a stalker… my name is Ved. Ved Kapoor,"
She didn't move. Didn't speak. She just closed her eyes.
And in that silence… something between us shifted.
Forever. And then…She smiled.
For the first time since we'd met, she smiled.
Not the forced one, not the scared one—But the kind of smile that slips out before you realize you've let your guard down.
"Go," she said, that smile still lingering on her lips, "I need to change."
I didn't argue.I stepped out of the bathroom, but for some reason, my heart felt… light.Happy.And I didn't even know why.I just was.Because she smiled.
Minutes later, the bathroom door opened.She stepped out, tying up her hair lazily, like she had all the time in the world.
She wore my oversized t-shirt.Except… on her, it looked criminally oversized.
The sleeves drowned her arms.The hem nearly reached her knees.She looked small in it—delicate… untouched by the world I lived in.But it wasn't just the way she looked.It was the way she carried it.Barefoot, hair up, skin glowing under the soft light of the room—Reha wasn't trying to be beautiful.She just was.
And then she looked at me with those curious eyes and asked,"Okay Ved… the bed's here. So, where exactly are you planning to sleep?"
Her tone was light, teasing. But underneath it… There was something else.Trust.A quiet, dangerous kind of trust.Like she knew I'd never lay a finger on her without permission.Like she knew she was safer with me than anywhere else in the world.And… she was right.
I stared at her for a moment, jaw clenched, heart pounding.And then I said, voice low, sharp, edged with something darker—"I'll sleep here. On this bed. Reha, just because I brought you into my room doesn't mean you get to talk to me like that."My voice rose slightly, laced with warning—Not because I was angry,But because she got to me in ways no one ever had.
She didn't flinch. Didn't apologize. Didn't even blink.
Instead, she walked over to the right side of the bed, lifted the blanket, and lay down calmly, like she belonged there.Like the chaos outside this room had never touched her.
I exhaled sharply and walked to the chair across from her.Sat down.
I placed my gun on the table—not out of habit, but where she could see it.Maybe it would scare her a little.Maybe it would remind her what I was.
But she barely even looked at it.And I realized…She wasn't scared.Not of me.Not anymore.
Eventually, sleep began pulling at my eyes.My back ached, my neck stiff from the position—But I didn't move.Not until sleep finally claimed me.
A few hours later, I woke up.
My lower back was screaming from the damn chair.I shifted, trying to sit up straight, but the pain only got worse.
So I stood.
Looked at her.
She was curled into the blanket like it was made of clouds, breathing steadily, undisturbed.
I told myself I'd just lie down for a minute.
Just to straighten my back.Just until the pain settled.
I slipped into the bed beside her—quietly, carefully—And I didn't even realize when that minute turned into something else.When her warmth crept through the air between us, pulling me deeper into a sleep I hadn't known in years.
She didn't move.Didn't speak.But I swear, the second I lay beside her…
The world outside stopped mattering.
I didn't even realize when sleep pulled me under—Not until I woke up to a whisper of warmth beside me.
Her warmth.
My arm was draped across the mattress…And her hand was resting lightly, unknowingly, against mine.
The room was quiet.Only the soft hum of the air conditioner and the sound of her breathing filled the space.
I turned my head.
She was lying on her side, facing me.Her hair had come undone a little, a few strands brushing across her cheek.My oversized t-shirt had slipped slightly off one shoulder, revealing a sliver of her collarbone.
God.She looked like sin dressed in innocence.
And she was so close.Too close.
I should've pulled away.Should've gotten off the bed.
But I didn't.
Instead, I let my fingers move—just a little.Close enough that I could feel the heat of her skin where our hands nearly touched.
And then—Her eyes fluttered open.
Sleepy. Confused. Vulnerable.
But not afraid.
She looked at me.Really looked.And whispered, voice hoarse with sleep,
"You're here…"
"Yeah," I replied, voice low, "Chair gave up on me."
She didn't laugh.Didn't tease.
She just looked at me, like she was trying to memorize my face.Like in that moment, I wasn't the man with a gun…I was just him.
Her him.
"You could've woken me up," she whispered, voice softer now."I wouldn't have minded."
I turned to her, my eyes locked on hers.
"You need your sleep," I said."I'd rather break myself in that chair than disturb you."
There was silence.
Thick. Intense.Heavy with everything we weren't saying.
Then her fingers move, barely.Brushing mine.
And that single touch sent a spark through my blood.
"Ved…" she whispered.My name on her lips sounded like something sacred… and sinful.
I leaned in.
Just a little.
My breath mingled with hers.Our faces are inches apart.My eyes never left hers.Her lips parted slightly, not in fear, not in surprise…But in something else entirely.
Want.
I could feel it now.
The tension between us wasn't just lingering.It was alive.Burning.
But I didn't touch her.Not yet.
I brought my mouth close to her ear, and in a voice rough with restraint, I said—
"I should go to sleep on the chair, if you say so."
"It`s fine".
Instead, her breath caught. Her hand gripped the sheet between us like she needed something to hold onto.
Then she said, barely a whisper—"I trust you."
And just like that…Every wall inside me crumbled.
But I still didn't kiss her. Not yet.Because some moments…Deserve to be burned into your soul before they're touched.