Sleep didn't come easily.
It came in fragments.
Broken.
Unsteady.
And every time she closed her eyes—
It replayed.
Not the argument.
Not the words.
The kiss.
Riyana turned on her side, pulling the blanket tighter around herself.
As if that could block it out.
It didn't.
Her fingers moved unconsciously—
Brushing lightly over her lips.
And she froze.
Because the memory wasn't fading.
It was… vivid.
Too vivid.
The way it had happened so suddenly.
The way she hadn't reacted immediately.
The way, for that one second—
She hadn't pushed him away.
Her breath caught.
"No."
She whispered it into the silence.
Like a warning.
Like a command.
She dropped her hand quickly, turning onto her back again.
Staring at the ceiling.
That shouldn't have happened.
And more than that—
That shouldn't have affected me like this.
But it had.
Her body betrayed her in the smallest ways.
In the way her breath had hitched.
In the way her thoughts refused to move past it.
In the way that one moment kept stretching longer in her mind than it actually was.
Riyana shut her eyes tightly.
"This is exactly what you were avoiding."
His voice echoed.
Clear.
Accurate.
Uncomfortable.
She exhaled slowly.
Trying to steady herself.
"Focus," she muttered softly. "Just forget it."
But forgetting wasn't working.
Because now—
She was aware.
Too aware.
The next morning made it worse.
The moment she stepped into the office—
She felt it.
Not him.
Not directly.
But the awareness of him.
Like her senses had shifted overnight.
She sat at her desk.
Opened her system.
Focused on the screen.
And still—
She knew exactly where he was.
Inside the cabin.
Moving.
Working.
Existing.
Her fingers paused over the keyboard.
This is ridiculous.
She forced herself to type.
To focus.
To breathe normally.
Then—
"Riyana."
Her body reacted before her mind did.
She looked up immediately.
And there he was.
Bosco.
Standing near her desk.
Same as always.
Same posture.
Same calm expression.
Nothing had changed.
Except
Everything had.
Her gaze flickered
Just for a second
To his face.
Then away.
"Yes, sir."
Her voice was steady.
But her heartbeat,
Wasn't.
"Send me the client file."
"Okay."
Simple.
Normal.
Safe.
She stood up.
Walked toward his cabin.
Every step felt louder than usual.
More noticeable.
More real.
She placed the file on his desk.
Didn't look at him immediately.
"Here."
"Hmm."
That sound,
Low.
Casual.
It shouldn't have affected her.
But it did.
She turned to leave.
Quickly.
"Wait."
Her steps stopped.
Slowly—
She turned back.
"Yes?"
Bosco was looking at her.
Not casually.
Not briefly.
Looking.
And suddenly—
She felt it again.
That awareness.
The same one from last night.
Her breath slowed slightly.
Not steady.
Just… different.
"Did you check the numbers?" he asked.
"Yes."
Her voice came out softer than she intended.
Bosco didn't respond immediately.
And that silence—
That small pause—
Made it worse.
Because now she could feel his gaze more clearly.
Her fingers curled slightly at her side.
"Anything else?" she asked.
A mistake.
Because it made her stay longer.
Bosco held her gaze for a second more.
Then—
"No."
Relief.
Immediate.
She turned again.
Walked out.
But this time—
Her steps weren't as steady.
Back at her desk, she sat down quickly.
Her breathing slightly uneven.
"What is wrong with you…" she whispered under her breath.
This wasn't her.
She wasn't like this.
Not distracted.
Not affected.
Not… reactive.
Especially not because of something like this.
Her fingers tightened around the pen.
It was just a kiss.
Nothing more.
Nothing meaningful.
Nothing real.
Then why—
Why did it feel like that moment had shifted something inside her?
Her mind tried to push it away again.
Harder this time.
This is attraction.
Nothing else.
Her thoughts turned colder.
More defensive.
And attraction doesn't last.
That she knew.
That she had learned.
The hard way.
Her jaw tightened slightly.
"Don't repeat this," she whispered.
To herself.
Not him.
Because the danger wasn't what he did.
It was how she was reacting.
Her eyes closed briefly.
She could still feel it.
The memory.
The closeness.
The way everything had gone silent for that one second.
And that—
That scared her more than anything.
Because she didn't trust it.
Didn't trust where it could lead.
Didn't trust herself in it.
So she straightened.
Opened her eyes.
Picked up her work again.
Distance.
Control.
No mistakes.
She repeated it again.
Like a rule.
Like a boundary she refused to cross.
But deep down—
Under all that control—
Something had already changed.
And no matter how much she tried—
She couldn't go back to not feeling it.