"I thought you'd be living off some rich man's fortune by now."

The words landed like a slap. Not because they were cruel. Because they came from him.

For a moment, Khushi couldn't breathe.

The boardroom disappeared. The city lights beyond the glass disappeared.

Everything disappeared except the man standing in front of her.

The man she once loved. The man who now looked at her like she was something broken.

Something dirty. Something he regretted.

"Please don't."

Her voice cracked. Barely above a whisper.

Arnav's expression didn't change. If anything, it became colder.

"Why?"

A bitter smile touched his lips.

"Truth makes you uncomfortable?"

Khushi stared at him. Confused. Hurt. Angry. All at once.

"Why are you doing this?"

For a second, something flickered across his face. Pain. Then it vanished. Replaced by mockery.

A laugh escaped him. Not happy. The kind of laugh that came from old wounds. The kind that hurt more than silence.

"Because I finally know what you wanted."

Khushi frowned.

"And what's that?"

The room suddenly felt smaller. The air heavier. More dangerous.

Arnav took a step toward her.

"Money."

Khushi immediately stepped back.

Another step.

"Power."

She stepped back again. The distance between them shrinking. Her pulse racing.

Another step.

"Status."

Her back touched cold glass. Nowhere left to go.

Arnav stopped only a few feet away.

Towering. Unmoving. Watching.

Tears gathered in Khushi's eyes. Not because she was scared. Because after six years... He still believed this.

"And the funny thing is..."

His voice dropped lower. Dangerously calm.

"I have all three."

Khushi swallowed. Something about the way he was looking at her made her nervous.

Not because of what he might do. Because of what she still felt. And hated herself for feeling.

A loose strand of hair slipped across her face. Blocking her eyes.

Arnav noticed immediately. Of course he did. He always noticed. Even when he pretended not to.

For one second his expression changed.

A memory flashing through his mind.

A younger Khushi. A happier Khushi.

A version of them that no longer existed.

His jaw tightened.

Angry at himself for remembering.

Slowly, He reached toward her.

Khushi froze.

His fingers brushed the strand of hair away from her face.

Not gentle. Not rough. Just familiar. Far too familiar.

Their eyes locked.

For one impossible second— Neither moved. Neither breathed. Neither looked away.

And suddenly they weren't standing in a boardroom. They were standing in a thousand memories. Late-night phone calls.

Shared dreams. Promises. Laughter. A future that never happened.

Then Arnav's expression hardened again. The wall came back. The anger came back.

"So let's stop pretending."

His hand slowly lowered. But neither of them stepped away.

"You wanted money."

Khushi's breath caught. Arnav moved closer.

Close enough to make her pulse race. Close enough to make remembering impossible to avoid.

"I have money."

The city lights reflected behind him.

The distance between them disappeared.

"You wanted power."

His hand landed against the glass beside her.

Blocking the last illusion of escape.

"I have power."

Khushi's heart hammered.

Not because of the words.

Because of him. Because six years later—

he still knew exactly how to make her forget how to breathe.

Then his hand moved.

To her waist.

The touch wasn't romantic.

It wasn't gentle. It was possession.

Control. A reminder that he could still shake her world with a single movement.

Khushi's eyes widened. Shock flashing across her face.

Arnav noticed.

And somehow that made him angrier.

Without breaking eye contact—

he pulled her one step closer.

Not enough to hold her. Not enough to comfort her.

Just enough. Just enough to make both of them remember.

The air between them vanished. Their faces were inches apart.

Neither looked away. Neither could.

The boardroom disappeared. The city disappeared. The world disappeared.

Only the two of them remained. And six years of unfinished pain.

Slowly, Arnav leaned closer.

His breath brushing her ear. His voice low. Dangerous. Confusing. Far too intimate.

Then he delivered the cruelest blow of all.

"Become my mistress."

Everything stopped.

Khushi stared at him.

Shock. Humiliation. Disgust. Rage.

Every emotion colliding at once.

For a second she couldn't move.

Couldn't think. Couldn't believe what she had just heard.

Then the tears disappeared.

Her jaw tightened.

Her eyes burned.

And something dangerous awakened behind them.

Because Arnav Raizada had just crossed a line.

And neither of them would walk away from what happened next.