The Quiet Reckoning
The morning of Kiss Day was filled with the usual tension that had always accompanied Arjun Rawte. But today, something felt different in the air. Riya had noticed it from the moment she had stepped into the office. Arjun seemed more detached, more distant, as though he were battling with an invisible force inside himself.
Riya couldn’t help but wonder if it was because of the hug they had shared the previous day. The embrace had been everything unspoken, a surrender that they both had avoided for so long. She knew it had meant something to him. The way he had held onto her, almost like his life depended on it.
Yet, today—today, it was as if that fragile moment had been erased.
She couldn’t ignore the way his eyes avoided hers, the tension in his movements. The walls were back up. The protective, stoic Arjun she knew had returned, like nothing had changed.
But for her, it had. The moment they shared had cracked open something in her—something that refused to be buried again. She didn’t know if he was going to acknowledge it, but she was done hiding what was inside her.
She had seen the pain in his eyes yesterday, but today it was as if he were trying to lock that pain away again. And she couldn’t let him. Not this time.
With that thought, Riya found herself walking toward his cabin, determined to face whatever was going on in his heart. Today was Kiss Day. The day she had decided—today, she would not back down.
Arjun sat at his desk, his usual commanding presence undisturbed, but Riya could see the small twitch of his fingers, the way he gripped the pen harder than necessary. He wasn’t focused on the files in front of him; his thoughts were elsewhere, swirling like a storm.
Riya knocked on the door, her heart pounding as she stepped in.
“Sir, kuch important baat karni thi,” she said, her voice steady despite the nervous energy coursing through her.
He looked up, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “Kya baat hai, Riya?” His tone was neutral, almost like he was still fighting to keep things business-like between them.
Riya took a breath. She knew this wouldn’t be easy. But she couldn’t hold back anymore. She had to say it. She had to make him feel it.
“I think we need to talk about yesterday,” she said, her gaze never leaving his. “About the hug.”
His expression stiffened, his jaw tightening as if he were bracing for something. “Riya…” he began, but she cut him off, not letting him retreat behind his walls.
“No,” she said firmly. “I’m not going to let you walk away from this. From us. Not today. Not anymore.”
The silence that followed was thick with unspoken words, and Arjun’s face remained hard to read, but she saw the flicker of vulnerability behind his guarded expression.
“I need you to understand, Arjun,” she continued, stepping closer. “That hug… it wasn’t just about comfort. It wasn’t just about sharing a moment. It was about us. What we are. What we’ve been. All these walls, all this distance—it’s not working anymore.”
Arjun stood up abruptly, his eyes flashing with a mix of frustration and confusion. “Riya, stop. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
But Riya wasn’t going to back down. She stepped forward until she was standing just inches away from him. Her heart was pounding, her breath shallow. But she couldn’t wait any longer. She had to make him see it.
“Arjun…” she whispered softly, her voice trembling just a little, but filled with all the emotions she had been holding back for so long. “I need you to stop running. You’ve been running from this… from me. But I can’t do that anymore. I need you. And I need you to be honest with me.”
His eyes widened slightly, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she saw something flicker behind his usual cold, distant façade. Desire.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Riya took the final step. Without another word, she reached up, her hand brushing against his jaw. She felt the sharpness of his breath, felt the weight of the moment settle in their very bones.
Then, without hesitation, she kissed him.
The kiss was electric—not soft, not gentle, but fierce. Arjun’s lips were warm and urgent against hers, and for a brief moment, the world stopped. Everything faded into the background, leaving only the two of them, locked in a kiss that spoke the words neither of them had ever had the courage to say.
Riya’s heart raced as she felt Arjun’s hands, at first unsure, then steady, as they slid around her waist, pulling her closer. She felt his heartbeat, erratic and fast, and for the first time, she knew that he was feeling the same fire.
Her fingers tangled in his hair as she deepened the kiss, her lips demanding, her body pressing closer to his. She could feel his hesitation, the way he still struggled to give in fully, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, his lips responded with equal passion, matching the fire inside her.
This wasn’t just a kiss. This was a reckoning. This was everything they had both been holding back, everything they had both been afraid to admit. This was the culmination of years of unspoken attraction, of tension, of longing.
When they finally pulled away, breathless and trembling, Riya’s forehead rested against his, her hands still gripping him as if she were afraid he might disappear if she let go.
“I’m not going anywhere, Riya,” Arjun whispered, his voice thick with emotion.
She closed her eyes, letting his words wash over her. Finally.
She had broken through. And for the first time in forever, she felt like she had found the piece of him that had been hidden from everyone—even himself.
“I… I need you too, Arjun,” she whispered back, her voice fragile.
Arjun’s hands gently cupped her face, his thumb brushing her lips as if memorizing the sensation of her touch. “We’ll figure this out. Together.”
Riya smiled, her heart swelling with something she couldn’t quite name. All she knew was that this—this kiss—was the beginning of something new. Something real.
And for the first time, she felt like she wasn’t alone in this.
Not anymore.
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Ishaani
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