slow burn

Ridhima's breath was shaky as she stared at the closed door Veer had just walked out of.

His words echoed in her mind.

"Tell me that you love fucking Yash so I don't get any hope."

The desperation in his voice, the raw anger laced with hurt—it cut deeper than she expected.

She gripped the edge of her desk, trying to steady herself.

"Did he really think I still loved Yash?"

The thought made her chest tighten. No. It wasn't about Yash anymore.

It was about Veer.

How much she had unknowingly hurt him. How much she had pushed him away.

And now... he was giving up.

She bit her lip, fighting back the lump in her throat. She needed to tell him the truth. Not just about Yash, but about everything—why she kept her distance, why she couldn't give in to this marriage the way he wanted.

Before she lost him forever.

With a determined breath, Ridhima grabbed her phone and dialed Veer's number.

It rang once. Twice.

Then—

Call Declined.

Her heart sank.

She tried again.

Declined.

Tears welled in her eyes as she whispered, "Veer... please don't do this."

Veer sat in his car, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His heart pounded against his chest, the weight of his emotions suffocating him.

"Why does it hurt so much?" he thought bitterly.

He had walked away from Ridhima, but instead of feeling relieved, he felt hollow. Her silence had been the loudest answer.

"She didn't deny it. She didn't stop me. She didn't fight for us."

His phone buzzed, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Dad calling...

He inhaled sharply before answering.

"Yes, Dad?" Veer's voice was rough, laced with exhaustion.

"Come home now," his father ordered. "There's an important meeting. Be here in thirty minutes."

Veer sighed and ran a hand through his hair. A meeting? Now? He was barely holding himself together, and now he had to put on a mask and be the perfect Veer Arora again.

"I'm on my way," he muttered and ended the call.

Glancing at his reflection in the rearview mirror, he saw the anger, the hurt, and the disappointment written all over his face.

"Four months, Ridhima. Just four months, and I'll let you go."

But deep down, he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to.

Veer reached home, his emotions still raw from the conversation with Ridhima. But he pushed them aside as he stepped into the meeting room, where his father and Ridhima's father were already discussing the Arora-Rajawat project.

"This project will be handled in Udaipur," Mr. Rajawat explained. "For the preparations, someone needs to stay there for at least a month."

"I'll go," Ridhima's father offered immediately.

But before he could finalize it, Veer spoke up, "No, it's fine. I'll go and handle everything. There isn't that much work anyway."

Just as he was finishing his sentence, Ridhima entered the room. His gaze instinctively shifted to her. And with a smirk, he added, "Eventually, this marriage happened because of the project, right?"

Ridhima froze for a second, feeling the weight of his words. She knew Veer was teasing her, but there was an underlying bitterness in his tone that made her heart clench. Instead of reacting, she turned away and walked toward her room.

However, as she took a step, her heel twisted, and she lost her balance.

Before she could hit the floor, strong arms caught her.

Veer.

He had moved in an instant, his reflexes sharp, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to protect her.

Ridhima let out a small gasp as Veer effortlessly scooped her up in his arms. His grip was firm yet careful, as if she was something fragile, something precious.

"Can't even walk properly, and you dream of handling business deals?" he murmured, his voice teasing but soft.

Ridhima's eyes met his, and for a moment, she forgot everything—the fight, the distance, the pain. She just admired him. The way his jaw clenched, the flicker of concern in his eyes, the warmth of his arms around her.

Veer, on the other hand, tried not to look at her. He didn't want to. He didn't want to feel anything. But the way she was staring at him, it made him weak.

Ignoring the rapid beating of his heart, Veer carried her to her room.

Veer gently placed Ridhima on the bed, intending to leave, but just as he turned—he felt a slight pull.

Her mangalsutra was tangled in his shirt button.

Their eyes locked.

For a moment, the world around them blurred. The tension, the unspoken words, the anger—all of it faded into silence.

They were too close. Too close.

Veer could feel Ridhima's breath, uneven yet warm against his skin. His hand, which had instinctively moved toward the knot, stopped midway as his gaze fell to her lips—just inches away from his.

Ridhima's heart pounded in her chest. She should say something. Move. But she couldn't. The moment had trapped her.

The air between them grew heavy, charged with something neither of them wanted to name.

Veer's fingers brushed against her collarbone as he tried to untangle the chain, and Ridhima shivered. Did he notice?

His jaw clenched. Did she feel what he was feeling?

Just as their noses almost touched, just as they were lost in that space where anger and desire blurred into one—

"Veer!"

A loud voice from outside snapped them out of their daze.

Veer blinked, inhaling sharply as he quickly untangled the chain and stepped back. Ridhima turned her face away, gripping the bedsheet, trying to calm the storm raging inside her.

Without a word, Veer straightened up and walked out, leaving behind a silence louder than any argument they ever had.

DID YOU LOVE THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THEM PLEASE COMNENT AND DO FOLLOW AND VOTE......