Chapter 13
The room felt unbearably tense.
Dhruv stood right in front of me.
Tall.
Cold.
Arms folded across his chest now.
And those dark eyes?
Locked onto my phone in my hand like the device had personally offended him.
Meanwhile my heartbeat nervously climbed higher because somehow,
Calling Armaan suddenly felt illegal.
Still, I carefully pressed the call button.
The phone rang twice before the call connected.
"Riya?"
Armaan's deep voice came through immediately.
Professional.
Calm.
And unfortunately loud enough for Dhruv to hear every word.
"Good morning, sir," I spoke carefully.
Dhruv's jaw visibly tightened at the sir.
I continued nervously.
"I'm really sorry but I don't think I'll be able to come to office today."
Armaan's tone changed instantly.
"What happened?"
I hesitated for one second.
Big mistake.
Because Dhruv's eyes narrowed immediately like he knew I was about to lie.
"I just got slightly injured..."
"Shot." Dhruv interrupted flatly from beside me.
I nearly choked.
My eyes widened toward him in horror.
ARE YOU INSANE?!
Armaan went silent on the call.
Then sharply...
"What?"
I glared at Dhruv while whispering aggressively, "Why would you SAY that?!"
Dhruv looked completely unbothered.
Actually worse,
Annoyingly calm.
"Because it's true."
I wanted to throw something at him.
Meanwhile Armaan's voice became serious immediately.
"Riya, what happened?"
I sighed softly.
"There was... an incident at home."
Dhruv scoffed quietly from beside me.
Because apparently attempted murder counted as an incident.
I ignored him.
"My shoulder got injured."
Silence.
Then Armaan spoke again.
And unlike Dhruv's anger,
His concern sounded warm.
Gentle.
"You should be resting."
Before I could answer,
Dhruv muttered coldly beside me:
"Finally someone with common sense."
I shot him an offended look.
Armaan continued calmly.
"Don't worry about office."
"I can still work from home," I quickly said. "I can manage with one hand."
Dhruv closed his eyes briefly like he was fighting demons internally.
Probably me.
Armaan laughed softly through the phone.
And for some reason,
That sound alone visibly irritated Dhruv.
"No work from home either."
I blinked.
"What?"
"You need complete rest."
My brows furrowed immediately.
"But I just joined."
"And?"
God.
Why were all billionaires like this?
Armaan's voice remained reassuring.
"No salary will be deducted."
I froze slightly.
My chest tightened unexpectedly.
Because after struggling so much these past few days,
Hearing kindness without conditions almost felt unreal.
Armaan continued gently.
"Just come back healthy."
Silence filled the room.
Even Dhruv stopped interrupting now.
I looked down quietly.
"Thank you."
And weirdly..
That gratitude itself made something flicker across Dhruv's expression.
Something dark.
Not anger exactly.
Something sharper.
Because maybe he realized this was the first time someone besides him had taken care of me without expecting anything.
Armaan spoke again after a pause.
"And Riya?"
"Yes sir?"
"You saved my life."
His tone softened slightly.
"So don't apologize for needing time to recover."
My throat tightened unexpectedly.
I smiled softly despite everything.
"Okay."
Then casually,
Far too casually,
Armaan added:
"I'll pay a visit soon to check on you."
The room went silent.
Actually silent.
My soul immediately left my body.
Because standing directly in front of me,
Dhruv had gone completely still.
Oh no.
Ohhhhh no.
I slowly looked up at him.
Mistake.
Huge mistake.
His face looked terrifyingly calm.
The dangerous kind of calm.
The billionaire murder calm.
Meanwhile Armaan still continued peacefully on the phone, completely unaware of the incoming disaster.
"Take care of yourself till then."
"Y-Yes sir."
The call finally ended.
And suddenly,
The room felt colder.
Much colder.
I slowly lowered the phone.
Dhruv stared at me silently.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then finally,
"He'll pay a visit."
Not a question.
A statement.
Dangerously quiet.
I swallowed nervously.
"He just meant professionally..."
"Professionally."
Dhruv repeated the word slowly.
Like he personally hated it.
He stepped closer.
Too close.
Always too close.
My heartbeat instantly became uneven.
His dark eyes locked onto mine sharply.
"The man whose life you saved."
Another step.
"The same man who hired you immediately."
Another.
"The same man offering paid leave."
His voice lowered.
"And now he wants to visit you personally."
Okay wow when he listed it like that,
It sounded suspicious.
But still,
"He's just being nice."
Silence.
Dhruv stared at me for a long moment.
Then suddenly laughed softly.
A dangerous humorless laugh.
"Riya."
His gaze dropped briefly toward my phone before returning to my eyes.
"Men like Armaan Khanna are never just nice."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Because suddenly,
This wasn't Dhruv teasing anymore.
This sounded personal.
Experienced.
Like he knew exactly how powerful men thought.
And weirdly...
The realization made me nervous.
I frowned slightly.
"He literally said I should rest."
Dhruv's jaw tightened.
"Exactly."
"...that's a bad thing?"
His eyes narrowed faintly.
"You really don't notice anything, do you?"
Okay now I was annoyed.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
For one second,
Dhruv looked like he almost wanted to say something real.
Something honest.
But immediately stopped himself.
Walls back up again.
He stepped away abruptly.
Expression cold again.
"Forget it."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"No, explain."
But Dhruv had already turned toward the door.
Then just before leaving,
He stopped.
Without looking back, he spoke quietly:
"Tell the guards before opening the gate when he visits."
Silence.
Then colder,
"I don't trust him."
And somehow,
The jealousy in that sentence was impossible to miss anymore.
...
For the next two days,
Dhruv Malhotra did something nobody in the mansion had probably witnessed before.
He stayed home.
Completely.
No business trips.
No office.
No meetings outside.
Nothing.
The entire Malhotra empire practically operated from his study room instead.
Phones ringing nonstop.
Board meetings through video calls.
Executives entering and leaving the mansion nervously every few hours.
And somehow,
Despite handling billion-dollar deals,
Dhruv still noticed everything about me.
Everything.
It was honestly terrifying.
...
Day one.
I walked downstairs carefully holding my injured shoulder.
Immediately,
Dhruv looked up from his laptop across the living room.
His eyes narrowed.
"Why are you carrying that?"
I blinked at the water jug in my hand.
"...because I was thirsty?"
He stared at me like I personally offended medicine.
Then without another word...
He stood up, took the jug from my hand himself, poured water into a glass, and handed it back.
Before sitting again.
Like it was completely normal.
Meanwhile every servant nearby looked ready to faint.
Including me.
....
Day one afternoon.
I sneezed once.
Just once.
Dhruv looked up from a business call immediately.
"Why are the windows open?"
One servant nearly sprinted to close them.
I sat there confused while Dhruv calmly continued discussing international investments like he hadn't just launched emergency weather protection.
...
Day one night.
I accidentally tried using my injured arm to reach something from the shelf.
Suddenly a deep voice behind me:
"Are you trying to reopen the wound for entertainment?"
I jumped.
Dhruv stood there holding coffee.
Looking deeply unimpressed with my survival skills.
"I could reach it myself."
"You were literally standing on your toes."
"...I would've managed."
"The famous last words before disaster."
Rude.
True.
But rude.
By day two,
The entire mansion had silently adapted around Dhruv's behavior.
Servants walked more carefully near me.
The chef started personally checking my meals.
The guards monitored entrances constantly after the shooting.
And most importantly,
Dhruv's eyes followed me everywhere.
Not obviously.
Never obviously.
But constantly.
Like some part of his brain stayed aware of my location every second.
And somehow,
I remained completely oblivious.
Because honestly?
I just thought he was being extra cautious after the attack.
Not because he'd secretly transformed into an overprotective psychopath.
Meanwhile,
Dhruv himself had become increasingly irritated these past two days.
Though I couldn't understand why.
He looked... restless.
Especially whenever cars entered the mansion gates.
Every single time,
His eyes immediately shifted toward the entrance.
Then darkened when it wasn't who he expected.
Or dreaded.
I noticed it twice during breakfast.
Once during dinner.
And once while he was literally in the middle of yelling at someone during a business call.
The moment a car entered outside,
His attention instantly shifted toward the windows.
Weird.
Very weird.
But I didn't think much of it.
Because my brain still functioned normally unlike these billionaire men.
...
Currently.
Rain poured heavily outside while I sat curled up on the living room couch trying to eat fruit one-handed.
A complete disaster.
The mango kept slipping.
I frowned in frustration.
Why was fruit harder than engineering?
Across the room, Dhruv sat working at the long dining table surrounded by files and laptops.
Black shirt.
Sleeves rolled up.
Glasses resting low on his nose.
And honestly?
He looked offensively attractive for someone reviewing financial reports.
The mansion stayed unusually quiet tonight.
Only rain and keyboard clicks filled the silence.
I struggled cutting another mango slice.
It slipped again.
I sighed dramatically.
And immediately,
Dhruv looked up.
"What now?"
I frowned at the fruit plate like it had betrayed me personally.
"It's not peeling properly."
Silence.
Then slowly,
Dhruv removed his glasses.
Stood up.
Walked toward me.
Took the mango from my hand.
And sat beside me on the couch.
Just like that.
Like it was natural.
Like the terrifying billionaire businessman peeling mango for his injured wife at midnight was a normal Tuesday activity.
My brain genuinely stopped functioning for a second.
Dhruv calmly started slicing the fruit perfectly.
Precise.
Neat.
Meanwhile I stared at him openly.
Because this image felt too unreal.
The infamous Dhruv Malhotra.
The coldest businessman in the country.
Sitting beside me in grey sweatpants while peeling mango slices.
What alternate universe was this?
He noticed my staring instantly.
Without looking up, he spoke flatly:
"What?"
I blinked quickly.
"Nothing."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're staring."
Oops.
I looked away immediately.
But unfortunately,
A tiny smile escaped me anyway.
Dhruv noticed that too.
Of course he did.
His jaw tightened faintly.
"Why are you smiling?"
I bit back another smile.
"No reason."
Now he looked suspicious.
Which somehow made this funnier.
The room fell quiet again while rain poured outside softly.
Then suddenly,
The sound of car tires echoed near the mansion gates.
Dhruv's entire body went still instantly.
I blinked in confusion.
His eyes lifted toward the entrance sharply.
Cold.
Alert.
Like a predator sensing danger.
The atmosphere shifted immediately.
I looked toward the windows curiously.
"Someone came?"
No answer.
Dhruv was already standing now.
His jaw visibly tight.
The guards outside hurried toward the gates.
And for one strange second,
Dhruv genuinely looked ready for war.
I stared at him in confusion.
"...Dhruv?"
His gaze remained fixed outside.
Then finally,
The head guard entered hurriedly.
"Sir."
The entire room went silent.
Dhruv spoke calmly.
Too calmly.
"Who is it?"
The guard answered immediately.
"Food delivery, sir."
Silence.
Long silence.
Then very slowly,
Dhruv sat back down again.
Expression unreadable.
Meanwhile I stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
Because why did he look disappointed and relieved at the same time?
I frowned slightly.
"Why are you acting so weird every time a car enters?"
His eyes shifted toward me immediately.
And for one tiny second,
He actually looked caught.
Then instantly,
"Security reasons."
Ah yes.
Of course.
The famous billionaire excuse.
I nodded slowly despite not understanding at all.
Meanwhile across from me,
Dhruv picked up the fruit plate again.
But something about his expression stayed dark.
Restless.
Like he was waiting for something inevitable to happen.
Or someone inevitable to arrive.
And completely unknowingly,
That someone was Armaan Khanna.