CHAPTER 15 （Chasing Love）
KRISH
Next Day
I paced restlessly around my room, my mind replaying the intense, unexpected kiss I’d shared with Trisha on the terrace last night.
The memory of her soft lips crushed against mine, her fingers tugging at my hair, our bodies pressed together in a desperate, heated embrace—it all felt like a dream.
Or rather, a torturous, tantalising nightmare I couldn’t escape.
“Where the hell are my sunglasses?” I muttered, frantically patting my pockets. I needed a distraction, anything to get Trisha off my mind.
Just then, Ayaan strolled in, grinning from ear to ear. “Right here, genius.” He plucked the sunglasses from my front shirt pocket and handed them to me.
I snatched them back, feeling my cheeks heat up. “I... I knew that.”
Ayaan chuckled, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he leaned closer. “By the way, what happened to your lip? Got a little nibble there.”
My fingers instinctively flew to my lower lip, and I winced at the tender soreness. Trisha’s passionate bite mark was still there, a branded reminder of our encounter. I quickly glanced at the mirror, then back at Ayaan, hoping to play it off.
“Uhh, something must have bit me. I don’t know.”
“Something, huh?” Ayaan barked out a laugh. “Or should I say someone?”
I glowered at him, willing the blush to subside.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. And if you are here to waste my time, then get out. I’ve loads of work to do yet, all thanks to your silly plan of confronting Raghav alone in ‘The Roost’ pub.”
“Why are you being cranky?” Ayaan mocked.
“I’m not being cranky,” I muttered, cutting off Ayaan mid-sentence. “In fact, why are you in my room? Why aren’t you bothering your wife today?”
Ayaan chuckled, plopping down on the sofa. “She’s busy with Dad in the kitchen. She has no time for me for now.”
“So, you mean I’m your backup for timepass?”
Ayaan chuckled.
“Something is definitely wrong with you, buddy. You got mood swings?”
I rolled my eyes. “Can we just focus on the plan for your ‘Roost encounter’ with Raghav?”
“Alright, alright.” Ayaan held up his hands in surrender, though the amusement never left his expression. “So, about confronting Raghav at The Roost...”
As Ayaan outlined the details of our mission, I found it increasingly difficult to concentrate.
All I could think about was the way Trisha had kissed me, the desperate heat and hunger in her touch.
I’d never expected her to initiate something so passionate, so unrestrained. It had caught me completely off guard.
“Back to earth, Krish!” Ayaan’s voice suddenly snapped me back to the present. “You still with me?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry.” I avoided looking at him because I knew the moment my friend would look into my eyes, he would know I’d fallen in love. I still was in love. With Trisha. No matter how much I denied that, even to myself.
“As I was saying,” Ayaan continued, “we need a team on standby in case things go south with Raghav. Local police too. What do you think?”
I nodded firmly. “Absolutely. They’ll be ready.”
Ayaan rubbed his palms in excitement. “Excellent. Now, let’s go over the plan one more time...”
As the discussion continued, the thoughts of our kiss haunted my mind again. That kiss had shattered the carefully constructed walls I’d built to keep her out. I shook my head, trying to focus on the task at hand. But the memory of Trisha’s lips, her touch, her taste—it was all I could think about.
Just as Ayaan and I were going over the mission plan one more time, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” Ayaan called out.
Trisha entered, her gaze briefly meeting mine before she turned to Ayaan. “Boss, I’ve shifted my stuff to the other guest room downstairs. That’s the key to my previous room.” She handed the keys to Ayaan.
I felt a pang of confusion. She had changed rooms? Moved downstairs?
“Great,” Ayaan said. “I hope you’re comfortable in your new room. Let me know if there’s anything else.”
Trisha nodded. Ayaan’s phone rang, and he quickly excused us and walked out of the room to answer. Trisha turned to leave, but I couldn’t stop myself from speaking up.
“You changed the room?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even. “Not interested in even sharing a wall between us now?”
Trisha paused, crossing her arms as she faced me. “Isn’t that what you asked me to do? To stay the fuck away from you?”
Her words struck a chord, and I was suddenly reminded of the cruel, bitter things I’d said to her last night after our heated kiss. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
“I’m just obeying the Director’s orders,” Trisha continued, her tone clipped. She turned to leave, but I reacted instinctively, reaching out to grab her arm and whirl her back around, pinning her against the door.
“You’re obeying the orders, but you’re also raising suspicion in the eyes of the people around,” I warned, my face mere inches from hers.
“I don’t want Ayaan or Meher to know what we had between us, Trisha.
” I paused, my gaze boring into hers. “Or rather, what I thought we had, but you never cared.”
Trisha’s eyes darkened with the same intensity as her voice.
“I shifted my room because Meher insisted,” she replied.
“The shower in my room wasn’t working, and she urged me to move downstairs.
I agreed, thinking that was the best I could do to follow your orders of staying away from you as much as possible, Krish.
” She tilted her head slightly. “But why do I sense you’re not happy with it?
Isn’t this what you wanted—for me to stay away? ”
I was speechless again, cursing my own conflicting emotions. Trisha’s gaze dropped to my lips, where the faint bruise from her passionate bite last night was still visible. She quickly averted her eyes, meeting mine again.
“Your behaviour can make it obvious to them that something is wrong between us, not mine,” she said. “You need to keep a check on your feelings, Krish. Because I’ve learned to do that a long time ago.”
With that, Trisha gently pushed me away and walked out, leaving me perplexed. What did she mean by that? Did it mean she was hiding her feelings from me?
I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated.
Everything about Trisha and our relationship was so goddamn complicated.
One moment, I couldn’t stand to be around her; the next, I was craving her touch, her kisses, her warmth.
And now, she was the one maintaining a distance, following my own orders to stay away.
“Tough day!” Ayaan’s voice broke through my thoughts. He had returned, a sympathetic look on his face as he scrolled through his phone.
I let out a humourless chuckle. “You have no idea.”
I was sure he didn’t hear anything that Trisha and I spoke.
Ayaan clapped me on the back. “Well, at least we’ve got a plan in place for ‘The Roost’. Hopefully, we can get some answers from Raghav and move this whole Bat gang investigation forward.”
I nodded, grateful for the change in subject. “Yeah, let’s hope so. The sooner we can wrap this up, the better.”
As Ayaan delved back into the mission details, I tried to focus, but my mind kept drifting back to Trisha’s parting words. Had she truly learned to control her feelings for me? And if so, did that mean she cared about what we once had?
The thought filled me with a strange relief. But I pushed it aside, knowing I needed to have my head in the upcoming mission.
****************
A week later
It had been a busy week since Ayaan’s confrontation with Raghav at The Roost. The revelations and the interconnected pasts about the Bat Mafia’s true leader, a man whom we termed as ‘The Bishop’, had created a tense atmosphere in the Shergill Mansion.
And the only person who was affected the most by these revelations was my friend, Ayaan Shergill.
But I knew Ayaan would overcome this with the support of Meher and Kailash uncle.
I would be there for him as well, no matter what.
As I searched for Meher to brief her on the security arrangements for the upcoming private event organised by Pratap Walia’s NEP party, I spotted Trisha hurrying out of her room, phone pressed to her ear.
“Yug, what time did you land?” she asked, her voice held a hint of excitement I hadn’t heard from her in a long time. “I’ve texted you the address. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Can’t wait to see you, darling.”
Darling? My jaw clenched as I listened to the sweet endearment roll off her tongue. Who the hell was this ‘Yug’ she was meeting?
Trisha must have sensed my presence because she suddenly turned around, her eyes locking with mine. For a brief moment, she hesitated, then quickly averted her gaze and continued on her way.
Before I could intervene, Trisha reached Meher, who was in the living room.
“Meher, I’ll be back in an hour. Remember, I had told you yesterday about going out to meet someone?”
“Yes, yes, I remember,” Meher replied. “You take your time, and since Ayaan is at home, I’m not going anywhere. You can enjoy the free time you rarely get.”
Trisha thanked her and hurried out the door. I approached Meher, frowning.
“Why did you let her go? She’s here to protect you, not run off and enjoy herself.”
Meher frowned back at me.
“Come on, Krish. I know she’s on duty, but she doesn’t need to be when I’m at home. And she had told me about this special person she had to meet today. It’s fine. She has a life too.”
I felt my disappointment and curiosity swelling in equal measure. Who was this ‘special person’ in Trisha’s life? I quickly made an excuse to Meher about a meeting I had to attend and rushed out the door, following Trisha as she got into a hired cab and left the Shergill Mansion.