CHAPTER 17 （In your Arms）
TRISHA
“My father?” Krish asked, sounding confused as to why I had brought up his name. I wasn’t prepared to answer his question or dig up the old graves that I thought had been buried for good.
“I’m sleepy,” I lied, trying to get up, but Krish gripped my hand, preventing me from leaving.
“What are you hiding?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” I replied, but he wasn’t convinced.
“You wouldn’t have brought my father into this conversation for nothing, Trisha. Why do I sense you’re hiding something important from me?”
Just like that, my eyes welled up with tears. I felt weak and vulnerable, emotions I had fought hard to suppress resurfacing. I didn’t want to cry, but Krish pulled me close to him.
“Trisha, if you don’t speak up now, we might never get over this.
Look at me... I haven’t been able to move on from you, wondering what made you reject feelings despite seeing those same feelings in your eyes throughout our time together.
I’ve thought about it every single day for the last two years.
If you don’t tell me what the real matter is, I’ll go crazy trying to connect these dots myself. Is that what you want?”
I shook my head, brushing off his words. “I don’t want to create a rift or misunderstanding between you and your father, Krish. So, just let it go. We don’t have to talk about this. I know you love me, you still do, but that doesn’t change the fact that we still have no future together.”
Anger flashed in Krish’s eyes as he interrupted me.
“It is we who will decide if there is a future for us or not. But the way I’m seeing this now, I’m confident Dad has something to do with your rejection of my feelings all this time, Trisha. Speak up.”
I remained adamant, unwilling to share the truth. Krish grew increasingly frustrated.
“Fine, let me ask him directly, then.” He took his phone out of his jeans pocket and was about to dial his father’s number when I stopped him, snatching the phone away and putting it aside.
“Don’t get him into this now,” I pleaded.
“Why?” Krish asked in a hushed voice, though I could sense he was barely containing his urge to shout and scream at me.
“Because he is right. Your father is justified in reminding us of our professional duties. He loves you, Krish. And all he wants is to see you at the level where he is today. And that’s only possible if you stay committed to your role and don’t deviate from it because of a woman like me.”
Krish grabbed my arms, his jaw clenched as he stressed each word. “What did he say?”
Krish wasn’t going to relent. So, I finally decided to open up, to share the truth that had been haunting me for so long. “Remember the day you shot Ron, the kingpin of the drug cartel, to save me in Kuala Lumpur?”
Krish recalled that action-packed scene vividly.
Ron had been taking me away at gunpoint, heading towards a chopper that would have allowed him to escape.
Even Ayaan had been defenceless in stopping him.
Then Krish had arrived, making the split-second decision to shoot Ron and save me, even if it meant wiping out years of work in unravelling the other heads of the drug cartel.
“I woke up in the hospital,” I continued, “and I learned from my team leader, Sudesh, that you had shot Ron to save me, that you had risked your own career for me. That was the moment I realised your love for me was greater than every force in this world, Krish. I had decided that I would stand by you no matter what and never let you go from my life. But that’s when I got a call from your father. ”
I paused, the memory still fresh in my mind, the pain of that conversation etched into my heart. Krish’s eyes were fixed on me, imploring me to continue. And I narrated the entire conversation that happened to him.
I was confused when Krish’s father called me, but I still answered, trying to be as professional as possible. However, a lingering fear told me this wasn’t a normal call to check in on me.
“Hello.”
“Trisha Chaudhary?” he asked in a commanding voice.
“Yes, Sir,” I replied.
“I have the reports of the mission, and I don’t need to tell you I’m not impressed. It was an utter failure, in my opinion, with Ron dead.”
“Sir, we still have some intel to start everything from scratch,” I offered weakly.
“And waste the next two years looking for the other heads who worked for Ron in that drug cartel?” he snapped.
“No, Miss Chaudhary. No matter how many excuses you give me now, this is still not going to work. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t allowed Krish and you to work together on this mission.
It’s my fault, too, and I won’t let myself go unpunished for it. ”
I was confused by his words, but he continued, “Do you love Krish?” The question caught me off guard. “Because I don’t have to ask him if he loves you. His current action of killing Ron without thinking once about the mission and its success proved that. So, answer me, do you love Krish?”
I had remained silent about my feelings for Krish for so long, but this time, I replied without fear. “Yes, I do, Sir.”
There was a long pause before his father began again.
“Then what have you planned to do next? Leave the job, make Krish do the same and start a family?” He spoke as if it were the wrong choice.
“Have you forgotten all the promises that you made to GLEN when you joined us? To serve this organisation for the rest of your lives?”
“I haven’t forgotten any of those promises, Sir, and I still stick by them,” I interrupted him. “Wanting to have a relationship with Krish doesn’t mean we have to quit our roles in GLEN.”
That’s when he argued, “Your relationship is a liability, a weakness that could compromise your ability to do your job effectively. Both you and Krish. But if you still want to prove me wrong, then this is what I have to offer you, Trisha. So, listen carefully.”
My heart was beating fast, dreading what he was going to say next.
“I give you two choices. Option one: for the failure of this mission, I would ground you forever from fieldwork, and you would be assigned only desk-based jobs henceforth. Not to mention, Krish will lose his Director role permanently at GLEN. Or option two: you get to continue your next missions, and Krish will only be suspended for a few months for his mistake. Now, the choice is yours. You select the first option, and you will have Krish, but you will ruin his career forever. Is that what you want?”
I felt frustrated and disappointed with the choices Krish’s father was forcing me to consider.
“I know my son. If I gave him these options, he would still choose you, willing to lose his entire career for you. But Trisha, remember one thing. If you really love Krish, then you wouldn’t destroy his efforts and hard work for years to be where he is today.
I want him to take my role one day when I resign.
All of these dreams will be shattered, and for what?
Just because he loved a woman. I’m not saying love is wrong.
You two can have a future, but right now, the state that you two are in, I don’t think it’s the right time to dwell on relationships.
Krish needs to focus on his work, and being in love would distract him from that.
Remember, great people are born by making great sacrifices.
This is your only chance to show your greatness, Trisha.
Let my son achieve the goals that he is so close to.
Don’t be a thorn in his way. I hope you will make the right choice. ”
I shivered as I shared this conversation with Krish, unable to control my tears for the first time. He shook me gently, his eyes boring into mine, shocked that his father could do all this.
“Your father gave me an ultimatum,” I managed to choke out. “And you know what decision I took, Krish. I couldn’t bear to strip you off from your Director’s role forever.”
Krish’s expression hardened, his jaw clenching in anger, shock and disbelief. “He... he did that? He threatened you?”
I placed a trembling hand on his arm, trying to calm him. “Krish, please understand. Your father was only looking out for your best interests. He wanted to protect your future, your legacy.”
“At the cost of our happiness?” Krish shot back. “At the cost of our love?”
I shook my head, the tears flowing freely now.
“I didn’t see it that way at the time. All I could think about was how much you had sacrificed to get to where you were, how close you were to achieving your dreams. I couldn’t be the one to take that away from you, not when your father was right—our relationship could have compromised our ability to do our jobs effectively.
I thought... I thought if I walked away, it would be easier for you to move on, to focus on your career without the distractions of our love. ”
Krish cupped my face in his hands, his touch gentle yet firm. “Don’t you see, Trisha? None of that matters without you by my side. You are my dream, my legacy. And if my father can’t understand that, then it’s his loss, not ours.”
His words cut through the pain and self-doubt that had plagued me for so long. In that moment, I realised that I had been trying to protect Krish from the wrong thing. It wasn’t our love that was his weakness; it was the fear of losing each other that had made us both vulnerable.
He stroked my hair gently, his own voice thick with emotion. “Why didn’t you fight for us, Trisha? Why didn’t you come to me with this?”
“I’m sorry, Krish,” I whispered. “I’m sorry for letting your father’s threats dictate our lives.”
Krish pressed his forehead against mine, his breath warm on my face. I instantly slid my arms around his form and hugged him tight. He kept stroking my back as we both tried to understand and accept the turn of events that had torn us apart, leaving us with no other choices at the time.