chapter 61
Chapter 60 - misunderstanding
Kavya turned away.
She couldn't look at him anymore.
Her heart was pounding so violently that she could barely hear anything around her.
The elevator was only a few steps away.
She just needed to leave.
Leave before her emotions betrayed her.
Before she said something she would regret.
Before she do something stupid again.
Her fingers curled tightly around the invoice.
She took one step.
Then another.
But she couldn't help but look at him again, she can't be weak again like before. She want to be clear so she look back.
"Don't play this dirty trick on me again."
Her voice trembled.
Aarav froze behind her.
The rim of his eye was still red.
Kavya stopped without turning around.
"Whatever you are trying to do..."
She swallowed hard.
"Don't."
Her voice became quieter.
"Stay away from me."
Aarav's lips parted.
"Kavya, I-"
"No."
She finally turned her head slightly.
Her eyes were wet.
"I don't want to hear it."
"I don't want to go through all of this again."
Then she turned toward the elevator.
She pressed the button.
The small light illuminated.
Nothing happened.
The elevator was still several floors below.
She exhaled impatiently.
Just wait.
A few seconds.
Then she could leave.
She stood there with her back toward Aarav.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence between them was unbearable.
Before the elevator could come, another man came out from the other side of the corridor.
He was dressed in a dark formal suit with a hotel identification badge pinned neatly to his chest.
The hotel manager.
He had been checking on another guest on the floor when he noticed the scene.
His eyes immediately fell on the flowers scattered across the carpet.
White lilies.
Pink roses.
Broken stems.
Petals everywhere.
His expression changed instantly. He knew that some commotion happened already in his absence. And the person in front of him was Aarav Malhotra, The top ceo and the business tycoon in city A. His hand shiver seeing the scene.
He definitely can't let this boss go through any hardship in this hotel.
"Oh my God."
He hurried forward.
"Sir!"
Aarav looked up.
The manager's face went pale.
"I'm terribly sorry."
He looked at the flowers.
Then at Aarav.
"Sir, I sincerely apologize."
Aarav stared at him blankly.
The manager quickly continued.
"This is completely our fault."
Kavya froze.
Her hand remained suspended near the elevator button.
The elevator already arrived.
She hadn't stepped inside yet.
She slowly turned her head.
The manager hadn't noticed her.
He was too focused on Aarav.
"The flower shop we normally order from was closed today."
He gestured toward the scattered bouquet.
"So the staff had to arrange the flowers from another shop at the last minute."
Kavya's eyes widened.
Another shop.
Her gaze slowly dropped toward the bouquet.
Petals from her shop.
Her bouquet.
The manager continued apologetically, from what he saw, that there was no one with Aarav and the person who delivered the flower doesn't seems to be the one who can cause trouble.
Then the only possibility is that, Aarav doesn't like those flowers.
"If you don't like them, sir, please don't worry."
"We can still arrange another bouquet from a different florist."
Aarav finally found his voice.
"No."
The manager paused.
Aarav glanced down at the flowers.
Then briefly toward Kavya.
His eyes lingered on her for only a second.
He knew she was listening.
He could see her shocking look.
He looked back at the manager.
"No need."
The manager looked confused.
Aarav bent slightly and picked up one of the fallen lilies.
He turned it gently between his fingers.
"I accidentally dropped them."
The manager immediately nodded.
"Of course, sir."
Aarav's gaze fell toward the broken stem.
"And..."
His voice softened.
"The flowers from this shop are really beautiful."
Kavya's breath caught.
She looked at him.
Aarav didn't look back.
He simply stared at the lily in his hand.
The manager smiled nervously.
"I'm glad you like them, sir."
He glanced between the two of them.
Only then did he notice.
The red mark across Aarav's cheek.
The trembling fingers of the woman standing near the elevator.
The tears still gathered in her eyes.
The distance between them.
The scattered flowers.
The uncomfortable silence.
The broken expression on Aarav's face.
And the way Aarav adore the petal in his hand.
Something clicked.
The manager's expression became awkward.
He immediately understood that whatever had happened between them was far beyond his position to ask about.
He cleared his throat.
"Again..."
He bowed slightly.
"I'm very sorry, sir."
His footsteps gradually disappeared down the corridor.
Silence returned.
But this silence was different.
Kavya remained completely still.
She couldn't move.
She couldn't even breathe properly.
Her mind replayed the manager's words.
The flower shop we normally order from was closed today.
So the staff had to arrange the flowers from another shop.
Her eyes slowly moved toward the flowers.
Her flowers.
Not his plan.
Not his trick.
Not some carefully arranged coincidence.
She had simply been sent there because her delivery employee couldn't come.
And she had accused him.
Her face slowly lost its color.
Her ears turned red qith embarrassment.
She remembered her own words.
"Don't play this dirty trick on me again."
Her stomach twisted.
Then another memory surfaced.
Aarav reaching toward her.
His trembling hand.
His tear-filled eyes.
He hadn't grabbed her.
He hadn't forced her.
He had only reached out.
And she had slapped him.
Hard.
Kavya's eyes fell toward his cheek.
The red fingerprints were still clearly visible.
Her fingers trembled.
"Oh..."
The word barely escaped her lips.
Aarav remained silent.
He simply stood there.
Holding the flower.
Kavya's embarrassment deepened.
She looked away.
"I'm..."
The word got stuck.
Aarav finally looked at her.
Kavya swallowed.
"I'm sorry."
Her voice was barely audible.
Aarav's expression softened.
"It wasn't your fault, you just....."
"It was my fault."
She interrupted him.
Her eyes remained lowered.
"I thought..."
She stopped.
How could she explain it?
That she had believed he had deliberately ordered from her shop?
That she thought he had somehow arranged the delivery?
That she believed he had manipulated the situation just to force her into seeing him?
She felt ridiculous and embarrassed now.
"I misunderstood."
Aarav said nothing.
Kavya's fingers tightened around the invoice.
"I shouldn't have..."
Her gaze moved toward his cheek again.
She couldn't finish the sentence.
Aarav understood.
"You got scared, right?"
She looked up.
His voice was quiet and gentle without a hint of coldness as if he was the one who made mistake this time.
"I understand and i will always."
Something inside her hurt.
Because he wasn't angry.
If he had shouted at her...
If he had accused her...
Perhaps she would have been more at ease, atleast she wouldn't have been experience this strange feeling in her heart .
She even considered a possibility that if this guys in front of her has been possessed by some kind of spirit or he hit head.
Kavya looked down again.
"I'm leaving now."
Aarav nodded.
"Oh..okay." she wouldn't force to stay, even if he want to so he can only nod in agreement unwillingly.
She pressed the elevator button again.
Before her eyes met with Aarav again. Aarav was looking intently. And the moment there eyes met he instantly looked down as if he had been caught red handed.
His shoulders were dropped.
Kavya could compare him with the dog in his neighborhood who get sad if his owner was going out.
She stepped inside the elevator.
But before the doors closed, she looked at him once again.
He was standing alone in the hallway.
One hand holding a white lily.
The other hanging loosely by his side.
His cheek still carried her fingerprints.
Kavya's chest tightened.
She wanted to say something. She was feeling guilty. Maybe she should apologise.
But the thought disappeared as soon as it appear in her mind.
The elevator doors slowly began to close.
Their eyes met through the narrowing gap.
Then-
They disappeared from each other's sight.
Aarav lowered his gaze.
The hallway was empty again.
Only the fragrance of lilies remained.
He looked at the flower in his hand.
A faint, painful smile touched his lips.
"At least..."