•| FOURTEEN |•
Your breath began to turn uneven before you even realized what was happening.
At first, it was subtle — a slight tightness in your chest, a faint dizziness curling at the edges of your vision — but within seconds it grew into something far more terrifying.
The air inside the lift suddenly felt too thick, too heavy, like it refused to enter your lungs no matter how hard you tried.
You swallowed, attempting to steady yourself, your fingers curling into your palms as you forced yourself to inhale deeply…
once… twice… again. But it wasn’t working.
Each breath felt shorter than the last, your chest rising and falling rapidly as panic slithered up your spine.
The enclosed metal walls seemed to inch closer, the ceiling lower, the space smaller — suffocating you, trapping you.
You were scared of closed spaces.
You had always been.
Claustrophobia — the word echoed in your mind as your vision blurred slightly with unshed tears.
You pressed your back against the wall, trying to ground yourself, but even that felt like it was crushing you further.
Your hands trembled uncontrollably, your pulse roaring in your ears louder than any sound in the stalled lift.
Krish, on the other hand, was still unaware of the storm building inside you.
He stood a few steps away, tapping his foot against the lift floor impatiently, the repetitive sound echoing in the tight space.
His jaw was clenched, irritation still lingering on his face as he waited for help to arrive.
But then—
Your hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his.
The contact was unexpected enough to make him pause mid-tap.
He looked down instantly, his brows knitting together the moment he saw your trembling fingers clutching his hand so tightly, as if you were holding onto the only thing keeping you from falling apart.
His gaze lifted to your face — and whatever irritation he had vanished immediately.
You looked terrified.
Your lips were parted as you struggled to breathe, tears pooling in your eyes, your entire figure shaking like a fragile leaf caught in a storm.
“Please… get me out of here,” you mumbled, your voice barely audible, cracking under the weight of your panic.
Something in his expression shifted completely.
Without wasting another second, he stepped forward and pulled you closer to him — not forcefully, but carefully, protectively. One of his arms wrapped around you while his other hand came up to rub your back in slow, steady strokes, grounding, reassuring.
“Hey… hey… are you fine?” his voice was nothing like before — no sharpness, no anger — just softness, laced with concern. “I’m sorry… I’m really sorry if I hurt you in any way.”
He lowered his head slightly, trying to catch your gaze. “Take deep breaths, okay? Slowly… with me.”
His hand continued moving gently along your back in rhythmic motions, trying to calm your shaking body. Instinctively, you clutched onto his shirt, your fingers gripping the fabric near his chest as if letting go would make the walls close in further.
“Look at me,” he murmured softly. “You’re okay… I’m right here. Nothing’s going to happen.”
Your fingers clutched his shirt even tighter as another wave of panic crashed through you, your breaths turning shallow, broken, almost painful as they left your lungs. Your vision blurred with tears while your body felt like it was losing strength by the second.
“I-I’m scared… please do something… take me o-out…” you whispered, your voice trembling so badly that the words barely formed properly. You sounded small — nothing like the fiery girl who had stormed into his office building just minutes ago.
Krish’s brows furrowed deeply, his hand instinctively tightening around your shoulders as he felt your weight almost sag against him.
“Samira, listen to me—” he tried to steady you, his voice calm but urgent.
But you shook your head frantically, panic overriding everything else.
“I said take me out please!” you cried, your voice breaking as tears spilled down your cheeks. “It’s suffocating here… I can’t breathe… I’m going to die—”
Before you could finish the sentence—
He cut you off.
But by suddenly cupping your face and pressing his lips against yours.
For a split second, your mind went blank.
The panic didn’t disappear immediately — instead, shock replaced it.
Your eyes widened, your body stiffening in his hold as you tried to process what had just happened.
Instinctively, you struggled weakly against his chest, your hands pushing at him in confusion, but his arm tightened around you — not harshly, but firmly enough to keep you steady, to stop your frantic movements.
His lips moved slowly, deliberately — not demanding, not forceful — just enough to pull your focus away from the crushing walls, the lack of air, the spiraling panic in your chest. His hand slid to the back of your head, holding you gently but securely, anchoring you to him.
Your breathing, which had been erratic and broken, faltered — then slowly began to sync with his.
The moment his lips touched yours again, it was no longer just an attempt to calm you down — at least not entirely.
Krish himself didn’t realize when the line blurred.
At first, he had kissed you only to stop your spiraling panic, to give your mind something else to focus on besides the suffocating walls of the lift… but now, seconds later, he found himself unable to pull away.
And that realization shocked him.
His mind screamed at him to stop — that this was wrong, impulsive, completely unplanned — yet his body refused to listen.
Your hands, which had been gripping his shirt in fear, slowly slid upward… trembling fingers curling around the back of his neck.
And then—
You pulled him closer.
That single action made his breath hitch.
Your bodies moved closer instinctively, the small lift suddenly feeling even smaller — but no longer suffocating. Your lips moved against his softly, hesitantly at first, as if you yourself didn’t understand why you weren’t pushing him away anymore.
Your mind was blank.
Just the warmth of his lips… and the strange calm replacing your panic.
Krish’s hand tightened slightly at your waist, steadying you as your knees felt weak, his other hand still cradling the back of your head protectively. The kiss deepened unconsciously — not rushed, not forceful — but lingering, charged with something neither of you were ready to name.
Time felt suspended inside that stalled lift.
Until—
Ting.
The sudden sound of the lift restarting echoed loudly in the enclosed space.
You flinched violently.
Reality crashed back in.
Your eyes snapped open, your lips parting from his as if burned. For a moment, you both just stared at each other — stunned, frozen, wide-eyed.
Krish looked just as shocked as you felt.
As if he couldn’t believe what he had just done.
What you both had just done.
Your heart started racing again — but this time, not from claustrophobia.
From the overwhelming awareness of how close you still were to him.
Abruptly, you pushed yourself out of his grip, stepping back so fast your shoulder hit the lift wall. You avoided his eyes, your breathing uneven again but for entirely different reasons now.
The lift doors slid open.
And the second they did—
You broke eye contact completely and rushed out, almost running down the corridor without a single backward glance.
“Samira— Samira, wait—”
Krish called after you, stepping out quickly, his hand half-raised as if to stop you.
But you didn’t stop.
You just kept walking — almost fleeing — your heart pounding loudly in your ears, your fingers unconsciously touching your lips as if to confirm that what had just happened was real.
Krish stood there for a moment, watching your retreating figure disappear down the hallway.
His chest rose and fell heavily.
His mind replayed the kiss again and again.
“Shit…” he exhaled under his breath, dragging a hand down his face in frustration.
He turned back toward the lift, stepping inside again to retrieve what had been forgotten in the chaos — the bouquet of red roses and the box of chocolates you had brought.
Holding them in his hands, he let out a dry, disbelieving chuckle.
“ You fucked up, Krish Mehra,” he muttered to himself, shaking his head slowly.
You walked out of the company building in a daze, not even remembering how your feet carried you all the way to the small park across the road.
The evening air was cool, the faint rustling of leaves and distant chatter of people filling the silence around you — yet your ears heard none of it.
Your mind was somewhere else… trapped inside that lift…
replaying those few seconds again and again like a stubborn film refusing to stop.
Slowly, you sat down on the wooden bench near the pathway, your legs feeling weak beneath you. Your hand instinctively moved to your chest, pressing against your racing heart as if trying to calm it down — but your heartbeat only grew louder under your palm.
“M-my first… k-kiss…” you mumbled to yourself, your voice barely above a whisper, almost as if saying it louder would make it too real to handle.
Your fingers slowly traveled upward, hesitantly touching your lips.
They still felt warm.
The memory hit you all over again — the way his hand had held your waist, firm yet protective… the way his other hand had cradled the back of your head… the softness of his lips… the way you had clutched his shirt… and then—
Your cheeks flushed deep crimson.
A shy, embarrassed blush spread across your face as you bit your lower lip unconsciously, your eyes lowering to the ground. You quickly licked your lips in nervous habit, only to freeze when the sensation reminded you of him again.
“Ahhh—” you groaned softly in frustration, immediately wiggling your hair with your palm in agitation before grabbing a fistful of it harshly. “What will he think of me now?!”
Your mind spiraled.
Why didn’t you push him away faster?
You buried your face in your hands for a second before groaning again.
“Ahhh you messed up, Samira… you seriously messed up…” you muttered, rocking slightly on the bench, equal parts embarrassed and flustered.
Your heart was still beating wildly — but now it wasn’t fear.
It was something far more confusing.
And far more dangerous.
Because beneath all the embarrassment…
You hadn’t hated that kiss.
And that realization made your face burn even more as you stared blankly ahead, completely lost in the chaos Krish Mehra had just created inside your heart.