The city finally slept.
Inside the Malhotra penthouse, the noise of the world faded into distant lights and glass reflections, leaving behind something far more fragile than power.
Aarav stood at the edge of the balcony long after the press had left, long after the headlines had been written. He wasn't watching the city anymore.
He was listening.
To her breathing behind him.
Ishita stepped closer, resting her palms against the cool railing beside him. The night breeze brushed strands of her hair across her face, and before she could move them away, Aarav did.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like she might disappear if he rushed.
"You were incredible today," he said quietly.
She smiled faintly. "I didn't feel brave."
"You never do," he replied. "That's why it counts."
She turned to face him.
Up close, the man the world called untouchable looked tired. Stripped. Human in a way she had never seen before.
"You're losing control," she said softly.
"Yes," he admitted.
"And you're okay with that?"
Aarav met her gaze. "I'm learning to be."
That honesty undid something inside her.
She reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers. No urgency. No claiming. Just warmth.
"You didn't stop me today," she said.
"I wanted to," he confessed. "Every instinct in me wanted to pull you away, shield you, end the room."
She tilted her head. "But you didn't."
"Because I love the woman you are becoming," he said. "And I won't cage her to protect my fear."
The word love hung between them.
Unannounced.
Unplanned.
Her breath caught. "Aarav…"
"I know," he said softly. "I shouldn't—"
She stepped closer, resting her forehead against his chest.
"No," she whispered. "Don't take it back."
His arms came around her slowly, not possessive, not desperate — just steady.
The kind of hold that says I'm here.
She inhaled him. The faint scent of cedar and rain. Familiar now. Safe in a way contracts never were.
"This is what scares Raghav," she murmured.
Aarav's fingers tightened slightly at her waist. "Because he wants you like a conquest."
"And you?" she asked.
"I want you like a home."
Her chest ached.
---
Raghav watched from a distance that night.
Not from shadows.
From screens.
Footage replayed endlessly — Ishita standing tall, fingers entwined with Aarav's. Not owned. Not trapped.
Chosen.
The realization didn't soften him.
It sharpened him.
"She's in love," his aide said quietly.
Raghav's voice was calm. "So am I."
There was silence.
"Love," he continued, "doesn't disappear because it's inconvenient."
---
Back at the penthouse, Ishita lay awake long after midnight.
Aarav lay beside her, not touching, respecting the invisible line she still needed.
"You're thinking," he said.
"I always am."
She turned onto her side, studying him. "If you lose the company… truly lose it… will you resent me?"
The question cut deeper than any boardroom betrayal.
He turned to face her fully.
"No," he said without hesitation. "I'd resent myself if I ever made you stay out of fear."
She searched his eyes.
"What if choosing me costs you everything?"
He reached for her then, cupping her cheek.
"Then I'll have chosen something real," he said. "For the first time in my life."
Her eyes filled.
She leaned into his touch, closing the distance herself.
The kiss was slow.
Careful.
Not consuming.
Just lips brushing like a promise they were still afraid to speak out loud.
When they pulled apart, she rested her forehead against his.
"This is dangerous," she whispered.
"Yes," he agreed.
"But it feels honest."
He smiled softly. "Honesty is the most dangerous thing I know."
---
The next morning, the coup deepened.
Shares shifted.
Allies defected.
Aarav walked into the boardroom stripped of authority but not dignity.
And Ishita walked beside him.
Not behind.
Not hidden.
Raghav noticed immediately.
He leaned close as they passed.
"You glow differently," he said quietly. "Love suits you."
She didn't stop walking.
"It doesn't suit obsession," she replied.
For the first time, Raghav didn't smile.
---
Later, when the doors closed and the world pressed in again, Aarav rested his forehead against hers.
"They're coming for you now," he said.
"I know."
"I can pull away," he offered. "Publicly. Protect you."
She shook her head.
"No," she said. "I won't be protected by distance."
She took his hands.
"I'll choose you in the open," she said. "But only if you promise something."
"Anything."
"Don't become cruel to survive this," she whispered. "Don't lose yourself trying to win."
Aarav's throat tightened.
"I promise," he said. "Even if it costs me the throne."
She smiled.
"That's the man I fell for."
The words settled gently between them.
Fell.
Not falling.
Already done.
---
That night, the city watched a powerful man begin to fall.
But only Ishita saw what he was becoming instead.
And far away, Raghav Khanna prepared to stop being patient.
Because romance, when it defies obsession—
Becomes a threat.