Unfinished (Some love stories don’t end. They just wait to be written right) - Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Cracks in the Cold
The shared workspace at Khanna Corporations’ temporary annex office was sleek and sterile. Minimalist interiors, sharp lighting, and the constant quiet hum of productivity. Aditi sat at a sleek glass desk, her eyes fixed on the tablet screen displaying layout blueprints.
Aditya sat just a few feet away across the room, head bent over his laptop, voice low as he conducted a video call.
They had been in the same room for nearly four hours.
Neither had spoken more than what was necessary.
“Email that to logistics.”
“Update me on the vendor replies.”
“Reschedule the client call to post-lunch.”
Every word between them was stripped of any tone. No history. No emotion.
It was infuriating.
Worse — it was exhausting.
Aditi stood suddenly and walked to the window. She needed a second. Just one second to breathe without the weight of his silence pressing down on her.
She could feel his presence behind her like a shadow that wouldn't leave.
Finally, he spoke.
“You’ve been quiet all morning.”
She turned slowly, surprised by his initiation.
“I thought that’s what you wanted,” she said, voice laced with steel. “Silence, distance. That’s what you left me with, didn’t you?”
His jaw twitched, but he kept his tone neutral. “I didn’t leave you for silence, Aditi.”
“No?” she asked, arms crossed. “Then why, Aditya? Why did you vanish without a word? Send papers through a stranger? Not one call. Not one reason.”
He stood up now, walking toward her. Not fast. Not aggressive. Just deliberate.
Their eyes locked.
“Because I thought it was better that way,” he said. “Cleaner.”
She laughed—sharp and hollow.
“Cleaner?” Her voice rose. “You broke a marriage like it was a contract.”
Aditya stayed silent.
She stepped closer.
“You stood with me in vows before both our families. You said we’d build trust, even if not love. And when that trust finally started to bloom... you cut it off without explanation.”
Aditya’s face finally showed something — regret? Pain? But it was gone in an instant.
“I had my reasons.”
“And I had the right to know them,” she snapped.
A long pause.
The silence between them roared louder than any scream.
Aditi turned away. “I don’t want to be here, Aditya. I don’t want to work with you. I’m only doing this for my company. Not for you.”
“Understood,” he replied calmly. “But for the next 14 days, you are working with me. So let’s keep our bitterness out of the boardroom.”
She spun back around. “Bitterness?” Her eyes were blazing. “This isn’t bitterness, Mr. Khanna. This is restraint. I have enough reasons to despise you. But I still chose dignity.”
Aditya looked away.
He walked back to his desk.
“A car will pick us at 6 AM tomorrow,” he said, sitting down. “We have a supplier visit in Jaipur.”
She blinked. “Jaipur?”
“Two-day trip. Urgent. Can’t be postponed.”
She wanted to scream. Wanted to say no. But she knew the consequences. Knew her professional image was at stake.
Aditi inhaled sharply. “Fine.”
Their eyes met again.
Still strangers. Still fire between them. But now… something was shifting.
A storm was slowly brewing behind calm eyes.
Later That Night – Aditi’s Apartment
She sat at her desk, packing her documents. Her suitcase lay open beside her bed. She placed her formal clothes neatly, as always. But her mind was chaos.
Why now? Why was he pulling her into his world again?
Was this punishment? Revenge? Guilt?
And yet... a part of her, the one she had buried under ambition and silence, still wanted an answer. Still wanted to hear something—anything—that could fill the silence he left behind.
She closed her eyes.
And for the first time in two years... she whispered his name.
“Aditya…”
Meanwhile, Aditya’s Suite
He stood at his window again, glass in hand, the night sky stretching endlessly above the city.
He had watched her crack today.
He hadn’t expected that.
He thought she would keep pretending forever.
He remembered the first time she had smiled at him after their wedding. That shy curve of her lips while passing him tea.
He remembered how he used to wait for her to enter the room just to feel her presence.
He remembered every second.
But he had his reasons.
And she… didn’t know the half of it.
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