Unfinished (Some love stories don’t end. They just wait to be written right) - Chapter 7
Chapter 7: No Exit
The morning sun filtered softly through sheer drapes, casting golden lines across the antique furniture of the suite. Aditi stood before the mirror, tying her hair into a tight bun. Her eyes were heavy — not from sleep, but from the weight of all the words she hadn’t said last night.
She didn’t want breakfast.
She didn’t want another day around him.
She just wanted to finish the work, submit her report, and catch the earliest train back.
Her phone buzzed.
Message from Aditya Khanna
Breakfast at 8. Site visit at 9. Car will wait. No delays.
Her jaw clenched.
I’ll join you directly at the site.
She typed back and hit send.
Within seconds, a reply came.
You’re not going alone. Wait for me. I insist.
She muttered under her breath. “Of course you do.”
She called the driver herself, arranging a separate car quietly. She would reach the site on her own. She had to reclaim some control.
But just as she stepped into the courtyard—
“Miss Mehra,” the hotel manager approached her awkwardly. “Your reservation has been… modified. Mr. Khanna has consolidated the booking under corporate protocol. For security reasons, the hotel has been instructed not to allow separate transport.”
She blinked. “What?”
And then she saw him. Aditya, standing at the other end of the courtyard, dressed in black slacks and a rolled-up white shirt, sunglasses in hand.
Watching her. Waiting.
Aditi’s breath caught.
He had cut off her escape. Again.
She walked toward him, slow, stiff.
“You changed my travel arrangements without asking me?”
“I did,” he said simply.
“You can’t keep forcing me into everything like I’m your… property.”
“I’m your client,” he said coldly. “And this is work. I’m doing what’s best for the deal.”
“Don’t lie,” she whispered, eyes fierce. “This has nothing to do with the deal.”
He looked at her then — really looked.
“You’re right,” he said quietly.
She blinked. “What?”
“You’re right,” he repeated. “This has nothing to do with work.”
A beat of silence passed.
Then, his phone rang. He took the call without breaking eye contact.
“Bring the car around,” he said into the phone. “She’s ready.”
At the Site
They walked through the enormous warehouse being repurposed into a joint logistics hub. The space echoed with voices, machines, and instructions.
Aditya stayed close. Too close.
Everywhere she turned — he was there.
And the worst part?
He didn’t say a word about why.
About the real reason for any of it.
When vendors asked something, he would listen… and then look at Aditi.
“Your call,” he said more than once. “I trust your judgment.”
She hated how sincere he sounded. It made her defenses tremble.
And when she tried to talk to the manager separately during lunch, he suddenly showed up at the table.
“I thought we could run through tomorrow’s schedule,” he said with that same neutral face.
He left no space.
No room to breathe.
Later That Evening – Back at the Hotel
Aditi paced in her room. Her chest tight, her palms shaking.
“This isn’t professional. This is—this is madness,” she whispered to herself.
She called her boss.
“Sir, I want to be pulled off the project.”
There was a pause.
“Why? What happened?” her boss asked.
“I just… I can’t do this.”
“I’m sorry, Aditi, but Mr. Khanna has specifically asked for your continued involvement. He’s already escalated to the board. If you step down now… it’ll reflect badly on all of us.”
She felt her throat dry out.
Trapped. Again.
Cornered.
She hung up.
A knock came.
She opened the door — already knowing who it would be.
Aditya stood there with a laptop in hand.
“Can I come in? We need to finalize the Jaipur supplier terms.”
Aditi stared at him. Long and hard.
Then moved aside.
He entered. Placed the laptop on the table.
She didn’t sit.
“I want to leave after this phase,” she said quietly. “After Jaipur. I’ll transition the project to someone else.”
He paused.
“Why?” he asked without looking up.
She laughed, bitter. “You still ask why?”
He stood.
“No. This time I’ll tell you why,” he said, voice low. “Because I can’t afford to let you go. Not again.”
Aditi froze.
He stepped closer, but not too close. His voice didn’t rise, but something in it cracked.
“Two years ago, I walked away because I thought I was protecting you. From me. From everything that was about to fall apart.”
She stared at him.
“What fell apart, Aditya?”
But he didn’t speak.
She waited.
And he remained silent.
Then she shook her head. “You don’t get to do this. Not now. Not like this.”
She opened the door for him to leave.
“Please go.”
He stood there for a long time.
Then walked past her… and stopped beside her.
“I’m not going anywhere, Aditi. Not this time.”
And then he left.
Aditi leaned against the door after he walked away.
Eyes closed. Breathing hard.
She didn’t know what she hated more — his silence...
Or the hope still flickering inside her.
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