The Billionaire's Bride [ Rewritten]

Part 9 | What is He Hiding?

" Get in "

I hesitated for a second before sliding into the passenger seat, closing the door a little more carefully than necessary.

The car filled with silence.

Kartik started the engine without looking at me, his movements precise and controlled. We pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

I stared at my hands resting in my lap, replaying the moment again and again.

" He's my friend."

Of all the things I could have said, that was what had come out.

"I didn't expect to see you there," I finally said, my voice hushed.

Kartik didn’t respond.

His eyes stayed fixed on the road, expression carefully neutral.

"I just panicked," I added. "Jason doesn't know about the marriage yet."

That seemed to get a reaction.
Not much—but enough.

His jaw tightened briefly before relaxing again. " I figured," he said evenly.

The way he said it made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Silence settled in the car again.

Streetlights flickered past the windows in steady intervals.

"You've been waiting long?" I asked cautiously.

"A while."

That was it. No elaboration.

"You could have called."

"I did."

I frowned and pulled my phone out of my bag.

Four missed calls. Thirty minutes ago.

"Oh," I murmured, embarrassed. "My phone was on silent."

He gave a small nod, like the explanation didn’t matter either way.

The car slowed at a red light. For the first time since we left, he leaned back slightly in his seat and exhaled.

" I logged off early. So I thought of giving you a ride back home." The matter-of-fact tone only made me feel worse.

He waited for thirty minutes. Guilt twisted in my stomach.

" You could have left. You didn't have to wait that long. I could have taken a cab."

This time he glanced at me briefly.

"I know. " He said, " But I came for you."

There was no accusation in his voice, yet my chest tightened anyway. And strangely, the knowledge that he had come just to pick me up—without being asked—pulled gently at my heart.