Billionaire's Cinderella

CHAPTER 22

PRESENT

Shattering of glass woke Sarah up. She'd had the best sleep. She was groggy, took a few seconds to make sense of her surroundings. She hurried out of the room.

She recognized the voice, one was Chris's and the other belonged to Aviraj.

Oh god!

She now had a lot of explaining to do.

It's every girl's nightmare that her brother finds that she has spent a night with a man.

Shit! It was embarrassing.

Sarah stopped a few away from the broken glass.

"There is nothing. She thought I was apologizing or something?"

"Chris, you..."

They were arguing, and she was the topic of discussion.

"What is going on here?"

Chris and Aviraj froze as if they had been caught steeling cookies from the jar.

"Sarah, don't take a step forward, there is broken glass. You'll hurt yourself," Chris spoke hurriedly to warn her off.
"I saw that. And don't change the topic."

"Are you alright?" Aviraj asked.

"Yes, I am." She sighed.

"Why didn't you tell me, Sarah?" Aviraj walked towards her, crunching the glass under his shoes.

"Avi, stop. It's glass you're walking on."

But her brother didn't listen to her. He hugged her tightly. Sarah was taken aback. She hugged her brother back and hid her face in his chest. The emotions she had bottled inside were trying to resurface. She gulped. They both stood there. After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled back. She needed someone who knew what had happened to her. She was grateful for Chris to be here and help her. But having someone who had witnessed the darker period of her life was different.

***

"You should have told me this sooner, Sarah," Aviraj said. They were sitting on the couch in his penthouse. Sarah hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them. She narrated every incident to him.

"I didn't know it was him, Avi. I don't know what I should do now. He is not going to stop now. He has come here, and he knows where I live. It's all game to him," her voice cracked.

"Sarah, we can go to police."

"NO! I don't have energy to deal with this. And I don't trust police. You know what had happened last time. His family is rich. Bribing a police officer wouldn't difficult for them."

Sarah was feeling helpless. She knew she needed help, but who would that person be.

"We're rich too, Sarah. If his family can use their money, so can I. Let me handle this."

"Please, Avi. Don't push yourself to do something you're not comfortable doing."

"Sarah, but we can't just leave it. He can hurt you."

Sarah didn't say anything. She knew her brother was right. But what could they do?

Aviraj crouched in front of her. He grabbed her hands. "Don't stress yourself. I'll figure something out. He won't bother you."

She gave him a weak smile. She knew her brother would help her. He had done that before.

"I know I can't change your mind, but promise me one thing. You will not do something illegal and get yourself into trouble."

"Don't worry, Sarah. I won't do anything irrational."

"Thank you, Avi." She hugged him. Aviraj patted her back.

"What is going on between you and Chris?" he asked. Sarah pulled back and looked bewildered.

"What do you mean?" she pretended to be ignorant. She knew very well what he had meant.

Aviraj only arched his eyebrow at her. She exhaled a long breath. She knew she couldn't avoid this subject forever.

"Nothing is going between us, Avi. He is my boss."

"Sarah, I know Chris. I don't want to admit but he is a great guy. I will support you whatever you decide."

"Don't read too much into this. There's nothing between us," she said but her words sounded like a lie. Her heart started beating wildly. She knew they had moved many steps deeper into whatever was going between them. But now she needed to keep some distance. She didn't want to put Chris into any danger. And if Vardhan was back, she had a long fight ahead.

***

She reached the office late, way late. Ashlyn arched a brow at her.

"What is going on? Chris is late too."

Sarah jerked back. Surprised at Ashlyn's words. "What are you implying?"

"Nothing. Just stating the obvious," Ashlyn said.

Sarah sighed. She knew these questions would arise.

"Do I pay you for chit-chatting or for actual work?" a grumpy but light hearted voice startled them. Chris stood there with his hands in his trouser pockets. Sarah's heart skipped a beat. He looked handsome in gray suit. Her cheeks reddened when she became aware of is eyes on her. This didn't go unnoticed by Ashlyn who chuckled and went back into her office, leaving them in an awkward silence.

"Where's my lazy ass assistant? And my coffee?" he muttered and turned around. Sarah couldn't help but smile at him.

His lazy ass assistant aka Crystal came running with coffee in her hand. "Sarah, where is he?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper as if she was tired for the day already.

"In his office." She gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I'm going to dump this coffee on his head. This is the fifth cup. If he asked me to make another one, I'd quit." With a groan, Crystal walked off.

After a couple of minutes, she came out. She looked near crying. She had got a tough boss to deal with. A tyrant. Sarah felt sympathetic toward her, but she couldn't do anything to help her.

Sarah immersed herself in work. Hours passed in silence and deep concentration. No one came to disturb her, and she welcomed this distraction.

"You've got a delivery, Sarah," Crystal announced. However, her relief was short lived.

Red roses and a chocolate box.

Sarah went still. It wasn't happening again. She could hear her heart beat in her ears. She felt as if her body temperature fell. She felt cold, and sweat broke on her forehead. This was a sudden reaction for which she wasn't prepared. He had crossed the boundaries. Once again. He had reached to her in her office. She could fell the past playing in front of her eyes.

There were voices around her. Calling someone, or perhaps calling her. But she couldn't make the words. Nothing mattered to her right now. She was being robbed ff her peace. She thought she'd be fine in the office, but apparently it wasn't the case. She wasn't safe anywhere. She felt trouble breathing as if the air had become toxic. Her lungs burned, and black dots swarmed around her eyes. Last thing that Sarah knew was falling forward, and a pair of arms held held her protectively.