They never met...

chapter 20 - Versions Of The Past

A/N: surprise surprise 🫢 🫢 🫢 new chapter!!!! Just a treat to my lovely readers 😁 😁 😁
Now its time to see Mahima and jagjeet in action...so tighten your seatbelts....we are on a roller coaster of mystery, action crime ,mafia  and romance 💒 💒 💒
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Mahima's pov:

The air crackled with a tension thicker than the Moga summer heat. "No, this is the first time we're meeting," I declared, extending a hand towards Jagjeet, my voice laced with forced confidence. My insides, however, were a roiling storm of emotions - shock, confusion, and a flicker of something much deeper that I refused to acknowledge. His cruel words echoed in my mind, a constant reminder: "I regret meeting you." It fueled a steely resolve within me. 'You'll definitely regret meeting me again' .

Ignoring the tremor in my hand, I locked eyes with Jagjeet. His expression mirrored my own turmoil - a mask of surprise battling with years of carefully constructed indifference. A million questions swirled in my head, but all I managed was, "Mr. Singh, I want all the case files on the current drug trafficking investigation delivered to my cabin immediately. And be quick about it. I don't tolerate work being delegated to constables. We'll be discussing case details and progress."

Jagjeet's jaw clenched imperceptibly, but his voice remained even. "Understood, Ma'am," he replied, a hint of formality in his tone.

"Good," I said, a touch more sharply than intended.

He gave a curt nod and exited the room, the door swinging shut with a finality that echoed the slamming shut of a forgotten chapter in my life.

Seven minutes later, a tentative knock on the door shattered the tense silence. I straightened, schooling my features into a mask of authority. "Come in."

Jagjeet entered, a stoic expression on his face. He placed a thick file folder on my desk. "The case files, Ma'am," he announced, his voice devoid of emotion.

"Mr. Singh," I began, my gaze fixed on the file, "you are precisely two minutes and forty-three seconds late."

I could feel the weight of Jagjeet's stare boring into me. Behind me, Constable Ram Singh and SI Bajwa, who'd been called in for the briefing, exchanged nervous glances. My behavior was unusual, even for me. But seeing Jagjeet across the table, the ghosts of our past relationship clawing their way to the surface, threw all my carefully honed professionalism into disarray.

"I apologize, Ma'am," Jagjeet said, his voice betraying a hint of irritation. "There was... a slight delay."

I looked at him carefully in that moment, how much i waited to meet him, how eager i was just to be with him, and he didn't even want to be with me, why jagjeet.....why.....just....he looked at me and my heartbeat betrayed my resolve to be strong and ruthless, my heart is beating like crazy just by his one glance....why do he have such an effect on me even after so many years....why?..the emotions i buried so where in my heart are trying to get back from the ashes.The air in the room seemed to suffocate me.

My gaze drifted to the file, a stark reminder of the task at hand. Focusing on the case, on my role as Superintendent, was the only way to maintain control.

"Two minutes and forty-three seconds," I repeated, my voice dripping with icy sarcasm. "Quite the delay, wouldn't you say, Mr. Singh? Perhaps that's why this investigation has been crawling along at a snail's pace all this time."

Jagjeet's jaw clenched tighter, his nostrils flaring slightly. He knew I was baiting him, but the truth stung nonetheless. The department's sluggish progress on the drug case had been a source of frustration for him too, but for very different reasons. Now, with Mahima at the helm, the unspoken tension in the room threatened to explode.