Destiny: Time To Fall In Love

Chapter 19 - The Soul's Return

The reception area of Maheshwari Industries, usually a place of cold transactions and professional haste, had suddenly transformed into a stage for a cinematic reunion.

Aashi stood frozen, her breath hitching in her throat. After seeing Aryan in front of her, she still couldn't convince herself of the reality. The world around her—the glass walls, the scurrying interns, the humming of the air conditioner—all faded away. She began to sob, the sound raw and unfiltered, but she managed to utter a few broken words.

"Aryan!! Is that really you... or am I hallucinating?"

"No!! You're not hallucinating," Aryan whispered back, his own eyes brimming with tears. He reached out, his large palms gently cupping her small face as if she were a precious heirloom he had finally recovered. "It's me. It's really me, your Aryan, right here in front of you."

He looked at her with a mix of adoration and guilt. "And why are you crying, Baby? Did I make you cry? I'm sorry! Please forgive your Aaru." In a move of sheer, boyish playfulness that belonged to a lifetime ago, he held both his ears with his hands, making a exaggeratedly apologetic face.

A watery chuckle escaped Aashi's lips, breaking through her tears. In a sudden burst of affection, she grabbed Aryan's collar and pulled him down to her level. She showered his face with light, frantic kisses—on his cheeks, his forehead, his chin.

Aryan simply closed his eyes, a serene smile spreading across his face. He stood still, soaking in every touch, looking like a man who could finally breathe after being underwater for years.

When she finally stopped, breathless and blushing, Aryan opened his eyes with a look of mock disappointment. "That's it?" he asked in amusement. "It ended way too fast." He pouted like a child, earning a playful smack on the chest from Aashi. His laughter was short-lived, replaced by a deep reverence as he held her face again, treating her like the most fragile thing in the world, and pressed a lingering kiss onto her forehead.

The silence in the reception area was thick, broken only by the muffled sounds of the office. Veer stood like a statue, his hand still clenching the ring box inside his pocket so hard his knuckles had turned white.

Determined to break the agonizing spell and needing to know the truth for Veer's sake, Vikram finally spoke up. "Aashi!! Who is he? Won't you introduce him to us?" He asked, his voice steady but his heart racing. Behind his back, he crossed his fingers, desperately praying that Aryan was just a cousin or a long-lost friend.

Aashi flinched, suddenly snapping back to reality. She looked around, realizing for the first time that the entire reception staff and her bosses had been watching her intimate display of affection. Her face flushed a deep crimson.

"Mr. Maheshwari, Vikram sir... I didn't realize you were also here," she said shyly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She took a deep breath and looked at Aryan with eyes that sparked with a light Veer had never been able to ignite.

"He's Aryan," she said softly. "The love of my life. My boyfriend."

"And soon to be her husband," Aryan added with a confident grin, pulling her closer. Aashi blushed even deeper, playfully hitting him with her elbow.

On hearing those words—husband—Veer instinctively stepped back as if he had been physically struck. His mouth opened to say something, anything, but his voice had died in his throat. He looked at Aashi with a shattered, shocked expression that she was too distracted to notice.

"Aryan, this is Vikram sir, my senior," Aashi continued, oblivious to the carnage in Veer's chest. "And he is Mr. Maheshwari... my boss and the CEO of the company."