Him OR Her

14. In the Shadows

Riya

The night had settled into an uneasy quiet, the kind that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I stared at the ceiling, my mind racing with everything that had happened. The feeling of Jeet’s hands on my body, the way he commanded my every movement, still lingered on my skin like a brand.

But it was more than that. It was the way he looked at me afterward, like he was trying to see past my walls, to understand the part of me that I wasn’t even sure I understood myself.

I turned my head to look at him, watching as his chest rose and fell with the steady rhythm of sleep. How could someone so seemingly composed and in control unravel me so completely?

The thing that bothered me most was that I couldn’t figure him out. Jeet Yadav wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met. And that made him dangerous.

But that danger was intoxicating. It drew me in, made me want to dig deeper, even though I knew it would only lead to more chaos.

I slipped out of bed, careful not to wake him, and walked over to the window. The cool night air brushed against my skin, a stark contrast to the heat that still lingered in the room. I could see the campus from here, the buildings dark and silent, a world apart from the one I’d just been immersed in.

What had I gotten myself into?

I was always so careful, so calculated. Everything I did was for a reason, every move meticulously planned. But with Jeet, all of that went out the window. He made me feel things—want things—I’d never allowed myself to want before.

And that scared me.

But it also thrilled me.

I bit my lip, torn between the urge to run and the desire to dive even deeper into whatever this was between us. Because the truth was, I couldn’t walk away. I was too far gone, too entangled in this mess we’d created.

But I needed to get a grip. I couldn’t let him have this much power over me.

Not again.

Jeet

I woke up to find the bed cold beside me. Riya’s absence was like a physical weight pressing down on my chest. She wasn’t gone—not really—but I could feel her pulling away, and it lit a fire of anger in me that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

She thought she could just slip away, could distance herself after what we’d shared. But she was wrong. Dead wrong.

I got up, throwing on some clothes before heading to the window where I knew she’d be. Sure enough, there she was, her back to me, staring out into the night like it held all the answers.

“Running away won’t change anything, you know,” I said, my voice cutting through the silence.

She stiffened but didn’t turn around. “I’m not running,” she replied, her voice tight. “I’m thinking.”

“About what?” I pressed, moving closer until I was standing right behind her, close enough to feel the heat of her body.

“About us,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “About what this is.”

“And?” I asked, my hand coming to rest on her shoulder, feeling the tension coiled in her muscles.

“And I don’t know if I can do this,” she said, finally turning to look at me, her eyes wide and conflicted. “It’s too much, too intense. I’m losing myself in you, Jeet.”

“That’s the point,” I said, my voice low and firm. “We’re supposed to lose ourselves in each other. That’s what this is.”

She shook her head, stepping back from me, putting distance between us that I couldn’t stand. “But what if we lose too much? What if there’s nothing left?”

“There will be something left,” I promised, closing the distance between us again, my hands gripping her arms. “Because no matter how far we go, no matter how much we take from each other, there will always be something left.”

“You’re so sure,” she murmured, her eyes searching mine, looking for something—anything—to hold on to.

“Because I know you, Riya. I know what you’re capable of. You think you’re afraid of losing yourself, but the truth is, you’re afraid of what you might find.”

Her breath hitched, and I knew I’d hit a nerve. But I didn’t care. She needed to hear this, needed to understand what was happening between us.

“You’re stronger than you think,” I continued, my voice softening just a fraction. “And I’m not going to let you go. Not now, not ever.”

She stared at me for a long moment, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and longing. Then, slowly, she nodded, a small, hesitant gesture that was enough for me.

Without another word, I pulled her into my arms, holding her tight against me. I could feel her resistance, the way she wanted to push me away, but she didn’t. Instead, she melted into me, her arms wrapping around my waist as she buried her face in my chest.

“I hate you,” she whispered, her voice muffled against my shirt.

“I know,” I replied, a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips. “But that doesn’t change anything.”

Because the truth was, we were both too far gone to turn back now. Whatever this was between us, it was only going to get more intense, more dangerous. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And neither would she.