Don't Leave Me Again

34- Like A Broken Record

Dhanish drove like a man on the edge, his fingers locked tightly around the steering wheel, the tension in his grip making his knuckles turn white. The city blurred past him in streaks of light, but it did nothing to settle the storm that was brewing inside him. The conversation with Zafrin kept replaying in his mind, louder with every passing second, like a broken record.

"Boss." She had called him boss.

It wasn't just a word-it was a sentence, a deliberate statement of distance. She had made her feelings clear long ago, but the way she'd said that time, as if there was nothing between them but the professional boundary of titles-it cut deep. Then, the words that truly tore at him: Meeting someone else. As though he was just another forgotten piece of her past. As though everything they once had meant nothing.

The thought gnawed at him, tearing apart what little control he had left. His mind kept wandering back to the time they shared, when her smile was something he thought he'd see every day for the rest of his life, when her laughter felt like home. Now, that same smile would be shared with someone else, someone who wasn't him.

The wheels screeched to a halt as he pulled up to his office building. He didn't care that he hadn't parked properly, didn't care that the car's front wheels were slightly over the parking lines. He shoved the car door open with such force that it bounced back slightly before settling in place. His steps were fast, purposeful, each one pounding the cold pavement as he marched into the building.

The security guard greeted him with a polite nod, but Dhanish barely acknowledged him. His mind was far from the present. His thoughts were with her. Always with her.

The sleek, modern office around him, with its glass walls and polished floors, felt foreign tonight. The usual satisfaction he felt walking through these halls, his empire-his life's work-now seemed distant, irrelevant. He had built this world, fought tooth and nail to get to the top, to become someone powerful, someone important. And yet, in this moment, it all felt meaningless.

He strode past his employees without a word, their curious eyes watching him, sensing the storm that was swirling beneath his cold exterior. He reached his private office and slammed the door shut behind him. The silence in the room was thick, suffocating. The only sound was the dull hum of the city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.

His eyes scanned the room, landing on the framed picture on his shelf. It was of him and Zafrin from years ago, back when everything was simple. He hadn't had the heart to put it away, even after everything that had happened. The memories were too intertwined with who he had become.

In a sudden burst of frustration, he swiped the frame off the shelf, watching it crash to the ground. The glass shattered, the pieces scattering across the floor, much like the pieces of his heart. His breathing was heavy, his chest rising and falling with the weight of his anger, his regret. How had it come to this? How had he allowed everything to fall apart so completely?

He paced across the room, his thoughts racing as fast as his heartbeat. Why did it hurt so much? He had walked away from her. He had chosen this life, hadn't he?

But now, the jealousy, the frustration-it was like a wildfire consuming him from the inside. She had been his world, and he had let her go. He had convinced himself it was the right decision at the time. That by leaving, he was protecting her from the chaos that was his life. His career, his ambitions, his responsibilities-they had seemed bigger than anything they could have had together. But now, standing here, feeling her slipping further away, he realized how wrong he had been. He hadn't stayed away to protect her. He had stayed away because he was afraid. Afraid of failing her, of not being the man she deserved.

The restaurant. He had bought it for her.

He didn't tell anyone that. Not even his closest business associates knew. It wasn't part of his portfolio, not a strategic investment. It was purely emotional, a desperate attempt to hold onto something-someone-he wasn't ready to let go of. The restaurant was a way for him to stay connected to her world, even if she didn't know it. It was his silent gesture, his unspoken way of saying he still cared.

But today, seeing her there, talking about someone else, acting like he was just a relic of her past-it shattered him. He thought he could handle it. He thought he could watch her from afar, content with the distance, with the knowledge that she was happy. But the jealousy was unbearable. The idea of her with someone else was tearing him apart.

He collapsed into his chair, burying his face in his hands. For years, he had buried these emotions under layers of professionalism, under his responsibilities as a businessman, as the head of a multi-million-dollar empire. But now, sitting in the dark of his office, it all came crashing down on him. The truth was undeniable. He wasn't over her. He never had been. And he didn't know if he ever would be.

Suddenly, the door to his office creaked open. Hasan his assistant, stepped in cautiously, his eyes scanning the mess Dhanish had created.

"Sir?" Hasan's voice was tentative. He had never seen his boss like this. The shattered glass, the scattered papers-it was clear something was wrong. Very wrong.

Dhanish didn't look up. His hands were still covering his face, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts he couldn't control.

"There's been an issue with the app, sir," Hasan continued, stepping further into the room. "The beta version's been crashing for some users. We've received several complaints from key clients, and it's becoming a major issue. The tech team needs your input."

Dhanish's fingers slowly slid down from his face, and he leaned back in his chair. He stared blankly at the ceiling, trying to ground himself in reality, trying to focus on the problem at hand. The app. The empire he had built from nothing. His real work. But right now, it all felt like a burden. The weight of it all was crushing him, suffocating him. The restaurant had been his escape, a place where he could still feel close to Zafrin, even if she didn't know it. But now, even that was slipping away.

"I didn't buy the restaurant to run it," he muttered, more to himself than to Hasan. "I bought it for her. For Zaaf."

Hasan's eyes widened slightly, unsure of how to respond. "Zaaf, sir?" he asked cautiously.

Dhanish's hands clenched into fists. "I bought it to be close to her," he said, his voice low, almost broken. "But she doesn't even know. And now... now she's talking about meeting someone else. As if I never existed. As if we never happened."

Hasan stayed silent, watching his boss unravel in front of him. He had always seen Dhanish as the unflappable businessman, the man who could handle anything with cold precision. But now, he was seeing a side of him he had never imagined-a side filled with raw, unfiltered emotion.

"She was my world," Dhanish whispered, his voice cracking slightly. "And I... I let her go. And now I'm stuck pretending that this restaurant means something to me when the truth is... I don't give a damn about it. It's her that I care about. It's always been her."

Hasan cleared his throat softly, trying to bring the conversation back to something more manageable. "Sir, the app issue. The tech team is ready for a meeting. Should I arrange it now?"

Dhanish let out a heavy breath, running a hand through his hair. The app. His real work. The empire he had fought so hard to build. He had to pull himself together. He had to focus on what was in front of him, not the past he couldn't change.

"Set it up," he said finally, his voice cold, the mask of professionalism slipping back into place. "I'll handle it."

Hasan nodded and quickly exited the room, leaving Dhanish alone with his thoughts once more.

As he sat at his desk, staring blankly at the glowing screen of his computer, he couldn't shake the image of Zafrin from his mind. Her smile, her laugh, the way she had looked at him once, with such warmth, such love. He had thrown it all away. And now, he was paying the price.

He forced himself to focus on the work in front of him, his fingers moving over the keyboard mechanically. But no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts kept drifting back to her. To the life they could have had. To the happiness he had let slip through his fingers.

And the jealousy that burned inside him was a constant reminder that no matter how much success he achieved, no matter how much wealth or power he accumulated, there was one thing he had failed at.

And that was keeping her.