LET ME HATE YOU

Viper

"Is she the one?"

Chad replied with disdain, "Yes."

"She looks ordinary. Why would someone like Amaan be so aggravated by her?" Samuel asked, watching Asmaira from the elevator bank.

Chad recounted how the previous presentation turned chaotic after Asmaira arrived with the coffees. Amaan, angered by her clumsiness, lashed out at everyone and even criticized Saunders's quality of work. This incident was the reason Samuel, the head of the project from Saunders, had joined Chad for the most recent presentation, which Amaan had brutally disrupted. Filled with indignation at receiving Amaan's wrath due to Asmaira's mistake, Chad has held a grudge against her ever since.

Samuel noticed Asmaira standing with a lowered head while Talia chastised her for recklessly spilling coffee. Amaan completely ignored her, walking right past them.

"Interesting," Samuel smirked in amusement.

"Samuel, don't," Rick interjected, recognizing a familiar mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Of course, Rick. I'm going straight, mate," Samuel said, punching his arm playfully.

His words failed to convince Rick, who hurried him and Chad into the elevator.

The following days were a constant struggle for Asmaira. During the day, she had to endure Talia's lectures about her lack of skills, and at night, she was forced to have dinner with Amaan. If tormenting her at the office wasn't enough, he ensured her misery continued with his suffocating silence during their evening meals. On the first night, she excused herself, claiming she wasn't hungry, but the next day, she woke up late from exhaustion and missed breakfast. Lunch in the cafeteria became another awful experience she avoided. Consequently, when she was ordered to have dinner with Amaan, she couldn't refuse and complied.

Asmaira's impatience to meet Feriha was obvious to Amaan. She sought every opportunity, and he made sure to tag along every single time. He ensured her day started with him and ended with her feeling dizzy and having sore muscles. On Sundays, he spent the entire day with Kabir, giving Asmaira no chance to execute any of her plans. With Salar fully engrossed in his return, Amaan was confident Feriha wouldn't find an ally in him.

If Amaan were honest, he was starting to look forward to the weekends. The time he spent with Kabir felt surreal, and he began to feel at ease, the guilt lessening each time his son laughed while playing with him. If it wasn't to avoid Salar's scrutiny, he would have fed and bathed his son every day. He still couldn't reveal his true intentions—that he would never accept Asmaira into his or Kabir's life.

"Talia, call Asmaira to get me Aspirin from the medical room," Amaan said over the intercom, his mood lifting at the thought of her cheeks flushing with anger.

Asmaira, who had stepped out of the building to pick up his dry cleaning—a task that could easily be done by Hashmi mansion staff—jogged into the lobby toward the elevators. One of them was about to close when she called out, "Please hold!"

At the same moment, her company-provided phone buzzed. In her haste, she answered it without stopping or looking ahead.

"Hel—" she stopped mid-word and winced as a sharp pain shot through her shoulder. Her phone and the dry cleaning scattered on the floor, and someone grabbed her before she could fall.

"I'm sorry. Are you hurt?"

She raised her eyes to find a blue-eyed man looking at her with genuine concern.

"N-No," she rasped, subtly pulling away from his hold.

"I was stopping the elevator for you but ran right into you instead. Let me help," he said, beginning to pick up the dry cleaning bags.