Dare to Hope | Heir & Heiress #2 | ✓

♔ 2.3 If You Love Someone ♔

Posted: September 1st, 2018

♔ Aarav ♔

          Red.

That is all I can see since I saw that guy kissing Annie. My Annie. Blood pounds through my veins and I can't focus on anything.

I ran down the stairs, feeling happy that she hadn't kissed him. I went after her so I could tell her my feelings, something I tried last night but was interrupted. Only to see that.

I didn't stay to watch what happens afterwards. I couldn't. I had seen enough.

Besides, Aarush distracted me by asking, "Hey, got a minute?"

I clear my throat trying to not visibly show my emotions on my face. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Can we take it to your office?" He asks after looking at our open surroundings.

I nod and press the button for the elevator. The doors open instantly and try as I might to focus, I simply cannot. There is this havoc churning inside of me that I cannot push back. How am I to be expected to function when she goes and does things like these...? Oblivious to how much it affects me.

Aarush clears his throat at the end of the elevator ride when I remain standing inside as he watches me with a careful gaze. Dipping my head, stealing eyes for perhaps the first time in life, I pull as much composure as possible and stalk out of the elevator towards the safe corners of my office.

Loosening my tie, I take my seat behind the desk. "Anything?"

"No. She won't confess to anything unless she gets to talk to Jhanvi."

I exhale a frustrated sigh. Though her aunt was arrested and deported back to the country, the problems did not seem to be ending. We could not get any information from her in official police interrogations. Yes, it would all be simple to have Jhanvi meet her just once. Only, it was not the kind of stress I want to induce on her currently. Not if I could find another way to make this work in our favor.

Looking back at him, I enquire, "What else? I am sure you did not risk coming here while she is in the office to just give me this news."

His facial expression turned grim as he looks to be considering what words to use to express the information he wishes to share. Then, he says it as is, "Alright, you may not be happy with my actions, but after that day when your... um, Shyam walked into the office, I took it on myself to find out how he could have just walked in without anyone stopping him."

The second I hear his name and Aarush's hesitation on calling him my father, the back of my spine stiffens. It was something I had been meaning to look into. "And?" I ask, half out of apprehension and half out of fear - uncertain if I truly wanted to hear the answer to this.

"There is a security breach," he says the words I did not want to imagine. "Now, it could be a one time security loophole but I have observed Vikas's arrangements so I highly doubt it was incidental that none of the security officers were at the entrance."

The mere thought that one of our own employees could betray us as such churns something distasteful in the pits of my stomach.

He continues as I remain silent - all at once considering all the possibilities who could either be weak-minded to be manipulated by Shyam or threatened by him in some form to betray us. "I'll understand if it is none of my business but seeing as to how Ms. Raichand could get involved and her safety is my concern, I'd like to look into it further. With your permission ofcourse."

I feebly smile back, picking up a pen from its holder and starting to write out with a set of numbers and alphabets on a sticky note. "There is no need to be so formal, Aarush. I may be skeptical still of who you are as a person but I have no doubt on your sincerity towards your work." Unsticking the slip from the pad, I pass it over. "Override passwords to all the recorded CCTVs and..." I quickly write out another, "this should get you access to all employee details we have in our system - past and present."