Ashes and Ice

He was too close.

Close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath against my cheek, and suddenly, eight years didn't feel like eight years anymore.

"Abeer..." I whispered.
"Hmm?"
"You're standing too close."
His eyes held mine. "Then tell me to move."

I should have. Instead, my eyes dropped to his lips. Just for a second.

His voice turned softer. "That's what I thought."

My heart slammed against my ribs.

"Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you still want me."

There was a pause.

A long, dangerous one.

"Maybe I do."

My breath caught.

I hated how easily those three words could undo me.

He stepped closer, close enough that my back nearly touched the edge of the table.

"Does it scare you?" he asked.
I looked into his eyes.
"Yes."

"Does it make you want to run?"
I should have said yes.

Instead, I whispered, "No."

His breath caught this time.
For a second, neither of us moved.
Then his hand found my waist.
My entire body went still.

"Aarini..."
I looked up at him.

And before I could decide whether
I wanted him to stop or come closer,
his fingers tightened around my waist and he pulled me towards him.

______________________________________________

He was the boy she loved.

Now he's the man she can't afford to want.

Eight years after Aarini Mehra walked away from Abeer Malhotra, she finally has a life without him.

Until he becomes her CEO.

He's colder. Sharper. Powerful.

And he looks at her like eight years never happened.

Every conversation feels like a challenge.
Every glance feels like a warning.
Every touch threatens to bring back what they buried.

She tells herself she's over him.

He never tells her if he is.

**He is Ice.
She is Ashes.**

And some flames don't die.

They wait.