Anvi's POV
“Boss… please stop.”
The words followed me out of the building, but I didn’t stop.
I couldn’t.
All I wanted was distance—from the voices, the chaos, the weight crushing my chest.
Outside, the night air hit my face, cold and sharp. My driver was waiting near the entrance, standing beside the black car like always.
But I didn’t walk toward him.
Instead, I kept walking past him, past the gate, until I reached the road. The first cab I saw slowed down beside me.
I opened the door and slid inside.
“Where do you want to go, ma’am?” the driver asked.
For a moment, I stared at the darkness outside the window.
“Hell,” I muttered under my breath.
The driver frowned slightly through the rear-view mirror.
“Just… drive straight for now.”
He shrugged and started the car.
The city lights blurred past the window like fading stars. My head rested against the seat as I closed my eyes.
All I wanted was peace.
Just a little peace.
But life never gives you what you want.
The cab had barely been driving for ten minutes when it suddenly slowed down and stopped.
I heard voices outside. Someone was speaking to the driver.
I didn’t listen.
I didn’t care.
The door beside me creaked open.
Someone got in.
Did I look?
No.
I kept my eyes closed, letting the storm inside my head continue its endless run.
How could someone do that?
Will everything I built be destroyed?
Why…?
---
A few minutes earlier
“Sir, the car won’t start. You should call for another one.”
I stared at the dead dashboard for a second before leaning back in irritation.
Of course.
Today of all days.
“I don’t have time for this,” I muttered.
Pulling the car to the side of the road, I stepped out. The street was quiet, dimly lit by flickering lamps.
A cab passed by.
I raised my hand.
The car stopped, but I noticed someone was already sitting inside.
The driver rolled down his window.
“Where do you want to go, sir?”
“Penthouse on Crescent Heights,” I said calmly, my face as unreadable as ever.
He nodded.
I opened the back door and stepped inside.
Only then did I notice the girl beside me.
She didn’t even glance in my direction.
Not once.
Her head rested lightly against the seat, eyes closed.
She was wearing a crisp white shirt under a black suit jacket, with matching black pants. Her long hair fell freely over her shoulders, slightly messy, as if she had run her fingers through it too many times.
No makeup.
No effort to impress.
Yet something about her presence filled the small space of the car.
I looked away almost immediately.
Aditya, get a hold of yourself.
I had never stared at a girl before.
And I certainly wasn’t going to start now.
I pulled out my phone and buried myself in work.
The rest of the drive passed in silence.
---
Fifteen minutes later, the cab stopped in front of my penthouse building.
I stepped out and handed the driver a thick stack of cash without counting it.
Did I care how much I gave him?
No.
Money was the least of my concerns.
I was about to close the door when the driver turned toward the girl.
“Ma’am, where do you want to go?”
No response.
I glanced back.
She hadn’t moved.
“Ma’am?” he tried again.
Still nothing.
I shouldn’t have cared.
I should have just walked away.
But something about the stillness felt… wrong.
With a quiet sigh, I leaned back into the car and lightly tapped her shoulder.
No reaction.
“Hey,” I said, slightly firmer this time.
Nothing.
A strange uneasiness crept into my chest.
I gently touched her cheek.
Her skin was soft—unexpectedly soft beneath my fingers.
For a brief second, my mind went blank.
But she still didn’t move.
“Koi itni gehri neend mein kaise so sakta hai?” the driver muttered.
How can someone sleep this deeply?
And then the realization struck me like a sudden jolt of electricity.
She wasn’t sleeping.
She was unconscious.
---
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