Chapter 22 – Warning: Heart Exposed

The office buzzed with its usual morning chaos—phones ringing, printers screeching, heels clacking against marble floors. Somewhere in the middle of it all, Aryan's voice echoed again.

"I'm telling you, caramel mocha is just coffee in disguise. Fight me."

No one did.

Most were used to his morning debates by now, especially when the coffee machine gave out yet again—which, of course, it did.

The coffee machine sputtered like an old man wheezing and finally gave up with a defeated hiss. Lights overhead flickered, causing a collective groan from the employees.

"Seriously? Again?" someone muttered.

"Third time this week!"

"Maybe it's haunted."

"No, maybe it's her."

That last one wasn't whispered.

Eyes subtly glanced toward the intern desk. Toward her.

Andaleeb Shah sat quietly, twirling a pen between her fingers. The glow of the star-shaped pendant at the base of her throat pulsed faintly—not obvious to most. But Zayan Khan noticed.

He was standing by the glass window of his office, arms crossed, a frown etched into his sharp features.

He wasn't looking at his reports.

Or the malfunctioning machine.

He was looking at her.

She looked… heavy. Not physically, but emotionally. Her signature spark—the wild fire that once made even silence feel loud—seemed buried beneath layers of something unsaid.

Since that night.

Since that kiss.

He knew he'd changed since then. And maybe… so had she.

The whispers continued.

"Seriously, ever since she joined, weird stuff just happens."

"Bad luck magnet."

"First the elevator, now this."

Andaleeb's lips curved into a forced smile, eyes fixed on her notebook, pretending she didn't hear. But she did.

She always did.

Then a voice—firm and sharp—cut through the tension.

"If anyone has a problem with my staff, bring it to me," Zayan said from his office doorway. "Not to each other."

Silence. Dead silence.

Dozens of eyes widened. Aryan raised his brows. Even the printer stopped mid-screech like it was stunned.

Andaleeb looked up slowly.

Their eyes met.

For a brief moment, she saw something behind his stern gaze—something protective. Something soft.

Zayan didn't say anything more. Just turned and disappeared into his office again.

But the message lingered like electricity in the air.

Aleena's Visit

He hadn't even sat down properly when he heard the click-clack of familiar heels against marble.

"Quite a dramatic morning," came the honeyed voice.

Aleena Hashmi.

Dressed to kill, from her tailored red blazer to her diamond-studded watch that probably cost more than Aryan's yearly coffee budget. Her presence announced itself with the kind of confidence that didn't ask for attention—it demanded it.

She sauntered past Andaleeb's desk, pausing just enough.

"Still keeping the chaos intern around?" she asked with a sugar-laced smile. "Interesting management strategy."

Andaleeb didn't answer. Not because she couldn't. But because Aleena was already gone.

Inside his office, Zayan didn't even bother to hide his disdain.

"What do you want, Aleena?"

She placed a small, elegant box on his desk. "Imported Italian coffee pods. I figured you'd need something stronger than that poor excuse of a machine out there."

He didn't touch it.

"If this is about the merger proposal—"

"It's not," she cut in smoothly, leaning forward. "Just checking in. You've been… distracted lately."

Zayan didn't reply.

Her eyes flicked to the edge of his desk—to a familiar sketch. A rough doodle of him that looked like it had been drawn in a rush, with chaotic little hearts dancing around it.

Her lips curled. "You always were sentimental, Zayan. Even when pretending not to be."

Zayan's jaw clenched.

Aleena stood up straighter, voice cooling. "Be careful who you let near your heart. Some people don't even belong in this world."

Their eyes locked.

He didn't ask what she meant.

Because deep down, he knew.

Memory Flickers

Hours later, Zayan walked down the hallway near the elevators.

The air shifted.

His steps slowed as he neared the spot where it had happened—that strange night filled with fragments and fog. The emergency lights. Her trembling hands. His heart racing not from fear, but from something unexplainable.

His head pulsed—sharp, sudden pain like a knife between thoughts.

He staggered slightly, hand moving instinctively to his temple.

Then—

A whisper.

Forget.

Her voice.

He blinked rapidly, gripping the cold steel railing for support. The pain faded, but unease remained. Like a ghost brushing past.

A glitch in the system.

No—in him.

A Warning from Haroon

Back in the office, Haroon entered without knocking—files in hand, posture relaxed.

He closed the door behind him.

"Need a quick review of the Q3 projections," he said casually.

Zayan raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you do projections?"

Haroon didn't answer immediately. Instead, he sat across from him and lowered his voice.

"There are people who don't like… anomalies."

Zayan narrowed his eyes. "Is that your way of asking if I'm one?"

Haroon's expression didn't change. "No. But I think you know someone who is."

Zayan leaned forward. "Define anomaly."

"Someone who breaks systems. Who shouldn't exist here. Who glows when afraid."

Zayan was silent.

Then, quietly, "What would you do if you loved one?"

Haroon didn't flinch.

"Then protect her," he said. "Because someone else won't."

Andaleeb and Eman – At the Café

Andaleeb wiped the counter with more force than necessary, her movements tense and agitated.

The café was empty except for the faint music playing in the background and the smell of cardamom tea wafting in the air.

Eman leaned on the other side of the counter, watching.

"You've been distant."

"I'm protecting him," Andaleeb said without looking up.

"No." Eman's voice was soft but firm. "You're punishing yourself."

Andaleeb's grip on the cloth tightened. "I can't love him. Not like this. Not when everything I am is a lie."

"But you do."

Andaleeb didn't deny it.

Because denial was a luxury she didn't have anymore.

Rooftop Confession

The sky was a painting of lavender and gold as the sun dipped below the city skyline.

Andaleeb stood near the edge of the rooftop, arms crossed, her hair fluttering gently in the breeze. The star-shaped pendant glowed faintly—like a heartbeat she couldn't control.

She didn't hear him arrive. But she felt it—the shift in the air, the way her skin tingled.

Zayan stepped closer, slowly, cautiously—like approaching something fragile.

She didn't turn around.

"I thought you wouldn't come," she whispered.

"I had to," he said quietly. "Every time I get close… you disappear."

She blinked, fighting the sting behind her eyes. "Because you deserve a normal girl."

"I don't want normal," he said, walking up behind her. "I want you."

She turned in his arms, face lit by fading sunlight and fear.

"Why? Why me?" she asked, voice shaking. "You have people like Aleena who wear diamonds and speak perfect. I spill tea on files. I forget passwords. I'm a walking disaster."

Zayan cupped her face gently, brushing a thumb along her cheek. "Aleena is just noise. You… you're the silence I've been craving. The chaos that makes sense."

She looked away. "How could someone like me—someone cold, someone broken—be enough for you?"

He leaned his forehead against hers. "Because you're exactly what I've been waiting for. Even when I didn't know it."

Tears welled in her eyes. "I'm not what you think I am."

"Then tell me," he whispered. "Or don't. Just stay. That's all I ask."

Her lips trembled. She wanted to run. To scream. To hold him and never let go.

"I'm scared," she admitted.

"So am I," he said. "But I'm still here."

And then he kissed her.

Soft. Gentle. A kiss that didn't ask questions or give answers. A kiss that simply was—quiet, pure, like two souls finding each other in the dark.

When he pulled away, she looked up at him, her heart crashing like thunder.

"You're going to regret this."

"Never," he said.

She stared at him, truly stared—and for the first time that day, she didn't feel like a glitch.

She felt like someone who mattered.

End of Chapter 22