Arin couldn’t sleep.
He had paced the length of his apartment more times than he could count, the conversation with Astha playing on repeat in his mind. Why does it bother you so much?
He didn’t have a clear answer, but the tightness in his chest every time Raghav was around her told him it wasn’t something he could dismiss anymore.
And Astha—she knew. That was what irked him the most. She had sensed his irritation, read between the lines, and thrown it right back at him. Figure it out, Verma.
Damn her.
Damn himself for not being able to.
The Next Day: Tension in the Air
The ride was silent. Astha was at her desk the next morning, as composed as ever. If last night’s conversation had affected her, she didn’t show it.
Arin walked in, expecting at least a glimmer of amusement in her eyes, but she barely acknowledged him.
Fine. Two could play this game.
He was about to head to his office when Raghav approached Astha’s desk.
Again?
“Morning, Astha. Up for another field assignment this weekend?” Raghav asked casually, leaning over her desk.
Astha glanced at the printed itinerary he handed her. “What’s this?”
“Follow-up interviews with the artists. The head office thinks it could be a good feature series.”
Arin’s jaw tightened. A full weekend assignment? With Raghav?
“I’m not sure,” Astha replied. “I’ll have to check my schedule.”
“Oh come on, it’ll be fun. You and me, road trip style.” Raghav winked.
Arin stepped forward before he could stop himself. “Is this assignment necessary?” His voice was calm, but there was an unmistakable edge to it.
Raghav turned to him, surprised. “The head office suggested it.”
“Then I’d like to review the necessity of sending two senior journalists on an extended trip for a story that could easily be covered remotely.” Arin’s tone was clipped.
Astha shot him a sharp look. “We haven’t even discussed this yet, Verma.”
“I’m discussing it now.”
Raghav chuckled. “Boss, are you concerned about our productivity or something else?”
Arin’s gaze snapped to Raghav’s, unblinking. “My concern is making sure resources are utilized efficiently.”
Astha stood up, pushing her chair back. “Enough.”
The command in her voice made both men pause.
She exhaled, looking directly at Arin. “If you have a problem, say it outright. Stop making it about work.”
Arin clenched his fists at his sides. He couldn’t say it. Not here. Not now.
Instead, he turned to Raghav. “You’ll receive my decision by the end of the day.”
Without another word, he strode back to his office, leaving a thick silence in his wake.
The Balcony Showdown
That evening, Astha was on her balcony when she spotted Arin leaning against his own railing, a storm brewing in his eyes.
She sighed. “Are you going to keep this up?”
Arin’s jaw clenched. “You could’ve said no.”
Astha scoffed. “Are you hearing yourself? Since when do I need to run my assignments by you?”
“You don’t,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
She crossed her arms. “So, what is this, Verma? You don’t like it when Raghav talks to me. You don’t like it when I laugh at his jokes. And now, you don’t want me working with him either? What’s next—banning me from speaking to male colleagues?”
His silence spoke louder than words.
Astha’s brows lifted. “Oh my god. You are jealous.”
Arin exhaled through his nose. “I don’t get jealous.”
She smiled. “Then what is this, Verma? Workplace efficiency?”
He took a step closer, his voice lower, more intense. “I don’t trust him.”
Astha scoffed. “Oh please. He’s harmless.”
Arin tilted his head, gaze unwavering. “And what if he isn’t?”
She frowned. “Arin, you don’t get to decide who I trust.”
He let out a humorless laugh. “It’s not about trust, Astha. It’s about the fact that the thought of you going away with him bothers me. And I don’t know what to do with that.”
Silence stretched between them.
For the first time, Astha saw something in his eyes she hadn’t before. Vulnerability.
She swallowed. “You could start by admitting it.”
Arin didn’t answer. He just stared at her, as if trying to read something beyond the words she had spoken.
Then, without another word, he turned and walked back into his apartment, leaving Astha standing there, her heart pounding.
She had won the argument.
But why did it feel like she had lost something far greater?
The Discovery
The next evening, after a particularly long day at the office, Astha was on her way to her apartment when she noticed something strange—Arin’s door was open.
That was odd. Arin was never careless. Curious, she stepped inside.
“Arin?” she called out.
There was no answer.
Then she saw it.
A dim, pulsating light hovering in front of Arin. Before she could make sense of it, the light disappeared into nothingness, vanishing as if it had never been there.
She blinked, her heart racing. “What the hell was that?”
Arin turned sharply, startled by her presence. A flicker of something—guilt? hesitation?—passed over his face. But he didn’t deny what she had seen.
“Astha…”
She folded her arms. “No, don’t Astha me. What did I just see?”
Arin exhaled, running a hand through his hair. He knew this moment would come eventually. He had just hoped it wouldn’t be now.
“Astha,” he said slowly, “I need you to listen carefully.”
“I’m listening.”
He hesitated for only a second before he looked straight into her eyes and recited:
“What we yearn to find, does it yearn for us?
What we dream of, does it dream of us?
What I seek, is it my seeker too?
If that is true, will I ever meet you?”
Astha inhaled sharply. “That’s my poem.”
“That’s what brought me here.”
She frowned, confused. “What?”
“I’m not from this time.”
Astha let out a short laugh, shaking her head. “Oh, come on, Arin. Is this some elaborate joke?”
“I wish it was.”
She studied him carefully. His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes—something ancient, something vast. A shiver ran down her spine.
“If you’re really from another world,” she said, crossing her arms, “prove it. Take me there.”
Arin stiffened. “No.”
===“No?”
“It’s dangerous.”
Astha scoffed. “I can handle it.”
“Astha.” His voice was lower now, urgent. “You don’t understand. My world isn’t like yours. You don’t belong there.”
She lifted her chin. “Then prove it.”
Arin closed his eyes briefly before exhaling sharply. He knew she wouldn’t back down.
“Fine,” he said. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He stepped toward her, reaching out, and before she could react, the world around them shifted.
A World Beyond Time
When Astha opened her eyes, she knew, in an instant, that this wasn’t Earth.
The sky above them shimmered in hues she had never seen before—silvers and deep violets swirling together like liquid metal. The ground beneath them pulsed softly, as though the very fabric of reality breathed beneath her feet. The air itself was different—crisper, charged with an energy she could feel humming against her skin.
She turned to Arin, speechless.
“You were telling the truth,” she whispered.
“I told you it was dangerous.”
Before she could respond, figures emerged from the shadows—tall, imposing beings dressed in deep blue robes. Their gazes were cold, knowing. The Elders.
One of them stepped forward. “Arin Verma,” the Elder intoned. “You were on an observation mission.” His gaze flickered to Astha. “Explain the presence of this stranger.”
Arin’s grip on her wrist tightened. “She is not a stranger.”
The Elder’s expression darkened. “You have broken the code.”
“I have not. I love this woman,” Arin said, his voice steady.
A murmur spread among the Elders.
One of them stepped forward. “Lies,” he said coldly. “You told us you were merely observing. This is deception.”
Arin’s jaw clenched. “It’s the truth.”
The Elder lifted his hand, and suddenly, a crackling energy formed around his palm. “Then you must pay the price.”
Before Arin could react, the energy bolt shot toward him. But in the blink of an eye, Astha moved—
Right into its path.
The energy struck her, and she collapsed.
Arin caught her before she hit the ground. “Astha!” His voice was raw, desperate.
She smiled weakly, her body trembling. “I love you too, Verma.”
Arin held her tightly, his eyes blazing with fury as he looked up at the Elders. “You will fix this.”
The Elders stared, stunned. One of them whispered, “She sacrificed herself… for a Time Keeper?”
Another murmured, “Unheard of…”
One of the Elders stepped forward. “We can restore her. But only if she stays.”
Astha, though in pain, let out a weak laugh. “I’d rather die.”
The Elder’s gaze flickered with something unreadable before he sighed. “Very well, we shall revive her. “
A glow surrounded Astha, and she gasped, her pain easing, her body strengthening. She was alive.
“Take her home, Arin Verma.”
A Love Confessed
The moment they stepped back into Astha’s apartment, Arin snapped.
Without warning, he pulled her into his arms, crushing his lips against hers. It wasn’t gentle. It was desperate, raw, claiming.
She gasped against his mouth but didn’t pull away. Instead, she melted into him, her hands clutching his shirt.
When they finally broke apart, Arin cupped her face, his breath ragged. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Astha blinked. “Tell you what?”
“That you love me.”
Her throat tightened. “I—”
“say it again. Tell me that you love me!”
“I love you Arin.”
“You almost died, Astha.” His voice was rough. “Do you even understand what that did to me?”
She swallowed. “I didn’t realize it until that moment. When they tried to kill you, I knew—I couldn’t live in a world without you.”
Arin let out a shaky breath before pulling her into another fierce embrace. “Then don’t.”
That night, in the quiet of his world, Arin finally made her his. Not just in words, but in the way he touched her, in the way he worshipped her, in the way he loved her.
And for the first time, Astha didn’t resist.
She belonged to him.
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