Page 38 of The Pursuit
After a tense silence, Krish spoke, “Nothing was ever right between us in the past, Trisha. Whatever it was, you made it ugly for both of us. Why do you care now how coldly I behave with you in others’ presence? Don’t worry, I won’t be like this in front of others. Even I don’t want anybody here to know what a waste of time and feelings that was in the past.”
He took another step forward, our noses almost touching, but he held my gaze as he continued, “Waste of time for you... and waste of feelings for me...”
Clenching his jaw as if trying to control his simmering anger, Krish stepped back and turned away, leaving without another glance.
My heart pounded in my chest. This was the meanest behaviour and harshest words Krish had ever directed at me. It definitely hurt. Krish’s proximity reignited feelings I had buried deep within me. His words cut deep, reopening wounds I thought had healed. But despite the hurt, the familiar warmth of his presence stirred something inside me. As he walked away, a part of meyearned to reach out to him, to mend what was broken between us. But I knew better than to let my emotions cloud my judgment again.
Before I could dwell on it, I saw Meher, Ayaan’s wife, enter the kitchen where Kailash Shergill was already cooking breakfast.
Deciding it was against professional ethics to think about Krish and his words right now, I made my way to the kitchen, intending to properly introduce myself to Meher Shergill as her appointed bodyguard.
***************
It had been four days since I started working as Meher’s bodyguard. She was a wonderful woman, and an excellent daughter and sister who was processing the fact that she had a half-brother—Vishnu. He had been staying at the Walia house, acting as her father’s bodyguard and handling security for the family. Meher found out about this on her wedding night, and the next day she learned that her husband Ayaan had already known all along. The newlyweds had a fight, but the good husband that Ayaan was, he convinced her, and there was peace between them again, which I was glad for.
One thing I noticed through all this was that Krish’s behaviour was cold and frustrated only towards me. With Ayaan, he was the same funny guy he used to be, and with Meher, too, he was slowly building rapport. But all that coldness and angry glares were restricted to me alone. Not that I minded, but it still hurt to see him behave so strangely with me every time. As if he didn’t know me at all. As if we had never been close. As if he had never touched me. The mere thought of Krish’s touch, knowinghe was still a wall away from me, pricked me and made me toss in bed for hours.
It was night. Tomorrow, I had heard Ayaan and Krish planned to go to a club called “The Roost” to find someone called ‘Raghav,’ who apparently belonged to the Bat gang they were looking for. I wasn’t yet an active part of that separate mission, which both my bosses were involved in, but I had been strictly instructed that Meher should not leave the house tomorrow when they were out. The task of protecting Meher and being her shadow was going great, except when she talked about Krish sometimes. I tried hard to keep my expressions neutral and not show that I was affected by him in any way. In his absence, it was easy to pretend I was unaffected, but living under the same roof as him made it hard for me to focus.
Unable to sleep, I got out of bed and made my way to the terrace to get some fresh air. But just as I entered, I saw Krish already there, smoking alone in the dark night.
As soon as I stepped onto the terrace, Krish noticed my presence. He took a long drag of his cigarette before speaking in a flat tone, “Couldn’t sleep?”
“Yeah...” I replied, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Part of me wanted to turn around and leave, but I didn’t want to appear rattled in front of him.
An awkward silence stretched between us. I could sense the tension radiating from Krish, like a raging storm desperately trying to be contained. Finally, I broke the quiet. “I’ll just... get some air and go back inside.”
Krish let out a harsh chuckle. “What, am I making you uncomfortable now? You used to be so comfortablearound me once, Trisha.”
His biting words stung, but I fired back. “Well, you certainly don’t make it easy to be comfortable these days, Krish. The way you’ve been treating me...”
“Oh, like you’ve been perfect with me always?” He turned towards me, eyes blazing with sudden intensity. “After everything that happened between us, you think you have the right to expect better treatment from me?”
I felt tears prickling my eyes as a rush of memories assaulted me—memories of stolen glances, gentle caresses, deep kisses and whispered promises.
“I never intended to hurt you, Krish. You know that.” My voice came out smaller than I intended.
In two strides, Krish closed the distance between us. He gripped my arms tightly, his face just inches from mine.
“Don’t lie to me, now. Not again. You knew exactly what you were doing when you ripped my heart out.”
His closeness was overwhelming. The scent of his cologne dredged up a torrent of longing I thought I had buried long ago. My lips parted involuntarily as my gaze dropped to his mouth.
Krish seemed to notice because his grip on my arms relaxed slightly. When our eyes met again, some of the anger had faded, replaced by an unmistakable heat.
We stood frozen like that, suspended in a heavy silence that seemed to reverberate with everything left unsaid between us. My heart pounded, whether from anger or impossible hope, I couldn’t tell. Then Krish’s hand lifted to delicately brush a stray lock of hair from my face. Thegentle touch was like a spark, igniting the simmering tension into an inferno. Before I could overthink it, I surged forward and crushed my lips against his.
A strangled groan escaped Krish as he immediately responded with searing intensity. His arms encircled my waist, pulling me flush against his body as our mouths moved in frantic harmony. I tangled my fingers into his silky hair, deepening the kiss with every ounce of pent-up longing I’d harboured.
Our bodies pressed impossibly closer, seeking that achingly familiar friction. I could feel the hard planes of Krish’s chest against my rapidly rising and falling chest. His hands roamed down my back in a blazing trail, caressing and kneading the supple curves, stroking the bare skin left exposed by my pulled-up top. I arched shamelessly into his touch, craving more of the delicious heat building between us.
Krish groaned against my lips as I tugged on his hair, tilting his head to ravage his mouth with deeper, hungrier kisses. Our tongues met in the most intoxicating way. I inhaled the spicy, masculine scent of him, feeling utterly drunk on his taste, his warmth, and the solid strength of his body moulded to mine. It felt like coming home after being lost for so long. It was all achingly familiar yet brand new at the same time. I never wanted this moment to end.
But eventually, the need for air became overwhelming. Krish tore his lips from mine, and we stood panting heavily, our ragged breaths mingling in the humid night air. His eyes bore into mine with a molten intensity that made my knees feel weak.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The world seemed to hold its breath as the weight of what had just happened stretched between us. Krish slowly lifted his hand to caress my flushed cheek, and I leaned instinctively into his touch, my eyelids fluttering closed.
Then, as if a spell had been broken, Krish abruptly stepped back, putting distance between our bodies again. I opened my eyes, only to witness the confusion and vulnerability swirling in his gaze.
