Page 44 of The Pursuit
I glanced at Trisha from the corner of my eye. She was gazing out the window, her expression unreadable. Idesperately wanted to broach the subject of the apologetic text she had sent me, to understand where her head and her heart were at. But the presence of Ayaan and Meher in the backseat had effectively thwarted any chance of a private conversation. Worse still, Ayaan and Meher seemed to be in a passionate mood after some time, their stolen kisses filling the car. I couldn’t help but glance at Trisha from the corner of my eye, wondering how she was coping with the intimate display. She had witnessed their kiss, too, and the look in her eyes told me that she was reminded of our scorching kisses. Trisha’s eyes sparkled as she met my gaze, but she quickly looked away, not letting that spark blaze. I immediately cleared my throat to interrupt Ayaan and Meher’s cosy act behind.
“Guys, you know I don’t mind what you’re doing in the backseat, but we have another lady here amongst us,” I quipped, unable to resist the urge to break the tension.
“I don’t mind that either. Please don’t speak on my behalf,” Trisha replied, almost scolding me for interrupting them.
Ayaan pulled away from Meher, grinning at me through the rearview mirror. “See, the lady doesn’t mind,” he said, nodding towards Trisha. “But why do you look so uncomfortable, Krish?”
I gripped the steering wheel tighter, trying to tamp down the flicker of jealousy that had ignited within me.
“Well, that’s because you get to sit in the backseat, and I don’t,” I retorted.
“I never said I wanted to sit here. I was okay withdriving. It was you who said you wanted to drive,” Ayaan countered.
“Well, that’s because Meher had already taken the backseat,” I argued. The truth was, I wanted sit next to Trisha, to bask in her presence, even if I couldn’t bring myself to touch her.
Ayaan’s tone took on a teasing lilt. “Or... was it because Trisha had already taken the front passenger seat? And you thought of impressing her with your driving skills?”
I glowered at him through the rearview mirror, feeling Trisha’s gaze dart towards me before she quickly looked away, a faint blush tinging her cheeks. Meher noticed the exchange, nudging Ayaan with a knowing smile.
Desperate to change the subject, I announced, “We’re approaching the venue.”
As I pulled up to the curb, I took a deep, steadying breath. This was going to be a long, difficult evening, with Trisha’s intoxicating presence mere inches away, yet so unbearably out of reach.
I just hoped I could keep my emotions in check and maintain my professionalism. Because the last thing I needed was for my heart to betray me in front of everyone.
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A while later…
As Ayaan and I had feared, the NEP party event turned out to be a trap—a ploy orchestrated by Tej Khurana to reveal himself to Ayaan and demand that he abandon theShergills and Walias to join his criminal empire instead.
The nerve of that man! When Ayaan refused, outright rejecting Tej’s twisted demands, he managed to target a short circuit, plunging the Shergill Mansion into darkness.
I had driven Meher, Kailash uncle and Trisha back from the event to the mansion, and we had just got out of the car when the short circuit happened at the monitoring room of the Ayaan’s home, and the power went out. Our security teams immediately sprang into action, working to secure the premises and ensure there were no further risks to the family’s safety.
Ayaan and I, however, had a contingency plan in place—a safe house located in the outskirts of Mumbai, roughly 30 kilometres from the city. It was one of the many secure facilities maintained by GLEN, our organisation, for situations just like this.
As the teams handled the situation at the mansion, I remained inside, frantically trying to recover any salvageable data and devices from the monitoring room. The heat and smoke from the short circuit had taken a toll, giving bruises to my arm as I fought to extinguish the small flames consuming the critical hardware.
I coughed incessantly, the harsh fumes stinging my lungs, when a familiar touch suddenly grasped my hand, pulling me away from the chaos. Blinking through the haze, I found Trisha at my side, her eyes filled with a mix of worry and concern. She handed me a water bottle, and I immediately gulped some water down, to soothe my raw throat.
“Thanks.”
“Better?” Trisha asked, taking the bottle back, her gaze sweeping over me. I acknowledged with a nod. “The team is handling the stuff. Why are you still in there? And without a mask, no less. How would the smoke not affect you? Stop being so careless, Krish.”
She obviously cared for my well-being. I’d rarely seen Trisha’s fiercely protective side for me, and it felt good.
“Why did you send me that text?” I finally asked, ignoring the timing.
Trisha’s eyes softened.
“We can talk about that later. Right now, you need to tend to these bruises. Come on, let’s get you checked out, Director.”
Before I could protest, she was leading me away from the billowing smoke, guiding me towards the waiting medical team. I knew I should have argued and insisted on staying to oversee the operation, but in that moment, I was utterly powerless to resist Trisha’s care and concern.
Once the medics had tended to my minor injuries, Trisha and I joined Ayaan, Meher, and Kailash uncle in preparing to leave for the safe house. As I settled behind the wheel again, with Trisha sliding into the passenger seat beside me, I couldn’t help smiling back at her. I wished things between us were not bitter. But I knew that was a foolish hope. The pull I felt towards Trisha was as strong as ever, the desire to reach out and touch her, to simply be near her, nearly overwhelming. Yet I knew I couldn’t act on those impulses until she didn’t want the same. So, I kept my focus firmly on the road ahead, determined to get usto the safe house first. For now, the priority was the safety of the Shergill family, and I couldn’t afford to let my own personal demons distract me from that.
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