For weeks, Aaron disappeared.
Not physically at first. His messages still came, short and apologetic, telling Krishna he was just "catching up at work," that things were "getting busy," that he'd "drop by next weekend for sure."
But every weekend came and went.
And his spot on her couch stayed cold.
His shoes didn't sit by her door.
His ridiculous whining about the twins stealing her lap fell silent.
Even the group chat, the one she'd created just to bully all three of her pets at once, sat unopened from his side.
Krishna noticed. Of course she did.
She noticed the way his social media dried up.
The way photos of him attending events… stopped.
The way business journals and industry blogs started mentioning Bella Triton more than they did him.
"Bella Triton spotted attending the annual Charity Board with Lorenzo Debonair."
"Bella Triton secures two new partnerships for Triton Holdings."
"Bella Triton rumored to be next in line for the heir vote."
Krishna read every headline.
Every article.
Every board leak.
She watched as Bella's shadow stretched longer… and Aaron's name started getting replaced.
At first, Krishna let him be.
Because he'd tried.
Because for once… he was really trying to stand on his own.
Prove himself.
Prove that he wasn't just her errand dog.
That he was someone worthy of standing next to her without her interference.
But days turned to weeks.
And then the first real blow came.
An emergency shareholder meeting.
The news leaked within hours:
Bella Triton had been named Acting Vice President.
Aaron's shares had been stripped of their voting power pending "performance review."
And worst of all?
He didn't answer her calls after that.
Not one.
Krishna waited one day.
Then two.
Then five.
By the seventh day… her patience snapped.
She didn't bother dressing for diplomacy.
No makeup.
Hair thrown in a lazy bun.
Sweatpants and an oversized hoodie that swallowed her whole.
Because today?
She wasn't Krishna the scandalous Debonair.
Not the queen of breaking Alphas.
Not the girl who played boardrooms like warzones.
Today… she was just… done.
By the time she stood in front of the Triton family estate gates, the guards barely had time to announce her presence.
She walked straight past them.
Marched through the marble halls like she owned the place.
The head maid scrambled to block her at the stairway landing.
"Miss Debonair, you can't just--"
Krishna didn't slow.
Didn't speak.
Didn't blink.
She grabbed the banister and vaulted the last few steps two at a time.
Aaron's father appeared next, storming from his home office.
"Miss Debonair, this is a private family residence--"
"Good thing I'm here for family business, then," she snapped.
The butler tried too.
Two servants flanked the hallway, one calling after her in a panic, "Miss Krishna! Mr. Aaron isn't receiving any visitors!"
"Funny," she said, pacing toward the far corner wing where she knew Aaron's room sat, "I don't remember asking."
The lock on his bedroom door was heavy.
A reinforced, wood-paneled thing with a gold-plated handle.
But that didn't matter.
Not when her fury boiled past every rational thought she had left.
Krishna balled her fist, slammed it against the door first, once, twice, until her knuckles bruised.
When he didn't answer, she braced herself back…
And threw her full weight against it.
Once.
Twice.
The impact rattled the frame.
Her shoulder screamed.
Her arm throbbed as something tore, sending hot white pain lancing down to her fingertips.
But she didn't stop.
Because underneath the door?
She could hear him.
Curled up in that damn bed.
Breathing like a ghost of himself.
Silent.
Collapsed.
Maybe crying.
And Krishna, Krishna who never begged for anything,
Didn't care about broken bones right now.
With one final push, the lock cracked.
The door slammed open, splinters raining across the carpet like war confetti.
Her chest heaved.
Her left arm hung useless at her side.
And there, in the middle of the dark, messy room,
Curtains drawn.
Lights off.
Phone face-down and dead by the bedside,
Lay Aaron.
Unshaven.
Still wearing the same shirt from two days ago.
Eyes rimmed red, face pale, hands buried over his head like he wanted to block out the entire world.
Krishna stood there in the wreckage of the doorway.
Her arm pulsing with agony.
Her hoodie sticking to her sweat-soaked back.
And for the first time in a long time…
Her voice cracked.
"You absolute idiot."
Aaron flinched at the sound.
Slowly… he lifted his head.
Eyes wide.
Horrified.
"Krishna…?"
His voice came out hoarse. Fragile.
Almost disbelieving.
"W-Why--?"
She didn't give him time to finish.
Stalking across the room, she grabbed the collar of his shirt with her good arm and hauled him halfway upright.
"You don't get to shut me out," she hissed, shaking him lightly.
Her throat burned.
Her eyes stung.
"You don't get to crawl into a hole and disappear after everything. After breaking yourself trying to prove something I never asked for."
He opened his mouth, maybe to apologize.
Maybe to make another excuse.
But Krishna didn't let him.
She pressed her forehead against his, breathing fast and furious and shaking with the effort not to let the tears come out fully.
"You're mine, Aaron Triton," she whispered, low and dangerous. "I decide when you give up. Not you."
For one suspended second…
Neither of them moved.
The air between them tangled and tight.
And with the remnants of her adrenaline…
Her legs finally buckled.
She sank to the floor with him, holding on to his shirt, both of them broken in different ways.
But at least now…
She'd dragged him back to her side again.