For a moment, neither of them moved.
Radhika was still in Krish's arms, one hand gripping his shoulder, while his arm remained around her waist to keep her from falling. Their eyes met, and something about the familiarity of his face irritated her more than the fact that he had just caught her.
Then she remembered.
The restaurant.
The shameless smile.
The girls gathered around him.
And the absolute audacity with which he had flirted as if the entire world existed for his entertainment.
Of all the people in this building, it had to be him.
Radhika straightened immediately and stepped away, pulling her laptop bag close.
Krish lowered his arm and looked at her with an expression that was far too amused for her liking.
"Try walking forward next time, Ms. Chaos. The backward-walking strategy seems to have some unfortunate flaws."
Radhika turned sharply.
Wait did he just call me Ms. CHAOS....
This man ..
"Try minding your own business next time, Mr. Flirt. It seems to have some unfortunate benefits."
His smile widened.
Not bad. I thought I was the only one who gave her a nickname.
"So you remember me." Krish raised a brow with his usual grin on his face.
"Unfortunately. Some things are difficult to forget, like a headache that refuses to respond to medication." Radhika replied.
"That's almost sweet. I didn't know I'd made such a lasting impression."
"You didn't. Your behaviour did."
"Ah, yes. The incident involving that jerk's arm. I remember the enthusiasm."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Careful. I can demonstrate it again."
Krish raised both hands.
"Peace, Ms. Chaos. I'm not harmful"
Yet.
He chuckled, but his gaze lingered on her for a fraction longer than necessary.
Still the same girl.Ready to turn a room upside down if someone crosses the wrong line. Well I'm not interested to be that one.
The thought should have amused him.
Instead, something colder moved beneath it, so quickly that even he barely acknowledged it.
People like her always believe they know where the line is.
His smile returned before the thought could settle.
Radhika adjusted herself again.
"And stop smiling like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you've already won."
"Have I?"
"No."
"Then why are you so determined to convince me?"
"Because someone needs to keep your ego from expanding beyond the building."
Both of them were so engrossed in the fight that they didn't even see the people near them watching them and what they all could see was two people just trying to prove god knows what and yet don't know the reason.
"That's generous of you. Looking after me already?", Krish smiled.
"I'm looking after everyone who has to tolerate you."Radhika replied.
"Then I suppose we're both doing public service."
Radhika gave him one last unimpressed look and turned away.
"Stay out of my way."
"Gladly."
She had taken barely two steps when he added, "Try not to fall again. I might start charging for rescues."
She looked over her shoulder.
"Try not to be nearby. I might start charging for your commentary."
Krish laughed.
Radhika did not.
At least, not where he could see.
She bent to retrieve her laptop.
And then the laughter died.
The laptop lay near the wall, its corner having taken the impact. A thin crack marked the casing.
Radhika picked it up carefully.
Pressed the power button.
Nothing.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Her brows drew together.
"No. Come on."
She checked the connection, opened the screen, and pressed the button again.
The display remained black.
For a few seconds, she simply stared.
Then she tried once more.
Nothing.
The corridor around her continued to exist. Employees moved in the distance.
Someone spoke near the reception desk. Dev's voice drifted from somewhere behind her. Probably still fighting with Saraswati.
But Radhika barely heard any of it.
The laptop was more than a machine.
It held years of work, sleepless nights, unfinished ideas, and solutions she had fought to discover. It had been beside her when problems seemed impossible and when people were too difficult to understand. There had been nights when the screen was the only thing she wanted to look at, when its familiar glow had given her something small and steady to focus on.
She knew every scratch on its surface.
Every worn corner.
Every mark that had appeared over the years.
She could remember the circumstances behind some of them, though she rarely thought about it consciously.
It had been with her through changes she had never explained to anyone.
Through plans that had failed.
Through moments when she had needed to build something simply because she couldn't control everything else.
The laptop never asked questions.
It gave her problems, and she found answers.
It gave her errors, and she learned to fix them.
It gave her something she could understand when the rest of the world refused to make sense.
And most importantly it had
HIM
And now, when she pressed the power button, there was nothing.
Her fingers tightened around the casing.
Please.
The thought escaped before she could stop it.
She pressed the button again.
Nothing.
Her eyes began to sting.
She blinked quickly, furious at the tears gathering despite her efforts.
Not here.
Not in front of him.
She could handle a broken system. She could handle a difficult opponent. She could handle people underestimating her.
But this felt different.
It felt as though something that had quietly carried pieces of her life had suddenly become unreachable.
" Hey, I can help."
Krish's voice was no longer teasing.
She didn't look at him.
"I can take a look. I might be able to repair it."
"No."
He stepped closer, then stopped when he saw her expression.
"At least let me check whether the damage is limited to the casing."
She pulled the laptop closer to herself.
"You don't need to fix everything just because you were there when it broke."
The words struck harder than either of them expected.
Krish fell silent. Jaw tightened . He no longer looked like an charming handsome man.Those words were too heavy for him. They were the mirror Krish had always ran away from or maybe he still is...
Instinctively his hand moved to his pocket where he had the same silver chain of Radhika he brushed his finger against it. Like that very thing was helping him and he himself doesn't know about it yet.
Radhika swallowed, trying to steady her voice.She can't look weak no matter the reason is no matter how much it hurts.
But she always hated that these tears never listened to what she wants.
She tried to sound normal.
"I know it was an accident. I know you didn't deliberately break it. But I don't want you touching it right now. Is that clear?"
He looked at her for a moment. The very moment where he saw something in her eyes not anger, no frustration like in the words but pain.
and maybe fear... fear of losing something.
Then he nodded.
"Clear."
No joke.
No clever remark.
No attempt to get the last word.
That silence somehow made the moment worse.
Radhika turned and walked toward her cabin, holding the laptop close. She kept her head lowered until the door closed behind her.
Only then did Krish allow his expression to change.
He stared at the closed door.
It's a machine. It can be repaired.
A perfectly reasonable thought.
A perfectly practical one.
But he also knows that for a hacker laptop is not any other thing.
So why did he feel as though he had done something he couldn't quite explain?
His hand slipped into his pocket, his fingers brushing the small chain hidden there.
For an instant, another memory surfaced: Radhika's voice, her stubborn courage, the way she had tried to protect others even when she was in no position to protect herself.
He remembered admiring that about her.
He also remembered that admiration was not the same as trust.
The distinction settled quietly in his mind.
Then he withdrew his hand and turned away.
He had no intention of letting anyone see what he was thinking.
Least of all her.
Durga entered the corridor with her usual confident stride, but the moment she stepped inside, she slowed down.
Something was clearly wrong.
Saraswati was standing in front of a man, arguing with him with enough intensity to make the employees nearby reconsider whether they really needed to pass through that corridor. The man, naturally, wasn't making the situation any better. He kept answering her with the same irritating calmness that seemed to fuel her anger.
A little distance away, Another man stood quietly.
His eyes were fixed on the closed door of Radhika's cabin.
He hadn't moved much since she had left.
Around them, a few employees had gathered, pretending to be occupied with their work while stealing occasional glances at the ongoing drama. One was holding a file upside down. Another had stopped halfway through typing something on his phone.
Durga looked at the scene.
Then at Saraswati.
Then at Dev.
Then at Krish.
"Did I miss a meeting, or has everyone collectively lost their minds?"
Nobody answered.
Saraswati was too busy arguing.
Dev was too busy defending himself.
Krish didn't seem to hear her.
Durga sighed.
"Wonderful. Very welcoming."
She walked a little farther into the corridor, still trying to understand what had happened in the few minutes she had been away.
And then she noticed someone sitting in the corner.
A book covered almost half of his face.
Durga stopped.
She tilted her head slightly.
Who is that?
She tried looking from where she stood, but the book blocked most of his face.
So she moved a little to the right.
Still nothing.
She shifted to the left.
The person remained completely still, apparently more interested in his book than the chaos happening around him.
Durga narrowed her eyes.
Now she was curious.
She bent slightly, trying to get a better look from beneath the edge of the book.
And—
THUD!
Her arm struck the wall.
"OW!"
She immediately straightened, grabbing her arm and turning toward the wall with an expression of pure betrayal.
"WHO THE HELL PUT THIS WALL HERE?"
The entire corridor went silent.
Saraswati stopped mid-sentence.
Dev turned around.
Krish finally looked away from Radhika's cabin.
Even the employees who had been pretending to work froze.
Durga rubbed her arm, glaring at the wall as if it had deliberately placed itself in her way.
"Seriously? In the middle of a corridor? Who designs buildings like this?"
For a second, nobody reacted.
Then Dev pressed his lips together.
Saraswati looked down, desperately trying to control her expression.
Krish turned his face away.
The employees suddenly became extremely interested in their files, phones, and absolutely anything that wasn't Durga.
Everyone was trying to hide their laughter.
Everyone except the person sitting in the corner.
For a brief moment, the book lowered just a little.
One of Shiva's eyes appeared above its edge.
He looked at Durga, who was still rubbing her arm and muttering complaints about the wall.
A small smile touched his lips.
A rare one.
Then he raised the book again, covering his face as if nothing had happened.
Inside Sia's Office
Vaani stood near the glass wall, watching the chaos outside with a completely baffled expression.
She looked at Saraswati arguing with Dev, then at Durga, who was still rubbing her arm, and finally at Krish, who hadn't moved his eyes from Radhika's cabin door.
"Are these people seriously the members of two reputed teams?" she muttered.
"They fight worse than children."
"Vaani."
Sia's voice pulled her attention back.
She turned around to find Sia sitting behind her desk, while Ram sat opposite her, both looking far too serious.
"Are you planning to join the discussion or just observe the corridor?" Sia asked.
Vaani quickly straightened. "The discussion, ma'am."
Ram glanced at Sia.
"Shall we begin?"
Sia folded her hands on the desk.
"Certainly. Let's see if our teams are better at working together than their leaders are at agreeing with each other."
Ram gave her a faint smile.
"That depends on the leader."
"Then we have a problem already."
Vaani looked between the two leaders.Vaani looked between the two leaders.
The teams fight like children, and their leaders aren't any better. And these people are supposed to consider an alliance?
She quietly returned to her tablet.She quietly returned to her tablet.
Ram stood up, looking at Sia.Ram stood up, looking at Sia.
"Let's see if this discussion leads anywhere."Let's see if this discussion leads anywhere."
Sia raised an eyebrow.Sia raised an eyebrow.
"Don't get your hopes up. I'm still not convinced."Don't get your hopes up. I'm still not convinced."
His lips curved into a faint smirk.
"Neither am I."
For a moment, their eyes met.For a moment, their eyes met.
Two teams. Two very different ways of thinking.Two teams. Two very different ways of thinking.
And neither was ready to make the first move.And neither was ready to make the first move.
Perhaps the real question wasn't whether Queens and Kings could work together, but whether they could even stand each other long enough to try.