The next morning, Devveer wasn’t himself.
He had slept barely an hour, if at all. His mind had replayed the image of Dimpal sitting across from him in that room—the room no one else in the company even knew existed. The way her hair fell out of the hair-tie. The way her eyes widened whenever he spoke.
The way her voice shook when she said his name.
Sir…
He clenched his jaw.
He wasn’t a fool. He knew this wasn’t normal.
But he also wasn’t stopping.
When obsession seeped into a man like him, it did not come gently. It arrived like a blade—silent, sharp, and fatal.
He stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his black shirt. His reflection looked different today.
Harder.
Hungrier.
And when his mind whispered her name, a slow, dark smile curved on his lips.
“Dimpal Sharma.”
He didn’t say it. He tasted it.
He stepped out of his penthouse with a mind already planning, calculating, manipulating the day ahead.
He didn’t believe in accidents or destiny.
He believed in creating situations.
And today, he needed her—closer, longer, deeper into his world.
Into his shadows.
Into him.
THE COMPANY WHISPERS
When he walked into the office, every employee stiffened. The air shifted like a storm had entered.
People whispered as soon as he passed.
“Why is an intern assigned to him?”
“She won’t survive a week.”
“He never works with anyone. Why her?”
Rishu was sweating again. He approached Devveer at a cautious distance.
“S-sir, your morning schedule—”
“Cancel everything after 11.”
“Everything… sir? But the investors—”
“Cancel.”
Rishu gulped and scurried away.
Devveer didn’t care. The investors would wait. The world would wait.
She would not.
HER ARRIVAL — AND HIS FIRST SPARK OF JEALOUSY
At 9:58 AM, he stood near the transparent glass wall of his cabin, pretending to check emails while watching the entrance.
Then he saw her.
Peach suit again. Hair clipped neatly. ID card bouncing slightly as she walked in with a nervous smile.
But she wasn’t alone.
One of the junior officers, Arjun, stopped her.
“Hey, you’re the new intern, right? I can help you find your department—”
Devveer’s jaw locked.
Hard.
The pen in his hand cracked.
Arjun leaned slightly closer as if showing her something on his phone.
And she smiled.
A small, polite smile—but enough to ignite something feral in Devveer.
She wasn’t supposed to smile at anyone here.
Especially not at a man.
He dialed Rishu immediately.
“Bring her to my office. Now.”
“S-sir, she just came—”
“Now, Rishu.”
He hung up before Rishu could breathe.
HER ENTRY INTO THE STORM
A minute later, she knocked on his door again—soft, hesitant, almost scared.
“Sir… may I come in?”
His voice dropped into a dangerous softness.
“Enter.”
She stepped inside, eyes wide, smile awkward.
“Good morning, sir.”
His gaze slid sharply to her.
“Good morning,” he replied, voice deep, controlled, but carrying an edge she didn’t understand.
He watched her. From her simple earrings to the neatly pressed suit to the soft strands of hair framing her face.
She felt his stare physically. It made her fingers fidget.
“I… Rishu sir said you called me?”
“Yes.”
He stood up.
Too slowly.
Too quietly.
She stepped back on instinct.
He noticed.
His expression didn’t change, but something in his eyes darkened.
Good.
She should be nervous around me.
The world is safer that way.
She is safer that way.
“Sir… is something wrong?” she asked softly.
Everything.
Everything was wrong when someone else looked at her.
But he simply said,
“You smiled at someone downstairs.”
Her eyebrows shot up.
“What?”
He stepped closer.
Not too close.
Just enough to make her breath shorten.
“You smiled. At that officer.”
“Oh—Arjun sir? He was just helping me because I didn’t know the—”
“I don’t want you talking to him.”
The words slipped out before he could tame them.
She froze.
Blinking.
Confused.
“Why?”
He inhaled deeply to keep control.
“You’re assigned to me. Not to the building. If you need anything, you come to me. Only me.”
“But sir—”
“No arguments.”
She swallowed.
“O-Okay… if that’s what you want.”
He didn’t answer. He simply watched her—watched the way she reacted, the way she obeyed with confusion in her eyes.
A part of him softened.
A darker part smirked internally.
Good girl.
THE FORENSIC CASE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
He turned away, masking his expression.
“I brought you here because we’re starting a sensitive case today.”
Her eyes lit up—fear, excitement, curiosity mixed together.
“What case, sir?”
He tapped a file on the table.
A murder file.
A high-profile one.
She stepped closer, scanning the first page—her breath caught.
“Sir… this is a politician’s son…”
“Yes.”
“Murdered inside a locked room?”
“Yes.”
“No fingerprints?” she whispered.
He looked at her slowly.
“Except one.”
She turned the page.
Her face paled.
“Mine?”
Her own picture stared back at her along with a fingerprint report.
She stumbled.
“S-sir… how—how is my fingerprint here?! I never—”
He watched her closely.
Very closely.
Too closely.
“Calm down,” he said quietly.
A dangerous softness.
A soothing command.
“This is why I need you with me. Someone is planting evidence. Someone wants you involved.”
She stared at him, shaken.
“Me? But why me? I’m just an intern!”
His gaze hardened.
You’re not just anything.
You’re mine.
Mine to protect.
Mine to keep close.
Mine to guard.
He didn’t say it.
Not yet.
He simply stepped closer and said,
“You’re not safe outside my sight.”
Her breath trembled.
“But sir… who would want to frame me?”
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“That’s what we’re going to find out.”
“But… why are you helping me, sir?”
He didn’t blink.
“Because I don’t let people take what belongs to me.”
She froze.
“Wh-what?”
He rephrased instantly, voice controlled.
“I mean—I don’t let my department be manipulated.”
She exhaled shakily, still confused.
He turned away so she wouldn’t see the truth in his eyes.
I will not let anyone touch you.
Not even fate.
Not even death.
Not even yourself.
THE FIRST THREAD OF DANGER
He handed her gloves.
“Come. We’re going to the forensic lab.”
She followed him, still shaken.
He glanced sideways, watching how close she walked.
He intended to keep her closer.
Much closer.
Everywhere she went today, he would be there.
And when she stepped inside the internal forensic lab, he spoke quietly:
“From today… you don’t go anywhere without telling me.”
She blinked.
“S-sir… that sounds like—”
“Like what?” he asked softly.
“Like… I’m not free.”
A long silence.
Then he spoke:
“You aren’t.”
Her heart stopped.
Before she could respond, he opened the lab door.
“Let’s begin.”
But inside his mind, a darker promise formed:
If someone is targeting her…
I will find them.
And I will destroy them.
Slowly.
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