Page 95 of Okay Boss
Vikram Khanna had just publicly threatened a fellow actor. Over his wife.
“We should go,” Vikram said, hand still firm at her waist.
“Are you sure? The party’s not...”
“Now.”
His tone brooked no argument. They said polite goodbyes, Vikram’s mask sliding back into place. But his hand never left her waist, and the tension in his body never eased.
???
In the car, silence stretched between them. Divya twisted her hands in her lap.
“You didn’t need to do that,” she said finally. “Threaten him like that. It could damage your reputation. Make people think…”
“What?” He turned to look at her. “Make people think I’m possessive? Territorial? Exactly what I am when someone touches what’s mine?”
“I’m not...” She stopped, unsure how to finish.
“Not what? Not mine?”
She forced the words out. “This is temporary, remember? Two years. Then I go back to being nobody, and you go back to your life. You don’t need to...”
“What?” His voice had gone dangerously quiet. “Temporary? A convenient arrangement? Is that what you think this is?”
She looked at him, confused by the anger beneath his words. “Isn’t it? That’s what we agreed...”
“Fuck what we agreed.”
The curse shocked her. Vikram never lost composure like this.
“I don’t understand...”
“I know you don’t.” He turned away, staring out the window. “That’s the problem.”
The silence that followed felt different. Heavier.
And then she understood. The word that had triggered this.
Temporary.
The reminder of their expiration date. The casual way she’d reduced everything between them to a business arrangement.
She’d hurt him. Without meaning to, without understanding how, she’d hurt him.
“I…”
“Don’t.” His voice was flat. “Not right now.”
The rest of the drive passed in tense silence. When they reached Khanna Sadan, Vikram got out without waiting for the driver. He didn’t offer to help her out, didn’t touch her, didn’t look at her.
“I need to go out,” he said to the empty air between them. “Clear my head.”
“It’s almost midnight...”
“I’m aware of the time.”
He walked back to the car, got in, and told the driver something she couldn’t hear. The car pulled away, leaving her standing in the driveway.
