Page 185 of No Boss
“Never touch you again.”
The chamber fell silent.
“I stood outside that hospital room,” he continued, voice softer now, “and I was scared to walk in.”
Meera drew in a sharp breath.
“I was scared,” he repeated. “Scared of what I would find. I walked toward that door believing my life had ended.”
He moved closer. Almost no distance remained between them. Heat and anger and fear pressed in until breathing felt heavy.
“When it wasn’t you…” He swallowed. “Relief hit so hard it nearly took me down. Then the fear came back. If it wasn’t you there, then where were you?”
A tremor ran through her.
“All those hours…” His anger returned, deeper now. “Searching. Calling. Imagining the worst. You were here. Sitting beside a lamp because you overheard one conversation and decided I was not worth one question.”
That cut deeper than anything else.
“You didn’t come to me.” His voice dropped. “You didn’t knock on my door. You disappeared.”
His hands pressed against his face, palms covering his eyes as if he could force the last hours out of his mind.
Silence filled the space. The water moved. The flame burned.
That was when Meera noticed his hands. Blood had dried across his knuckles. Skin split. Fresh cuts torn open again.
Her chest tightened. Her eyes burned. She reached for his hand before she could think better of it. Her fingers trembled as they closed around him. She turned his palm carefully, staring at the torn skin.
“How did this happen?”
The question barely came out.
Her eyes lifted to his face, wet and helpless.
“How did you hurt yourself?”
He gave her nothing. No answer. No softness. Only that stare. Watching her with an expression she could no longer read.
Her thumb brushed the unbroken part of his hand. The ache inside her deepened.
“I’m sorry.”
The words came apart.
“I’m so sorry.”
She pressed her forehead briefly against his hand before looking back at him.
“I didn’t plan to come here. I was walking and I couldn’t…” Her voice shook. “I couldn’t breathe up there. I came here and I losttrack of time. I didn’t know hours had passed. I didn’t know everyone was searching. I didn’t know you were…”
"Meera."
She stopped.
"Did you really think that?"
His voice came quiet again. That frightened her more than the shouting had.
