Chapter 10: The Shadows Between Us

The night was thick with fog when Avni stepped out of the hospital for her shift. The sterile lights of the building faded as she walked down the quiet streets, the world outside feeling like a distant memory. There was something suffocating about the hospital, its walls closing in on her with every passing day. No matter how many patients she treated or charts she filled, the tension with Reyaansh, the constant clash between them, always loomed over her.

Tonight was no different. She could feel his presence, even though he was miles away. His words still echoed in her head, a haunting whisper she couldn’t shake. “This isn’t over, Avni.”

She had hoped for a quiet night, but as she reached her car, she noticed a black SUV parked nearby, the engine running. The vehicle was familiar—she recognized it immediately.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Reyaansh.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice sharp as she approached the car.

The window rolled down, revealing his piercing eyes, cold and unreadable as ever. He leaned back against the headrest, his expression calm, though there was a flicker of something dangerous in his gaze.

“I thought you’d be tired after your shift, Dr. Avni,” he said, his voice laced with sarcasm. “But I’m not surprised you’re still running away from the things that matter.”

Avni clenched her fists, her mind racing. He had a way of pushing her buttons, testing her patience. But tonight, she didn’t feel like taking his bait. Instead, she leaned against her car, crossing her arms.

“I’m not running from anything, Reyaansh,” she shot back, her tone sharp. “But you seem to enjoy pretending that I’m some kind of puzzle you can solve.”

A faint smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. “Oh, I’m not pretending. I know exactly what you are, Avni. You just haven’t figured it out yet.”

Before she could respond, he got out of the SUV, walking towards her with deliberate, measured steps. She stood her ground, but inside, her pulse quickened. There was something dangerous in the way he moved, something predatory in his gaze.

“What do you want, Reyaansh?” she asked, her voice tight.

He stopped just a few inches away, his breath warm against her skin. She could feel the heat of his body, the tension that seemed to radiate off him. “I’m tired of playing games, Avni,” he whispered, his voice low and gravelly. “You’re mine, whether you admit it or not.”

Her breath caught in her throat, but she held her ground. “I’m not yours,” she spat, her eyes defiant.

Reyaansh chuckled softly, his eyes darkening with something far more dangerous than amusement. “You’ll learn, Avni. You always do. I never back down.”

She didn’t know what made her do it—whether it was the adrenaline coursing through her veins or the way his eyes bore into hers like a searing flame—but before she could stop herself, she closed the distance between them, her lips crashing against his.

For a moment, it was everything. The world faded away, leaving only the heat of his kiss, the hunger that had been building between them. It was everything she had been fighting—everything she had been denying. But in that moment, it didn’t matter.

Reyaansh’s hands cupped her face, pulling her closer, deepening the kiss, as if trying to mark her as his. She responded in kind, her body betraying her mind, giving in to the dark pull between them.

But then, as quickly as it started, Reyaansh pulled away, his breath ragged. He looked at her, his expression unreadable. “You think this is over, Avni? You think you can walk away from this—us?”

She swallowed hard, her chest rising and falling with each breath. She hated him. She hated how he made her feel, how he broke down all her walls without even trying. But she couldn’t deny it—there was a part of her that was drawn to him, something darker, something she didn’t want to acknowledge.

“I don’t know what this is, Reyaansh,” she said quietly, her voice trembling. “But I can’t keep doing this. It’s not just you and me anymore.”

Reyaansh stepped back, his eyes narrowing. “You don’t get to walk away from me, Avni. Not now. Not ever.”

With that, he turned and walked back to his car, leaving her standing in the quiet night, her mind a whirlwind of emotions she couldn’t untangle.

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