Chapter 3: The Present

Gia slipped into the washroom, her steps steady, her face calm—as if nothing unusual had happened. She splashed water on her cheeks, took a deep breath, and stared at her reflection. She was comfortable with him, too comfortable. That was why she could act like this, even when her chest still trembled inside.

The door opened.

Aksh entered without hesitation. He walked straight toward her, until her back pressed against the basin. His presence filled the narrow space, close enough for her to feel the heat radiating off him.

“Aksh—” she whispered, startled.

His hand lifted, brushing her cheek. Their eyes locked, heavy with a tension that made the air itself thick. Both of them breathed harder, as if silence alone was pulling them closer.

“What are you doing?” Gia managed.

His voice came low, rough, his restraint breaking under the haze of the medicine.

“I can relieve you… fully.”

Then he kissed her.

It wasn’t gentle. It was raw, consuming. Gia stiffened at first, shock flashing through her, but then the pull was too strong. She kissed him back, clutching the basin edge, her body betraying her hesitation.

His hand slid to her waist, gripping firmly before slipping beneath her pants. Gia’s breath caught. She broke the kiss with a gasp, but his mouth returned to hers, swallowing the sound as his fingers moved deeper, precise, relentless.

Her knees weakened. Her hands dug into his shoulders as waves of pleasure built inside her—faster, higher, until her body shuddered violently against him, muffled moans lost in his kiss.

When she finally collapsed against the basin, trembling, Aksh stepped back. His chest rose and fell hard. Without a word, he turned, washed his hands under the cold tap, and walked out.

Gia stayed frozen, staring at the girl in the mirror. Same face, same eyes—but not the same. For the first time in her life, she had been touched in a way that reached her core. She had always thought intimacy couldn’t move her, that something was broken inside her. But tonight, Aksh proved her wrong. He had given her what no one else could.

When she finally returned to the room, Aksh was already asleep. His face was calm, almost boyish in rest. Gia slipped into bed beside him and, without meaning to, kept her eyes on him. She thought about what had just happened, about how it left her shaken yet oddly complete. Her first real release. Her first taste of something she hadn’t even realized she’d been missing.

Her chest ached with questions she couldn’t yet answer. But with him right beside her, she drifted off to sleep.

It was Aksh who woke first.

Morning light slipped through the curtains, brushing the room in pale gold. He stirred—and froze. Gia had climbed onto him in her sleep. Her head rested against his chest, her arm curled over his waist, her body pressed into his like she had been searching for him even in her dreams.

For a long moment, he didn’t move. He only looked at her.

Her breathing was soft, lips parted slightly, hair messy across her face. She looked innocent, unguarded, almost childlike. Something in his chest loosened, warmed. A faint smile tugged at his lips before he could stop it.

But then her lashes fluttered. She was waking.

His smile vanished. His brows furrowed, his jaw tightened—masking the softness in an instant. By the time Gia opened her eyes and realized she was sprawled across him, all she saw was his sharp, angry face.

Her heart jumped. She quickly pulled back, fumbling upright.

He sat up, grabbed his toothbrush, and walked off without a word.

In the washroom, Aksh gripped the basin, leaning into it heavily.

Cold water splashed over his face, but it didn’t wash away the memories flashing in his mind—her lips, her sounds, the way her body had melted into his hands. He couldn’t piece it all together clearly, but enough to know he had crossed a line he couldn’t uncross.

He looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was a mess, his eyes restless, his mouth twitching somewhere between a smirk and regret.

For a moment, he chuckled under his breath, shaking his head.

“What the hell did I do…”

The smirk faded quickly.

Because the truth was, he wasn’t sure—had he only touched her, or had he gone further without remembering?

His reflection stared back at him, guilty and unsettled, as if he had already ruined something he didn’t yet know how to fix.

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