"No."
Aarav's answer was immediate.
Firm.
Kiara looked up from her file.
"I wasn't asking."
Aarav stood from his chair.
"And I'm not allowing it."
Silence.
Tension instantly back.
Kiara closed the file slowly.
"You don't get to control where I go."
Aarav stepped closer.
"And you don't get to ignore the fact that someone is still after you."
Kiara's eyes hardened.
"I'm not hiding forever."
"You're not going alone," Aarav said.
Kiara shook her head.
"I need to do this."
"What is 'this'?" Aarav asked sharply.
Kiara hesitated for a second.
Then—
"I need to meet someone."
Aarav's expression darkened.
"Who?"
Kiara didn't answer immediately.
And that—
That was enough to trigger him.
"Kiara."
His tone dropped.
Dangerously calm.
She met his eyes.
"Someone from my past."
Aarav's jaw clenched.
"Arjun?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Kiara exhaled slowly.
"Someone who knows things about Aurora… things we don't."
A pause.
Then she added—
"And about Vikram."
That changed things.
But not enough.
Aarav ran a hand through his hair.
"This could be a trap."
"It could also be an answer," Kiara replied.
Silence.
Aarav stepped closer.
Lowering his voice.
"Then I'm coming with you."
Kiara shook her head.
"No."
That one word—
Set him off.
"Kiara, this isn't negotiable."
"It is for me," she snapped.
They stood face to face now.
Close.
Intense.
"I won't let anything happen to you," Aarav said.
Kiara's voice softened slightly—
"I know."
A pause.
"But I can't live like this either."
That hit.
Because it was true.
"I need to face this," she continued.
"Not hide behind security and walls."
Aarav looked at her.
Conflicted.
Angry.
But understanding.
"You don't trust me to handle it?" he asked.
Kiara shook her head.
"It's not that."
"Then what?"
She stepped closer.
This time—
Gentler.
"I need to prove to myself… that I'm not scared anymore."
Silence.
Aarav exhaled slowly.
Because he saw it.
This wasn't stubbornness.
This was her healing.
"Fine," he said finally.
Kiara blinked.
Surprised.
"But," Aarav added,
"You don't go without protection."
She frowned.
"Aarav—"
"I won't be in your way," he said.
"But I will be there."
Kiara looked at him.
Long.
Then nodded slightly.
"Okay."
Deal made.
But tension still there.
Because deep down—
Both of them felt it.
This meeting—
Wasn't just a meeting.
It was the beginning of something else.
Something bigger.
And maybe—
More dangerous than before.