The conference room emptied one by one, leaving behind the faint smell of coffee and papers scattered like the remnants of a war. Trisha sat at her place, her eyes fixed on the file in front of her but her mind far, far away. She had hardly spoken throughout the meeting—no sarcastic remarks, no sly digs, no fiery interruptions. Just silence.

Ayansh noticed. He had noticed the moment she walked in, her energy dimmed, her sharp edges dulled. This wasn’t the woman who treated every meeting like a battleground. This wasn’t the Trisha who would tear through his words just to prove a point, who could bring chaos into order and order into chaos with one perfectly placed retort.