His eyes swept the room as he entered, and for just a second, they landed on me.
Our gazes locked.
I stopped breathing.
Then he looked away. Just like that. As though I was nobody. As though the past month of silence had not been killing me slowly from the inside.
He walked to the front of the room with the Japanese executives and took a seat at one of the VIP tables.
I sat frozen in my chair, my chest tight with hurt and confusion.
Akshita noticed my expression.
"Are you okay? You look pale."
"I am fine. Just tired from the flight."
The Japanese client began their presentation. They talked about their company, their vision, their expectations for this collaboration. The slides were professional and well designed.
But I did not absorb a single word.
All I could see was Armaan sitting at the front of the room. The back of his head. The set of his shoulders. The way he nodded occasionally at something the presenter said.
He was so close. Just meters away.
But he felt unreachable.
When the presentation finally ended, servers brought out dinner. Elaborate Japanese cuisine arranged artfully on plates. Sushi, tempura, miso soup, various delicacies I could not name.
Akshita and I ate together, though I had no appetite. I pushed food around my plate while she chatted enthusiastically about the presentation and the upcoming training schedule.
Halfway through the meal, Akshita started giggling.
"What?" I asked, grateful for the distraction from my thoughts.
"Do not look now, but there is a guy sitting at the table behind you, and he has been staring at you for the past ten minutes."
My stomach twisted uncomfortably.
"Akshita, stop."
"I am serious! He is actually quite handsome. Japanese, maybe mid thirties. Designer suit. Very put together."
"I am not interested."
"How can you not be interested? You have not even looked at him!"
"Because I do not care."
She laughed and nudged my shoulder.
"Come on, Viya. When was the last time you went on a date? You work too hard. You need to have some fun."
I forced myself to smile and laugh along with her teasing, but inside I was screaming.
I did not want some random man staring at me. I did not want to go on dates or have fun with strangers.
I wanted my husband. I wanted Armaan to look at me the way he used to. I wanted him to stop pretending I did not exist.
