The alarm sliced through the silence like a blade.
MK groaned, blindly slapping her hand around until she found the snooze button. "Ten more minutes…" she mumbled, rolling over.
Warmth greeted her. Not pillow warmth—someone warmth.
Her eyes snapped open.
Shriya's sleeping face was inches from hers.
In an instant, the memories of last night crashed over her—every kiss, every sound, every impossible moment that had felt too good to be real. She looked down at her bare skin under the sheets, and her face flushed so violently she thought she might combust.
"Oh my God," she whispered, covering her face.
Am I shy? Embarrassed? What is this?
Whatever it was, it made looking at Shriya feel impossible.
MK tiptoed out of bed, snatched her clothes from the floor like they were radioactive, and slipped into the bathroom. Five minutes later she emerged—showered, dressed, pretending everything was normal—then grabbed her bag and escaped the apartment without daring to look back.
---
Ten minutes later, Shriya's alarm went off.
She stirred, reached out—and touched empty sheets.
Her eyes opened to an empty room.
A frown tugged at her lips.
"Did I… do something wrong?"
She sat up slowly, running a hand through her tangled hair. She didn't know the rules with MK. Didn't know what counted as too much or too little. All she knew was that MK had disappeared.
And it bothered her more than it should.
---
At the office, MK barely reached the door when Mike intercepted her with a file.
"Review this. Meeting at two," he said, already walking away.
"On it," MK muttered, heading toward her office like someone trying very hard to focus.
Rebecca arrived later, carrying her tablet. "Mike passed me the details of the group he hired to ruin your reputation."
MK froze mid-scribble. "And?"
"We can't identify the exact person who handled it," Rebecca said, looking grim. "But the organization hired was Bravis."
MK leaned back in her chair. "Bravis…"
She knew the name. Everyone did. But she pushed the thought aside.
"Any lead on the account?" she asked.
Rebecca shook her head. "No traces yet, but I'm still digging."
"Alright. Get back to it."
But MK's eyes drifted to her phone the moment Rebecca left.
Nothing.
Not one message from Shriya.
Her stomach twisted.
---
That evening, she returned to her apartment with a stack of project files. She opened the door—
—and froze.
There, in her kitchen, dressed in MK's hoodie and her pajama shorts, stood Shriya.
Cooking.
MK dropped the entire stack of files.
"What are you doing here?" The words shot out before she could soften them.
Shriya blinked at her. "What do you mean?"
"You're… here." MK's voice cracked.
A hint of sadness flickered across Shriya's expression. "I didn't know you didn't want me around anymore."
She turned off the stove, collected her phone and keys.
"Wait—don't go," MK blurted, biting her lip. "I didn't mean it like that. I just… I don't know how to—"
She gave up. Words weren't cooperating.
Shriya gave a small, understanding smile. "It's okay. I have errands to run anyway. I'll return your clothes once they're washed."
And then she left.
MK stood rooted in place.
Just like in movies, she thought bitterly. The girl runs after her.
But MK didn't move.
She stayed frozen.
---
Later that night, Shriya's phone buzzed.
We have a job for you.
Attached were details and a photo.
A college student. A high-status family's son.
They wanted information.
"Perfect," Shriya murmured. "Something to distract me."
Bravis had every kind of expertise at its disposal. For this job, she needed a hacker and a detective. Within a week, she had every detail mapped out and delivered to their unseen boss.
Rich family. Lakeside mansion.
A brother in the city, CEO of a tech company.
Clean data. Efficient.
And for the first time, Shriya felt a flicker of discomfort—not in collecting the information, but in imagining what someone might do with it.
MK had softened her.
She hated that it was true.
---
MK spent the entire week drowning in a project that normally took two days. Her concentration kept fracturing. Her phone became an extension of her hand.
Jesse had very little sympathy.
"You're being ghosted? Seriously?" she scoffed. "You're the one who ran away after sleeping with her! If it were me, I'd never talk to you again."
MK scowled. "I didn't run away."
"You sprinted. You left skid marks."
MK looked like she might throw a stapler at her.
"And by the way," Jesse added, "I didn't know you even liked girls. Weren't you married to—"
That was the end of the conversation.
MK shoved her out the door.
"Don't you have somewhere else to be? OUT."
Blessed silence followed.
---
MK was reviewing documents when her phone buzzed. She opened the message—and her heart stopped.
Hey MK. I'm not sure you've figured out what you want yet…
but ,I miss you.
MK's throat tightened.
"I miss you too, you idiot," she muttered at the screen.
What she typed was:
ohh.
A second message popped up instantly.
"Ohh?"
Shriya's disappointment bled through the screen.
MK panicked and typed again:
I can come to the club later, if you want.
She waited.
…Sorry. I'm busy today.
MK slammed her hands on the desk.
"What?! She doesn't want to see me?!"
Her phone buzzed again.
Can I take you out tomorrow?
MK sat up straight.
Sure. Where?
It's a surprise.
MK smiled despite herself.Tomorrow was the weekend.And her heart finally had something to look forward to.