The residence was a quiet, private villa tucked away from the city noise. The air was cool, scented with rain and mountain jasmine. For six months, they had lived through WhatsApp pings and blurry video calls. Now, the silence between them was no longer empty; it was heavy with a year's worth of unspoken desire.
Sony stood by the window of the moonlit room. She looked different—more mature, a bit thinner from the Dubai heat, but her eyes still held that "bold-yet-shy" spark. She was fiddling with the silver ring on her finger.
"Boss..." she whispered, not turning around. "In Dubai, I took my tablets every night just so I could dream about this. But now that I'm here, I'm scared I'll wake up and be back in my apartment in Deira."
Ashok walked up behind her. He didn't say a word. He simply wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. He felt her shiver—not from the cold, but from the contact.
"You're not dreaming, PA," Ashok murmured into her hair. He turned her around to face him. He reached for her hand and kissed the ring. "The three days we have... they aren't just a holiday. They are the start of the rest of our lives."
The Three-Day Romance
That night, the "Boss and PA" dynamic finally dissolved. The shyness that had defined Ashok for years melted away in the privacy of the residence.
* The First Night: It wasn't just about passion; it was about reconnection. They stayed up until dawn, Sony talking "openly" as if she had taken her tablets, confessing how much she missed the way he looked at her.
* The Shared Movies: They watched three movies back-to-back on the large lounge screen, eating chicken rice and dosa they had ordered in, legs tangled together under a single blanket.
* The Quiet Promise: On the second night, Sony took her ring off and placed it in his hand, just like she had in his "past-future" memory. "I told you once that we were married," she said, her voice steady and bold. "I'm not taking it back this time. Even if the visa comes again, I am yours."
For three days, they lived in a bubble of bliss. They played shuttle in the private garden and sat on the porch at 4:00 AM, watching the sun rise—no longer afraid of the morning, but welcoming it together.
The Ultimate Twist: The Loop Closes
The happy days passed too quickly. The new Dubai visa arrived. The cycle was threatening to repeat itself.
One afternoon, after a long day of watching movies and laughing, Ashok fell into a deep, exhausted sleep next to Sony. His heart was full, his mind finally at peace.
But as he slept, the world began to blur. The sounds of the residence faded. The scent of Sony's perfume was replaced by the sterile, sharp smell of... Floor wax and printer ink?
Ashok's eyes snapped open.
He wasn't in the residence. He wasn't in Dubai. He was sitting at his old, cluttered desk at Alpha Corp. The calendar on the wall read: June 12th.
His heart plummeted. No. Not again. I fixed everything! He looked down at his hand, expecting it to be empty. But his breath caught. On his finger, the silver ring from the "Residence Night" was still there. And around his neck, hidden under his shirt, was the "PA Eye" chain.
"Excuse me?" a soft, familiar voice whispered from the doorway.
Ashok looked up. Sony was standing there, clutching her notebook, looking lost and shy on her very first day.
But this time, as she looked at him, her eyes didn't look like the eyes of a stranger. She looked at the ring on his finger, then at his face. A slow, knowing, and incredibly bold smile spread across her lips.
"The moon is beautiful, isn't it... Boss?" she said.
Ashok realized then: He hadn't just traveled back. They both had.