The change was immediate.
And impossible to miss.
"Good morning, sir."
Bosco looked up.
For a second, he didn't react.
Because that—
That was new.
Or rather…
Old.
Too old.
Riyana stood near her desk, already opening her system, her expression neutral, her tone perfectly formal.
No pause.
No hesitation.
No trace of yesterday.
Bosco's eyes stayed on her a second longer than necessary.
Then—
"Morning."
But something about it felt… off.
The next few hours confirmed it.
Every interaction was precise.
Clean.
Professional.
Too professional.
"Riyana, send me the file."
"Yes, sir."
No extra words.
"Did you check the numbers?"
"Yes, sir. They're updated."
No discussion.
"Sit in for the meeting."
"Okay."
Not even a glance.
Bosco leaned back slightly in his chair, watching her from across the room.
Yesterday—
She was distracted.
Emotional.
Off balance.
Today—
She was controlled.
Closed.
Distant in a way that felt intentional.
And that bothered him.
More than yesterday did.
By noon, he had enough.
"Riyana."
She looked up immediately. "Yes?"
"Come here."
She stood up and walked into his cabin.
Calm.
Composed.
Unreachable.
She stood across the desk this time.
Not beside.
Not leaning in.
Maintaining distance like it was a rule she had decided overnight.
Bosco noticed.
Of course he did.
"The Sharma file," he said, sliding it toward her.
She picked it up, scanning it quickly.
"There's an error in the second section. I'll fix it."
Her voice was steady.
Detached.
Done.
She turned slightly—
"Wait."
She stopped.
Looked back.
"Yes?"
There it was again.
That word.
That tone.
Like a wall.
Bosco studied her for a moment.
Then asked—
"What happened?"
Simple.
Direct.
No buildup.
Riyana didn't even blink.
"Nothing."
Immediate.
Prepared.
Like she had rehearsed it.
"That's not true."
"It is."
"You were different yesterday."
"And today I'm not."
The response came too fast.
Too clean.
A quiet silence filled the cabin.
Bosco's gaze didn't leave her.
"You've gone back," he said.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the file.
"Back to what?"
"This," he gestured lightly between them. "Distance. Formal tone. No conversation."
Riyana's expression didn't change.
"This is how it should be."
That—
He didn't expect.
Not the words.
Not the certainty behind them.
"Why?" he asked.
Because now it wasn't just observation.
Now it was personal.
Riyana held his gaze for a second.
Then looked away.
"It's better."
"For who?"
"For me."
The answer was quiet.
But firm.
And that—
That hit harder than anything else.
Bosco straightened slightly.
"For you?" he repeated.
"Yes."
She didn't elaborate.
Didn't soften it.
Didn't explain.
"Yesterday you had no problem talking normally."
"Yesterday was a mistake."
There it was.
Clear.
Sharp.
Final.
Bosco's expression shifted.
Not visibly dramatic.
But something in his eyes changed.
"A mistake?" he repeated.
"Yes."
Her grip on the file tightened again.
"I shouldn't have said those things."
"So now you just… shut everything down?"
"Yes."
No hesitation.
A small, almost humorless breath left him.
"That's convenient."
Riyana frowned slightly. "It's not about convenience."
"Then what is it about?"
A pause.
For a second—
It looked like she might say something real.
Something honest.
But then—
"It's about keeping things professional."
Silence.
Again.
But this time—
He didn't accept it.
"That's not it."
Her eyes flickered toward him.
"It is."
"No," he said, more firmly now. "That's an excuse."
Her jaw tightened.
"You're overthinking."
"And you're avoiding."
That landed.
Directly.
Riyana looked away, her patience thinning.
"I don't have time for this."
She turned slightly again.
"Finish the file and send it," Bosco said.
Her steps paused.
Just for a second.
Then she nodded. "I will."
And walked out.
The door didn't slam.
It closed normally.
Quietly.
Controlled.
Just like her.
But the silence it left behind—
Wasn't calm.
Bosco stared at the door for a long moment.
His thoughts weren't clear.
They weren't organized.
They were… unsettled.
Yesterday she almost said something real.
Today she's acting like none of it happened.
He leaned back slowly, exhaling.
"That's not just professionalism," he muttered.
It couldn't be.
Not after what he saw.
Not after what she said.
His mind replayed it again—
You're not this patient with me.
You're different.
That wasn't nothing.
That wasn't casual.
And now—
She was pretending it was.
Across the office, Riyana sat down at her desk.
Her face calm.
Her posture steady.
Her actions precise.
But her hands—
They weren't as still as they looked.
She opened the file and started working.
Faster than necessary.
More focused than required.
Like she was trying to outrun something.
This is right.
This is better.
This is safe.
She repeated it in her head like a rule.
Like a shield.
But every time Bosco's voice echoed in her mind—
You've gone back.
Why?
Her focus slipped for a second.
Just a second.
Then she tightened it again.
Don't think.
Just work.
Across the room—
Bosco stepped out of his cabin again.
Not for a file.
Not for work.
He stopped near her desk.
She didn't look up.
Didn't acknowledge him.
Didn't even react.
That—
That annoyed him more than it should have.
"Riyana."
She looked up instantly. "Yes?"
Polite.
Neutral.
Distant.
Bosco held her gaze.
Longer this time.
Trying to find something.
Anything.
From yesterday.
But there was nothing.
And that—
That didn't sit right with him.
At all.
"Nothing," he said finally.
A beat.
Then he walked away.
Riyana watched him go for a brief second.
Then looked back at her screen.
Her expression didn't change.
But something inside her—
Shifted slightly.
Uncomfortably.
Because for the first time—
Staying away didn't feel as easy as she thought it would.
And for Bosco—
Not knowing why she pulled away…
it was starting to matter more than he expected.