The Man I Left
Five years.
That was how long it had been since Maya Kapoor had last seen Adrian Khanna.
Five years since she had stood outside his apartment with tears streaming down her face and told the man she loved that their relationship was over.
Five years since she'd walked away without giving him the one thing he had begged for.
An explanation.
She had spent five years trying not to remember his face.
It hadn't worked.
Now, standing outside the glass doors of Khanna Holdings, Maya took a slow breath.
She looked down at the folder in her hands.
KHAANNA GRAND — INTERIOR DESIGN PROPOSAL
This was supposed to be the biggest opportunity of her career.
She had no idea it would also be the worst.
"Maya?"
She looked up.
Her colleague, Rhea, was standing beside her.
"You coming?"
Maya nodded.
"Yeah."
They entered the building.
The lobby was enormous—marble floors, floor-to-ceiling windows and a massive silver logo on the wall.
KHANNA HOLDINGS.
Maya forced herself to focus.
This was business.
Nothing else.
She was an accomplished interior architect now.
She hadn't come here as the girl who had once loved Adrian Khanna.
She had come here as a professional.
The elevator doors opened.
She stepped inside.
As the numbers climbed, her heartbeat somehow climbed with them.
She told herself it was nerves.
Nothing more.
---
The boardroom was already occupied.
Several executives were seated around the long table.
Maya took a seat and opened her presentation.
"Mr. Khanna will be joining us shortly."
Her fingers froze.
Mr. Khanna.
She hadn't even allowed herself to think about his first name.
She looked at the presentation screen.
KHANNA GRAND HOTEL PROJECT
Focus.
The door opened.
Everyone stood.
Maya remained seated for half a second too long.
Then she heard his voice.
"Good morning."
Her heart stopped.
She knew that voice.
She slowly looked up.
Adrian walked into the room.
Five years had changed him.
The boy she remembered was gone.
In his place stood a man dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit.
Broader shoulders.
Sharper features.
A cold confidence she hadn't remembered.
His eyes moved across the room.
Then stopped.
On her.
For the first time since she'd left him, Maya saw something crack through his expression.
Shock.
It disappeared almost instantly.
His face became unreadable.
He walked toward the head of the table.
"Please sit."
Everyone sat.
Maya couldn't breathe properly.
Adrian opened the folder in front of him.
"Let's begin."
She stared at him.
He didn't look at her again.
Not once.
Until—
"Maya."
Her heart jumped.
Adrian finally looked directly at her.
"You're presenting."
She stood.
"Yes."
Her voice was quieter than she intended.
She walked toward the screen.
Five years ago, she had known every expression on his face.
Now she couldn't tell what he was thinking.
She began the presentation.
"The Khanna Grand is designed around the concept of modern luxury while maintaining—"
"Stop."
Maya froze.
Adrian leaned back in his chair.
"Why this design?"
She blinked.
"The hotel is intended to appeal to international clientele while still reflecting—"
"I didn't ask what the hotel was intended to do."
His eyes stayed on hers.
"I asked why you chose this design."
The room became silent.
Maya swallowed.
"Because I believe luxury shouldn't feel cold."
Something flickered in his eyes.
"You always hated cold rooms."
Her breath caught.
For one second, they were no longer in a boardroom.
They were twenty-six and twenty-three.
In his apartment.
Arguing about the air conditioner.
Her laughing.
His arms around her.
Then the memory disappeared.
Adrian looked back at the documents.
"Continue."
Maya forced herself to breathe.
She continued.
---
The presentation lasted forty minutes.
When it ended, the executives applauded.
Adrian didn't.
He simply closed the folder.
"Everyone can leave."
The room emptied.
Maya gathered her papers quickly.
She wanted to leave before—
"Maya."
She stopped.
Everyone else was gone.
She turned around.
Adrian was standing at the end of the table.
"How long have you been working in architecture?"
"Five years."
"Five years."
She nodded.
He smiled faintly.
"Convenient."
Her stomach tightened.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You disappeared five years ago."
His eyes hardened.
"And now you walk back into my company."
"This is a professional meeting."
"I know."
He stepped closer.
"You were always good at pretending."
Maya's jaw tightened.
"I'm not pretending."
"No?"
He stopped a few feet away.
"Then look me in the eyes and tell me you don't remember me."
She looked at him.
She couldn't.
Because she remembered everything.
His first kiss.
Their first apartment.
The ring he had bought her.
The night she left.
She looked away.
Adrian gave a bitter laugh.
"That's what I thought."
He picked up her proposal.
"The project is yours."
Maya looked at him.
"What?"
"You've been hired."
Relief should have filled her.
Instead, she felt something else.
Fear.
"Why?"
His eyes met hers.
"Because you're good at what you do."
He paused.
"And because I want to know something."
"What?"
"Why did the woman who promised to marry me disappear without saying goodbye?"
Maya's heart broke all over again.
She whispered,
"Adrian..."
He stepped closer.
"Don't."
His voice was quiet.
"Don't say my name like you still have the right."
She closed her eyes.
He walked past her.
Then stopped at the door.
Without turning around, he said:
"Welcome back, Maya."
The door closed.
Maya stood alone in the boardroom.
Five years ago, she had walked away from Adrian because she believed it was the only way to protect him.
She had convinced herself that time would make it easier.
It hadn't.
And now she had to work with the one man she had never stopped loving.
She picked up her papers with trembling hands.
Outside the glass walls, Adrian stood alone.
His jaw was clenched.
His hands were tight at his sides.
He had spent five years telling himself he hated her.
But when she had walked into that room today...
His first thought hadn't been anger.
It had been the same one that had haunted him for five years.
I still want you.
