Chapter 4 — Too Close
1504 Words
Chapter 4 — Too Close
The sound of police sirens faded slowly outside the shattered café.
Broken glass glittered across the floor like ice beneath the dim emergency lights. Customers whispered nervously while officers questioned witnesses near the entrance.
But Maya Verma barely heard any of it.
Because Mihir Raichand was still holding her hand.
Not tightly.
Not romantically.
Just carefully.
Like she was something unfamiliar.
Something he didn’t fully understand yet.
Maya stared at the white handkerchief wrapped around her bleeding knuckles.
Then at him.
Then immediately away again.
Dangerous.
This entire man was dangerous.
Not because he was a billionaire CEO.
Not because criminals wanted him dead.
But because for the first time in years…
Maya felt comfortable near someone.
And that terrified her more than gunshots.
“You should disinfect that properly,” Mihir said quietly.
Maya blinked. “Did you just flirt through first aid?”
“I’m serious.”
“That sounded weirdly caring.”
Mihir released her hand immediately.
The sudden loss of warmth felt strangely noticeable.
“I was preventing infection,” he replied calmly.
“Right. Very medical. Extremely professional.”
Mihir narrowed his eyes slightly. “You joke when stressed.”
“You sanitize when breathing.”
“Fair.”
Maya almost smiled.
Almost.
A police officer approached them. “Sir, ma’am, we’ll need statements.”
Maya instantly stiffened.
Mihir noticed.
“You don’t like police.”
“I don’t like databases with facial recognition.”
The officer frowned. “Excuse me?”
Mihir answered smoothly before Maya could say something illegal.
“She’s overwhelmed.”
Maya looked offended. “I’m perfectly capable of causing problems myself.”
“I’m aware.”
The officer sighed tiredly. “Just stay available if we need further questioning.”
Maya nodded politely until the officer walked away.
Then immediately whispered, “We should leave.”
“You think they’ll return?”
“I know they will.”
Mihir studied her carefully. “You’re scared.”
Maya looked at him sharply.
“I’m cautious.”
“You hacked criminal syndicates for years.”
“Yes.”
“And now you’re worried.”
Maya’s expression became serious.
“Because Serpentine never attacks publicly unless they’re desperate.”
That got his attention.
Mihir stood slowly. “Come with me.”
Maya blinked. “Excuse me?”
“My penthouse is secure.”
Maya stared at him like he’d lost his mind.
“You want a wanted hacker inside your home?”
“You already invaded my servers.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“I wore pajamas while doing it.”
For the first time in years, Mihir laughed openly.
A real laugh.
Low and brief.
But real.
Maya froze slightly.
God.
Even his laugh was attractive.
Unfair.
Absolutely unfair.
Mihir noticed her staring this time.
“You’re doing it now.”
“Doing what?”
“Staring.”
Maya looked away immediately. “Your face is aggressively symmetrical. It’s distracting.”
Something unreadable flickered in Mihir’s eyes.
Then quietly—
“You think I’m handsome.”
Maya nearly inhaled her own soul.
“No.”
“You hesitated.”
“I was disappointed in humanity.”
“You’re blushing.”
“I hate you.”
“You definitely don’t.”
Maya stared at him in horror.
Was this man flirting?
The emotionally constipated CEO had discovered flirting.
Society was doomed.
—
An hour later, Maya stepped into Mihir’s penthouse for the first time.
And immediately stopped walking.
Everything was spotless.
Not normal clean.
Terrifying clean.
The marble floors practically reflected her existence back at her.
Every object sat perfectly aligned.
Books arranged by height.
Furniture symmetrical.
The air itself smelled expensive and sanitized.
Maya whispered, “This place looks like rich people surgery.”
Mihir removed his coat calmly. “Thank you.”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
“I chose to accept it as one.”
Maya wandered farther inside carefully.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the glowing skyline of Mumbai.
Minimalist furniture.
Dark colors.
Cold lighting.
The apartment looked beautiful.
And lonely.
Maya noticed a shelf lined entirely with sanitizers.
She burst into laughter immediately.
“Mihir.”
“What?”
“You organized them by size.”
“They’re categorized by purpose.”
“Oh my God.”
He looked genuinely confused. “That’s efficient.”
“You’re one step away from sanitizing oxygen.”
“I considered air filtration upgrades last month.”
Maya laughed so hard she had to lean against the kitchen counter.
Mihir watched her quietly.
That warmth returned again.
Strange.
Unfamiliar.
Dangerous.
Because her laughter filled empty spaces in the penthouse that had been silent for years.
Maya eventually calmed down and noticed something else.
No family photos.
No personal decorations.
Nothing emotional.
“You live alone,” she said softly.
“Yes.”
“No friends visit either.”
Mihir’s expression remained unreadable. “I dislike guests.”
Maya looked at him for a second too long.
No.
That wasn’t true.
He wasn’t avoiding guests.
He was avoiding contamination.
Isolation.
People.
Her chest tightened unexpectedly.
Before she could respond, Mihir walked toward a hidden security panel near the wall.
Multiple surveillance screens activated instantly.
Maya moved beside him automatically.
Close enough to feel his warmth.
Both noticed.
Neither moved away.
Mihir enlarged one camera feed.
Underground parking.
Three suspicious vehicles outside the building.
Maya’s expression darkened. “Found us quickly.”
“How?”
“You’re Mihir Raichand. Tracking you isn’t difficult.”
Mihir looked annoyed by that.
Maya smirked slightly.
Then suddenly all the penthouse lights shut off.
Darkness swallowed the room instantly.
Maya reacted first.
“Don’t move.”
Emergency red backup lights activated seconds later.
Mihir checked the security screen.
System breach attempt detected.
Maya swore softly.
“They’re inside the network.”
“That’s impossible.”
“They have internal access.”
Mihir’s eyes hardened dangerously.
Someone inside AstraVex was still helping Serpentine.
Maya moved rapidly toward his computer system.
“Password.”
“No.”
“Mihir.”
“You’re already invasive enough.”
“Mihir.”
He exhaled sharply. “Raichand@451.”
Maya stared at him.
“That’s your password?”
“It’s encrypted.”
“It’s emotionally embarrassing.”
Her fingers flew across the keyboard at terrifying speed.
Lines of code flooded the screens.
Mihir watched silently.
She was brilliant.
Not normal intelligent.
Extraordinary.
And completely absorbed when working.
Maya suddenly leaned closer to the monitor.
Too close.
Her shoulder brushed lightly against his arm.
Mihir froze instantly.
Maya noticed immediately and pulled away.
“Sorry.”
Silence.
Then Mihir quietly said, “You keep apologizing for touching me.”
Maya frowned slightly. “You clearly hate it.”
Mihir looked at her for a long moment before answering.
“I hate everyone touching me.”
The honesty in his voice surprised both of them.
Maya turned slowly toward him.
“And me?”
Wrong question.
Very wrong question.
Because Mihir didn’t know the answer yet.
And that unsettled him deeply.
Before he could reply—
Maya suddenly grabbed his wrist again.
This time intentionally.
“Look.”
Mihir’s pulse jumped.
On the monitor appeared a hidden encrypted file transferring from AstraVex directly into Serpentine servers.
Project Helix.
Live extraction.
Mihir’s expression darkened instantly.
“Can you stop it?”
Maya’s eyes remained locked on the code.
“Yes.”
“Then do it.”
Maya cracked her knuckles dramatically.
“This is the fun part.”
For the next several minutes, the penthouse filled only with the sound of rapid typing.
Mihir watched her in silence.
Focused expression.
Messy hair falling near her eyes.
Small frown when concentrating.
Beautiful.
Again.
Always beautiful.
Maya suddenly smirked. “Got them.”
The file transfer stopped instantly.
Then every Serpentine server crashed simultaneously.
Mihir blinked once slowly.
“You destroyed their network?”
“Temporarily.”
“That’s all?”
“I also leaked their cryptocurrency wallets publicly.”
Mihir stared at her.
“You started a cyber war.”
Maya grinned proudly.
“Yes.”
Mihir should’ve been angry.
Instead—
He smiled.
A real one this time.
Small but genuine.
Maya stopped breathing for half a second.
Because Mihir smiling changed his entire face.
Softer.
Warmer.
Devastatingly handsome.
And suddenly the room felt far too quiet.
Far too close.
Maya looked away first.
Bad idea.
This entire situation was a bad idea.
Then thunder cracked loudly outside.
The lights flickered again.
And before Maya could react—
The penthouse security alarms screamed.
INTRUDER ALERT.
Both turned sharply toward the entrance.
Someone had breached the building.
Maya stood instantly. “They’re here.”
Mihir’s expression became ice-cold.
But then—
To Maya’s shock—
He stepped slightly in front of her protectively.
Like instinct.
Like he didn’t even think about it.
Her heartbeat stumbled.
Because no one had ever protected her before.
And Mihir realized something equally terrifying.
If Serpentine wanted Maya—
He would burn the entire city before letting them touch her.
- Writer
