The Office Affair

Chapter 13: Insecurities

I was tied to the chair naked. Helena walked up to me and slowly opened her shirt. She opened her rubber band and let her hair loose. She bent down and kissed me. "Do you love me?" , She asks. "Yes", I reply. "Will you be my slave?"
I don't say anything and lower my head with obedience.
"Good little whore", she whispers and twists my nipples while pulling them. I scream.

I wake up panting. It was just another bad nightmare. They are back again. I need to stop them. This can't be happening again. I get ready and go to the office. I walk past Riya but don't look at her. There are a lot of things going on in my mind and maybe I'm scared that someone will look through me.

Riya's POV:

Anika passes by me hurriedly. She didnt look at me and its fine coz she often tries not to make eye contact with me in the office to not arouse any suspicions but something about her felt different. Her actions looked more hurried than they usually are , I guess. Also she reached late today which is surprising because she is always on time. I think I'm just overthinking.

After 2 hours

I was busy completing my presentation when I feel someone walk past me with a great speed. She is wearing a strong cologne and pencil heels. My coffee almost tips over as her hand brushes past it. I turn my chair around. Its that richie bitch again. She stops walking and turns around. She sees me glaring at her, gives a smile and a look of pity and walks towards Anika's office. What the hell is wrong with her? I would have yelled at her but something tells me that its better to not mess with her.

Anyways, I m done with my presentation. I take a print and go to Anika's office to submit. I open the door and the ongoing conversations stop on my appearance. "I think I told you to knock before entering, Riya". It shocks me because since me and Anika grew closer, she never instructed me to knock before entering. But I guess, she is acting this way because there's a stranger present here right now. "I'm sorry ma'am", I respond. "keep the files and go". As I walk towards her, I realised she is tensed and sweating. I wanna comfort her but I wanna know who is this person who can make even Anika tense. I keep the files and walk out of her office and decide to stand near the door and peep in to see whats going on. Anika walks towards the door and draws the curtain.
Im stunned. I didnt think any financial meeting could be so personal that she wouldnt even let me look through the glass. I guess she still doesnt trust me enough. I walk back to my seat, disappointed

Anika's pov:

"I can sense she has something for you"
"Who?", I ask perplexed with a slight fear.
"You know very well who I'm talking about. I was there when u were acting all heroic for her in the bar."
"How long have you been stalking me for?"
"Forever. Like I said, I always loved you. And will continue to do so".
"Oh shut up. You never loved me. You only used me to satisfy your disgusting desires until you got bored of me."
"I was young. I made a mistake. But deep down I always loved you. When I parted from you, I became completely lonely. I realised that even though I thought I could keep things platonic, I got attached to you. And I know you had gotten equally attached to me."
"Oh is that so? Then why didn't you come back earlier? Why after 15 damn years? What about the fact I caught you fucking someone else? "
"So many questions. But its fine, Ill finally answer them for you. You know, I never believed in commitment. After going to college, I thought I could just have casual relationships with other girls. It didnt take me much time to realise, those girls could never match my taste and passion like you did. They never satisfied my craving and thirst. They were too fragile. It was like you were made only for me. But that realisation hit me too late. You already saw me in the position you shouldn't have seen me."

I wanna scream at her. The memories came flooding back. I had decided to surprise her by visiting her during my college break. I was so excited. I reached her house and saw heels infront of the door. It made me suspicious. But I trusted her more than anything. Or maybe I was just too naive . I rang the bell with a bouquet in my hands. I wanted to congratulate her for getting a good job. She opened the door. She was in a silk robe and I saw the dress of the other girl lying on the floor behind her. I dropped the flowers and ran away crying. It was raining heavily. I sat in the park and wept for hours. There were so many questions in my mind. Was I not enough? Who was that girl? Why did she feel the need to cheat on me ? How long as all this been going on for? I still wanted to go and beg her. I felt pathetic. I screamed and cried in the heavy rain. I felt so lonely. She was everything for me. I let her do anything she wanted with me. I was dreaming about graduating and finally being able to live in together as a couple. But she shattered all my dreams in a single evening. All these memories of past 5 years meant nothing? I meant nothing to her?

I didn't let her notice the tears that had formed in my eyes. I didnt look at her. I kept my gaze down and said, "then why didnt you come back sooner?", I asked, my voice breaking at the last word.

"Cause I knew I was guilty. I knew there's no use explaining. I thought maybe I could move on and things get better with time. They dont. They never did. Everything still reminds me of you. I kept an eye on you since then. I saw you getting involved in numerous one night stands. I saw the emptiness in your eyes. You weren't yourself anymore. You seemed empty. But last day when I saw you defending that girl in the bar, Riya Sharma i guess, something felt different. Something inside me burnt. She didn't seem like a regular one night stand for you. Then a few days later, I stopped noticing you in the bar. I felt like I needed to talk to you before its too late. Because I can't lose you again. I needed to clear things up. And now I'm here for you. Only I know your real self and I know what you want. So come back to me Anika."

She gets up from her chair and walks towards me. She lifts my face gently towards her and leans in.