Roohi's POV

The office felt different today. Maybe it was because I had finally settled into my role as CTO, or maybe it was the warmth I had started to feel in this space. And a big part of that warmth came from Aryan.

Aryan Malhotra  - our CEO’s son, recently introduced to the company as the next in line. When I first met him, he came across as confident, kind, and oddly familiar. But I had brushed off that feeling as just admiration for his easygoing nature.

Over the past few weeks, Aryan and I had naturally fallen into an almost sibling-like bond. He was always looking out for me - reminding me to eat when I got too immersed in work, scolding me when I overworked, and making sure I had everything I needed.

It was strange.

Because these were the very things Vivaan used to do for his family.

And now, Aryan was doing them for me.

"You’re not skipping lunch again, are you?" Aryan’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I looked up from my laptop to see him standing at my office door, arms crossed, eyebrows raised. His presence had become so familiar that I no longer saw him as "the CEO’s son."

"I was just finishing an email," I defended myself, though my grumbling stomach betrayed me.

"That’s what you said yesterday. And the day before that." He walked in, placing a lunch box on my desk. "Eat first. Work later."

I sighed but smiled. "You really don’t have to do this, you know."

"And yet, here I am," he smirked. "I told you, I can’t let my CTO faint in the middle of a meeting. Bad for business."

I laughed, opening the lunch box to find a home-cooked meal. "Did you make this?"

"Nope, my mom did. But I told her to make extra for you." His voice was casual, but his eyes held something deeper - something that made my heart clench.

I shook off the thought and focused on eating.

Over time, the small gestures from Aryan started feeling… familiar.

One day, it was him making sure my coffee was just the way I liked it.

"You take two sugars, right?" he had asked, placing the cup on my table without me even mentioning it.

Another day, it was him giving me his jacket when I forgot mine at the office late at night.

"You'll catch a cold," he said, draping it over my shoulders before I could protest.

And every time, I felt something stir inside me—something I couldn’t explain.

Why did his care feel like something I had known before?

It all came to a breaking point one evening.

We had stayed back late at the office, finalizing details for an important project. I leaned back in my chair, stretching my sore muscles, when Aryan placed a chocolate bar in front of me.

"Sweet things help with stress," he said casually, sitting across from me.

My breath caught.

It wasn’t just the gesture. It was how he said it.

The same words. The same tone.

The same way Vivaan used to leave chocolates for Meera when she was stressed.

I swallowed hard, my hands tightening around the wrapper. "Why do you do this?"

Aryan tilted his head. "Do what?"

"Look out for me. Care like this. It’s like…" I trailed off, suddenly unsure of my own words.

He frowned slightly but then smiled. "I don’t know. It just feels right.I always wanted to have a sister and care for her and enjoy with her like they show in movies. But instead I was always left alone.

I studied him, really looked at him, and for the first time, I noticed the subtle similarities - his expressions, the way he spoke, the way he cared. My heart pounded.

No. It couldn’t be.

Could it?

I took a shaky breath, my mind racing. Why did Aryan feel so… familiar?

And why did it feel like, somehow, I had always known him?

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