The corridor still echoed in Aansi's ears.
Her lungs hadn't fully steadied when she caught up to him near the stairwell.
"Wait."
He didn't stop.
"Please," she added, forcing herself forward.
That made him pause.
Slowly, he turned.
Her voice trembled, but desperation overpowered fear now.
"I need the money. Please. I'll end this marriage. I swear. Just help me."
Silence stretched between them.
His expression didn't soften.
"How much?" he asked.
"Thirty lakhs… maybe more. I don't know. The hospital bills keep increasing."
For a second, something unreadable flickered across his face.
Then he laughed.
Low. Disbelieving.
"That's it?"
Her confusion showed.
"Fine," he said. "You'll have it."
Her heart stuttered.
"Now," he added, voice hardening, "go and end this."
Relief and terror collided in her chest.
"Thank you," she whispered.
He stepped aside, dismissing her without another word.
But as she moved away, she felt his gaze follow her — not protective, not kind.
Possessive.
Strategic.
Leonid Voss's Office
She didn't knock this time.
The door slammed open against the wall.
Leonid looked up sharply from behind his desk.
Her sudden entrance did not match his carefully structured world.
"I don't want to marry you," she said immediately, breath uneven. "I don't need the money. I'm sorry. Please… end this."
The room went very still.
Leonid rose slowly from his chair.
Every movement controlled.
"What did you just say?"
"I'm ending this," she repeated, forcing strength into her voice.
His jaw tightened.
"You agreed," he said quietly. "Documents are prepared. Arrangements made. My reputation is involved."
"I made a mistake."
His composure cracked — not loudly, but visibly.
"Do you think this is a marketplace bargain?" he asked, stepping around the desk. "You come desperate. You accept my offer. And now you walk in here and withdraw?"
Her heart pounded, but she stood firm.
"I won't marry you."
His eyes darkened — not with heartbreak.
With insult.
"Is there someone else financing your sudden courage?" he asked.
She didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
For the first time, real anger surfaced.
"Who," he demanded.
"Doesn't matter," she shot back.
His control slipped a fraction.
"You are making a mistake you cannot afford."
"Maybe," she said. "But I'm still ending this."
Without waiting for permission, she turned and walked toward the door.
His voice followed her.
"If you walk out now, don't expect protection from what follows."
She paused — just for a breath.
Then continued.
The door closed behind her.
Outside
Employees stared subtly as she moved through the hallway.
Inside the cabin, something shattered — glass against the wall.
Leonid Voss had just been publicly defied.
And he did not forgive humiliation.
At the far end of the corridor, leaning casually against a pillar, stood Zaid Voss.
He had heard enough.
His expression didn't show triumph.
It showed calculation.
The game had shifted.
And now it was no longer about money.
Aansi reached the elevator, hands trembling — not from fear alone, but from the weight of what she had just done.
She had broken a contract with a powerful man.
And aligned herself, unknowingly, with someone far more dangerous.