The boardroom smelled like polished wood and quiet arrogance.
Mira felt it the moment she stepped inside the kind of place where decisions were made without empathy and consequences were treated like numbers.
Long glass windows framed the city below, as if reminding everyone who sat here how small the rest of the world was.
Aarav walked beside her, calm and unreadable.
Heads turned.
Whispers followed.
Who is she?
Why is she here?
Is she temporary?
Mira straightened her shoulders.
If they were going to look, she’d give them something worth seeing.
A man at the far end of the table cleared his throat.
“Aarav,” he said smoothly, “we weren’t informed about an additional presence.”
Aarav didn’t even sit yet.
“She’s here because she needs to be,” he replied.
“And because I decided so.”
That didn’t sit well.
Another board member leaned forward.
“Decisions like these affect the company,” she said.
“Personal attachments”
Mira spoke before Aarav could.
“I’m not here to interfere,” she said calmly.
“I’m here to observe.
Just like everyone else.”
The room stilled.
Not because she was loud.
Because she wasn’t afraid.
Aarav finally took his seat, eyes briefly meeting Mira’s.
Not reassurance respect.
The meeting began.
Numbers.
Reports.
Legal language wrapped around uncomfortable truths.
Mira listened carefully, piecing things together the subtle blame shifting, the careful avoidance of certain years, certain names.
Then it happened.
A screen lit up.
Old files.
Old contracts.
A man across the table smiled thinly.
“These documents raise concerns about how the company was acquired,” he said.
“Concerns that could damage public trust.”
Mira felt the shift before anyone spoke.
Aarav didn’t deny it.
“Context matters,” he said evenly.
“And selective truth is still a lie.”
The man shrugged.
“The media won’t care about context.”
Mira leaned forward.
“Then maybe stop leaking half-stories to the media,” she said quietly.
“Because if we’re talking about trust, intention matters.”
Eyes snapped to her.
“That’s a serious accusation,” someone said sharply.
Mira didn’t flinch.
“So is character assassination,” she replied.
“Yet here we are.”
Silence fell thick, calculating.
Aarav watched her, something unreadable in his gaze.
Not pride. Something deeper.
The meeting ended without resolution.
But wars rarely announce winners early.
As they stepped out, a junior executive whispered just loud enough,
“She’s bold.
Or foolish.”
Mira heard it.
She smiled to herself.
Sometimes those two look the same until the end.
In the elevator, Aarav finally spoke.
“You didn’t have to defend me.”
Mira looked at him.
“I wasn’t defending you,” she said.
“I was defending the truth.”
The elevator doors opened.
Outside, the city waited curious, cruel, alive.
And somewhere, Serena watched the news ticker crawl slowly across a screen.
“Interesting,” she murmured.
“So she’s not just staying.”
She picked up her phone.
“Let’s raise the stakes.”
As they walked through the corridor, Mira felt the aftershock of the room she had just survived.
Not applause.
Not approval.
Just attention and attention was dangerous.
“You surprised them,” Aarav said quietly.
“I surprised myself,” she replied.
“I didn’t plan to speak.”
“That’s why it worked,” he said.
“You were honest.”
They stopped near the glass exit.
Outside, reporters were already gathering, cameras adjusting, instincts sharp.
Mira’s heartbeat quickened.
“So this is what your world does,” she said.
“It doesn’t wait.”
Aarav nodded.
“And it doesn’t forgive easily.”
He looked at her then not as someone to protect, but someone who had chosen the fire willingly.
“From here on,” he said, “they won’t just question me.”
Mira met his gaze, steady.
“Let them question us.”
Somewhere above the city, clouds thickened slow, patient.
The storm wasn’t loud yet.
But it was learning their names.
Hey my lovely readers,
this is Aarushi Singh Rajput your Aaru 🫶
Chapter 14 is about finding your voice in rooms not built for you.
I’m still learning, still growing
so please comment, review, and guide me.
Tell me honestly what worked, what didn’t,
and how I can make this story stronger
1. Was Mira right to speak up in the boardroom or did she cross a line?
2. Do you think the board is already against Aarav?
3. What do you think Serena’s “raising the stakes” will look like next?
