The Silence Between Us

The tension of competition

Aayan’s POV

As I enter the conference room, the atmosphere of excitement hits me like a wave. The energy is palpable, with people dressed in their formal wear, chatting and laughing as they wait for the conference to begin. The room is decorated with balloons, streamers, and colorful flowers, adding to the overall air of joy and excitement.

I make my way to the corner of the conference room and sit down at the last seat. A moment later, Ayesha walks in, all dressed in an elegant white gown, looking absolutely stunning. As she makes her way to the podium, I can’t help but stare at her. It’s the way she commands the room that catches my attention; she has always been confident and capable, but I have never seen her like this. Her aura is screaming confidence and grace.

The host welcomes and introduces Ayesha to come up and present her speech, and everybody stands up clapping to welcome her, and so do I. But soon our eyes meet, we are face to face, and the intensity of our eye contact nearly knocks me off my feet. I can’t help but notice the fire in her eyes, determination and competitive spirit just bursting out of her. This isn’t the Ayesha I know; this is a woman with a newfound sense of purpose—a woman determined to do whatever it takes to win and protect her father’s reputation.

Her eyes challenge mine as if she is trying to read my thoughts and know every single strategy I am planning on using to win. I can sense her desire to compete against me, her desire to win at all costs. As much as this new aura of hers scares me, it is also filling me with excitement.

EXCITEMENT TO WIN and SHOW HER WHO’S THE BEST. I LOVE COMPETITIONS ESPECIALLY THE TOUGH ONES. I smirk knowingly.

Just as the intensity of the eye contact is about to become almost too much that we are about to kill each other with our eyes, a reporter breaks the moment by asking Ayesha a question.

Reporter: “I’ll ask our new CEO, Ayesha Singhania, to share her vision for Singhania’s Designs and how she plans to lead the company into the future.”

She shudders first due to the sudden question but quickly regains her composure and answers the question flawlessly. I can’t help but smirk at her initial hesitation. But her flawless answer makes me realize that she is not to be underestimated.

--Ayesha’s POV--

As I am about to speak, I can’t help but notice him. Yes, him…the one and only Mr. Aayan Malhotra. He must be here to ruin something.

I can sense the intensity of the eye contact we share. I stand there confidently, staring with the same desire to win. Showing him the power that I hold. I can see that he himself can feel this powerful aura. What does he think, huh? I’m not an ordinary woman who will be nervous or scared because of him.

Cuz I ALSO LOVE CHALLENGES.

Suddenly a reporter interrupts with a direct question.

I stumble at first, caught off guard by the unexpected interruption. I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks and my heart beating faster.

Closing my eyes for a second, I remind myself, “God, calm down Ayesha, you got this.”

I take a deep breath, looking forward with a confident smile and continue, “First of all, thank you all for being here on this special occasion. I’m excited to be here today, and to have the opportunity to share my vision for Singhania’s Designs. We live in a rapidly changing world, and I believe that it’s more important than ever to have a company like Singhania’s Designs, one that not only provides great products but also stands for something. We believe in sustainability and high-quality products that reflect our values. This is the future that I see for our company, and I’m excited to lead us there.”