K A V Y A

I sat on my bed, my thoughts spiraling, each scene from earlier replaying like a nightmare on loop. His face… those cold, unblinking eyes that burned with something fierce, and the weight of the guns all carried — it all screamed danger. My chest tightened.

The door creaked open, and a girl stepped in, balancing a tray in her hands. The faint aroma of food wafted through the air, but it only made my stomach twist tighter.

"Sir asked to feed you dinner" she said politely, her voice gentle, though my stomach sank further. A wave of weakness washed over me; every muscle in my body felt heavy, drained.

"I don't want to eat" I said firmly, turning my head away. My skull throbbed, my vision hazy, as if something foreign coursed through my veins.

"Sir will get angry—" she began, but before she could finish, a sharp surge of anger tore through me. I grabbed the edge of the tray and flung it to the floor.

"I DO NOT CARE!!!" I shouted, my voice ripping from my throat, raw and loud enough to shake the air. She froze, eyes wide, then turned and fled the room without another word.

I slid down from the bed to the cold floor, my knees buckling beneath me. The food lay scattered around me, the metallic scent of spilled gravy mixing with the stale air. My back pressed against the bedframe as I pulled my knees to my chest, curling into myself. I buried my face in my trembling hands, and the tears came again — harsh, unrelenting, until all I could hear was my own quiet sobbing.

Moments later, I sensed someone’s presence right in front of me. My heart lurched, and my breath caught. Slowly, I lifted my face, and there he was—

Sitting on the floor, just a few feet away, a plate of food balanced carefully in front of him. The dim light painted his features sharp and unyielding, every line of his face radiating danger. My chest tightened; my pulse thundered in my ears.

"Khana kyu nhi khaya?" He asked, his tone cold, deliberate, slicing through the room like ice.

"Let me go" I whispered, my voice shaking. Fear and defiance tangled together in my throat.

"Khana kyu nhi khaya, Kavya?" He repeated, teeth clenched, the quiet menace in his voice making my stomach drop.

"I WON'T EAT!!" I yelled, pushing myself to my feet. He rose too, towering over me effortlessly, a silent storm in human form.

"You have any choice?" He asked, calm and collected, yet every word carried a weight that pinned me in place.

"CHOICE?!!!" I shouted, my voice cracking, as fury and panic collided inside me. "You are a gangster, right? But why did you even kidnap me? And that too… YOU MARRIED ME!" Rage burned through me,i walked away from him but my knees wobbled beneath me, trembling as if betraying my strength.

"You talk too much, Kavya" he said flatly, dismissive, as though my words were nothing.

"Shut up!!!! Don’t take my name from your mouth!" I snapped, pointing at him, shaking with anger I could barely hold.

He tilted his head, amusement flickering in his eyes, predatory and chilling. "What else can I call you? Let me think… how about 'baby' ?"

"SHUT UP!!!" I screamed, and I saw something dark shift in his expression—anger, raw and dangerous.

"Don’t you think you shout too much?" He stepped closer, each movement controlled, deliberate. The air seemed to tighten around me, my chest pressing in.

"Apko lgta h mai kamzor hu?" I spat back, trying to hide the tremor in my voice, but the moment was gone. In a flash, he scooped me up in his arms and laid me gently on the bed. Softly, yes—but the sudden motion knocked the breath from me, jolting my entire body.

"Zara dekhu toh kitna dam h" he murmured, hovering over me. His gaze locked on mine, his weight pressing down, making my limbs feel useless, my strength vanish like smoke.

"DUR HATO!!" I shouted, pushing with all I had, but he didn’t move. My hands felt hollow, powerless. Weakness pooled in me, spreading like ice.

"Nasha utra nhi h lgta h" he said, gripping my wrist with an iron hold.

Nasha? My mind reeled. Did he… drug me?

"P-Please leave me" I whispered, voice trembling, weak and desperate. I tried to push him away—but my strength was gone.

To my shock, he let go. Slowly, he stood, retrieved the plate from the floor, and placed it on my lap.

"Utho" he commanded, and I froze.

"I already said I don't like repeating" he added, his voice sharp, slicing through the air. Trembling, I sat up. He positioned a pillow behind me, and the plate rested on my lap like a silent threat.

"The drug won't go away easily. Eat properly if you don't want to faint" he said. I met his eyes and instantly regretted it. The intensity of his gaze pinned me, suffocating, disarming.

"W-Why are you doing this?" I whispered, choking back tears, my chest tight.

"You will get to know soon, first finish your food, Verma" he said, and without another glance, he walked out, leaving the room heavy with silence, my heart hammering like a war drum.

I placed the food on the side table, my hands trembling. I honestly didn’t have the guts to eat anything. What if he had mixed something in it as well? The thought alone made my stomach knot tighter.

It was hard, but somehow, exhaustion claimed me, and I drifted into a restless sleep.

Next day

"Mam?"

The sudden sound jolted me awake. My eyes fluttered open, my heart still pounding from the dreamless void I’d been pulled from. I’ve never been a deep sleeper — even the smallest sound could snap me out of it.

"Sir asked, what kind of clothes you need — like saree, kurti, or anarkali?" she asked quietly, almost as if afraid her words might carry beyond the walls.

I pushed myself to my feet, heat rising in my chest. "I don't need anything" I said sharply, my tone edged with anger.

"But mam, sir—" she began, but I cut her off.

"What will he do?"

"He will kill her" a voice answered from the doorway.

My head snapped toward it. A man stood there, he was also present downstairs yesterday.

He stepped inside with unhurried confidence. "Leave!" he said to the girl. She obeyed instantly, slipping out without a single question, the door closing softly behind her.

"Tell me, what do you need?" he asked, his eyes scanning me from head to toe. His gaze felt heavy, measuring. I clutched my dupatta tighter around me, my fingers twisting the fabric.

"You like these fits? Should we order this?" he asked, his tone flat, almost mechanical.

"Who are you?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"Keshav Singh. Vi— your husband’s close one" he replied, the words making something in me twist painfully.

"He isn’t my husband!" I snapped immediately, the heat in my voice sharper than I intended.

"But he still is" he said simply, his eyes dropping to the streak of vermilion on my head.

"Stop it, please" I said, my voice breaking into a plea. "Can you please help me?" I asked, stepping closer.

"Help? Why will I help you? I helped your husband to marry you" he stated, his words striking like a blow. My heart sank, heavy and cold.

"Please" I whispered again, my last shred of hope clinging to the word. I reached out and held his wrist, forcing him to look at me.

He did — immediately — but the expression on his face was shock.

"Ho gya?"

Another voice sliced into the moment — his. I turned toward the doorway and saw him standing there, posture rigid, expression blank, yet somehow heavier than silence itself.

He stepped into the room, slow, deliberate. His presence filled the space. When he stopped right in front of us, his gaze dropped — not to my face — but to my hands still wrapped around Keshav’s wrist.

Keshav caught the shift in his eyes immediately. He pulled his wrist free and stepped back, putting space between us.

"Go and bring anarkali suit in every colour" he ordered without looking at me. Keshav didn’t question, didn’t hesitate — just turned on his heel and left, the door clicking shut behind him.

The moment the latch fell, he started walking toward me. His eyes… still locked on my hand, the one that had been touching Keshav moments ago.

I instinctively stepped back. He didn’t slow down. The wall caught my spine before I even realized I’d run out of space.

He stopped so close that the air felt too thick to breathe, his eyes still fixed on my hand like it had done something unforgivable.

"Get out of the room" I said, my voice firmer than I felt.

That made him look at me — really look at me. A faintly amused curl touched his lips as if the words entertained him. He leaned in, closing the last shred of distance, until I had to press myself into the wall to avoid him. But how much more I can ? I can't get inside the wall, is it ?

"Grab my hand" he said, holding it out inches from my face.

"Why will I?" I snapped, jerking his hand away.

His response was instant — his fingers clamped around my wrist, the grip sharp enough to make pain flare. "Aah—"

"Don't try to over question me" he said, his voice low, dangerous — the kind of tone that made my skin crawl and my stomach turn cold. Then he let go, the heat of his grip still burning on my skin, and started walking toward the door.

"Ky chahiye tumhe mujhse?" I asked, barely above a whisper. Fear still clung to my voice.

"Ky de skti ho?" His eyes dropped, traveling from my face down my body. I felt the weight of it like grime against my skin.

"You…" I began, but his gaze locked with mine, swallowing the rest of my words whole.

"I want your words" he said finally, each syllable deliberate.

My brows knitted in confusion. "What words?"

"You will get to know soon" he replied, already turning away.

"Then you will leave me?" I called after him.

He turned his head slightly, a smug expression curling his lips. "Only if you have guts to give me your words"

"Itni si baat ke liye shaadi karne ki ky jarurat thi?" I asked, a tear slipping down my cheek before I could stop it. His eyes caught it — and he stepped closer.

He brushed it away with his thumb, his touch unsettlingly gentle. "Parayi larki ke sath mai nhi rehta aur kalank lagne se phle hi mita dene ka socha maine" he said, his gaze unwavering, pinning me to the spot.

"What?" I breathed, disbelief hollowing my chest.

"Get ready and come downstairs, Verma" he said, cutting the moment short, before walking out and leaving the room heavy with the words he wouldn’t explain.

____________________

V I K R A N T

"Are you sure you are going to make her suffer too?" Keshav asked, his tone casual but his eyes searching. He slid into the chair beside me at the long dining table.

The food was laid out, steam curling lazily into the air, but neither of us had touched a bite. We were both waiting for her.

"Do you doubt it?" I asked, my voice flat. My gaze never left the staircase. I could feel the quiet of the house stretching thin.

"Yes, I do" he said. That made me turn my head, meeting his eyes.

"I’ve known you for years, Vikrant" he went on. "You reacted a bit strangely when she slapped you."

"What did I react strange? I did what should be done" I said evenly, though my attention was already pulling back to the empty staircase.

"Done? You let her hit you. That was… strange. In front of everyone, too" Keshav said, his curiosity sharpening.

"Shut up before I kill you here" I murmured, closing my eyes for a brief moment. I’d done exactly what I wanted to do. There was no sympathy here. Never would be.

The faint chime of payal broke the stillness. I opened my eyes.

She was there.

Descending the stairs slowly, a red anarkali brushing against her ankles, each step measured as though she feared the ground itself. No vermilion. No mangalsutra. A deliberate absence.

Intresting

Her head was bowed, her eyes fixed on the floor, but I could see the stiffness in her shoulders. Was it fear? Defiance? Either way… I found myself enjoying the sight.

Before she could reach the bottom, Spike padded forward, blocking her path.

"Aaa…" She froze, her breath catching audibly. "Ei kukurtake keu tarao !"

(Is kutte ko bhagao koi!)

"Spike, come here" I commanded, my tone clipped. The shepherd obeyed instantly, sitting by my leg, his head raised in quiet alertness.

She skirted past us, her movements small and careful, before taking a seat far from where we sat.

"Ājakāla jārmāna śēphārḍa pālana karā" she muttered, almost to herself.

(German shepherd kon palta h aaj kal?)

The maids began to serve breakfast. Silver clinked against porcelain. I picked up my fork, but my attention never wavered from her.

Her fingers trembled faintly as she touched her food. She didn’t eat — she picked at it, tearing pieces apart rather than tasting them. Her lips pressed into a faint pout, betraying her displeasure.

Exactly what I wanted.

"Vi—are we going to look at the case?" Keshav asked, drawing my gaze from her for a moment.

I gave a short nod, still chewing slowly.

When breakfast ended, I rose and walked toward her. She was standing near the stairs now. The moment she noticed me, her breath faltered — a tiny hitch — and her grip on her anarkali tightened until her knuckles whitened.

"Eat your food properly whenever the maids bring it to you" I said, stopping close enough for her to feel the warmth of my presence.

She lifted her head. Our eyes locked.

"I won’t" she said through clenched teeth.

"Like you have an option" I replied. My voice was low, deliberate. "I’ll be late tonight, but if I hear you didn’t eat anything… don’t say I didn’t warn you beforehand."

I didn’t wait for a response. I turned and left with Keshav and my some guards, the heavy quiet of the house swallowing the sound of my footsteps as the door closed behind me.

In court,

"Are you still trying to fight this case?" the lawyer asked, her voice low but edged with fatigue.

"Looks like" I replied flatly, my eyes fixed on a point somewhere beyond her shoulder. My mind wasn’t in this room—it was already moving ahead.

"We don’t have any proof, and… she’s also not in the state to say anything. The court isn’t going to listen" she said, a note of hesitation in her tone, as though weighing each word before speaking.

"I have someone…" I said quietly, watching her expression sharpen.

"Who?" she asked, curiosity lighting her eyes.

"I’ll tell… later" I exhaled deeply, pushing back from my chair, and walked out of her cabin without another glance.

The corridor outside hummed with muffled footsteps and distant chatter.

"Did it help?" Keshav asked, falling into step beside me.

A cruel smile tugged at my lips. My mind was already conjuring the things I’d do—with her—carefully, deliberately.

"Let’s torture that man first" I said, sliding into the backseat of the car. The door shut with a solid thud, sealing in my thoughts, and I was already ready for the things I was going to enjoy.