"You`re taking me with you, right? Plz take me somewhere, save me," she said. I took her to my mansion, where she would stay under my roof until the one meant to take her back finally reached out.
On the way in the car, she didn't seem the least bit afraid, as if this was exactly what she wanted… or perhaps, she truly had no idea what was to come. I could protect her only for as long as she was with me, but what might happen after the one who summoned her takes reha with them, the helplessness beyond my reach, that haunted me in ways I couldn't explain."
It was as if I no longer wanted her away from me, as if letting her go would tear something within me. I was struggling with my emotions, and she spoke after hours of silence,
"What`s your name?"
He asked my name, her voice trembling ever so slightly, fear tucked between each syllable, though she tried to mask it with a brave front. There was something heartbreakingly beautiful in the way she stood there, fragile yet defiant, like a candle trying to hold its flame against the wind. I couldn't help it. Watching her stirred something deep in me. I felt an ache that was part laughter, part longing. And in that moment, I realized I was smiling at her like a man who'd forgotten the world… lost, completely, in the way she dared to be strong while afraid.
And then it hit me, why was I smiling like that? What was she doing to me? As if startled by my own emotions, I masked the smile with the only shield I knew, anger. I turned away slightly, letting the warmth drain from my voice. "You don't need to know my name," I said, colder than I meant to. "Just sit. That's all you need to do."
The moment we arrived, she let out a soft breath of relief, glancing around as if finally grounded after being adrift for too long. "Thank God we made it somewhere," she murmured, half-laughing. "For a moment, I thought we were just going to keep driving in circles forever."
But I didn't smile this time. My voice turned colder, sharper, cutting through her lightness like a blade cloaked in ice. "That was the easy part," I said, my gaze avoiding hers. "You don't even know what's waiting ahead."
Without another word, I walked away, leaving her in the silent care of my guards, because keeping her close was starting to feel dangerous... and not for her, but for me.
The guards led Reha down the dim hallway and locked her inside one of the rooms, quiet, windowless, untouched by time. She didn't protest. She sat there, still wrapped in that red lehenga, her hands heavy with henna and wedding jewelry that now felt like relics of a story interrupted. The silence of the room embraced her, but she didn't cry. She just sat, like a memory frozen in the dark.
And I… I couldn't stay still.
Every part of me was restless. My mind kept whispering her name, pulling me back to that room where I knew she waited. Something inside me wanted, no, needed to see her, to speak to her, to simply understand how she was holding up.
But I didn't go.
I paced the corridor outside, swallowed by shadows, trying to silence the storm inside. Because I knew the moment I walked through that door, something in me would break. And maybe… something in us would begin.
That's why I didn't go to her.
Instead, I called Mr. Khanna. His voice was firm, businesslike, cold with the weight of decisions made in shadows. "You'll have to keep her with you for another month," he said. "I`m still the prime suspect in the case. We can't afford to take risks."
One month.
She would stay under my roof, within these walls, for thirty long nights. And yet, I couldn't breathe. My patience was fraying like worn thread. Every second without seeing her felt like a strange punishment I didn't understand.
And then, one of the guards spoke. Carelessly. Stupidly.
"Sir, are we keeping her locked in that room for a whole month? I mean, this place is full of men. Someone's going to want her eventually, right? Why waste something that pretty, every night going to waste her...."
The words barely left his mouth.
Something inside me snapped.
Before he could even finish that filth, I had him by the collar, yanking him back with a force. My fist twisted in his hair as I pulled his head down, forcing him to face the fury in my eyes.
"What did you just say?" I growled, my voice like thunder crashing in a storm-split sky. "Say her name like that again, I dare you."
The room fell silent. The other guards turned away. No one breathed.
"She's not just some girl," I hissed. "She's under my protection. My responsibility. And if I ever hear anyone speak about her like that again—"
I let go with a violent shove and walked away, jaw clenched, heart pounding. Because in that moment, I realized something terrifying. She is not safe here. I just can`t let her stay here with all.
She wasn't just under my protection.
She was mine.