(In balcony)
Reyansh leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on the faint glow of the city outside. Yet, no matter how many lights blinked across the skyline, his thoughts always gravitated back to her. Arina.
She wasn't supposed to matter this much. She was supposed to be just a presence in his house, a woman bound to him by a choice he had made. He had promised himself that he would never allow anyone the power to disturb his carefully constructed world of control and restraint. But she had walked into it like a ray of light, slipping through the cracks of his darkness.
When he had lost all hope, when he thought the world was just an endless battlefield where he had to fight for every breath, every ounce of power—she had been there. She didn't know it, but she had saved him long before their paths officially crossed. He never admitted it to anyone, not even to himself fully, but he had already marked her as his from that moment.
Arina was unlike anyone else. Reyansh didn't want to cage her or twist her into something she wasn't. He wanted her just as she was—soft, innocent, untainted by the shadows that lurked in him. And yet, every day he spent near her, every smile she gave him, every subtle gesture of care she offered—his control slipped further.
Proposing marriage to her had been the selfish choice he had made.
Since it was arranged marriage, he had prepared himself for the distance: to protect her from the storm inside him, to let her exist in his world without expecting her to love him . Her presence was enough, he had told himself. He would give her enough time that she needed for this new life .
But she had surprised him.
Arina wasn't content with distance. She wasn't afraid to take small steps toward him. She cooked for him, waited for him, teased him softly, even smiled up at him with an innocence he had thought extinct in his world. Slowly, she closed the gaps he had deliberately created. And now, he was certain that he could no longer keep his vow of restraint.
When she touched him, he burned. When she leaned closer, even in sleep, he struggled not to reach for her. And when she hugged him—the first time, sudden and fleeting—it had nearly unraveled him. He had been standing at the edge of control for so long that one step from her was enough to push him closer to the brink.
She wanted this. She wanted him. Maybe not his darkness, not yet. But she wanted to bridge the silence, to build something between them. Reyansh had given her that space, that freedom. Now, if she wished for an emotional bond, then he would not stop himself anymore.
He had never been a man who believed in restraint when desire struck. His whole life had been about claiming what he wanted—by hook or by crook. He never bowed, never begged, never allowed fate to dictate his path. The only exception had been Arina. For her, he had waited. For her, he had softened his edges, controlled his impulses, given her room to breathe.
But the longer he waited, the more certain he became of one thing—he could not remain in chains much longer.
Perhaps, it wouldn't be his fault. She was the one closing the distance, offering him trust, giving him those soft glances that haunted him even in his sleep. Maybe she wasn't as fragile as he once believed. Maybe she wasn't someone who would shatter in the face of his darker truths.
Reyansh's jaw tightened as he recalled her expression earlier that night—the shock in her wide eyes when he touched her, the faint tremble when he claimed her lips. She hadn't pulled away. She hadn't run. Instead, she had hugged him, whispering words that still echoed in his mind: I will never run from you.
A dangerous smile curved on his lips at the memory.
She had given him permission.
He turned away from the balcony and walked toward the glass of termeric milk she had left for him. Her care was so simple, yet it stirred something dangerous in him. He had been adored before, feared before, but never… never cared for in this quiet, unassuming way. It made him greedy.
What if she sees the darkness inside me? a small voice whispered in his mind. Would she still smile at him, still bring him comfort, still whisper that she wouldn't run?
Reyansh tightened his grip on the glass, his reflection in the liquid surface distorted and grim. He didn't know the answer, and that uncertainty was maddening.
But one thing he knew for certain—he wouldn't let her go.
If she accepted his darkness, he would keep her by his side, cherished and protected. If she feared it… then he would bind her closer until fear no longer mattered. Because Arina wasn't just his wife. She was his light, his obsession, his anchor. And obsession was not something Reyansh ever surrendered.
He finished the milk in one slow gulp, his mind drifting back to her. Even now, she was lying on the bed, her breathing soft and even, her presence filling the house with warmth he never thought he deserved.
He wanted to go to her. To hold her against him, to feel her skin under his hands, to remind himself that she was real, not some fevered illusion. But he stopped himself,his fists clenched at his sides. Not tonight. Not yet. He would wait just a little longer. Let her take one more step closer, let her whisper one more promise, let her prove she wouldn't run.
And when that moment came… he wouldn't control himself anymore.
For the first time in years, Reyansh felt anticipation coil inside him like fire. His darkness was no longer a burden. It was a part of him that she would have to face. And perhaps… she was the only one who could survive it.
A low, humorless chuckle escaped his lips. Or perhaps she won't survive at all. Either way, she will be mine.
With that thought, Reyansh left the balcony and walked toward the room, his shadow stretching long behind him.
Tonight, he would let her rest. Tomorrow… tomorrow, he might begin to show her who he truly was.
"If she doesn't fear the darkness, she will never escape it."