The world outside was chaos.
Flashes of cameras.
Media captions exploding on every screen.
"The hidden boss of Techno Gamerz in love with his rival's sister!"
"Enemies turned lovers? The forbidden romance nobody saw coming!"
"The silent king of the business world finally claims his queen!"
The photographs were everywhere — Kabir , carrying her bridal style, her mask slightly tilted, her face pale with shock against his chest.
And every single headline was like fuel on the fire raging inside me.
They dared to touch her.
They dared to even breathe near her.
Now the whole damn city would pay.
Phones buzzing like angry hornets, a thousand flashing lights of chaos…
My arms were wrapped tightly around her trembling form when a sharp, incessant vibration broke through the haze. Both our phones were buzzing non-stop, screaming for attention. The world we had shut out for a fragile moment came crashing back, shattering the cocoon we had built in that embrace.
Shreya slowly pulled back, her hands trembling as she fished out her phone from her clutch. I could hear her breathing quicken even before she looked at the screen.
The name "Shashwat Bhaiya" flashed like a red warning light.
She answered the call with shaky hands, her voice breaking.
"Bhaiya…"
His voice boomed from the other side, thick with fear and barely contained anger.
"Shreya! Are you okay? Tell me right now, are you hurt anywhere?"
"H-Hmm… I-I'm fine…" she stammered, her words choked, as tears welled up in her eyes.
Before she could say more, another voice cut through — her mom's, frantic and almost hysterical.
"Beta! Where are you? We've been calling nonstop! Come back home immediately, we're so worried!"
Shreya clutched the phone tightly, tears spilling over as she panicked.
"M-mom… I… I'm with Vihaan. We're coming home. Please don't worry, I'm okay—"
"Okay?!" her mother's voice cracked. "You disappear, the news shows you in some stranger's arms, and you call this okay?!"
Shreya whimpered, "Please, mom… just trust me. I'm safe now. Please."
The call disconnected, leaving a deafening silence.
Her phone slipped from her hand. Her entire body shook violently.
I couldn't stand watching her fall apart like this.
Without a word, I grabbed her trembling hands, locking them firmly in mine. My grip was steady, unyielding — a silent vow that nothing would harm her again.
And then… to my shock, she squeezed back, desperately clutching me like I was her lifeline.
That one silent plea made my rage explode silently inside me.
"How dare they…" My thoughts were venomous. How dare they touch what's mine. How dare they make her this scared, this fragile.
I wanted to burn the whole world down.
"They think they've won just because she's breathing? No. They'll wish for death, but death will be mercy I'll never grant them. They touched you once. If they even look at you again, I'll burn this city to the ground. I'll erase their names, their families, their very existence."
Shreya's trembling voice broke through my storm.
"Vihaan… let's go home. Please."
I forced myself to nod. Without letting go of her hand, I started the engine.
My other hand stayed on hers the entire time as I drove.
"I don't care who they are," I muttered, my voice dark and low, barely human.
"Touch her once, and I'll make sure the entire city remembers her name… and fears mine."
Her eyes widened, but she didn't say a word. She just held on tighter.
When we reached the mansion, I parked near the gate. Before she could move, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward me, crushing her trembling form in a fierce embrace.
My forehead rested against hers, my breathing ragged.
"This…" my voice was sharp, venom dripping with each word, "this will never happen again. Not even in your dreams, Shreya. I swear on my name, anyone who tries will vanish before the sun rises."
Her lips parted in shock, but before she could respond, I gently guided her out of the car.
As we walked inside, I kept a small distance from her — appearances had to be maintained.
My hand on the small of her back, protective but subtle. No one could see the chaos storming inside me.
Shreya's POV
My body was home.
But my soul?
It was still trapped in that banquet hall, in the stranger's chilling eyes, in Vihaan's dark wrath.
As I stumbled forward, my mind whirled with relentless, suffocating questions.
"Why did that stranger… look at me like he knew me?"
"Why did Vihaan's entire demeanor change in that moment — why did he look at me like… like he'd kill for me?"
"Why does this all feel like I've lived it before?"
"And why… why is it always Vihaan at the center of my pain, my chaos, my fear?"
Each question screamed louder than the last, shredding my sanity.
The moment I crossed the threshold of our house, Nakul Bhaiya rushed forward and hugged me tightly. That was all it took.
I collapsed into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably, my body shaking like a child's.
"Shhh… you're safe now, Betu ," he whispered, his own voice trembling.
He carried me to my room, and Mom and Reema Aunty hurried to change my ruined clothes, giving me warm water and medicines.
As they fussed over me, my tear-blurred eyes caught sight of Nishant Bhaiya.
His eyes were bloodshot—not from anger, but from silent tears. The same look he'd worn the night Harsh was arrested.
He didn't want me to see his pain, but I saw it anyway.
If Nishant was breaking, Shashwat was the opposite — perfectly composed, but so terrifyingly calm that the air itself seemed to tighten.
A predator before the kill.
And there was Shashwat Bhaiya, terrifying in his silence in the corner of the balcony .
His aura was suffocating — calm, but dark, like the eye of a deadly storm.
He was on a call, his voice low and deadly.
From my bed, I overheard fragments of his words as he stood on the balcony.
"Why the hell did I hire you incompetent fools and pay you this much," he snarled, his grip on the phone so tight his knuckles turned white.
"You had one job — just one!"
A pause. A dangerous silence.
A deadly pause.
Then his voice dropped to a hiss, more dangerous than a scream.
"First Harsh. Now my sister. AGAIN."
My entire body froze.
That word.
Again.
The same cursed word Vihaan had spat earlier.
The same word the stranger whispered.
Shashwat's voice turned lethal.
"Erase every trace of this from the media," he ordered coldly.
"And prepare yourselves… because you'll pay for every tear she's shed."
He ended the call sharply, chest rising with contained fury.
When he turned, his dark gaze swept the room — and landed on me.
Panicking, I quickly shut my eyes and pretended to be asleep.
I felt his presence linger, then slowly fade as he left the room, carefully closing the door behind him.
Alone once more, my mind erupted.
Those cursed words clawed at me, repeating endlessly.
"Again."
"Again."
"Again."
The stranger said it.
Vihaan said it.
My brothers said it.
WHY?
"Why does everyone keep saying again?!" my thoughts screamed.
"Why does everything feel like a half-remembered nightmare?!"
"Why can't I recall what really happened the day Harsh was arrested?!"
"What are they hiding from me?!"
The questions circled like vultures, tearing at my sanity.
A gentle knock broke through my storm.
Soft. Hesitant. Almost… testing if I was awake.
I rushed to the door and opened it.
Nishant Bhaiya stood there, his face composed but his eyes too red, too pained.
Without a word, he entered and sat on my bed.
Like a child, I lay my head on his lap.
His hand automatically began caressing my forehead, just like when I was little.
The familiar comfort made me ache even more.
But the silence was unbearable.
Finally, I broke it.
"Bhaiya…" my voice trembled. "Are you… are you hiding something from me?"
He froze.
For a few seconds, he didn't even breathe.
Then, forcing a smile, he said softly, "Nahi, betu. Why would you think that? Did someone say something to you?"
I nodded, tears stinging my eyes.
"Tonight… at the banquet hall… there was a woman in a blue gown. Then a man who felt like… like I'd met him before. They both… they both said things that didn't make sense. Things that scared me."
As I spoke, I noticed his face darkening. His jaw tightened. His eyes—usually so warm—turned sharp, as if he was holding back a storm of emotions.
Finally, he exhaled slowly and forced a calm tone.
"You need rest, Betu. Sleep well. I... I have a few things to figure to do… we'll talk about this later."
His words did nothing to calm the raging sea inside me.
As he left the room, closing the door behind him, I curled under the blanket, staring into the darkness.
"Again," I whispered to myself, tears slipping silently down my cheeks.
"Why does everyone keep saying AGAIN?
Why do I feel like I'm missing a part of my own story?"
The darkness offered no answers.
Only silence.
And the terrifying certainty that something big was being kept from me.