"You'll pay for it."**
**Bhuvanya** looked around the vast hallway. Everyone was asleep. The only sound was the ticking of the old clock and her own heartbeat—pounding against her chest like a warning.
Her fingers trembled as she twisted the handle of the side door… unlocked.
**Bhuvanya (whispered):** "There's a chance… I have to go."
She didn't even wear shoes. Just her bridal lehenga dragging along behind her as she sprinted barefoot into the dark. Cold air hit her face like freedom. Three steps. Five. Ten.
She was almost near the gate.
And then—
**A voice, from behind. Cold. Cruel. Mocking.** **Aarush:** "Aww… you want to run?"
She froze. Her breath caught. A second later, a hand yanked her backward, *fist tangled in her hair*—dragging her down to the stone floor.
**Bhuvanya screamed.** **Bhuvanya:** "Ahhh! Leave me!"
But he didn't. He towered over her, face shadowed, but eyes glowing with rage. He wasn't just angry—he was *humiliated*.
**Aarush (low and deadly):** "You made me embarrassed in front of the whole family. You disrespected *me.*" He leaned closer, his voice sharper than knives. **"Now… you'll pay for it."**
She tried to crawl away, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her harshly against the wall. The impact made her shoulder crack, her bangles shatter, blood mixing with glass.
She whimpered but didn't cry. She wouldn't give him that satisfaction.
**Aarush (smirking):** "What happened to that fire in your eyes, Mrs. Aarush virk?"
She spat at his feet.
That was the mistake.
He stepped forward, eyes turning into something demonic.
**Aarush:** "Wrong move, jaan." He pulled a silver chain from his pocket—the mangalsutra she had refused to wear. He grabbed her face, forcefully tying it around her neck like a noose.
**Aarush (growling):** "Now you'll wear it... or choke."
**He didn't kiss her.** **He didn't touch her skin.** But what he did was worse— He caged her. Controlled her. Broke her mind.
And then he whispered, a breath against her ear:
**"You're mine. Until I decide I'm done."**
The door slammed shut. And darkness swallowed her again.