Bhuvanya's breathing was shaky, uneven — her ribs ached where the belt had landed earlier, heat still blooming under her skin like burning brands. The room smelled faintly of dust and leather, the silence pressing so heavily it felt like the walls were listening.
She tried to stand.
Her knees buckled instantly.
She hit the floor again with a muffled gasp, palms scraping against the cold marble.
A shadow shifted at the doorway.
A hand reached toward her.
Arav — Aarush's youngest brother.
His voice was steady, quiet, almost too calm.
"Get up."
Bhuvanya froze, her eyes darting to the hand as though it were a snake.
She crawled back instinctively, her bruised arm trembling under her own weight.
"S–sorry… I–I w–will…"
His eyes didn't soften. They only followed her movement.
The hand didn't pull back.
"Don't be scared."
The way he said it wasn't comforting — it was… an instruction.
Her mind screamed not to trust him.
The belt marks still throbbed, and her throat tasted of iron from the moment she had bitten back her scream earlier.
But she was too weak to resist if he decided to grab her.
Arav stepped forward slowly.
The sound of his shoes on the floor echoed in the stillness, deliberate… heavy… and yet quieter than his brothers ever were.
He crouched in front of her, close enough for her to see the faint scar across his jaw.
"You shouldn't wander," he murmured, almost to himself. "They'll think you're… testing them."
The words wrapped around her like cold water.
She realized — he wasn't warning her for her safety.
He was warning her for theirs.
He reached out again. This time, his fingers closed around her wrist.
Not rough — but unyielding.
Her breath hitched.
He pulled her up, steadying her for a moment… before leaning in, his lips almost at her ear.
"You think the belt was bad?"
The whisper was barely there, but it sent her spine rigid.
"That was him holding back."
Her knees trembled so violently she thought she might collapse again.
And yet… Arav still didn't let her go. he made her to go in her room.
---
Arav's words hung in the air like smoke curling from a burning fire.
"Don't feel like they all melt. They are made of stones… stones that bore the heat of five trillion suns and may never melt."
Her chest tightened. They? She dared to ask, voice barely above a whisper.
"Y-you… also included in that?"
He didn't answer. The silence itself was sharper than any blade. Then, with a casual flick of his hand, he released her.
"Better not to ask questions again," he said, and with that, he vanished into the shadows.
Bhuvanya's fingers tingled where his grip had been. Her pulse hammered in her ears like a warning drum. Alone. Finally, alone…
She let out a trembling breath and looked around the room, eyes searching for something—anything—that could anchor her sanity.
And then she saw it.
A mirror, perfectly positioned on the mantle, reflecting the dim moonlight that trickled through the blackened curtains.
Her reflection.
Or… was it?
The woman staring back at her wasn't the same as the one who had entered the mansion hours ago. Her hair was tangled, cheeks streaked with dirt and tears, lips trembling—but it wasn't just that. Her eyes… they were wide, unblinking, frozen in a terror that felt older than her own fear.
Bhuvanya's chest constricted. Her scream clawed its way up her throat, a raw, primal sound that echoed against the cold walls.
She staggered back, heart hammering, staring at that reflection as if it might move on its own. she screamed "ahhhhhhh"...