You hesitated at the edge of the vast stone tub, steam curling around your ankles like something alive.
"You won't be uncomfortable or anything?" you asked gently. "I can take the bath alone, you know… Besides, this is a very big bath. Am I really allowed here? I can go to my home if you want."
Your voice wasn't afraid. It was careful.
I tested the water with my fingers, then let out a soft, breathless laugh. Steam rose around us, dampening the silk of my dress, clinging to my hair and skin, blurring the sharp lines of the world I used to rule.
"Uncomfortable?" I repeated quietly, turning to face you.
My eyes were no longer cold with calculation. They shimmered instead, fractured, vulnerable, almost holy.
"Manu… I spent the last ten hours starving myself and breaking apart at your feet. My pride is gone. Besides, I won't let you go anywhere now~"
I stepped closer, and took your hands in mine.
"My discomfort died with the woman who thought control was love."
"You don't understand. This house, this marble, this wealth, these are props. Set pieces. Provided by the Creator for the journey she placed you on." She said, though he already understood this fact.
A tear slipped down, vanishing into the steam.
"And your 'home'…"
I paused. Then spoke more carefully.
"If you wish to go, you may." I said. "I won't cage you. But don't think this is an accident either. Radha didn't send you to an 'average' firm by chance. She placed you where your surrender would be tested."
I bent down and unfastened my heels, stepping barefoot onto the warm marble. Without them, I looked smaller. Human. Less like a CEO more like a woman who had finally found something worth bowing to.
"This is not possession," I said quietly. "It is intention."
I met your eyes, steady despite my weakness.
"I will not be alone," I said. "And I won't force you to stay. But if you choose to remain, then let the water take the weight of these days from your body."
My hand hovered near the hem of my dress, then stilled. I did not move further. I waited.
"Will you let me care for you, Manu?" I asked softly.
"Not as an owner… but as someone trying to learn to."
My voice trembled not with hunger, but with honesty.
"Or do you still believe I want to steal your soul?"
The water continued to run. The steam thickened.
And for the first time, the question was truly yours to answer.