The Secret Beneath His Skin-)
The city had begun to feel different.
Not louder.
Not quieter.
Just… aware.
Naira felt it everywhere she went — like unseen eyes followed her footsteps. Like the air itself carried secrets too heavy to speak aloud.
And every secret somehow led back to Ayaan.
It started with whispers.
Two students talking in low voices near the campus gate.
"Did you hear about that warehouse incident?"
"They say it wasn't an accident…"
"Someone powerful is involved."
Naira's heart skipped.
Warehouse.
Last night she had seen Ayaan walking out of an abandoned industrial area near the docks — his coat darker than usual, his jaw tense, his hands faintly bruised.
She hadn't asked.
But now… she wanted answers.
That evening, instead of going home, she followed him.
She didn't know what pushed her — curiosity, obsession, or something far more dangerous.
Ayaan walked through the dimly lit streets with confidence, as if the shadows belonged to him. He stopped in front of a tall iron gate that led to a deserted factory compound.
And then he entered.
Naira hesitated.
Her pulse thundered in her ears.
But she followed.
Inside, the air smelled like rust and cold metal. The building was barely lit — only a few hanging bulbs swinging lazily from the ceiling.
Voices echoed from inside.
Deep. Aggressive.
"You think you can betray me?" Ayaan's voice cut through the darkness — calm, controlled… terrifyingly steady.
Naira froze.
She peeked from behind a cracked wall.
Three men stood in front of Ayaan — rough, nervous, bleeding slightly.
Ayaan didn't shout.
He didn't raise his voice.
And that made him even scarier.
"I don't forgive betrayal," he said softly.
One of the men tried to run.
It happened too fast.
A flash of movement.
A punch.
The man fell instantly.
Naira gasped — the sound small but loud enough in the silence.
Ayaan turned.
Their eyes locked.
Time stopped.
Shock flickered across his face — only for a second. Then it disappeared, replaced by something darker.
He walked toward her slowly.
Each step echoed.
"You shouldn't be here," he said quietly.
She swallowed. "What… what is this?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he grabbed her wrist — not painfully, but firmly — and pulled her outside into the cold night air.
"Do you have any idea what you just walked into?" His voice was low now, almost shaking — not with anger… but something else.
"Tell me," she whispered.
He stared at her like he was fighting himself.
Then finally—
"I run this city's underground network."
Her breath caught.
"Smuggling. Deals. Power. Information." His jaw tightened. "And enemies."
The world tilted.
The mysterious man who appeared in libraries and rooftops…
Was the king of something far darker.
"You're dangerous," she said softly.
"Yes," he replied immediately.
Silence.
Wind moved between them.
"You should walk away," he continued. "Right now. Before this world swallows you."
Naira looked at him.
Really looked at him.
Not just the sharp jawline. Not just the magnetic eyes.
She saw loneliness.
She saw burden.
She saw a man drowning in shadows.
"And if I don't?" she asked.
Something shifted in his expression.
His fingers slowly loosened around her wrist, but he didn't step back.
"Then," he said quietly, "you become mine to protect."
The words weren't romantic.
They weren't soft.
They were a promise.
And a warning.
But neither of them noticed the black car parked across the street.
Watching.
Someone inside dialed a number.
"She's close to him now," a voice whispered through the phone.
"Good," came the cold reply. "Then we use her."
The game had begun.
And Naira didn't even know she was already a target.