Rain didn't fall that night.
It attacked.
Aarya ran barefoot on the empty road, her breath breaking, her heart louder than the thunder above.
Her dupatta slipped from her shoulder, but she didn't stop.
Because stopping meant one thing—
getting caught.
Behind her, black cars cut through the rain like predators.
She turned a corner—
—and froze.
One car stopped right in front of her.
The door opened slowly.
A man stepped out.
Calm. Controlled. Dangerous in a way that didn't need noise.
Aarya's throat went dry.
She knew him.
Everyone did.
Rivan Malhotra.
The man people whispered about.
The man no one dared to cross.
He walked toward her, unbothered by the rain, as if the storm belonged to him.
Aarya took a step back.
Then another.
"Running already?" his deep voice cut through the silence.
She tried to speak, but fear held her voice hostage.
He stopped just inches away from her.
Close enough for her to feel his presence…
and something else she didn't want to understand.
"You look like you've seen a ghost," he said quietly.
Aarya finally found her voice.
"I… I didn't do anything."
A small smirk appeared on his lips.
"That's the problem," he said.
"Your brother did."
Her world stopped.
Before she could react, his hand grabbed her wrist.
Firm. Warm. Inescapable.
Aarya gasped.
"Let me go!"
Instead, he pulled her closer.
So close that her heartbeat collided with his chest.
"From tonight," he whispered near her ear,
"your life is no longer yours."
Aarya's breath trembled.
"W-what do you want from me…?"
He looked straight into her eyes.
And for a second—just one second—
something human flickered there.
Then it was gone.
"Everything."