Those words from his mouth, was enough to soothe all the pain I went through!
The men had already surrounded us.
Their eyes locked onto me—and in that instant, fear crawled through my veins.
I panicked.
Grabbing Kabir tightly, I clung to him as if he was the only thing keeping me grounded.
"I don't want to go…" I whispered, my voice trembling.
A terrifying thought kept echoing in my head—
What if they take me away…?
But then… something strange happened.
The moment their eyes shifted to Kabir—
they froze.
Every single one of them.
Not a step forward.
Not even an attempt to touch me.
It was as if an invisible line had been drawn… and none of them dared to cross it.
Confusion slowly replaced my fear.
What just happened…?
Why did they stop?
What changed… just beca
use Kabir was here?
For a second, I thought—
Did Kabir call the police? Is that why they're scared?
But deep down…
it didn't feel like that was the real reason.
Something about Kabir…
something they recognized
…
something that made even them hesitate.
Kabir gently held my wrist, his grip firm yet reassuring.
I looked up at him—my eyes searching for answers, for safety.
He met my gaze, steady and calm.
"Come with me," he said softly.
There was something in his voice… something that made my fear loosen its grip on me.
And without another word, I followed him.
He kept walking ahead, his eyes fixed forward—alert, focused.
But I… I couldn't stop looking at him.
Memories began crashing into my mind, one after another—
That day… when the speeding truck almost hit me.
The way he pulled me back just in time.
Then… when I was in pain during my periods, and he stayed, quietly taking care of me without making it awkward.
And my aunt…
the way he stood between us, shielding me.
And today…
today, he pulled me out of hell itself.
A lump formed in my throat.
What would have happened to me… if he wasn't here today?
The thought alone made my chest tighten.
How do I ever repay this…?
How do I repay him?
I was still lost in my thoughts when suddenly my attention shifted ahead.
There it was—
THE EXIT!
Freedom.
A wave of relief washed over me so suddenly that my chest felt light for the first time.
I almost smiled.
But just beside it…
that same cursed section—
the place where girls were sold like they meant nothing.
My stomach twisted.
We kept walking, getting closer to the exit—
step by step.
We're finally getting out…
But just as we were about to reach it—
Kabir turned.
My steps faltered.
He didn't stop.
Didn't hesitate.
He changed direction… and started walking straight toward the main hall.
The same hall.
The place where I was sold.
My heart dropped.
Shock hit me so hard, I almost stopped walking.
"Kabir…" I said, my voice filled with confusion, "we're going the wrong way… the exit is there—behind us."
No response.
"This… this is the main hall… Kabir, this is where—" my voice cracked, "—where I was sold."
Still nothing.
He didn't even look at me.
His grip on my wrist tightened—stronger than before.
Too strong.
Pain shot through my arm.
"Kabir… listen to me… you're going the wrong way," I said again, panic rising with every step.
But he kept walking.
Forward.
Unbothered.
As if he couldn't hear me.
Or worse—
as if he didn't care.
That's when I looked at his face properly.
And my breath hitched.
There was no warmth.
No concern.
No sign of the Kabir I knew.
Just a cold… hard expression.
Distant.
Unreadable.
Terrifying.
Before I could even process what was happening, Kabir pulled me forward.
And then—he pushed me.
Hard.
I stumbled and fell into the center of the hall.
The same hall.
The nightmare
I thought I had escaped.
My breath caught in my throat as I slowly lifted my gaze.
And there she was
.
Navya Bhardwaj!
Standing right in front of me like a queen of that hell
.
And all around her… men.
Too many of them. Watching. Silent. Waiting.
My mind went blank.
Nothing made sense anymore.
I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe properly.
I didn't even know where to look—what to believe.
Then I heard it.
Kabir's voice.
But it wasn't the voice I knew
.
There was no softness in it. No protection. No familiarity.
Only something cold. Sharp. Detached.
"You can take your property," he said flatly.
The words hit me like a slap I didn't see coming.
Property.
My body froze.
Slowly… I turned my head toward him.
My heart was screaming, refusing to accept what my eyes were seeing.
Because this couldn't be him.
This couldn't be the same Kabir who had pulled me away from danger…
who had saved me from the truck…
who had stood like a shield between me and the world…
He was my safety… my only trust… my escape from hell.
And in the same breath…
"Kabir…" I whispered, barely able to form his name.
But he didn't look at me.
Not even once. !
Before I could understand anything further, the air shifted again.
Navya Bhardwaj stepped down from her throne.
Slow. Controlled. Certain.
Like she owned the very ground I was standing on.
In a single movement, she grabbed my hair and pulled me up with brutal force.
Pain shot through my scalp.
I gasped.
Her face came close to mine, eyes burning with contempt.
"You think you can walk in here and survive?" she said coldly.
"You'll pay for this."
Her grip tightened for a moment—then she let go as if I was nothing.
And then she walked past me
.
Straight toward Kabir.
My heart stopped.
I watched, frozen, as she reached him… and wrapped her arms around him.
A hug.
Intimate. Familiar. Real.
My mind refused to process it.
And Kabir—
Kabir didn't move away.
Instead, his hand settled at her waist, steady and natural… like it belonged there.
Like she belonged there.
Navya tilted her head slightly, a faint smirk forming as she looked up at him.
"I knew you'd come, Kabir Rathore," she said softly.
The name landed like thunder in my chest.
KABIR… RATHORE!!!
For a moment, the world blurred.
Everything I believed in—every memory,
every moment of safety I had attached to him—
started breaking apart inside me.
Kabir's voice cut through the hall—cold, unshaken, absolute.
"Yes. I had to come."
A pause.
Then, like a verdict being delivered over a kingdom he already owned—
"After all… I am the owner here."
The words didn't register at first.
Owner.
My mind repeated it again… and again… as if repetition could turn it into a misunderstanding.
But it didn't.
It only sank deeper.
My breath got stuck somewhere between my chest and throat.
Owner?
My lips trembled without permission.
"Kabir Rathore…" I thought helplessly.
"What… what is this?"
Rathore.
That name hit differently now.
A name I had heard… but never understood.
My thoughts spiraled violently.
He was a painter… wasn't he?
Soft hands… quiet eyes… someone who looked like he belonged to art, not this darkness…
I had believed that version of him.
I had held onto it like truth.
But the truth standing in front of me now felt like a different reality entirely.
And I couldn't make them match.
Because the Kabir I knew…
and the Kabir I was seeing…
were not the same person.
Or maybe… I had never really known him at all.
My chest tightened painfully.
I forced my eyes up.
And that's when I saw it.
Kabir was looking at me.
His face was turned slightly away, expression unreadable—detached, controlled, almost inhumanly calm.
And Navya…
Still close to him.
Still holding him like she belonged there.
Like I didn't exist.
Something inside me cracked at the sight.
I couldn't breathe properly anymore.
My vision blurred at the edges, not from tears yet—but from disbelief too heavy to hold.
Because this wasn't just betrayal.
This was the collapse of every truth I had built my survival on.
And Kabir…
Kabir still didn't look at me. His hands were still on navya's waist !
As if I was nothing more than a forgotten detail in a world I was never meant to understand.
Navya had already walked away.
The silence she left behind felt heavier than her presence.
And Kabir…
he was still there.
Standing like nothing had just shattered my entire world.
Something inside me snapped.
I rushed toward him.
Before I could think—before fear could stop me—
My steps were shaky, unsteady, but my anger carried me forward.
Kabir was still standing there.
Calm. Unmoved.
Like everything happening around me had no meaning at all.
I stopped in front of him.
For a second, the world blurred—faces, voices, the hall, the darkness… everything faded except him.
And then—
Without thinking. Without hesitation.
I raised my hand.
And slapped him.
Hard.
The sound echoed through the entire hall.
Silence followed instantly.
Even the air felt like it had frozen.
My hand trembled after it, but I didn't lower it right away.
My eyes burned into his.
Pain. Rage. Betrayal. Breaking all at once.
"How dare you…" I whispered, my voice shaking but sharp.
Kabir's head turned slightly from the impact.
A faint pause.
But then—
He looked back at me.
And there was still nothing in his eyes.
No shock.
No anger.
No guilt.
Angrily my hand grabbed his collar tightly, crushing the fabric between my fingers.
My voice broke out—raw, shaking, burning with everything I could no longer hold inside.
"You bastard… Kabir Rathore!"
My eyes burned as I stared at him.
There was anger in them.
Pain.
Denial.
Hope that refused to die even now.
And his eyes still—
Empty.
Not a single emotion.
Not guilt. Not regret. Not even hesitation.
Just… silence.
Cold. Controlled. Detached.
As if I was screaming at a wall that had already decided not to hear me.
I clenched my jaw, my grip tightening.
"You betrayed me…" I shouted, my voice echoing through the hall.
"You used me like I meant nothing!"
The words bounced off the walls—but not off him.
He didn't move.
Didn't react.
And that made it worse.
Because silence from him felt more violent than any confession.
Before I could say another word, the men moved toward me.
"HOW DARE YOU TO RAISE YOUR HAND AGAINST OUR LORD" THEY SCREAMED ANGRILY !
They rushed towards me !
Fast.
Intent.
I flinched back instinctively—
But Kabir's voice cut through the air.
"Stop."
Just one word.
And they did.
Everything froze for a second.
My breath hitched as I looked at him,
desperate—searching for even a trace of the person I once trusted.
But there was nothing.
No softness.
No hesitation.
No care.
Only a cold, distant authority.
He turned his gaze toward me.
And for the first time, I felt like I was looking at a stranger wearing Kabir's face.
"This is your world now," he said flatly.
"And you will learn to live in it."
Each word landed like a blow I couldn't defend myself from.
My knees weakened.
The ground beneath me felt like it disappeared.
I stumbled—and collapsed.
For a moment, I couldn't even breathe properly.
Then hands grabbed me.
Rough.
Unforgiving.
The same men I feared before were pulling me now, dragging me without mercy.
I tried to resist at first—
But something inside me broke completely.
I stopped struggling.
Because I finally understood something I didn't want to accept.
There was no one coming to save me anymore.
No voice to call my name.
No hand to pull me back.
No Kabir to stand between me and this darkness.
The one I trusted…
was standing right there.
And still…
He let it happen.
As I was dragged away, my eyes stayed fixed on him one last time.
The man I believed in…
the man I thought was my escape…
Was the same person pushing me deeper into a world I could never return from.
And that realization hurt more than anything they could ever do to me.
*******************************************