Chapter 18
The long corridor of the Rathore Mansion was quiet that evening too quiet.
Aariv was returning to the bedroom after having fun talking with Ridha and yug . The clock near the staircase struck ten; its hollow gong echoed through the hallway like a pulse in the stillness.
The chandeliers above flickered faintly, their golden light spilling over the ancient portraits lining the walls. The air smelled faintly of sandalwood and something… older , a burnt kind of scent that didn’t belong there.
He was about to turn toward Veeransh’s room when he stopped.
Something on the wall caught his eye.
A strange, black mark like a charred symbol was carved into the cream paint near his door. It looked fresh, the edges still dark and cracked, as if someone had drawn it with fire.
Aariv frowned and took a cautious step closer.
“Yeh… kya hai?” he whispered.
The mark was shaped like a circle, broken in two places, with lines extending outward almost like a sun whose rays had been cut.
But at the center of that circle, the plaster was burnt deep, leaving behind a faint reddish brown glow, pulsing lightly, like the dying breath of an ember.
He hesitated, then slowly lifted his hand and traced his finger over it.
The wall was cold.
Colder than it should have been.
And yet, when his fingertips brushed the symbol, a shiver ran down his spine not from the chill, but from something else.
Something that felt like a whisper beneath his skin.
He snatched his hand back instinctively, but curiosity that same reckless, fragile curiosity that had always guided him pulled him forward.
His eyes followed the direction in which the burnt lines extended.
There was another symbol a few steps ahead. Smaller this time, hidden partly behind a pillar. Then another, faint and broken, near the window.
They formed a trail.
Aariv’s heart began to thud, each beat echoing louder than his footsteps as he followed them one after another deeper into the dim corridor. The walls grew darker with each turn,the lamps on this side hadn’t been lit in years. Dust hung thick in the air.
He felt as if he was walking somewhere forbidden.
The trail ended near the west wing the oldest part of the mansion.
And right there, at the end of the hallway, stood that same closed door he had noticed on his first day here the one he thought was just part of the old, unused rooms.
The dark oak surface was now scarred with symbols burnt into the wood itself. The brass handle was blackened, as though it had been scorched by something unseen.
Aariv stood still. His breath clouded faintly in the cold air.
He swallowed, whispering to himself,
“Kya… yeh sab tab bhi tha? Ya ab hua hai?”
A faint humming sound drifted through the air low, distant, almost like someone singing from the other side of the door. The melody was slow, broken… hauntingly familiar.
Aariv felt the hairs rise on his arms.
He stepped closer one hesitant step at a time. His shoes made soft thuds against the marble floor, and with each step, the humming grew a little louder, a little clearer until he could almost make out the words.
But the language wasn’t one he knew. It was old, foreign, and heavy with pain.
He stopped right before the door.
A smell of burnt jasmine floated through the crack between the wooden frame and the floor. It hit him suddenly strong enough to make his throat tighten.
He reached for the handle. His hand trembled slightly.
“Aariv,” he whispered to himself, “don’t be stupid.
Just… just go back.”
But something inside him was a pull he couldn’t name, refused to listen.
He slowly placed his palm on the door.
The metal was freezing and then a whisper.
Soft.
Feminine.
Right beside his ear.
“Aariv…”
He jerked back immediately, his heart hammering. His eyes darted around the hallway nothing.
Only silence.
The humming had stopped. The entire corridor seemed to hold its breath.
He turned toward the door again and this time, he noticed something new.
A faint handprint had appeared right where he’d touched it. Burnt. Exactly like the marks on the wall. But smaller… delicate… almost like a woman’s hand.
He stumbled back, his pulse quickening.From inside the door, there came a faint thud.
Once.
Then again.
Like someone pressing from the other side.
He didn’t wait. He turned and ran.
His slippers slapped against the marble as he dashed through the dimly lit corridor, heart in his throat, until he reached his room again. He slammed the door shut, leaning against it, chest heaving.
For a few moments, he just stood there, breathing hard, his palms cold and sweaty.
He looked down his fingers were smeared with a faint trace of black soot. The same as that burnt symbol.
“Yeh sab kya hai…” he whispered shakily, his voice trembling. “Koi… koi mazak kar raha hai kya?”
But deep down, he knew it wasn’t a prank. It was something older. Something that didn’t want him there.
He walked to the bed and sat down, holding his head in his hands. The silence of the room pressed around him, thick and suffocating.
Aariv looked toward the window where the wind made the curtains sway. For a brief second, in the glass reflection, he thought he saw the outline of a woman standing near that old door at the end of the corridor her head slightly tilted, watching him.
He blinked and she was gone.
The only thing that remained was the faint echo of that song soft and broken lingering in his mind.
...........
The room was dim when Veeransh entered.
The curtains were half drawn, letting a single line of moonlight fall across the bed where Aariv sat, still in the same position he had been for what felt like hours.
His fingers were clasped tightly in his lap, eyes distant and lost.
Veeransh closed the door softly behind him.
The faint scent of burnt jasmine still lingered in the air. It made his jaw tighten.
He didn’t speak immediately. He just walked closer and sat down not beside Aariv, but a little away, as if some invisible wall stood between them. The silence between them was thick, filled with everything unsaid.
After a long pause, Aariv spoke, his voice low and trembling slightly.
“Tell me the truth.”
Veeransh’s gaze didn’t move. “There is none.”
Aariv turned to him, eyes wide, glinting faintly in the moonlight. “Aap aisa nahi kar sakte. Ye… jo kuchh bhi ho raha hai, aapko sab pata hai. Aur I am hundred percent sure I’m part of it.”
His voice broke slightly. “I deserve to know what’s happening.”
Veeransh finally stood up, his movements sharp. He turned his back to Aariv, staring at the dark window.
“Bas itna jaan lo, jitna mujhse door rahoge, utna hi safe rahoge,” he said quietly, his tone firm but heavy. “This is the only truth you should know.”
Aariv rose to his feet too. “Safe?” he repeated, disbelief clear in his voice.
“From what, Mr Rathore? From you?my own husband?”
He stepped closer, his bare feet silent against the marble.
“Tell me,” he said again, softer this time, “kis cheez ka darr hai aapko, haan? Aap bataiye to hum kuchh solution nikal lenge. Don’t shut me out like this.”
Veeransh turned slightly, his eyes glinting with a storm of anger and something else fear.
“Tum nikaloge solution?” His voice dropped an octave, rough with emotion. Then suddenly, louder sharper .
“DO YOU EVEN KNOW YOU ARE THE ONLY SOLUTION!”
His voice cracked through the room like thunder.
Aariv flinched, instinctively taking a step back. His eyes widened not out of fear, but shock.
Veeransh’s breath was ragged, his fists clenched so tightly the veins in his hands stood out. For a moment, his mask slipped the cold, unreadable Veeransh Rathore was gone, and in his place stood a man breaking from within.
Aariv whispered, “What do you mean… I’m the only solution?”
But Veeransh didn’t answer. He looked at him truly looked and something in his gaze softened just for a heartbeat, as if he wanted to say everything but couldn’t.
He turned away.
Without another word, he walked to the door.
Aariv’s voice trembled behind him.
“Please… don’t walk away again.”
Veeransh froze for half a second, his hand on the door handle.
His shoulders rose and fell once, heavily.
Then, without looking back, he said quietly:
“You should have never come here, Aariv.”
The door opened, and he stepped out.Aariv stood in the silence he left behind his heart racing, his mind spinning with the echo of Veeransh’s words.
(You are the only solution)
He sank down onto the bed again, his thoughts reeling. His fingers absentmindedly brushed against the faint soot marks still on his skin from the burnt symbols. They felt colder now.
Outside, the wind picked up whistling through the corridors like a whisper that refused to fade.
And in the distance, somewhere beyond that closed old door… something shifted.
Something awake.
Something waiting.
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Thank you
Love u all ?? ??