chapter 85 - Lost in Darkness
The office was buzzing with activity, a normal, fast-paced day at Malhotra Industries. Ira sat at her desk, engrossed in work, unaware that danger lurked just around the corner. She had been assigned to finalize the upcoming project’s details, and the only thing on her mind was completing it before Aarav returned from his meeting with Jain Enterprises.
Aarav had left early that morning, sharp in his tailored suit, pressing a lingering kiss to her forehead before whispering, "Be good, Mrs. Malhotra. I'll be back soon."
Ira had smiled, shaking her head at his usual flirtatious tone, and returned to her work. She had no idea that by the time he returned, she would no longer be there.
---
Hours passed, and Ira was still at her desk when her phone vibrated. She barely glanced at the screen before seeing a message from Rohan.
"Urgent. Meet me at the parking lot. Alone."
A frown settled between her brows. Rohan never messaged her like this. Was something wrong? Was Aarav okay? Anxiety crawled up her spine. Without giving it a second thought, she grabbed her phone and walked out of the office.
The parking lot was dimly lit, a stark contrast to the brightly illuminated building above. Her heels clicked softly against the concrete as she stepped forward, scanning the empty space.
"Rohan?" she called out, her voice slightly uncertain.
Silence.
A sudden chill ran down her spine. Something wasn’t right.
Before she could react, a pair of strong hands grabbed her from behind. A rough cloth covered her mouth, muffling her scream as she struggled violently. Her heart pounded, fear shooting through her veins like ice. She kicked, thrashed, but her attackers were too strong. The pungent smell of chloroform invaded her senses, making her head spin.
Her vision blurred.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
---
Aarav returned to Malhotra Industries later that evening, his meeting with Jain Enterprises completed but leaving him frustrated. He walked into the building, his sharp gaze scanning the office as he instinctively searched for Ira. His irritation melted into mild amusement when he didn’t spot her at her desk.
"Where is my wife?" he asked his assistant, a smirk playing at his lips.
The assistant swallowed nervously. "Sir, Mrs. Malhotra… she hasn’t been seen in a while. We found her phone in the parking lot."
Aarav stilled. The air in the room shifted, tension crackling like a storm about to break.
His steps were measured but filled with unspoken rage as he strode toward the security room. The staff hurried to pull up the CCTV footage. When the grainy screen flickered to life, Aarav’s entire body went rigid.
Ira.
Walking into the parking lot.
And then—vanishing.
The footage cut off abruptly, tampered with just as she was taken.
His heart pounded in his chest, a terrifying stillness settling over him before his gaze dropped to the screen’s paused image. His entire world tilted when he saw it—
Her payal.
A delicate silver anklet, lying abandoned on the cold concrete floor of the parking lot.
The very same one he had gifted her.
Aarav’s breathing turned ragged. His fingers curled into fists, his entire body shaking with uncontainable fury. Then—
CRASH!
With a violent force, he hurled the monitor off the table, sending it crashing against the wall. "FIND HER!" he roared, his voice raw with unrestrained rage. "I don’t care what it takes. I don’t care WHO YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH! FIND. MY. WIFE."
His employees flinched, fear evident in their wide eyes as they scrambled to obey. But it wasn’t enough.
"YOU!" Aarav pointed at his security head, voice shaking with fury. "What the f**k do I pay you for?! HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN UNDER YOUR WATCH?"
"S-Sir, we’re trying—"
"TRYING?!" Aarav’s voice dropped to a deadly whisper. "Ira is gone. KIDNAPPED. And you’re TRYING? You have ten minutes to bring me something useful before I make sure you never work in security again."
His men scurried away, knowing better than to argue.
But Aarav couldn’t breathe. His heart was hammering in his chest, his vision darkening with rage and fear. His hands clenched and unclenched as he paced the room like a caged animal.
He called Rohan, his jaw clenched so tightly it hurt. "WHERE IS SHE?!" he bellowed the moment the call connected.
Rohan stuttered, his voice trembling. "S-Sir, I don’t—"
"Don’t lie to me," Aarav growled, his grip tightening around his phone. "If you had ANYTHING to do with this, I swear on everything you hold dear, I will end you."
Rohan sobbed through the phone. "I swear, sir! I would never—I didn't!"
Aarav cut the call, his chest heaving. He slammed his fist into the desk, his knuckles splitting against the impact, but he didn’t feel the pain.
Ira…
Where was she?
And who was going to pay for taking her?
---
The first thing she noticed when she woke up was the suffocating silence. Her head throbbed, and she felt a sharp ache in her wrists. She tried to move, but the cold bite of metal against her skin stopped her—handcuffs.
Ira blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the dimly lit room. The air smelled expensive—rich cologne mixed with leather, but beneath it, there was something sinister. She struggled against her restraints, her breathing ragged.
Then she heard it—the soft, deliberate sound of footsteps.
The door creaked open, and her blood ran cold.
Rehan Singhania.
He stepped inside, hands tucked casually in his pockets, his dark eyes drinking her in. His lips curled into a slow, predatory smirk. "Finally awake, sweetheart?"
Ira recoiled, pressing herself against the chair as if she could disappear into it. "Where am I? What do you want?" she spat, her voice shaking but strong.
Rehan chuckled, stepping closer. "Oh, Ira, don’t look so scared. I just wanted us to spend some time together… without any interruptions." His fingers brushed against her cheek, and she turned her face away in disgust.
Her heart hammered in her chest. "Aarav will come for me. And when he does, you’ll regret this."
Rehan’s smirk deepened. "Oh, I’m counting on it."
What he didn’t realize was that Aarav Malhotra was already hunting.
And when he found her, the world would burn.
----
Here aarav have called vihaan and Kabir and tell them that ira is kidnapped
Vihaan, Kabir, and Aarav - are frantically searching for Ira. Aarav, in particular, is falling apart without her. He's always been dominant and controlling, but now he's completely lost. "Fuck! Where is she?!"
Aarav closed his eyes, remembering Ira's laughter. Her small, curvy body pressed against his in the morning. Her smart mouth that always challenged him. He saw her again, putting on her makeup in the morning, humming softly. His control freak side loved knowing where she was every second. Unknowingly a tear left his eyes
Aarav slams his fist onto the desk, scattering papers everywhere. He's been poring over every piece of information he has, every lead, every whisper from the streets. His eyes are bloodshot from the anger, and his jaw is clenched so tightly it's a miracle his teeth haven't cracked
His second-in-command, vihaan, knocks softly on the door, poking his head in. "Bhai?" "What?" Aarav snaps. Vihaan swallows hard. "We found something." He hesitates. "You're not gonna like it." "Spit it out!" aarav yells.
When ira bhabhi was in the parking lot there was someone else too, we found it out through call details and it's rohan bhai, aarav got shocked hearing rohan name, no he can't do that he is my most trusted man and also he don't have that guts to kidnapped her Vihaan looked at Aarav, his expression serious. "Bhai, we can't rule anyone out right now. We need to consider every possibility. Rohan might not have the guts to kidnap Ira himself, but what if someone else is pulling the strings?"
Aarav downed the rest of his drink in one swift gulp, the amber liquid burning his throat. He slammed the glass onto the table, shattering it into pieces. His eyes blazed with a dangerous intensity as he stood up, towering over Vihaan and Kabir. "Let's go."
Aarav kicked open the door to Rohan's apartment without warning. Rohan jumped back, scared shitless. He was a tall, lank man, but his muscles tightens his body.
Aarav..." Rohan started, but he didn't get to finish. Aarav lunged at him, grabbing him by the collar. He pushed him against the wall, making a painting fall off. "Where. Is. She?" He growled slowly, dangerously Aarav's fists rained down on Rohan's face, each punch accompanied by a vicious snarl. "She's MY WIFE! YOU TOUCHED WHAT'S MINE!" Blood spattered as he hit him again and again, his mind consumed with rage and jealousy.
Vihaan and Kabir tried to pull Aarav off, but he was like a man possessed. He kept hitting Rohan, who was now slumped against the wall, barely conscious. His face was a mess of bruises and blood. "AARAV, STOP!"
Aarav finally paused, his chest heaving with anger and exhaustion. He looked at his brothers, his gaze wild and unfocused. "He touch my wife." His voice was low, filled with pain and humiliation. "She's mine. My everything. My only weakness."
Rohan spat out blood, his voice barely a whisper. "Okay, okay... I'll talk." He looked up at Aarav, fear in his eyes. "Rehan and Rajat Singhania approached me. They offered me money—a lot of it—to help them kidnap Ira."
Aarav's eyes widened in shock and fury. He stepped back, allowing Rohan to slide down the wall to the floor. He pulled out his phone and barked orders to his men. "Keep him in the basement. Make sure he doesn't move an inch until I say so."
Aarav stopped pacing abruptly, his eyes hardening with resolve. "We'll find her. No matter what it takes." He turned to Kabir. "Get our best trackers on it. Everywhere Rehan and Rajat have connections, properties, hideouts. Check all of them."
And I want constant updates. Every hour. I don't fucking care how deep you have to dig. Find her. NOW!" He ran his hands through his hair, frustration clear on his face. "And get me that tracker info from Rohan's phone." He suddenly paused. "Wait..."
Aarav's eyes narrowed as a thought struck him. "Check Rohan's phone. If they gave him money, there might be some communication, some clue about where they took her." He turned to one of his men. "Get that phone and get it to our tech guy. NOW!"
One of his men nodded and rushed off. Aarav turned back to Vihaan and Kabir, his voice dangerous again. "I want every single one of those fuckers' heads on a platter. They think they can touch my wife? My ONE fucking weakness?"
Vihaan placed a hand on Aarav's shoulder, trying to calm him. "We'll find her, Aarav. And when we do, we'll make them pay. But you need to keep it together." He paused, then added, "Think about Ira."
Aarav's men scoured every possible location. Then, a breakthrough—Rohan's phone revealed a series of texts with a location pin. It was an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. "We've got something,"
The tension in the room was palpable as Aarav, Vihaan, and Kabir listened to the update. Aarav's face hardened, his eyes glinting with determination. "Let's move out. Now. I want every available man there. No room for error. We get her back."
They moved silently through the night, approaching the warehouse. Aarav's heart raced as he thought of Ira alone and scared. He radioed his crew. "Check all entry points. Remember, we need them alive. Especially Rehan and Rajat." * His voice was eerily calm.*
The team breached the warehouse, weapons drawn. Aarav's men moved swiftly and silently, taking down any guards in their path. Aarav led the charge, his heart pounding in his chest. He saw a door at the end of a dimly lit corridor and knew she had to be behind it.
Aarav kicked the door open, his gun raised. The sight that greeted him made his blood boil. Ira was tied to a chair, her clothes torn and disheveled, her face bruised and swollen. Rehan and Rajat stood over her, laughing. "Well, well, well..."
Aarav's gun pointed directly at Rehan's head. His voice was low and deadly. "You think this is funny, Rehan? You think touching my wife is a fucking joke?" Rehan and Rajat finally noticed the room filled with Aarav's men, their laughter dying instantly.
Rehan raised his hands in mock surrender, a sneer on his face. "Aarav, always the dramatic one. She's just a woman—" He didn't even finish his sentence before Aarav pulled the trigger, shooting him in the knee. Rehan screamed in agony.
Rehan gritted his teeth against the pain, his eyes filled with hatred and unfulfilled desire. "You always kept her locked away, like a precious jewel. But I saw her first, sitting in your office. I wanted her the moment I laid eyes on her."
Rehan spat blood on the floor, his voice dripping with bitterness. "But you took her away to LA. When you came back, it was my chance. I was going to make her mine. You can't blame me for wanting a piece of that—"
Aarav's face contorted with anger. He stepped forward, grabbing Rehan by the throat. His voice was barely a growl. "She was never a piece to be passed around. She's my wife, my everything." He squeezed Rehan's throat harder, cutting off his air supply.
Kabir, pushed through the crowd of men. He found Ira standing, her body shaking with sobs. She rushed towards Aarav, throwing her arms around him. Aarav's heart shattered at the sight of her bruised face and torn clothes.
Kabir put a protective arm around Ira's shoulders, noticing her wince when he touched her waist. He gritted his teeth. "Bhabhi," *He called softly, "Are you hurt anywhere else?" His voice was gentle, like a brother would talk to his sister.
Ira shook her head weakly against Aarav's chest, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Just... bruised," she whispered. "They... they tried to..." Her voice caught, unable to finish the sentence. "But I fought them I won't let him touch me aarav."
Aarav's heart swelled with pride and fury hearing Ira fought back. He stroked her hair gently, despite the rage boiling inside him. "That's my strong queen," he murmured, glancing venomously at Rehan and Rajat. "You dared lay hands on my lioness?"
Ira's strength finally gave out, and she slumped unconscious in Aarav's arms. Aarav's face hardened as he cradled her close, his eyes never leaving the beaten men. "Take these maggots out of my sight," he commanded his men, his voice icy cold.
Two of his men dragged the injured Rehan and Rajat out, their groans echoing in the room. Aarav carried Ira gently, his large frame dwarfing her petite one. He looked at Kabir,and vihaan his expression grave. "Get the doctor in house immediately."
Saying that they went to house
__________
Hey, my lovely readers! ??
I just want to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for being a part of His Temporary Wife, His Permanent Obsession. Your love, votes, and comments have made this journey unforgettable, and I couldn’t have done it without you!
But every story has a destination, and we are slowly approaching the end… Yes, the journey of Aarav and Ira won’t last forever. So, if you’ve been enjoying the story, now is the time to show your love! Vote, comment, and let me know your thoughts!
Let’s cherish every remaining moment together.
With love,
[Your author simran]