Chapter 86 - The Breaking Point
The drive home was silent. The air inside the car was heavy with tension, but Aarav barely noticed it. His entire focus was on Ira, who lay unconscious in his arms, her delicate frame wrapped in his coat. He had refused to let anyone else touch her. His grip was possessive, desperate, as if afraid she would slip away from him if he loosened it even slightly. Every time the car hit a bump, he would instinctively tighten his hold, whispering soothing words in her ear, even though she couldn’t hear him.
As soon as they reached the Malhotra mansion, the family rushed outside, their faces painted with worry. Sunita gasped the moment she saw her son carrying Ira’s limp body. The doctor was already waiting, summoned the moment Aarav had called from the road.
He carried her straight to their bedroom and gently placed her on the bed. His fingers trembled as he brushed her hair back from her face, his heart twisting painfully at how pale she looked. His Ira—his fiery, stubborn, beautiful wife—looked fragile, like a delicate doll that could break at any moment.
The doctor worked quickly, checking her vitals, treating the bruises on her wrists where the ropes had cut into her skin. Aarav watched every movement with sharp, hawk-like eyes, barely keeping himself from snapping at the man to be more gentle. When the doctor finally stood up, removing his gloves, the room fell into a suffocating silence.
“She’s physically fine,” the doctor assured them. “Just weak and exhausted. She fainted due to stress and dehydration. Once she wakes up, make sure she eats something and gets plenty of rest.”
Aarav gave a stiff nod, his jaw clenching. He didn’t need to be told to take care of her. He had already sworn that from the moment he found her.
The doctor left, and one by one, the family retreated, giving him space. But Sunita stayed. She sat beside Ira, gently caressing her hair, her motherly touch filled with tenderness and silent prayers.
Aarav, who had been standing like a statue at the foot of the bed, suddenly stumbled back. His breaths came in ragged gasps, and before he could stop himself, he sank to the floor. His hands gripped his hair as an overwhelming wave of emotions crashed over him. He had been holding it in, forcing himself to be strong. But now, seeing her lying there—so vulnerable, so still—broke something inside him.
“Maa…” his voice cracked, raw and broken. “I failed her.”
Sunita turned, startled by the sight of her son—the same son who never showed weakness, who always carried the weight of the world on his shoulders—completely breaking down before her eyes.
Tears burned in his eyes, but he didn’t care. “She was calling for me, Maa… she needed me… and I wasn’t there.” His voice trembled, his fingers digging into his palms as guilt consumed him. “What if—what if I had lost her? What if I had been a second too late? I—” His breath hitched, and he shut his eyes tightly. “I don’t know how to live without her. I don’t even know if I can.”
Sunita placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, her own eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Aarav…”
“I can’t let this happen again.” His voice was firm, filled with something dangerous. “I will never let her out of my sight. I don’t care what it takes—I will protect her, no matter what. Even if I have to burn the entire world down.” His gaze darkened, a promise burning in his eyes. “And those who did this to her… will pay.”
Sunita watched her son, understanding just how deeply Ira had become a part of him. Aarav Malhotra was a ruthless businessman, a man feared by many. But in this moment, he was just a man madly in love, terrified of losing the one person who had become his reason to breathe.
The room fell into silence again, but this time, it was filled with something heavy—something unbreakable. Aarav reached for Ira’s hand, pressing a lingering kiss to her fingers, his lips murmuring a silent vow against her skin.
She was his. And nothing in this world could take her away from him again.
Sunita watched her son for a long moment before placing a hand on his shoulder. “She needs you, Aarav,” she whispered. “Be there for her when she wakes up.”
Aarav didn’t respond, but his grip on Ira’s hand tightened slightly. His mother understood. With a last lingering look at her daughter-in-law, she quietly left the room, leaving the two of them alone.
Silence settled once more, but this time, it was not the suffocating weight of guilt. It was something else. Something raw, unfiltered.
Aarav rose from the floor and walked toward the glass doors leading to the balcony. He placed his hands on the railing, his gaze fixed on the city lights, but his mind was elsewhere—on the woman lying unconscious behind him.
I was addicted.
Me, the man who’d avoided most addictive substances all his life—drugs, smoking, alcohol, even sugar to an extent—had found the one thing I couldn’t resist.
Strength, resilience, and light, wrapped up in five feet nine inches of creamy skin and cool composure that hid a heart of fire underneath.
But fuck, if she was an addiction, I never wanted to be cured.
She had walked into my life like a quiet storm, shaking the very foundation I had spent years fortifying. I had thought I was invincible—untouchable. That nothing could break through the walls I had built around myself.
And yet, here I was.
Restless.
Ruthless.
Ruined for anything that wasn’t her.
She had become the air I breathed, the blood that pumped through my veins, the very reason my heart continued to beat. And the terrifying part? I hadn’t even realized when it had happened.
From the moment she stepped into my world, she had changed everything. At first, I had resisted. I had pushed her away, forced her to fit into the mold of a contract, a transaction. But Ira Sharma wasn’t someone who could be defined by a mere agreement.
She had defied every rule I had set, every wall I had raised, and every warning I had given. She had slipped under my skin, embedding herself so deeply that now, the thought of losing her made my entire body tremble with rage and fear.
The memory of her being taken from me played in my mind like a horror movie on repeat. Her absence had turned me into something unrecognizable—a man on the brink of insanity, desperate and dangerous.
And when I had finally found her, broken and unconscious, I had realized something I should have known long ago.
I didn’t just want her.
I needed her.
She wasn’t just my wife by contract. She was my everything.
And now, she was lying there, fragile, silent, while I stood here, breathing like a man who had just survived a war.
My hands curled into fists against the balcony railing as I inhaled sharply. The world had already taken too much from me. It had tried to take her, too. But I wasn’t the man I used to be. I wasn’t someone who let things go.
She was mine.
And anyone who dared to hurt what was mine… wouldn’t live to regret it.
A soft sound behind me made me turn. My heart clenched at the sight of her shifting slightly in bed, her face still pale, her breaths shallow.
I moved before I could think, settling beside her. My fingers brushed against her cheek, a silent promise forming in my mind.
Never again.
I wasn’t just going to protect her.
I was going to worship her.
With that final thought, I laid down beside her, pulling her into my arms, anchoring myself to the only thing that had ever truly belonged to me—her.
_____________
Dear Readers,
I’m on my knees (figuratively, of course!)—please VOTE! It takes just a second but means the world to me. If you love Aarav and Ira, show some love back with a simple tap on that star!
Pretty please? ?