Chapter Sixty Eight
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Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The brutal echo of fist meeting leather reverberated through the private gym.
Samar was drenched in sweat, his chest heaving as he delivered a relentless barrage into a punching bag that was barely holding onto its chains.
He wore nothing but a pair of dark trousers, his bare skin gleaming under the harsh fluorescent lights.
The steel door to the gym opened. One of his elite security detail stepped inside, his posture tense and his face pale.
"Sir... we have a problem.." the guard stammered.
Samar halted mid-strike, his fist buried deep into the leather of the bag. He stood up straight, the sculpted muscles of his back flexing tightly as he slowly turned his head to glare at the intruder.
"If there is a problem, then fix it!" he growled.
He had been on an absolute edge for forty eight hours, his patience completely depleted, his sanity hanging by a thread.
The guard swallowed hard, instinctively taking half a step back.
"We... we need your direction, sir. It's... it's...Rathore, Sir."
Samar's entire body stiffened..
"What about him?"
"We just received word from an insider in Mumbai.." the guard explained, his voice trembling. "Devraj is on a scorched-earth rampage. He isn't just looking for Ira, he's systematically dismantling and tracking every single offshore account, safehouse, and territory tied to your name."
Samar's jaw tightened, his teeth grinding together..
"Did he find this island yet?"
The guard shook his head quickly. "No, sir. We managed to scrub this coordinates from the main grid. As far as his local systems are concerned, this island doesn't exist."
Samar let out a breath, but the fury in his eyes didn't fade.
"Then why do you look like you're about to faint?"
The guard licked his dry lips, his voice dropping into a terrified whisper.
"Because Devraj isn't moving alone anymore, sir."
"Who else?" Samar demanded..
"Arjun Madhav... and Varun Sengar. They've mobilized their syndicates. They're working with him."
"Make sure this place stays buried!" Samar yelled, his voice bouncing off the concrete walls. "I don't care how many of my branches they tear down. Cut the feeds, erase the digital footprint, and bridge this island out of existence!"
The guard flinched, his head bowing instantly as he nodded.
"Y-yes, sir. Right away."
"Anything else?" Samar hissed, his chest heaving as he wiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead.
The guard hesitated, swallowing hard. "The... the woman upstairs, sir. She is still refusing to eat. It's been 2 days."
That was the final straw. Samar's remaining patience snapped. Without another word, he charged past the guard and stormed out of the gym.
"Get back to your post!" he said over his shoulder as he hit the corridor.
He strode toward the residential wing, his boots hitting against the floor with a lethal thud that echoed his internal rage.
That subborn woman! She is never leaving me, he seethed, his fists clenching at his sides. Even if I have to drag her down to hell and burn with her, she stays.
~??~
Meanwhile, upstairs, the room was entirely peaceful as the mild wind caused the curtains to sway..
Ira lay on the bed, her gaze fixed on the endless blue of the ocean outside the balcony. Her mind was miles away, drifting through memories of a different life, when the click of the door lock shattered her thoughts.
She didn't even bother turning around. She figured it was just another one of the maids Samar had assigned to her, the ones who kept hovering over her, repeating the same annoying lines..
'Ma'am, please, you need to eat.' or 'Ma'am, please let us draw your bath.' It was sickening.
Every help they offered was an insult while this steel chain was still locked around her wrist, biting into her skin.
"I heard you refused to eat. Again."
The voice didn't belong to a maid. Ira's body went rigid as she recognized Samar's tone. He hadn't set foot in her room for two whole days. Honestly she was grateful.. Seeing his face always make her have the urge to spit on his face.
She turned her head toward the doorway, but the moment her eyes caught his shirtless, sweat-glistening torso and the raw fury etched into his muscles, she immediately averted her gaze, looking back out at the waves.
"At least put something on." she said, her voice dropping into a flat, nonchalant drawl.
Samar blinked in genuine astonishment, his gaze dropping to his own chest.
Women had literally thrown themselves at his feet just to be in the same room as a body like his, and this woman wouldn't even grant him a glance?
A twisted, defensive smirk pulled at his lips.
"You should be grateful.." he teased, trying to inject a dark playfulness into his tone to mask his bruised ego. "Most women would pay a premium to see this for free."
"I've seen better.." Ira replied flatly, her tone still nonchalant.
She didn't even blink, her eyes remaining fixed on the distant horizon.
Samar's entire body stiffened as if he'd been struck. The playfulness vanished, replaced by a fury.
"Who?" he seethed, his chest heaving. "Devraj?"
Ira let out an exhausted sigh, completely ignoring his outburst.
"Can you please tell your maids to stop coming in here? I don't like it. They're annoying. I can do things myself, I'm not lazy." She changed the subject seamlessly, treating his jealousy like a minor inconvenience, which only made the veins in Samar's neck throb harder.
"Why didn't you eat the food that was brought to you?" he demanded.
"Because I have no desire to ingest whatever poison you're slipping into it.." she countered smoothly, almost boredly.
Samar swallowed hard, a sudden, desperate vulnerability cracking..
"I would never poison you, Ira. Never-"
"I don't care." she said, cutting him off without an ounce of pity. "All I care about is you getting me the hell out of this place."
"Do you want to starve to death? Is that your plan?"
"I will happily embrace that death sentence if it means escaping you.." Ira replied, her tone so casual it was terrifying.
The fact that she was speaking of her own demise so nonchalantly, and still refusing to look at him, finally shattered Samar's restraint.
"Stop looking away from me!" he yelled, his voice loud through the room as he marched toward the bed.
Ira flinched slightly. She could see his dark silhouette advancing from the corner of her eye, and she instinctively scrambled backward, moving deeper onto the mattress as the steel chain rattled against the headboard.
"Running only makes me chase you, Ira!" he shouted
Ira's eyes widened in panic. She scrambled across the mattress, trying to fling herself off the opposite side of the bed, but Samar was faster.
His hand shot out, clamping around her ankle. With an effortless jerk, he hauled her back across the sheets and lunged, pinning her against the mattress beneath him.
Ira squeezed her eyes shut, her breath hitching in her throat as she braced for the worst.
Samar hovered over her, staring down at her pale, frightened face.
The sight of her beneath him sent his pulse skyrocketing, his heart beating crazily against his ribs. He swallowed hard, his voice suddenly losing its venom, replaced by a desperate pathetic plea.
"Look at me.."
"Get off me!" Ira yelled..
"Look at me, and I will." he countered, his gaze intense, begging.
Ira's throat tightened.
I only want to look at Devraj's body.. she thought miserably, a sudden wave of longing for the right man washing over her.
But she knew she had to survive this moment.
Forcing her eyelids open, she met Samar's gaze. Deep within his eyes, beneath the madness and the arrogance, she caught a flicker of pathetic sadness.
She didn't care about his pain, Nah...he was a monster, but the sight of his vulnerability gave her a sudden, brilliant idea. She had to play his game to break his grip.
"Please... get off me." she murmured. She forced her rigid features to soften, letting a small, gentle fake smile grace her lips.
Samar's breath caught. A dark flush crept up his neck, a literal blush burning his cheeks at the sight of her smiling at him for the first time.
He gulped, utterly captivated, though he still didn't move away.
"Will you... will you look only at me from now on?" he asked, his voice breathless, completely intoxicated by her sudden shift.
Inside, Ira wanted to gag. The proximity of him made her skin crawl, but she forced the disgust down, keeping the fake smile plastered on her face.
"I can't.." she whispered softly.
Samar blinked, his brows furrowing in sudden confusion.
"Why?"
"Because..." she murmured, her voice dripping with a modesty designed to stroke his massive ego, "because I'm not worthy to stare at someone like you."
"What? No... that's not true.." Samar stammered, his usual dominant aura completely fading. "You are more than that, Ira. So much more."
Ira maintained the sweet, fragile mask, letting her gaze drop slightly to sell the act.
"You chain my wrist to a bed, you surround me with strict rules, and I'm never allowed to leave this room. Isn't that exactly how you treat a worthless prisoner?"
Samar gulped, the guilt visibly cracking through his hardened appearance.
"I... I'm sorry.." he whispered, sounding genuinely conflicted. "I just thought... if I gave you your freedom, you would... you would run away from here."
Inside, Ira wanted to spit right in his face. Well, yeah! Who wouldn't run away from a psychotic madman like you?! She wanted to scream at him.
We are literally surrounded by an endless ocean, you freak! Where exactly would I go?
Instead, she forced her voice to remain soft, to reel him in completely.
"I'm not going to run.." she said, before taking a breath and uttering the name she loathed. "Samar..."
She looked deep into his eyes, letting her smile widen just a bit.
"I want to get to know you."
The moment the words left her lips, Samar's heart began to bear so fast against his ribs that Ira could actually hear the thudding sound in the quiet room.
She internally recoiled, a wave of deep disgust washing over her, but she kept her face perfectly composed.
"You... you do?" he asked, completely breathless, a deep, dark flush overtaking his cheeks.
He was blushing like an infatuated schoolboy, entirely undone by her fake affection.
Ira nodded, keeping the forced smile plastered on her lips. "Yes. But can you please get off me now?"
He nodded quickly, eager to please her, and unpinned her body.
He get off her, but instead of going down the bed, he dropped into a kneeling position right on the mattress, looking up at her like a loyal dog waiting for a command.
Seizing the moment, Ira lifted her left arm, the heavy steel chain rattling loudly as she presented her bound wrist to him.
She didn't say a word, just let her eyes do the pleading.
Samar stared at her wrist, then looked back up at her face. He gave a mesmerized nod. Reaching down, he dipped his fingers into the front pocket of his dark trousers and pulled out a small glinting silver key.
"You carry it with you everywhere?" Ira asked, raising an eyebrow in a perfect imitation of mild curiosity.
Samar offered a soft almost proud smile.
"Always."
Crazy man... she thought.
He inserted the small key into the lock. With a metallic click, the cuff popped open and fell away. Ira instantly brought her hand close, rubbing the raw, red skin where the steel had been biting into her.
She let out a shuddering sigh of relief. When she looked up, Samar was still right there, his eyes fixed on her with a suffocating intensity.
"What do you want to know about me?" he asked, his smile returning, full of eager expectation.
Inside, Ira's stomach twisted with pure revulsion, but she forced her features to remain smooth, masking her disgust behind a calm facade.
"Can you... move back a bit? Give me some space?"
"No.." Samar murmured, his tone shifting back into a stubborn, possessiveness. "I want to stay right here. Like this."
Disgusting shameless man..
Ira's fingers twitched with the desperate urge to shove his bare chest away, but she kept her composure.
It was time to push the boundaries of her new leverage.
"Why do you hate Devraj so much?" she asked abruptly.
Samar's smile vanished instantly.
"Why are you asking about him?"
"I told you, I want to get to know you." Ira countered smoothly. "That means understanding your past. It's either you tell me, or you can forget about ever having a chance with me."
To emphasize her point, she deliberately pulled herself away from his suffocating closeness, sliding across the mattress toward the opposite edge of the bed. Her bare feet dangled over the side, just inches from touching the cold floor.
"It started ten years ago.." he began, his voice suddenly dropping into a gravelly rasp.
Ira movements halting as she turned her head back to look at him.
Samar hadn't moved from his position, he was still kneeling on the bed, but the arrogant posture was gone. His head hung low, a few stray strands of dark hair falling over his forehead to shadow his eyes. On the sheets, his fists clenched.
"The first time I met Devraj, it was during our final year of college.." Samar said, a thick layer of bitter resentment coating every word. "Devraj was incredibly popular, even though his arrogant ass completely despised the attention. He acted like he was above everyone else."
He paused, a dark laugh bubbling in his throat.
"Getting close to Devraj Singh Rathore... that was the beginning of my utter misfortune."
Ira sat perfectly still, completely stunned as the first pieces of a ten-year-old puzzle began to fall into place.
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?I wanted to leave a little note here for anyone who might need it today. I don't know who you are, what kind of day you've had, or the silent battles you might be fighting behind closed doors.