Chapter Forty
Aansh's POV;
I had a long, usual day of meetings and signing contracts.
After what felt like an eternity, I stepped into my office, peeling off my blazer like it was burning my skin.
I sat on my chair, unbuttoning the first few buttons of my shirt, trying to find some relief from the suffocating pressure building in my chest.
I was exhausted-which was unlike me.
Maybe it was the injury. Or maybe... maybe it was her. Ria.
The mere thought of her name made every muscle in my body tense, made my jaw clench so hard I could feel my teeth grinding together.
She was slowly corrupting me, infiltrating every corner of my mind like poison seeping through my veins.
I could feel myself losing control, and I hated it.
I hated her for making me feel this way.
I had to do something before she completely destroyed the walls I'd spent years building.
A knock on the door yanked me from my spiraling thoughts.
"Come in," I said coldly, my voice sharp as a blade.
My assistant walked in, eyes fixed on the floor, not daring to meet mine.
Smart man.
"Sir, the car is ready," he murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Leave," I said, disinterested, already dismissing him from my thoughts.
I stood up, picking up my blazer with mechanical precision.
The meeting with the Khurannas. Right. I had completely forgotten about it.
This deal-this fucking deal-was the whole reason I was in Goa.
The whole reason I was forced to tolerate her presence, her defiance.
After this deal, I wouldn't have to tolerate her anymore.
The thought should have satisfied me.
Instead, it left a strange, hollow feeling in my chest that I refused to acknowledge.
I sat in the car, flipping through the file, though the words blurred together.
The meeting was being held at one of the cafés owned by the Rathore family.
Aavyan had built it for Avantika after discovering her love for cafés.
I thought it was all useless. This sentimentality, this weakness for someone else.
Love made people weak. Love made them stupid.
And it surely made my cousin delusional.
The car stopped smoothly.
"Sir, we're here," my driver whispered.
I stepped out, straightening my blazer, and walked into the café with measured steps.
Every employee straightened up immediately, greeting me with polite, nervous smiles.
I smirked at the fear visible in their eyes-that delicious, intoxicating fear that reminded me of my power, my control.
The Khurannas were already waiting. The moment they spotted me, they stood up, eager to please.
"Good evening, Mr. Rathore," they greeted in unison.
"Good evening," I said curtly, taking my seat at the table.
I looked around for a waiter, ready to order and get this meeting over with-
And then every muscle in my body froze.
Time stopped.
My blood turned to ice, then immediately boiled with a rage so visceral I could taste it on my tongue.
Ria.
She was sitting at the far corner of the café, laughing-her face lit up with genuine joy as she chatted with some fucker.
The sound of her laughter, which she'd never once given me, pierced through my chest like a dagger.
She smiled at him. That beautiful, devastating smile that made my heart stop and my fists clench.
She smiled at him-this nobody, this worthless piece of shit-but she couldn't even look her own husband in the eye.
The thought sent fury coursing through my veins like liquid fire.
I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. All I could see was red-crimson, blinding red that clouded every rational thought.
All I wanted in that moment was to kill him. To wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze until there was nothing left. I wanted to watch how his bloody soul left his body.
The glass of water in my hand shattered, pieces cutting into my palm, but I didn't feel it. I didn't feel anything except this consuming, all-encompassing rage.
She stood up suddenly, and my entire body went rigid.
No. No, no, no-
She pulled him into a hug.
That's when I lost it completely.
I didn't know when I stood up.
I didn't know when I crossed the café. But suddenly I was there, my hand grabbing Ria's arm and yanking her away from him with such force that she gasped, her back colliding with my chest.
"Aansh-" she whispered, her voice trembling.
I glared down at her, and she fell silent immediately, her words dying on her lips.
Good. Be afraid.
I shoved her behind me, my body acting as a barrier between her and that fucker, my blood roaring in my ears.
"Ria, who-" the bastard started to say.
I didn't let him finish. He dared say my WIFE'S name infront of me.
My fist connected with his face with a sickening crack, and he fell to his knees, blood immediately pouring from his nose. The satisfaction that flooded through me was intoxicating.
"Aansh!" Ria screamed behind me, and I felt her small hands trying to grab my arm, trying to stop me. The thought of her caring for this mother fucker made me see red.
I jerked my gaze back to her, and she froze like a deer caught in headlights.
"Not. A. Word," I said dangerously, each word dripping with venom.
"Not another fucking word."
The fucker tried to get up, tried to play hero, and that only made me angrier.
I threw another punch, harder this time, and heard his groan of pain with savage pleasure.
Blood stained my knuckles, and I didn't care.
I wanted more. I wanted to see him broken.
Ria's POV;
"Aansh, please leave him. You're hurting him, Aansh please-"
My voice cracked, tears streaming down my face as I grabbed his arm desperately.
He jerked his arm back, and then he smirked at me. But this wasn't the cold, calculated smirk I'd seen before. This was different-dangerous, unhinged, terrifying.
"I'm hurting him?" he repeated mockingly, taking a step toward me. "I should leave him?"
I walked backward instinctively, my heart hammering so hard against my ribcage I thought it might burst.
"Who is he to you, hmm?" Aansh asked, grabbing my arm and stopping my retreat. I could see hurt in his eyes but it disappeared in a second like it was never there, now replaced with rage.
His grip was bruising, painful.
I couldn't answer. My throat had closed up completely. Nothing I said would satisfy him-I knew that. Any answer would be wrong.
"ANSWER ME!" he screamed, his voice echoing through the café.
I closed my eyes, tears pouring down my face like a waterfall. The humiliation crashed over me in waves.
When I forced my eyes open, I saw we had an audience-dozens of people standing around, watching, whispering, judging.
My stomach churned violently.
I looked back at Aansh, and his gaze had dropped to my neck.
His jaw clenched so hard I heard his teeth grinding, his entire body going rigid.
The nuptial chain. The vermillion.
I wasn't wearing them.
I didn't wear it by choice but I regret it now.
"Aansh, I-"
Before I could finish, before I could explain, he grabbed my arm and threw me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing at all, like I was nothing more than a doll.
"Let me go!" I screamed, hitting his back with my fists, but it was like hitting solid steel. He didn't even flinch.
He carried me out of the café, ignoring my pleas, ignoring the stares, ignoring everything.
The cold night air hit my face, but I barely registered it through my panic.
When we reached the car, he threw me into the passenger seat-actually threw me-and I hit the seat hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs.
He leaned down, his face inches from mine, his eyes bloodshot and wild.
"If you don't want me to take that fucker's life," he said, his voice deadly calm, which was somehow worse than his screaming, "you will listen to me."
I froze completely.
Ahaan. I couldn't let anything happen to him. I couldn't live with that guilt.
So I kept quiet, pressing my lips together even as fresh tears spilled down my cheeks.
Aansh slammed the door so hard the entire car shook.
The sky had turned dark and gloomy, heavy clouds blocking out any moonlight. Rain began to patter against the windshield, matching the tears still flowing down my face.
I didn't care whether it was day or night anymore.
Aansh got into the driver's seat, and I could see everything-the way his eyes were still blood-red, the way his jaw was clenched so tight the muscles jumped beneath his skin, the way his veins were popping out on his forearms and neck.
He terrified me.
Not just scared me-terrified me. Down to my bones, down to my soul.
I didn't know what awaited me. I didn't know what he would do.
But all I could do was pray-pray that Ahaan would be safe, that nothing would happen to him, that his wife and soon-to-be-born child wouldn't suffer because of me.
I couldn't live with myself if something happened to him.
Aansh started the car, the engine roaring to life like a beast unleashed.
And as we drove into the darkness, with thunder rumbling ominously overhead, I realized I had never been more afraid in my entire life.