CHAPTER24 [Possession vs Protection]
A maid walks Aarohi down the long, silent corridor and stops in front of a grand door.
“Choti malkin, yeh hai aapka room.”
(Young madam, this is your room.)
Aarohi says nothing.
She slowly steps inside.
The moment she enters… her breath almost stops.
The room is massive.
A king-size bed placed perfectly in the center. Everything—black.
Black curtains, black sheets, black furniture.
Luxury in every corner.
Expensive décor. Perfectly arranged.
The room is so huge it feels like even hundreds of people wouldn’t make it look small.
Everything is in place.
Everything… except her life.
She takes a few slow steps inside, her fingers slightly trembling as she looks around.
Then—
Click.
The sound of the door opening again.
Her breath hitches.
Her body stiffens instantly.
Vihaan.
He walks in calmly… and locks the door behind him.
The sound of the lock echoes louder than it should.
Aarohi doesn’t turn.
She already knows who it is.
His footsteps grow closer.
Closer.
Until he’s right behind her.
Without a word, he lifts her veil.
Aarohi’s face is pale.
Lifeless.
The fear is still there… but now, there’s something else too—
Exhaustion.
She doesn’t even have the strength to react anymore.
Vihaan’s voice comes low… cold enough to send chills down the spine—
“Ek hi baar puchunga… aur sach bata dena.”
(I’ll ask only once… and you better tell the truth.)
A pause.
“Jiske saath tum bhagi thi… wo kaun tha?”
(The one you ran away with… who was he?)
Aarohi stays silent.
Not a single word.
Not even a glance.
Vihaan’s expression darkens.
He grabs her wrist suddenly and pulls her toward him.
Before she can react, his hand grips her waist tightly—too tightly.
“Aahh—”
A soft cry escapes her lips from the pain.
“Bataogi?”
(Will you tell me?)
Aarohi shuts her eyes for a second… but still says nothing.
Vihaan’s grip tightens.
“Mere patience ka test mat lo…”
(Don’t test my patience…)
His voice drops even lower—
“Batao kaun tha wo… warna main khud pata laga lunga…”
(Tell me who he was… or I’ll find out myself…)
A dangerous pause.
“Aur phir tumhe uski laash milegi.”
(And then you’ll receive his dead body.)
Aarohi’s eyes snap open.
“Tum aisa kuch nahi karoge!”
(You won’t do anything like that!)
She starts struggling, trying to free herself.
“Chhodo mujhe!”
(Let me go!)
But his grip doesn’t loosen even a bit.
Then, through clenched teeth, she says—
“Tumhe jo karna tha, wo to kar liya na…”
(You’ve already done what you wanted, right…)
Her voice shakes, but her words don’t stop—
“Use haath lagane ka sochna bhi mat.”
(Don’t even think about touching him.)
For a second—
Silence.
Deadly silence.
Then something changes.
Vihaan’s eyes turn dark… almost red with anger.
His grip on her waist tightens even more.
So much that it hurts.
His voice comes out low… dangerous—
“Itni fikr hai uski?”
(You care about him that much?)
Aarohi looks straight into his eyes this time.
No fear.
Only defiance.
And that…
only makes Vihaan more dangerous.