What the fuck?

What the actual fuck is wrong with me?

I paced the length of my penthouse, my breath coming in shallow, jagged gasps.

Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the ghost of Agastya's chest against mine, the heat of his breath on my neck.

Why the fuck didn't I push him?

My brain had been screaming for blood, but my body... my body had turned into a traitor.

"Madhav... Kya ho raha hai mere sath?" I whispered to the empty room, clutching my own arms so tight my nails dug into my skin. "Yeh kaisa pariksha le rahe ho? Jo kabhi hua nahi... woh aaj ho gaya kaise?"

I’ve spent my life building a fortress around my heart, hating every man who dared to look my way.

And then he... that monster...

"Nafrat hai mujhe usse! Toh phir mera dil kyun keh raha tha ki wahi ruk jao?"

It’s been three days.

Three days of me rotting in this penthouse, staring at my bruised knuckles and wondering if I’m losing my goddamn mind.

Then, my phone vibrated.

Papa.

Fuck it. I can't do this right now.

I stared at the screen until it almost timed out, then snatched it up. My hand was trembling so violently I had to press the phone hard against my ear.

"Haan, Papa?" I tried to sound like the cold, untouchable lawyer he raised, but my voice was thin and brittle, a dead giveaway that I was crumbling inside. "It’s late... is everything okay?"

"Aahana? It’s been far too long, beta. Aira and Anvi have been asking about you every single day. The house feels empty." Anirudh spoke with a heavy, fatherly sigh that usually made me feel guilty, but today it felt like a lead weight on my chest. "Come home for dinner tonight. We need to be a family."

"Not tonight, Papa. I’m... I'm  busy!" I snapped, the words coming out as a harsh, desperate bark.

I slammed my fist against the marble counter, welcoming the sharp pain to distract me from the chaos in my head. " I have three cases in discovery and a mountain of files... I’m drowning here, Papa! I don't have time for dinner!"

"Aahana, work isn't everything. Your sisters miss you." His voice took on that stern, authoritative edge that usually made me stand at attention, but now it just made me want to scream. "Aira was saying she hasn't seen you in weeks, and you know how much Anvi looks up to you. You can’t just bury yourself in that penthouse and forget us."

"I’m not forgetting anything!" I yelled into the phone, tears of pure frustration finally stinging my eyes because I was lying to the only man I actually respected. "I just... my head is spinning, okay? I can't think straight! Tell Aira I’ll call her, and give Anvi a hug for me. Once I’m free... once I can actually breathe again, I’ll come. I promise. But right now? I just can't. I have to go!"

I hung up before the sob catching in my throat could escape. I threw the phone across the room and slumped against the wall, sliding down until I hit the floor.

"Liar," I whispered into the dark shadows of the room. "You're a fucking liar, Aahana Kashyap. You're not busy... you're just haunted by a man you should want to kill."

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The penthouse was silent, the only sound the scratching of my pen and the flicker of a lighter. I hadn't touched food all day.

My stomach was a hollow pit, filled only with the acidic burn of black coffee and the thick, numbing haze of cigarettes.

I was sprawled on the white leather couch, surrounded by the chaos of Agastya’s case files. Advait had sent them yesterday.

I hadn't officially accepted—I told myself I wouldn't—yet here I was, dissecting every messy detail until 2:00 AM.

Then, I heard it. A faint, deliberate scuff of a boot against the floor.

A shiver raced down my spine, cold and paralyzing.

What the fuck?

I live alone.

My security is top-tier.

How is this possible?

My blood ran cold, and the air seemed to vanish from the room. I stood up, my heart hammering against my ribs, but I wasn't fast enough.

A rough hand lunged from the shadows, fist bunching into my hair and wrenching my head back.

Before I could scream, the cold, biting edge of a knife pressed hard against my throat. I stood frozen, my eyes wide.

Breathe, Aahana. Breathe.

I took a sharp inhale, my training kicking in through the terror. I drove my heel back into his shin with everything I had.

"Bitch!" he roared, stumbling back.

I bolted for the stairs, desperate to reach the safe in my bedroom, to grab my gun. But he was faster. He lunged, his fingers snaring my long hair again, dragging me down.

I hit the floor hard, the wind knocked out of me. He pinned me, his heavy, disgusting frame hovering over mine.

"Stay still, you little whore," he hissed.

He raised a knife. In a desperate surge of adrenaline, I shoved his chest and grabbed a smaller blade from the side table—one I’d used for opening mail.

I drove it into his side. He screamed, but in the struggle, he plunged his own knife deep into my stomach.

I didn't even scream.

The world just went white for a second. With a guttural roar of my own, I twisted the blade in his gut and kicked him off. He slumped to the floor, howling.

I crawled toward my phone, my vision already starting to blur. My fingers smeared blood across the screen. I didn't think.

I just hit the first name on my recent calls. Advait.

"Advait..." My voice was a broken, jagged sob. "Advait, please... come fast. Please."

"Aahana? What the fuck? Why do you sound like that? What's going on?" Advait voice rose in a frantic pitch, the sound of a chair scraping back echoing on the line. "Aahana, answer me!"

"Just... just fucking call a doctor! Right now, damn it! Get here!" I gasped, the pain finally blooming into a searing fire. "He's... he's in the house..."

The line went dead. I slumped against the base of the couch. The man was still on the floor, groaning.

My white shorts and pink tank top were soaked through, turning a deep, sickening crimson. My palms were wet with my own life force.

"Who sent you?" I roared at him, though it sounded more like a wheeze. "Tell me, you piece of shit!"

He didn't answer.

I dragged myself onto the couch, every movement feeling like glass was turning in my gut. My white sofa was ruined, stained with red.

"Madhav... am I dying?" I whispered, tears spilling down my cheeks. "Please no... not like this. Not alone."

The elevator dings.

The doors slide open.

A doctor rushes in, and behind him, a sea of faces. Advait, Vedika, Shaurya, Avantika. And then... him. Agastya.

"Aahana! Oh my God, look at the blood!" Advait lunged toward me, his face a mask of pure horror. "What did he do to you? Shaurya, look at this mess!"

"Fucking hell! Aahana, stay with us, okay?" Shaurya was pacing, his hands in his hair, looking like he was about to explode. "Doctor, if you don't fix her right now, I’ll burn this whole city down!"

"Aahana, no... oh god, there's so much blood!" Avantika was sobbing, her hands shaking as she and Vedika stood frozen for a second before rushing to my side.

"Someone get more towels! She's turning pale! Aahana, look at me, baby, stay awake!" Vadika sobbing.

But then, Agastya moved. He didn't just walk; he crossed the room like a dark storm.

His gaze was softened—a look I’d never seen on him—but it turned lethal the moment he saw the knife still buried in me.

He grabbed the doctor by the collar, lifting him nearly off the ground.

"Listen to me very carefully," Agastya growled, his voice a low, vibrating threat. "If she feels even a second of unnecessary pain, or if a single scar stays on her skin because you were slow, I will not just kill you. I will fucking destroy every single person you have ever loved. Save her. Now."

He let go of the doctor and sat beside me on the bloody couch. He didn't care about his expensive suit.

He gently pulled me against him, my back hitting his solid chest. I was shocked, staring up at his face. His jaw was so tight I thought it might break.

"Dard ho raha hai?" Agastya whispered it so softly, so gently, that the tears I was trying to hold back finally spilled over.

No one had ever asked me that with so much raw care. Not like this.

His eyes shifted to the man on the floor, and for a second, the air in the room died. It was the look of a god of death.

Then he felt me shiver. He looked back at me, his eyes roaming my face until they landed on my hair. He saw the tangles where the man had grabbed me.

His palms bruised my arms as his grip tightened instinctively.

"Did he touch your hair?"

I could only nod, a small, broken movement.

Agastya’s eyes became bloodshot, a terrifying shade of red. He leaned down and kissed my hair, smelling it deeply, just like he had at the party. It was as if he were drawing life from it.

I looked around. Avantika and Vedika were staring at us, frozen, their mouths open as if they’d seen a ghost. Shaurya and Advait stood like statues.

The doctor said while trembling. "I... I have to pull it out now. Miss Kashyap, it’s going to hurt. A lot."

Agastya roar. "If she screams, Doctor, you’re dead."

Shaurya roar. "You heard him! Touch her like she’s made of glass, or I’ll have your license and your head!"

The doctor was trembling so hard the tray of instruments rattled. As his hand reached for the handle of the knife, a wave of agony washed over me. I bit my lip hard, drawing blood, and closed my eyes.

"Stop breathing for four seconds..." Agastya whispered into my ear, his hand firm on my shoulder.

I obeyed. I held my breath.

Rip.

The knife was out.

"Aaaaa...!" The scream escaped me as a sob.

"Shhh... shhh... Baccha, it will go away." He pulled me tighter, his voice a soothing, deep hum. "Just relax and look at me. Look at me, Kashyap. Only me."

I looked at him, my face wet with hot tears. The doctor began to stitch the wound, each needle pull a fresh hell, but Agastya didn't let go.

He wrapped his arms around me, shielding me from the world, holding me as if I were the only precious thing left on this earth.

And for the first time, I didn't want to fight it.

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