The museum was buzzing with excitement. Prerna Agarwal, a college student, walked through its grand halls . This trip was supposed to be a fun escape, but something about this place felt like it was calling to her.
The highlight of the museum was...
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I was beyond angry, beyond reason. My thoughts were a chaotic mess, swirling with emotions I couldn’t name. How could she think about marrying someone else? Didn’t she know what she meant to me? Did the power of alliances mean more to her than what we shared?
I could feel the possessiveness rising in me, something dark and primal that I couldn’t shake off. I had tried to control it, tried to stay calm, but her decision to marry someone else... it ate at me, gnawed at my insides.
Adinath and Manik tried to stop me, tried to reason with me. “You need to calm down, prithvi,” Manik said, his voice stern. “If you go to her like this, she’ll either get scared or hate you more.”
But I wasn’t listening to them. I couldn’t. Every step, every second, every heartbeat was pushing me forward. The only thing I cared about right now was getting to her, getting to the heart of this madness.
I had to see her. I had to make her understand.
It was late at night when I finally arrived in Parthiva. I moved like a shadow, stealthily sneaking through the palace grounds, until I reached her room. The windows were open, the soft glow of the moon casting shadows over her bed.
I could hear her soft breath, feel the air of restlessness coming from her.
Peering inside, I saw her sitting at her dressing table, her hands running over bridal attire. The look on her face... it was like she was caught between duty and desire.
I didn’t knock, didn’t wait for an invitation. I slipped inside the room quietly, moving like I owned the shadows. And when I saw her there, looking so vulnerable, so conflicted, I couldn’t stop myself.
Before she even noticed me, I pinned her against the dressing table, my chest pressing against her back, the warmth of her body seeping into mine.
Her body stiffened, but she didn’t flinch. She knew I was there.
She didn’t even look shocked. Instead, she took a deep breath and whispered, “What are you doing here, Viraaj?” Her voice was soft, yet the underlying question was clear—Why now? Why tonight?
I was so close, her breath mingling with mine, and I was struggling to keep the control I had worked so hard to maintain. I wanted to show her, to make her see. Make her understand.
I looked into her eyes, that same defiant spark shining through the confusion and the conflict. “You’re marrying tomorrow?” I growled, my tone harsh, though I was fighting the possessive urge to hold her tighter. “Is that how it’s going to be, Shivanya?”
Her lips trembled, but she stood her ground. “What does it matter to you?” she asked quietly, her voice thick with emotion.
I was at a loss for words for a moment. The rawness of her question cut through me like a blade. “What do you mean, ‘what does it matter?’” I said, my voice low, barely controlled. “Of course it matters.”
