A/N : The wedding scene and the flashback...comes under in the past. In the present they are already married and have a two year gap.

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I never thought this day would come. Never imagined I'd be standing here, accepting her into my life with my own hands. But the things you avoid the most have a way of finding you anyway, closing the distance no matter how far you go.

And now, I stand here... exactly where I never wanted to be, walking around the sacred fire as the chants echo around me. Today is my wedding.

Marriage means letting someone in. Not just presence, but access...space, closeness, a place where they can stand without being pushed away.

It gives someone a right over your life, a position they don't lose easily. And I've never allowed that, never believed in it. People don't belong that close to me, not where they can reach what I kept buried.

I don't let anyone step into that space. Not into my life, not into what I carry inside. Because once someone crosses that line, things don't remain untouched. They shift, they fracture, they end. And I don't fix what breaks...I erase it.

That has always been my way.

There are parts of me that don't belong near anyone. Not hidden...contained. Once they surface, there's no control left to hold them back. And i don't stop halfway when that happens. That's why I remain the way I am... composed, distant, unreachable.

That's why I never wanted any bond. Never wanted anything that tied me to someone. Because I know what I am capable of when something crosses a line. And I don't leave things unfinished. This...was never meant for someone like me.

Until her.

She didn't ask. She forced her way in, step by step, without hesitation. Ignoring distance, ignoring refusal, ignoring everything that should have stopped her. Like my will meant nothing, like she had always decided what I belonged to. And she never once stepped back.

Merciless. Calculated. Sin in its purest form.

Or simply...the woman I hate.

The only one who stayed. Like something I couldn't remove, no matter how many times I tried to keep her out. Like a hold tightening with time, refusing to loosen and now, that hold has sealed itself into something permanent. Something I can't walk away from.

I knew it the first time I saw her. She was never right for me. I should have stayed away...and I did. I kept my distance, never gave her a place, never let her in. But she never stopped. She kept stepping closer, breaking every boundary I created.

Her obsession doesn't fade. It sharpens, grows colder, stronger, crossing every limit without pause. It doesn't hesitate, doesn't doubt, doesn't slow down. And that same obsession...it presses against my control, refusing to stay ignored.

I knew what she was capable of. I knew how far she could go just to have me. I saw it in the way she walked in danger like it meant nothing. Taking a life was never a line for her...it was just another act for her fun. Something she did without pause, without regret.

And still, I let it be.

I thought it would stop somewhere.

I didn't.

She never stops.

But I never thought she would go this far. Never thought she would use my sister as leverage. The moment I found out Kavya was gone. I didn't need proof. There was only one person who would dare to cross that line.

Srivika Oberoi.

The same woman who once stepped in front of my bullet and carved my mark into her own skin, claiming me in front of everyone. The same woman who took her position not for power...but to stand above. To control me. To leave me with no exit.

My jaw tightens as I look at her. My fingers move with quiet precision as I tie the mangalsutra around her neck. Not a promise...just an act. Her lips curve slowly, that knowing smile resting on her face, like she's already won something she refused to lose.

Her gaze lingers on me, dark and certain, drinking in every flicker of restraint I hold. She knows what sits beneath my silence. And she enjoys it. That fire...she doesn't feat it. She feeds it.

The priest continues the vows, his voice steady sacred words filling the air. I repeat them, words for words, but in my mind, they shift. Not promise... intentions. Not devotion...resolve.

Vows to end her. Vows to never give her what she wants. Vows to find Kavya...and the day I do... I'll be the one who finishes this.

" Vivah sampann hua..from this moment, your husband and wife, " the priest announces. My fist tightens at my side, the words settling like something irreversible.

Her fingers wrap around my arm, soft but deliberate. She leans closer, her lips brushing near my ear, voice low enough that only I can hear. " Aakhir kaar hum ek dusre ke saath Humesha humesha ke liye bandh gaye hai Aksh...not for a moment... forever. "

Her smile deepens, eyes gleaming. " Even death won't be able to pull you away from me now, " she whispers, as if stating something already decided.

My gaze settled on her, cold and steady, unreadable on the surface. " Right..." I murmured under my breath, " Nothing can separate us."

Because when it happens... I'll be the only one who does it.

❣ ❣ ❣ ❣

" I know Srivika must have forced you into this...I don't know how, but always remember this, Aksh...you are like a son to us. And we will always stand by you."

Risha ma'am's voice was gentle as we bent to take her blessings. The rituals were over, the vows, sealed, yet something in her eyes held quiet concern. She had always been kind..ever since I first stepped into this world.

From the beginning, the Oberoi's never treated me like an outsider. Not once. I had walked into their lives as someone with no place, yet they gave me one without question.

Because of that...I owe them.

Their safety, their peace.... whatever remains of it...will always be mine to protect.

Beside me, I felt her shift. She didn't like this. I didn't need to look to know it. The subtle roll of her eyes....it was enough.

Possession never shared space easily.

" And if you have ever seen me as a mother, " Risha ma'am continued softly, her hand resting over mine for a brief second, " then at least try....just once...to accept this new bond. She loves you. Even if her ways are not right. "

Love.

The world settled in my mind, hollow, without meaning. For them, maybe it is something pure. Something worth holding onto.

For me, it is something else.

Something that corrodes slowly. Something that takes, piece by piece, until nothing is left.

I understand her concern. She is a mother. She wants to believe this will bring something good, something whole. But some things don't mend...they only break differently.

And this.....this will not end in happiness.

Not for her daughter. Not for me. I nod once, calm, giving her the only response she expects. Because some truths.....are better left unspoken.

______

Author's POV...

Flashback -9 years ago

Aksh stood still, his posture straight, his presence quiet. Across from him sat Kartik, relaxed in his chair, fingers tapping lightly against the table. It had been a year since Aksh had entered his world...one year of work, of discipline, of becoming something far sharper than before.

In that time, he had risen without noise, earning a place beside Kartik not by words, but by action. A year was all it took for him to become what others couldn't in much longer.

The day he first met Kartik, he had been nothing like this. Just a boy...wounded, shattered, standing on the edge of something he didn't understand. There had been nothing left behind him except ruin.

His own parents had tried to sell his younger sister, Kavya...to the sex workers for money. He had ended them. But that moment carved something deep inside him, something that never healed, only settled into silence.

That silence became his strength.

What remained of him hardened, shaped into something controlled, something precise. He didn't speak much, didn't react without reason...but when he moved, it was final.

Kartik had seen it early, had taken that broken edge and trained it, guided it.

" What did he say? Ready to sign the papers?" Kartik asked.

"He refuses," Aksh replied, his voice calm, without any shift in expression. " He's firm. Says he won't sign...and is willing to take it to court. "

A brief pause settled in the room before Aksh spoke again. "Should I finish him?"

Kartik shook his head slightly, a faint smile touching his lips. " Not yet, Aksh. If he's that firm...then first, we would break that resolve. "

Aksh understood immediately. " I'll arrange something fitting for him, " he said, his tone unchanged, but precise.

In just one year, that had become the most striking thing about him. He didn't just follow.. instructions, he understood them, even the ones left unsaid. He had observed Kartik closely, learned the rhythm behind his decisions, the intent behind his silence.

The door opened without warning, and Vansh walked in with quick steps, his expression tense and irritated. There was a rare edge to him frustration mixed with something sharper.

"This girl..." he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "We sent her away so she might learn restraint, but the moment she returned, she proved us wrong." His voice carried controlled anger, not loud but heavy enough to shift the air in the room.

Aksh glanced at him, a faint crease forming between his brows. He didn't understand the context and didn't know whom Vansh was referring to, but one thing was clear this wasn't trivial.

It took more than ordinary trouble to unsettle a man like Vansh. If something had managed to do that, it was worth his attention. His silence held, but his focus sharpened.

"And what did she do this time?" Kartik asked.

"She went alone to Rudbhir's territory," Vansh replied, his jaw clenched. "I don't understand why she interfered. It wasn't her place," he exhaled.

Aksh's gaze lifted slightly. "Rudbhir’s... the group pushing into the eastern corridor routes?" he asked, his voice calm but precise.

That wasn't an area anyone entered without direct orders. It was a sensitive place. "Who went there?" he added.

"Who else would it be?" Vansh let out a quiet, humorless breath. "My younger sister Srivika. There's no one else who walks into danger without a second thought."

For a brief second, Aksh went still. Srivika...he had heard the name before, but only in passing. When he had first joined, she had already been sent away.

The reason was never discussed openly. But now, hearing this, he felt something unfamiliar stir not concern, curiosity. What kind of person steps into something like that alone?

"Aksh, go and bring her back," Vansh ordered.

"I'll take her back safely..." Aksh replied, giving a slight nod.

Vansh shook his head faintly. "Just bring her out of there quickly. She isn't the one in danger...others are."

Aksh held his gaze for a moment, absorbing that.

"Don't cross the limit," Kartik said simply. Even in danger, Aksh shouldn't cross the line and stay restrained, as always. Because if he does, the one who suffers most will be him."

Aksh nodded before walking away.

The car came to a quiet halt just outside Rudbhir's territory. Aksh stepped out without hesitation, the door shutting behind him with a muted sound. His gun rested at the back of his waistband.

One of Vansh's men also joined him. His gaze swept across the area. Something felt wrong. The place that was usually guarded and alive with movement now stood unnaturally still.

Silence stretched across the grounds, heavy and unsettling. No guards. No voices. Not even the faintest sigh of activity.

He moved forward, his senses alert, picking up on the absence rather than presence. It wasn't peace... it was the kind of quiet that followed something violent.

He stepped inside, his eyes scanning every corner with controlled focus. The emptiness lingered even within. He turned down the left corridor, his pace unhurried. And then he saw them.

Bodies lay scattered across the floor.

Men... the motionless, lifeless, sprawled in positions that spoke of a struggle cut short. Blood had dried in uneven patches. Taking it in, his expression remained unchanged. There were no signs of chaos left... only the aftermath. Clean. Precise.

Whoever did this....did it with intent. With control. And with something darker than just anger.

Then Vansh's word hit him again. She isn't the one in danger....others are.

His jaw tightened slightly. He looked around, more focused this time...but she wasn't there. Not downstairs. Not anywhere he could see. The silence felt wrong, like it was hiding something. Then his eyes lifted... stopping at the staircase leading up.

Without thinking further, he moved. Fast. The steps echoed under his feet as he took them quickly, one after another. Something in him was already certain. He didn't know why..but he knew he had to reach there. Now.

_______

The rooftop was a graveyard of silence, the city lights below nothing more than a blurred backdrop to the spectacle Srivika had created. She stood over Rudbhir...her breathing rhythmic and calm.

She wasn't interested in his pleas or the pathetic way he tried to swallow his own terror. She simply liked the way the moon reflected off her blade...a silver promise of a final, beautiful moment.

She raised her arm, her muscles coiling with a predator's grace.

Clang.

The air didn't just stop...it solidified. A hand, heavy and unyielding as a marble vice, clamped around her wrist. The force was absolute, arresting her mid-descent strike.

Srivika didn't flinch. She slowly tilted her head, her dark eyes crawling up a broad chest clad in a dark, shirt,  finally landing on a face that looked like it had been carved from cold granite. He was barely young... twenty one, his eyes were hollowed out voids of grey.

Inside, the Aksh felt a rare, sharp jolt of dissonance. He had walked through the lobby and the stairwells, he had stepped over the precisely places corpse she had left behind.

He hadn't expected the architect of such an efficient massacre to be a nineteen -year-old girl with the face of a goddess and the heart of a devil.

His expression, however, remained a dead, flat mask. " Who are you? Let go of my hand, " she whispered. Her voice wasn't a scream, it was a low, arrogant melody that had never known the weight of a leash.

She wrenched her arm back, her strength explosive, but his grip only tightened. The leather of his glove creaked against her skin, the pressure immense...a silent warning that her bones would shatter before his fingers budged.

With his free hand, he reached out for pride and blade from her fingers. He tossed it away with a clinical indifference.

" I can't.."  he said. His voice was deep, timeless baritone.

" Do you have any idea whose night you're ruining? Who are you? I haven't seen your face in the city before? What's your name?" she asked.

" Names are irrelevant, " he replied, his gaze locked on here, immovable. " The situation is not. "

" The situation was perfect until you decided to stop me, " She hissed, her fingers twitching as she measured the distance to his throat. " You're standing in my way. Move, or I'll find out if your blood is as cold as your skin. "

" Try it if you want...but I'll not let you kill him, your brother has given me orders, " he said, his tone as flat as a heartbeat on a mintor.

He remembered the order Vansh had given him. " Don't let her kill, Rudbhir at any cost...I want him alive. "

" So? He's sending strangers to do his chores now? How lazy. " She said.

" I'm not strangers...and he sent me because I finished what I started, " he countered. " And he wants you back. Intact. "

" He wants a lot of things, " she murmured, eyes promising a very slow, very colorful retribution. " but I don't recall asking for a babysitter with a pulse. " Behind them, Rudbhir saw his opening. Sending the suffocating tension between the two, the man lunged toward the discarded blade, his fingers clawing for the hilt..

But without a single glance, and without his eyes ever leaving her, Aksh reached behind his back. His hand moved in a blur, drawing a sleek, suppressed gun from his waistband.

SHOT!

A muffled shot bit into the air. The man's hand exploded in a spray of red just as his skin brushed the silver hilt.

SHOT. SHOT.

Two more rounds followed instantly, shattering the man's kneecaps. He collapsed onto a heap of muffled agony, pinned to the roof by his own ruined weight.

Aksh's hand remained steady, the gun still pointed at the bleeding mess behind him, but his focus remained an iron wall in front of Srivika.

" Bring him. Follow behind me. " Aksh said to the man, who came with him.

She watched the guard scramble to drag the screaming Rudbhir away. She turned back to the Aksh holding her, " let's go..." Aksh said to her, her arrogance flaring like a dying star.

" I'm not walking..not until I kill you for disturbing my fun. " she stared, her voice dropping to a poisonous sweetness. " So unless you plan on shooting me too, we're going to be here for a very long time. " She added.

Aksh didn't argue. He didn't try to persuade her or explain the consequences. He simply closed the distance, her breath hitched for a second. The suddenly close felt too intense, his shadow swallowing her whole. Before she could reach for a hidden knife in her belt, he moved with a speed and defied his heavy frame.

In one fluid, disrespectful motion, he hooked an arm around her waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. Her world flipped. Her stomach hit his rock -solid shoulder, the breath leaving her lungs in a sharp hiss. The knife slipped from her belt and scattered on the floor.

She hammered her fists against the small of his back, her nails digging into the fabric, " Put me down...leave me if you don't wanna be dead. "

He was a human machine, carrying the most dangerous and cruel girl in the city toward the exit as if she were nothing more than a heavy burden of war. " I will make you regret the day you were born, Statue!" she hissed, her voice vibrating with a promise of dark, toxic violence.

He didn't answer. He simply adjusted his grip and began the long walk down the stairs.

The gravel of the Aaryansh Mansion driveway crunches under Srivika's boots as she stepped out of her car. For three days, she had been a caged predator.

Vansh's restrictions were a suffocating shroud, and while his sister, the fire in her blood hadn't cooled. It has only been pressurized, turning into a restless, jagged itch for the thrill she'd been denied.

Her gaze locked onto Aksh.

He stood by his car, ending a call with that same maddening granite...like composure. Since the rooftop, his image had been burned into her mind...the only man who had dared to touch her with the intent to stop her. That cold, absolute authority had left a phantom heat in her skin.

She thrived on risk, and aksh looked like a cliff edge she was dying to jump from.

He slid into the driver's seat. Before he could turn the engine, She was there.

She pulled open the passenger door and settled into the seat with a fluid, practiced grade. Aksh froze, his hand hovering over the ignition. He turned his head slowly, those hollow eyes meeting hers with a weight that would have crushed anyone else.

" What are you doing?" He asked, The voice was a heavy, flat vibration that demanded an answer without offering a shred of warmth.

She didn't blink. Instead, she leaned back into the leather, a slow, predatory smile pulling at her lips. She reached for the seatbelt, " currently putting on my seatbelt, " she murmured, the click of the buckle echoing in the quiet cabin.

She turned her body toward him, her gaze raking over his sharp jawline with a bold, arrogant hunger. " And going with you....jaha tum le chalo. "

Her tone was poisonous honey...sweet, light and shamelessly flirtatious. She wanted to see if she could make that steady pulse of his jump. She wanted to see what it took to make a statue flushed bleed.

He didn't react to her smile. He didn't even shift his weight. " Step out, " he said, voice dropping into a warning. " I'm leaving for something important. I don't have time to indulge your useless need for entertainment."

Her smile is only a sharpener, her eyes darkening with a cruel, obsessive glint. She leaned closer, invading his personal space until she could feel the heat radiating off him.

She has already become addicted to his stillness.." Everything about me is important, Statue, " she whispered, her voice a lethal silk. " And You're the most interesting thing in this mansion right now... making me think i should explore you from this moment. " she added.

" Then i would like to inform you ..you will find nothing by exploring me, " he said, his voice a low, dangerous vibration that matches her intensity. His eyes cold , didn't waver as they bore into hers. " Now, if you're done...get out before I throw you out with my own hands. "

She didn't move. Instead, she arched a perfectly groomed eyebrow and leaned further back into the seat, making herself comfortable in his space. A playful, cruel glint danced in her face. " Then do it, " she challenged, " but all that means is I'll have to chase you. I might even have to shoot out your tires to make you stop again. "

She leaned in slightly, her smile sharpening as she caught the subtle tension in his frame. " I've heard you value Kartik Bhai's order over your own life. And I can sense you don't want to be late right now. "

He didn't reply, but she saw it...the way his knuckles turned white as his grip tightened around the steering wheel. The silence in the car became suffocating. She had hit the mark.

He had urgent documents to collect, a task that required the surgical precision of his time, and he never failed a directive from Kartik.

The office was a tomb of mahagony and shadows, thick with the scent of old paper and the man's cloying, expensive cologne. Aksh sat with his usual, terrifying stillness, his hand resting flat on the desk like two slabs of stone.

Across from him, the old man...pushed a leather bound folder forward with a slow, deliberate grace.

" Aaryansh has truly found a dedicated....right hand in you, Mr. Raut. " The elder man said, his voice a smooth, polished honey. He let his gaze drift over Aksh...a look that was professionally respectful on the surface but rotted with condescension underneath.

It was a gaze that placed Aksh firmly in the category of a well-behaved dog. " I suppose that's why you've brought a young lady along? To keep the atmosphere light?"

He flicked a dismissive derogatory glance at Srivika, as if she were a doll Aksh had brought to a board meeting. Srivika, who had been lazily tracing the edge of her seat, went deathly still. A dark, eerie smile began to pull at the corners of her mouth.

" It would be better if we skip unnecessary talk... Documents. Now. " Aksh said, ignoring everything.

The elder chuckled, a dry, grating sound. " Of course. Business first, " he slid the folder across the desk. Aksh took it, checking the seal. Finding everything in order, he stood up.

" We should leave now, " he said, the elder nodded. Srivika rose, her movements fluid and feline, her expression unreadable as she followed him toward the heavy doors.

As they reached the threshold, the elder leaned back in his chair, a smug look on his face as he watched Aksh's broad back and muttered internally. " The pathetic dog thinks of himself as the owner. "

She stopped. The air in the hallway seemed to drop ten degrees. Aksh paused and looked at her.

She spun around, her face illuminated by a sudden sweet radiance. She walked back toward the desk, " you know...i forget to tell you have such a beautiful office," she said, her voice at tinkling, melodic silk. " It's so full of history. "

The elder blinked, confused by her sudden compliment. " Thank you, young lady. I've spent decades-"

" And it would be a shame...if you also didn't become the history for it. " she interrupted, beside the door. Aksh's eyes narrowed. He recognized that eerily sweet tone.

The elder looked confused, but before could say anything, in a blue of motion, her leg shot out, catching the edge of the heave desk and flipping it with a violent, splintering crash. The elder was sent sprawling backward onto the floor.

She was over the debris before he could scream, her jagged knife catching the dim light. " Stop. What are you doing?" Aksh's voice was a sharp crack of thunder.

He threw his entire frame between Her and the man, his broad back and immovable wall of iron. Her knife hissed through the air, stopping inches from Aksh's chest.

" Move, Statue, " she whispered, her eyes shimmering with a manic hunger. " I need to teach this old man how to look respectfully at someone who is superior to him. "

" You don't need to kill him, " Aksh said, his gaze meeting hers. He didn't flinch.

" I need to, " she hissed, her inches from his, her breathing rhythmic and heated. " You saw how he looked at you. "

" It's none of your business, " Aksh replied, his voice like grinding stones.

" It is, " she countered, her smile turning jagged and sharp. " I don't allow anyone to look at the man who succeeded in stopping me for the first time with such contempt. "

The elder man's ego vanished, replaced by a raw, paralyzing terror as he realized he was trapped with two monsters.

She lunged again, but Aksh hovered over the man, sheilding him with his back. " And i can't let you kill him, " he stated, "  it's not enough reason to end someone. "

Aksh was a man of cold logic, he wasn't cruel like her. To him, blood was currency only to be spent on orders, not for sport. But her laughter was a soft, terrifying sound that made the hair on the back of the old man's neck stand up.

" That reason is more than enough for me, " she whispered. Before Aksh could adjust his stance, her hand shot out, grabbing his neck with explosives, forcing strength.

She didn't just push, he used her entire weight to pin him toward the floor, her body overlapping near the old man's shoulder.

Caught by the sheer ferocity of her, Aksh found himself momentarily pinned by her grip. In that split second, she drove her knife down with brutal, sickening force.

" AAh-" A horrific scream tore through the office. The blade found its mark, she gouged out the old man's eyes. Blood splattered across the mahagony and soaked into Aksh's sleeve.

Aksh, freeing himself from her grip, stared at the writhing, mutilated man. The cruelty was absolute... unhesitating and pure horror. He stood up, looking at her. " What the hell did you do?" He asked.

" I did as you asked. Didn't kill him...but he had to pay a prize for his arrogance. " She said softly, stepping back and wiping a stray drop of red from her cheek.

She stepped closer to him, her presence a toxic, beautiful heat that seemed to ignite the very air between them.  Her eyes were dark, fixated on him with a terrifying new loyalty and obsession. " I left him alive because you wanted it...I never did it before, " she whispered. " But the next time I see someone look at you like that...I will finish them."

Flashback Ends...

________

Present.....

The cabin of the private jet was a vacuum of opulence and cold, pressurized air. Aksh sat in an armchair, his frame larger and more imposing at thirty, his presence now carrying the weathered weight of a man who had spent a decade walking through hell.

A flight attendant approached, her footsteps silent on the deep-piled carpet. She stopped at a respectful distance, "Sir, we are scheduled to touch down in Jaipur in forty minutes," she informed him.

He didn't look up from the small object held between his thumb and forefinger. "Inform the ground crew. I want the car ready the moment the wheels hit the tarmac. No delays."

"Yes, Sir," she murmured and retreated, leaving him in the silence he had inhabited for the last two years. It had been twenty-four months since he had fled on his wedding night. He had left Srivika without a word, not informing anyone.

He opened his palm. Resting there was a delicate silver wristwatch with a cracked face. It belonged to Kavya. For two years, Aksh had scoured the dark corners of St. Petersburg and the freezing outskirts of Murmansk.

He had moved, chasing a ghost of his own. This watch was the only thing he had found a chilling clue that Kavya had been in Russia.

The mystery gnawed at his gut like slow-burning acid. She was supposed to be in London, tucked away in the safety of a medical college. If Srivika had kidnapped her, she would have taken her from the university.

But the trail led here, to the frozen north. Srivika isn't someone who would waste time inviting Kavya to Russia and then kidnap her from there.

And as he searched... he found Kavya had been there for already two years... two years? And she came on her own... he didn't even know about it. Whenever he called her... she would tell him she was busy with studies, having fun, and about her daily life.

Why did she lie? Why would his sister come to Russia on her own? There was only one person who held the keys to the cage. Srivika, if she had kidnapped her, she would definitely know the reason why Kavya came here.

It was all so messed up, his jaw clenched. There was a lot to ask... a lot he wanted to know, but he didn't know how exactly he was going to get the information.

So he returned, after spending two years running from her, thinking distance would help him. He closed his hand over the watch, the sharp edges of the cracked glass biting into his palm.

He didn't know how he would do it, but he knew the moment he stepped back into Jaipur... the games would end. He would tear the truth out of her, piece by piece, if he had to.

******************

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