The villa's walls seemed to pulse with the fading echo of those three mournful knocks. Rajan sat beside Rani on the lounge couch, her head resting against his shoulder, her breathing shallow but steady. The other guests whispered in clusters, their eyes darting to the shadows as if expecting them to move. Kabita hovered nearby, her fingers twisting her sweater, her gaze flickering between Rani's pale face and Rajan's tense jaw. "We need to do something," she said, her voice low but urgent. "She's not… right."Rajan nodded, but his thoughts were tangled. Rani's collapse on the balcony, her voice shifting to Lila's—a woman betrayed, bound to this place by a broken promise—felt like a dream he couldn't shake. And that handprint on the railing, small and frosted, burned in his memory. He glanced at Rani, her damp hair clinging to her forehead, and wondered how much of her was still there. "She's fighting it," he murmured, more to himself than Kabita. "I can feel it."But the air grew colder, the lanterns flickering as if struggling to stay lit. A guest—an older man named Vikram—muttered about curses and mountain spirits, clutching a rosary. Another, Meera, held up the photograph of the woman in the white dress, its blurred face seeming sharper now, almost familiar. "This is her, isn't it?" she whispered. "The one Rani talked about."Before anyone could answer, Rani stirred. Her eyes snapped open, not brown but gray, like storm clouds over a frozen lake. She sat up, her movements fluid, almost serpentine, and turned to Rajan. "You're still here," she said, her voice Lila's, soft but laced with hunger. "You didn't run."Rajan's heart thudded. "Rani, I know you're in there. Fight her." But her lips curved into a smile that wasn't Rani's—slow, knowing, and far too old. "Rani is resting," Lila said. "She's safe. But you… you're mine now." She reached for his face, her fingers grazing his cheek, and a warmth spread through him, unnatural, like fire under ice. He wanted to pull away, but his body wouldn't move."Stop it," Kabita snapped, stepping forward, but Lila's gaze flicked to her, sharp and commanding. "Stay back," she said, and Kabita froze, her breath hitching as if pinned by an unseen force. The other guests backed away, their murmurs turning to gasps.Lila's eyes locked onto Rajan's, her gray irises swirling, pulling him in. "Look at me," she whispered, and her voice was a melody, ancient and inescapable, wrapping around his thoughts like vines. "You love so truly, Rajan. I felt it through her, but now I see it in you. A heart that doesn't waver. Stay with me. Stay forever." The villa faded, the guests' voices dimming, until it was just her—her eyes, her voice, her promise of a love that would never fade.Rajan's mind clouded. Images flickered: a woman in a white dress, weeping on a balcony; a man's silhouette walking away; a ring glinting in moonlight, then falling into darkness. Lila's memories, not his. Yet they felt real, and with them came a longing so deep it threatened to swallow him. "You're not alone anymore," Lila's voice echoed in his mind. "I'll keep you safe. Just give me your heart."Somewhere, beneath the haze, Rani's voice broke through—a faint, desperate cry. "Rajan, don't!" It was enough. He blinked, his chest heaving, and saw Rani's face again, her gray eyes flickering back to brown, her expression panicked. "She's trying to take you," Rani gasped, clutching his arm. "I can't… I can't hold her back much longer."Lila's presence surged again, Rani's body stiffening. "You can't have him," she hissed, not to Rani but to the air, as if challenging something—or someone—else. The walls shuddered, and three sharp knocks rang out, louder than before, from the ceiling above. Dust sifted down, and a lantern shattered, plunging the room into half-darkness.Kabita broke free of her stupor, rushing to Rajan's side. "Rajan, snap out of it!" she shouted, shaking him. His eyes cleared, but the pull of Lila's gaze lingered, like a hook in his soul. He staggered to his feet, pulling Rani with him, her body trembling as Lila's voice whispered through her: "You can't run from me. Not when you feel what I feel."The group scattered, some running for the doors, others frozen in fear. Avi, his jaw clenched, grabbed a fireplace poker, as if it could fight a ghost. "We need to get out of here," he said, but the front door wouldn't budge, its handle cold as ice. Meera screamed, pointing to the photograph on the table—its frame now cracked, the woman's face clear, her eyes gray and staring.Rajan held Rani close, her heartbeat racing against his chest. "Rani, stay with me," he whispered, his voice raw. "I won't let her take you." But her eyes flickered gray again, and Lila's voice came, soft and pleading: "It's not her I want. It's you."Another knock—three, slow, deliberate—echoed from the walls, closer now, as if the villa itself were closing in. Rajan's mind flashed to the book at home, its words a warning he couldn't ignore: True love walks the edge of fear. But fear must first knock. He wondered if Lila's love was the fear—or if something else was knocking, waiting to claim them all.
The villa was a cage. The front door, sealed by some unseen force, rattled under Avi's futile kicks, and the air grew heavy, like a storm about to break. Rajan sat on the floor, Rani's head cradled in his lap, her breaths uneven as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Her eyes flickered between brown and gray, a silent battle between Rani and the ghost within her. Lila. The name was a weight on Rajan's chest, her voice still echoing in his mind from the hypnosis—seductive, desperate, pulling him toward a love that wasn't his to give.Kabita knelt beside him, her hands trembling as she checked Rani's pulse. "She's still fighting," she whispered, but her eyes were on Rajan, searching for something—forgiveness, maybe, or a way to undo the past. He didn't meet her gaze. The other guests were scattered, some praying, others pacing, their fear a low hum beneath the villa's creaking walls. The photograph of the woman in the white dress lay shattered on the table, its frame split as if struck, her face now clear: pale, gray-eyed, and unmistakably Lila.Three knocks came again, sharp and deliberate, from the ceiling above Room 13. The sound sent a shiver through the group, and Meera clutched the old photograph, muttering, "She's angry. She's trapped." Rajan's head throbbed, a dull ache from Lila's earlier pull, and with each knock, his vision blurred, the room tilting. He squeezed Rani's hand, anchoring himself, but the villa faded, and darkness swallowed him whole.He was in Room 13, but not as it was now. The air was thick with the scent of jasmine and candlewax, the walls adorned with faded tapestries. A woman stood by the balcony, her white dress glowing in the moonlight, her dark hair cascading down her back. Lila. She was younger, her face soft with hope, clutching a silver ring etched with a lover's promise. Rajan tried to call out, but he was a ghost here, unseen, trapped in her memory.A man entered—tall, broad-shouldered, his smile charming but cold. "My love," he said, his voice smooth, but Lila's shoulders tensed. Rajan's stomach churned as the man's hand grazed her arm, too possessive, too rough. "You're mine tonight," he said, and Lila's smile faltered, her eyes wide with fear. She backed toward the balcony, shaking her head. "Please, Arjun, not yet. Not like this."The vision twisted, time lurching forward. Lila's screams echoed, raw and desperate, as the man—Arjun, her betrothed—pinned her against the bed. Rajan wanted to scream, to tear him away, but he was powerless, his fists passing through air. The room darkened, the candles snuffed out, and Lila's cries turned to gasps, then silence. Arjun stood over her, his face blank, as she lay still, her white dress torn, her neck bruised. A knife glinted in his hand, and then—blood, pooling on the floor, staining the wood beneath the bed.Lila's voice whispered in Rajan's mind: "He promised forever. He took everything." The vision shifted again—to Lila's body, crumpled on the balcony, her gray eyes open to the stars, the ring clutched in her lifeless hand. The knocks came again, three, loud, from the walls of Room 13, as if her pain had carved itself into the villa's bones.Rajan gasped, back in the lounge, his face wet with tears he didn't remember shedding. Rani stirred in his arms, her eyes gray again, but softer, glistening with unshed tears. "You saw," Lila said through her, her voice breaking. "You know what he did. But you… you wouldn't hurt me. Your heart is true." She reached for his face, her touch cold now, and Rajan pulled back, his heart racing."Rani," he said, his voice firm. "Come back to me. Lila, you can't have her—or me." Lila's face twisted, a mix of rage and sorrow. "I have nothing else," she whispered, but Rani's body shuddered, her brown eyes flickering through. "Rajan," Rani gasped, her voice weak. "She's so strong… but I'm trying."Kabita grabbed Rajan's shoulder, her voice urgent. "We need to end this. Now." She held up a small key, found in the library among old letters. "It's for Room 13. There's something in there—something she's tied to." Rajan nodded, his resolve hardening. Lila's pain was real, but her hold on Rani was a theft, and he wouldn't let her take more than she'd already lost.The group moved upstairs, the knocks growing louder, faster, like a heartbeat out of sync. Room 13's door loomed, the number 13 pulsing in the dim light. Rajan held Rani's hand, her grip weak but warm, a sign she was still fighting. As Kabita turned the key, the door creaked open, revealing a room untouched by time—jasmine in the air, a silver ring glinting on the floor.Lila's voice echoed from the walls: "Stay with me, Rajan. Or I'll keep her forever." The knocks became a roar, and the villa shook, as if Lila's pain could tear it apart.