It was almost midnight when Ishaal walked into Raheel Estate again.The guards didn't stop her this time, maybe because they'd already seen the storm in her eyes.
Rayyan was in his study, sleeves rolled up, phone in hand, when she barged in.
"You sent that video?" she snapped."If I had," he said quietly, "you wouldn't have needed to ask."
She threw the printed screenshots on his desk. "Then who did, Rayyan? Who's watching me?"
He stared at the pictures for a long moment, then met her eyes. "Someone who wants to see me fall."
She scoffed. "And you think pulling me into your mess makes it better?"
"You're already in it, Ishaal," he said, stepping closer. "The night you played that song in the café, you became the one thing I can't afford to lose."
Her breath caught, half fear, half confusion."Lose? You don't even have me."
He smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "I never said I did. I said I don't know how to lose."
Silence pressed between them.Ishaal looked at him, the calm exterior, the measured tone, the darkness hiding under control, and finally asked the question that had been burning for days.
"Why are you like this, Rayyan? Possessive. Obsessive. Always needing to own everything."
He turned away, poured himself a drink, and spoke without looking at her.
"When you grow up in a house where people are currency," he said, "you either learn to own... or you get owned.""My father used to say, love makes you weak. So I learned to make love my weapon instead."
He looked at her again, eyes steady, voice soft but sharp.
"I'm not possessive because I want to control you, Ishaal. I'm possessive because you're the first thing I want to protect without destroying."
That hit her deeper than she wanted to admit.Her heart betrayed her with a single loud thump.
She whispered, "You can't protect me from everything."Rayyan stepped closer, his tone dark but calm.
"Then I'll destroy everything that tries to touch you."
She backed away slightly, torn between wanting to run and wanting to stay.His world scared her but his words made her pulse betray her.