đź–¤ Title: The Devil's Gentle Touch
đź“– Chapter 3: The Man in Shadow
---
The sun filtered through the tall glass windows as Aanya quietly stepped out of the Raichand mansion for the first time since the wedding.
It wasn't freedom.
It was college.
Her final year—interrupted by a marriage she didn't ask for.
A black SUV followed her. Always. Dev's orders.
He hadn't said it out loud, but she knew:
She was being watched.
As she stepped into campus, heads turned. Aanya Raichand—the girl who'd disappeared, now back, married, changed.
But one smile grounded her again.
Aarav. Her best friend.
Messy hair, hoodie, same crooked smile.
"Mrs. Raichand, huh?" he teased, pulling her into a friendly hug.
"Still a drama queen?"
She laughed for the first time in days. For a moment, she felt normal again.
Not owned. Not caged.
But that moment…
was captured in a photograph.
And sent straight to Dev Raichand.
---
That night, he came home early.
Aanya was in the kitchen laughing with the housemaid. Wearing a soft yellow kurti. Light in her eyes again.
But the storm was already here.
"Your friend touches you too casually."
His voice was low. Controlled.
She turned. Her laughter died.
"He's like a brother to me—"
"Don't lie to me." He stepped closer, his face unreadable but his eyes burning.
"Do you want him?"
The question hit her like thunder. Her heart thudded.
"Dev—no! I—"
But before she could finish, he grabbed her wrist—not harshly, but firmly. Pulled her closer.
"Then prove it," he said. His breath hit her skin. "Prove that you're mine."
And then...
He kissed her.
Not gently. Not softly.
It was possessive. Desperate.
A claim, not a confession.
She gasped against his mouth, caught off guard—but something inside her lit up. She didn't push him away.
She let him show her that jealousy had teeth. That fear could taste like fire.
When he finally pulled back, her breath was gone. Her hands were trembling.
"No man will ever hold you like that again," he whispered, brushing his thumb across her lips.
Then he turned and walked out, leaving her breathless in the dark kitchen…
and her heart louder than ever.