Chapter Two – You're Mine
The morning sun barely lit the room, but Ryan's presence was heavier than any shadow. Outside Atharv's door, a tray of breakfast sat untouched. Atharv stared at it, jaw tight, frustration boiling inside him.
"I… I don't know anything about your father!" he snapped, his voice shaking with both fear and defiance. "Leave me alone! I need to go to college!"
Ryan's dark eyes flicked to him, unblinking. "You don't know? Then why keep silent? Tell me, Atharv. Who killed him?"
"I… I don't know! I told you, I don't know!" Atharv's hands clenched into fists.
Ryan stepped closer, the air around him thick and suffocating. "You can't leave. Not until I get my answer. You're mine now… do you understand?"
Atharv swallowed hard, trying to resist, trying to keep his anger alive. "I… I just want to go to college. I don't care about your father. Just leave me!"
Ryan's lips curved into a dangerous smile. "You think you have a choice? Every moment you resist, every step you try to take… it belongs to me. Eat, and maybe I'll let you walk outside today. Refuse, and you'll stay… with me. Forever if I want."
Days passed in silence and tension. Ryan brought breakfast every morning, insisting. Atharv refused, but the dark control in Ryan's presence pressed against him like chains he couldn't break.
Finally, Ryan leaned close, voice a low, magnetic growl: "Eat. Just once. Then you can go to college. Move freely… breathe freely. But only if you obey."
Atharv hesitated, trembling, the anger and fear mixing with a strange, dangerous pull he couldn't understand. "Okay…" he whispered, almost against his own will..
Ryan's eyes softened slightly—but only just. "Good. That's a start. Remember, Atharv… silence won't save you. Your choices… your life… they're mine now."
As Atharv ate, the tension between them hung in the room like a storm. He hated it, feared it, yet couldn't ignore it. Ryan's control was absolute, and with every glance, every word, it pulled Atharv deeper into a dark, intoxicating world he couldn't escape.