Part 14 – The Sky Doesn't Listen
The evening wind tasted of rain and rust.
For the first time since she'd arrived, the mansion's gates weren't her prison walls. She could finally step beyond her room — only within the boundaries of the house, but still… it was air, sky, silence.
Bhuvanya stood on the terrace, her hands gripping the cold railing, eyes locked on the fading horizon.
"Why, God?" she whispered, voice cracking. "Why me? It's been two days… two days, and I've already lost everything."
Her words dissolved into the air, unheard, unanswered.
But another voice cut through the silence. Low. Too close.
"Careful what you ask for, Bhuvanya."
She froze. Before she could turn, a shadow moved behind her — and then, a hand wrapped around her waist. Not tender. Not gentle. Just claiming.
Aarush.
He leaned close, his breath brushing against the edge of her ear. "Now I can finally touch you, that contract gives me all right what I can do to you," he murmured.
She didn't think. She spun, her hand connecting with his cheek before her fear even caught up.
The sound cracked through the evening air — a sharp Slap on his face, echoing defiance.
For a heartbeat, silence. The wind stopped. Even the world seemed to hold its breath.
Aarush didn't move. His head stayed tilted where her slap had sent it, his hair falling slightly into his eyes. Then, slowly, he looked at her. The faintest smile ghosted his lips.
"Interesting," he said softly. "You really don't learn, do you?"
Her heart hammered, but she stood her ground. "Don't touch me again."
He took one step forward — not fast, not loud, just enough for her to feel his presence like a closing door. he grabbed her cheeks tightly
"You're standing in my house, under my roof, breathing my air," he said. "And you think you still decide who gets close?"He pushed her little back while gripping her cheeks.
She backed away until her spine hit the cold railing. His shadow swallowed hers.
For a second, she thought he'd strike. But instead, he just leaned in, eyes dark but calm. "You can hate me all you want," he said quietly, "but you'll still stay."
Then he turned and walked away — as if the moment never happened, as if her defiance was just another line in a script he already knew by heart.
Bhuvanya's hands trembled on the railing. Her breath came sharp, uneven. She looked up at the stars again — but now, they seemed farther than ever.
"Why…" she whispered again, voice shaking. "Why does the sky look free when I'm not?"
And somewhere below, in the mansion's dark corridors, Kabir's laughter echoed — soft, knowing, dangerous.