Part 17: The Half Truth
The mansion was silent — too silent.
But silence in that house never meant peace. It meant something was about to break.
Bhuvanya stepped out of her room, her pulse still trembling from the night before. The corridor smelled faintly of smoke and sandalwood — Aarush's scent. Somewhere below, voices echoed.
She followed them.
Down the grand staircase, through the shadows of chandeliers that no longer looked beautiful — just haunting.
Then she heard it.
"You touched her?" Aarush's voice thundered from the study. "Without my permission?"
Bhuvanya froze near the doorway.
Inside, Kabir stood with blood on his lip and defiance in his eyes. "She's not yours to command, Aarush! She's a human, not a project!"
Before Kabir could take another breath, a sharp crack echoed — Aarush's hand against his cheek.
The sound made Bhuvanya flinch.
Aarush grabbed Kabir's collar, his voice low, venomous. "You don't decide what's mine."
Kabir spat back, "Mine? You think everyone you 'save' becomes your property? You're repeating what he did!"
Aarush's grip loosened. His expression flickered — something raw, pained, almost human. "You know nothing, Kabir."
"I know enough!" Kabir shouted. "I know she doesn't deserve to live under your twisted idea of protection. If she ever finds out the real reason you brought her here—"
"Shut. Up." Aarush's tone could have frozen blood.
But Kabir didn't stop. "You think you can hide it forever? She'll know. She'll know what she is to you and what happened that night!"
Silence.
A dangerous, shaking silence.
And that's when the glass door creaked — and both of them turned.
Bhuvanya stood there. Her face pale. Eyes wet, wide, trembling between rage and fear.
"What night?" she whispered. "What are you both talking about?"
Neither of them moved.
Aarush's eyes darkened, Kabir's jaw tightened.
"Answer me!" she screamed this time, her voice echoing against the marble walls. "You've been using me like some pawn—what are you hiding from me?"
Aarush finally spoke, his voice calm but heavy. "It's not the time for you to know."
"Then when?" she cried. "When I lose my mind completely? When I stop being myself?"
Kabir looked at her with guilt burning in his eyes. "You deserve the truth, Bhuvanya… but he'll never tell you."
"Enough." Aarush's voice cut through like a blade. "Go to your room, both of you."
"No." She stepped closer. "Not this time."
But before she could say another word, Aarush turned away — the control in his movements almost unnatural. He murmured something under his breath — a single name that made Kabir's expression change instantly.
A name Bhuvanya had never heard before.
"Rafael."
Her heart dropped.
"Who… who is Rafael?" she asked quietly.
Neither of them answered.
The silence that followed said more than words ever could.
And for the first time, Bhuvanya realized—
whatever this was, it had started long before she entered that house.
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