The bodies were gone.
The blood was cleaned.
Money makes things disappear.
But Sage couldn't erase what she saw.
The gun.
The shots.
The way he didn't hesitate.
She stood in an empty guest suite inside one of his Delhi safehouses.
Huge windows. Luxury furniture. Guards outside.
But she felt trapped.
The door opened.
S4RKU walked in.
No gun now.
Just silence.
She didn't look at him.
"You killed them."
Not a question.
A fact.
"Yes."
No excuse.
No justification.
Her chest tightened.
"You didn't even blink."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"They were going to take you."
She turned sharply.
"That doesn't give you the right to play God!"
He stepped closer.
"In my world, I am God."
The words weren't arrogant.
They were true.
That scared her more.
Her breathing became uneven.
"This is insane. I have classes. I have a life. I can't just-"
"You don't have that life anymore."
The statement cut through the air.
She stared at him.
"What do you mean?"
"They know your face. They know your name. If you go back alone, you die."
Silence.
Heavy.
Dark.
She felt it then - the invisible cage closing.
"You're the reason this happened!" she snapped.
His jaw flexed.
"Yes."
The honesty stunned her.
"And I won't apologize for protecting what's mine."
There it was again.
Mine.
She walked toward him, anger overpowering fear.
"I am not your property."
In one swift movement, he grabbed her wrist.
Not painfully.
But firmly.
His voice dropped.
"You walked into my world."
His thumb brushed slowly over her pulse point.
"Now you feel its heartbeat."
Her breath hitched.
This closeness.
This intensity.
It was wrong.
But her body betrayed her.
"You scare me," she whispered.
For the first time...
Something flickered in his eyes.
Good.
He stepped closer, until her back touched the wall.
"You should be scared."
His hand moved to the wall beside her head.
Caging her.
"But understand this clearly, Sage..."
His forehead almost touched hers.
"No one touches you. No one threatens you. No one breathes near you without my permission."
Her heart pounded violently.
This wasn't normal love.
This was possession.
Dark. Territorial. Dangerous.
"And what if I don't want this?" she challenged softly.
A dangerous question.
He leaned down slightly.
His voice barely above a whisper.
"Then I'll make you want it."
The air between them ignited.
Not soft.
Not sweet.
Intense.
Dark.
Her fingers trembled against his chest.
She should push him away.
She knew she should.
But instead...
She whispered-
"Why me?"
That question hit deeper than she expected.
His expression changed slightly.
Not soft.
But raw.
"Because when you looked at me..."
His hand gently lifted her chin.
"You didn't see a monster."
Silence.
Her heartbeat slowed.
And for the first time...
She realized something terrifying.
She didn't want to leave.
Even after the blood.
Even after the gunshots.
That was the darkest part of all.