The apartment doors sealed shut.
One by one.
Click… click… click…
Until silence turned into a cage.
Aanya's breathing grew faster.
She pressed the emergency lock.
Nothing worked.
The system was no longer hers.
It belonged to someone else now.
Outside the glass window…
shadows moved.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Aanya whispered,
"Rudra…"
But only silence answered.
Meanwhile—
On the streets below, Rudra was running.
His coat flared in the wind.
His expression was no longer controlled.
It was dangerous.
"Too late…" he muttered.
Back inside the apartment—
The lights flickered red.
Then turned off completely.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Aanya stepped back.
Her voice shook.
"Who's there?!"
A soft sound came from the hallway.
A slow clap.
And then—
a female voice.
Calm.
Familiar.
"You were never supposed to be in his world."
Aanya froze.
That voice…
Not Meera.
Someone else.
A figure stepped into the faint emergency light.
Riya Verma.
Aanya's eyes widened.
"You…"
Riya smiled slightly.
Not cruel.
Not kind.
Just certain.
"I told you," Riya said softly.
"Everything he protects… becomes a target."
Aanya clenched her fists.
"Why are you doing this?!"
Riya walked closer.
Slow.
Confident.
"You think this is hate?"
A pause.
"This is love… misplaced."
Aanya shook her head.
"You're obsessed with him."
Riya's smile faded slightly.
"I was the only one who understood his darkness."
A pause.
"Until you started softening it."
Aanya's voice cracked.
"I didn't steal him from you."
Riya tilted her head.
"No."
A pause.
"He chose you."
That hit harder than anything.
Suddenly—
Outside.
A loud crash.
Glass shattered.
Rudra entered through the broken window.
Blood on his hand.
Eyes locked on Riya instantly.
"Step away from her," he said coldly.
Riya didn't move.
Instead, she smiled.
"You came fast."
Rudra walked between them.
Protecting Aanya.
Like a shield.
Aanya whispered,
"Rudra…"
Rudra didn't look back.
"I told you not to come here," he said to Riya.
Riya replied softly,
"I didn't come for you."
A pause.
"I came to show her the truth."
Rudra's jaw tightened.
"There is no truth in your obsession."
Riya stepped closer.
"So tell her then."
A pause.
"Why did you really choose her?"
Silence.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
Aanya looked at Rudra.
Waiting.
Afraid.
Rudra finally spoke.
Low.
Controlled.
But real.
"Because she didn't fear me."
That answer shook everything.
Riya's eyes darkened slightly.
"You see?" she whispered.
"She made you weak."
Rudra stepped forward.
"No."
A pause.
"She made me alive."
A long silence followed.
Then Riya slowly stepped back.
Not defeated.
But calculating.
"This isn't over," she said quietly.
Then turned and walked away into the dark.
Rudra didn't stop her.
Because his focus was already somewhere else.
Aanya.
She stood there… shaken.
But alive.
Rudra turned slowly toward her.
For the first time in a long time…
no gangster.
no empire.
just him.
"You're safe," he said softly.
Aanya whispered,
"For now?"
Rudra didn't answer.
Because he knew the truth.
Nothing was safe anymore.
Not with love involved.