The Girl in Black

“A shattered soul does not fear darkness anymore. It fears the hands pretending to pull it toward the light.”

The music downstairs sounded like war.

Bass thundered violently through Velvet Venom while crimson lights bled across the walls like fresh wounds.

Men laughed.

Women danced.

Glasses clinked.

Sin breathed openly inside the club tonight.

And somewhere above all that chaos...

Alisha Malhotra stood trembling before a mirror trying not to fall apart.

The black outfit clung cruelly against her fragile body.

Tiny.

Humiliating.

Exposing bruises makeup could not fully hide.

Her burned skin still peeked through near her collarbone.

Purple marks stained her thighs faintly.

And her hollow eyes...

God.

Her eyes looked dead already.

Kiara carefully adjusted the black sheer cover-up around her shoulders.

“It’ll hide some of the bruises.”

Some.

Not all.

Because pain like Alisha’s could never truly be hidden.

It leaked through everything.

Her silence.

Her trembling hands.

The way she flinched whenever footsteps came too close.

Meher handed her a glass of water carefully.

“Drink.”

Alisha tried.

But her hands shook so violently the water spilled against her fingers.

Kiara immediately held the glass gently for her.

“You’re okay.”

No.

She wasn’t.

Because Manav’s words kept replaying inside her mind endlessly.

He’s pretending.

He’ll break you worse than the others.

Kindness is just another weapon.

And the horrifying part?

Alisha believed him.

Because every single person who had ever shown affection before hurting her had taught her one brutal truth...

monsters often smiled first.

A loud knock suddenly echoed through the dressing room.

All three girls froze.

Manav entered slowly.

His dark eyes immediately scanned Alisha from head to toe.

Then...

he smirked.

“There she is.”

Alisha instinctively stepped backward.

Wrong decision.

Manav noticed instantly.

“You know,” he murmured casually while approaching her, “fear actually makes you prettier.”

Her breathing became uneven.

He stopped directly before her.

Close enough for whiskey and smoke to poison the air around her.

“Tonight is important.”

His fingers brushed lightly against the strap near her shoulder.

Alisha flinched violently.

His smirk widened.

“See?” he whispered. “That reaction right there…”

His eyes darkened dangerously.

“…men pay millions for innocence like yours.”

Humiliation burned through her body.

She immediately lowered her gaze.

Manav grabbed her chin sharply.

“Look at me when I speak.”

Tears gathered instantly.

He studied her face carefully for several seconds.

Then suddenly...

his expression hardened.

“You better not embarrass me tonight.”

Alisha nodded faintly.

Too slow.

The slap landed hard enough to make her stumble sideways.

“Use your head properly when I’m talking to you.”

Kiara clenched her fists silently nearby.

But nobody dared interfere.

Nobody.

Because Manav enjoyed power too much.

And powerless people survived by enduring.

Manav slowly leaned near Alisha’s ear.

“You know what I think?”

His voice lowered dangerously.

“I think Shaurya likes damaged things.”

Alisha’s heartbeat stuttered painfully.

“He looked at you yesterday like a man discovering his newest obsession.”

A pause.

“And men obsessed with broken girls become terrifyingly cruel once they get bored.”

Fear crawled violently through her veins.

Manav smiled coldly while seeing panic flood her face again.

Good.

That was exactly what he wanted.

He straightened slowly.

“Bring her downstairs.”

Then he walked out.

But not before saying one final sentence that left ice inside her blood.

“And if she disappoints Shaurya…”

His eyes flickered toward her trembling body.

“…I’ll carve obedience into her myself.”

The door slammed shut.

Silence followed.

Dead silence.

Then suddenly

Alisha’s knees gave out.

She collapsed onto the floor shaking uncontrollably.

Kiara immediately rushed toward her.

“Hey—hey—”

But Alisha looked terrified beyond reason now.

Not of Manav.

Not even of the club anymore.

Of Shaurya.

Because Manav had poisoned the only unfamiliar thing she had begun feeling...

Safety.

Now every memory replayed differently inside her head.

The water bottle.

The food.

The soft voice.

The patience.

All of it suddenly looked suspicious.

Manipulative.

Predatory.

Exactly the way abusers lure victims before tightening chains.

Kiara carefully held her shoulders.

“Listen to me. Shaurya isn’t like Manav.”

But Alisha’s eyes screamed disbelief.

Because every monster in her life had once been trusted too.

---

Downstairs...

the entire atmosphere shifted the moment Shaurya Singhania entered the club.

Power moved with him.

Invisible.

Terrifying.

Men twice his age straightened instantly.

Guards lowered their gazes respectfully.

Even the music somehow felt quieter around him.

Black suit.

Silver watch.

Sharp storm-grey eyes scanning the room calmly.

But beneath that calm...

something darker existed tonight.

Because Shaurya had spent the entire day thinking about one thing only.

The girl upstairs.

And he hated that.

He hated distractions.

Yet every bruise on Alisha’s body haunted him relentlessly.

Manav approached quickly wearing a practiced smile.

“Mr. Singhania.”

Shaurya barely looked at him.

“Where is she?”

Direct.

Cold.

Manav’s smile twitched slightly.

“She’ll be here shortly.”

Shaurya sat inside the private VIP section overlooking the entire club.

From here...

he could see everyone.

Control everyone.

Destroy everyone if necessary.

And somehow…

his instincts kept screaming the same thing.

*Something is very wrong here.*

A waitress approached nervously with whiskey.

Shaurya ignored it completely.

His attention remained fixed toward the staircase.

Waiting.

Watching.

Then...

she appeared.

And the entire room shifted.

Alisha descended the stairs slowly like a ghost walking toward execution.

The black outfit exposed too much fragile skin.

Too many bruises.

Too much fear.

Her trembling hands clutched the railing tightly as though it were the only thing stopping her from collapsing.

Shaurya’s expression changed instantly.

Cold rage entered his eyes.

Because she looked terrified.

Not nervous.

Not shy.

Terrified.

Like someone forced toward slaughter.

Men across the club immediately stared hungrily at her.

Shaurya noticed every single gaze.

And hated them instantly.

Alisha finally looked up...

and her eyes met his.

Storm-grey.

Shattered brown.

For one suspended moment...

the entire club disappeared around them.

Then suddenly...

pure panic crossed her face.

Real panic.

She stopped walking entirely.

Her breathing became uneven.

And Shaurya immediately understood something horrifying.

She was afraid of him.

Not ordinary fear.

The deep instinctive fear victims develop toward predators.

His jaw hardened dangerously.

What the hell had Manav told her?

Before Shaurya could stand...

Manav suddenly appeared beside Alisha gripping her waist possessively.

She visibly flinched.

Shaurya saw it.

Every tiny reaction.

Every terrified movement.

And something inside him snapped quietly.

Manav smirked toward the VIP section.

“She cleaned up nicely, right?”

Shaurya’s voice turned glacial.

“Take your hand off her.”

The entire nearby atmosphere froze.

Manav laughed awkwardly and released her immediately.

But the damage was already done.

Because Alisha looked trapped.

Cornered.

Broken.

And now...

terrified of the only person in that room who

actually wanted to protect her.

Shaurya slowly stood.

The entire club seemed to tense instantly.

Then...

without breaking eye contact with Alisha...

he said quietly:

“Bring her to my table.”

Fear exploded across her face immediately.

And for the first time in years....

Shaurya Singhania felt something dangerously close to fury.

Not at her.

At whoever had taught her that looking at him should feel this terrifying.

To be continued…