I wanna warn you all before you read this isn't a love story you'd cry whilst reading this... Don't blame me I warned you all....
---
"The most terrifying monsters are not the ones who hide in darkness. They are the ones who spend years convincing the world they are made of light."
---
Darkness.
That was the first thing Anaya remembered.
A heavy...
endless darkness.
Her eyelids felt impossibly heavy.
Every breath seemed distant.
The room spun slowly around her as consciousness returned in fractured pieces.
A dull ache pulsed behind her temples.
Her mouth felt dry.
She tried to lift her hand.
It didn't move.
A cold sensation crept through her spine.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Her heartbeat quickened.
She forced her eyes open.
The ceiling above her was unfamiliar.
A grand chandelier hung overhead, its crystals reflecting faint golden light across the room.
She blinked repeatedly, trying to clear her blurred vision.
Then...
she looked down.
Leather restraints secured both wrists to the bedposts.
Her ankles were restrained as well.
For several long seconds...
her mind refused to understand what her eyes were seeing.
"No..."
she whispered.
"No..."
She pulled desperately against the restraints.
The leather dug painfully into her skin.
Her breathing became erratic.
"This... this isn't funny..."
Her voice trembled.
"Armaan?"
Silence.
"Armaan!"
---
A slow clap echoed from somewhere inside the room.
She froze.
Four men emerged from the shadows near the large windows.
Ethan.
Daniel.
Oliver.
Victor.
Gone were the warm smiles from the dinner table.
Gone were the polite introductions.
Their expressions had changed completely.
Cold.
Amused.
Watching her as though she were part of a performance.
A chill swept through her entire body.
She shook her head violently.
"No..."
"Please..."
"Untie me."
Nobody moved.
Instead...
a quiet laugh broke the silence.
Another joined it.
Then another.
The sound echoed through the room until it became unbearable.
---
"Armaan!"
she screamed.
"Please!"
"Where are you?"
"You said you'd come back!"
"You promised...."
The bathroom door clicked open.
Every laugh stopped.
Anaya's eyes darted toward the sound.
Armaan stepped into the room.
He was no longer wearing the suit from dinner.
His sleeves were rolled neatly to his elbows.
A crystal glass of red wine rested casually in his hand.
His expression remained calm.
Composed.
Almost bored.
The same man who had smiled gently that morning.
The same man who had asked...
"May I hold your hand?"
The same man who had promised to respect every boundary.
He took another sip of wine.
Then looked directly at her.
For a moment...
neither of them spoke.
---
Hope flickered inside her.
"Armaan..."
Her voice broke.
"They..."
"They tied me."
"Please..."
"Please untie me."
He continued walking.
Unhurried.
Completely indifferent.
He stopped at the foot of the bed.
Set the wine glass on a nearby table.
Then slowly sat down.
He crossed one leg over the other.
And smiled.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
Cruelly.
It was the first genuine smile she had ever seen on his face.
Everything before tonight...
had been an act.
---
Her world collapsed.
"No..."
she whispered.
"No..."
"This isn't real."
"You..."
"You wouldn't..."
His smile widened.
"Wouldn't?"
He chuckled softly.
"That's interesting."
"I've spent years making people finish my sentences."
"And tonight..."
"...you're finally beginning to understand."
---
Tears streamed down her face.
"You lied..."
His eyebrows lifted.
"I did."
"You pretended..."
"I did."
"You made me believe..."
"I know."
Every answer was effortless.
Without remorse.
Without hesitation.
Without guilt.
The gentleman...
had disappeared.
In his place sat someone she had never truly known.
---
She pulled desperately against the restraints again.
"Please..."
"Let me go."
"I won't tell anyone."
"I swear."
Armaan leaned forward slightly.
"You still think this is about silence?"
He laughed quietly.
"No, Anaya."
"This..."
he gestured around the room,
"...is about control."
---
She stared at him in disbelief.
"You asked before touching my hand."
"You said you'd wait."
"You promised—"
He interrupted with another laugh.
"You believed all of that?"
His friends laughed behind him.
"I only told you what you wanted to hear."
His voice became colder.
"You know what fascinated me?"
"You kept saying you were afraid of physical touch."
He tilted his head.
"But at the wedding..."
"I watched you let Ayaan hold your hand."
His smile vanished.
"For him..."
"Permission came naturally."
"For me..."
"You recoiled."
His eyes hardened.
"I don't enjoy being compared."
---
Anaya shook her head frantically.
"You don't understand."
"No."
He replied.
"I understand perfectly."
He stood.
Walked toward her.
She instinctively tried to move away, but the restraints held her in place.
Her breathing became ragged.
"Don't..."
"Please don't come closer."
He stopped beside the bed.
Looked down at her trembling hands.
Then reached into his pocket.
He removed a small syringe.
Her eyes widened in horror.
"No..."
"No..."
She struggled desperately.
The restraints rattled loudly against the bedframe.
"Please..."
Armaan's expression never changed.
He nodded once toward one of the men.
Without a word, one of them stepped forward and held her arm still.
She cried out.
"No!"
"Please!"
Armaan calmly pressed the syringe against her arm.
"You should rest."
The needle slipped beneath her skin.
Within seconds...
her strength began fading.
The room blurred again.
The voices became distorted.
She fought with everything she had.
But her body no longer obeyed her.
---
The last thing she heard was Armaan's cold voice.
"Take everyone's phones."
"No recordings."
"No mistakes."
"We do this my way."
His words echoed strangely through the fog swallowing her consciousness.
For one brief moment...
through tears that no longer felt like her own...
Ayaan's face appeared in her mind.
Standing beneath the wedding mandap.
Holding her hand one final time.
"May I?"
She wanted to answer him.
She wanted to tell him...
"I never betrayed you."
But the words never reached her lips.
Darkness consumed everything.
---
End of Chapter Fifteen
"The greatest betrayal is not discovering that evil exists.
It is discovering that you once trusted it enough... to call it home."
Dear future readers, I'm a new writer on Wattpad, and maybe today my stories are strangers to you. But I have a promise. I'm not here to write characters you'll forget after the last chapter. I'm here to create the kind of people who will stay in your mind long after you close the book. You'll celebrate with them. You'll get angry because of them. You'll cry for them. You'll miss them when the story ends. Some chapters will make you smile. Some will leave you staring at the ceiling at 3 a.m., wondering why fictional characters can feel so real. If you decide to give my stories a chance, don't expect perfect people. Expect unforgettable ones. One day, I hope you'll recommend my novels not because I asked you to… …but because you couldn't stop thinking about the characters. Welcome to the beginning of an obsession. I hope you're ready. 🖤
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