This is how I imagine my beast couple. The AI did the job so well 🥹❤️

******

Simran

******

We had eventually reached the monstrous villa… I mean my new home. And the beast… I mean, my darling husband was already there, standing at the door. Surprisingly, Arjun and Nitya were there too, blocking his way and not letting him in. I had thought they went back to their place, but I was wrong. Well, not technically wrong, they just did not tell me that they would be going to Kiaan’s place instead.

Both cars had arrived at the same time, and we all headed to the entrance.

“What childish behaviour is this? Arjun, let me in.” As usual, my husband was grumpy.

Has God really broken his funny bones? I thought.

“I am with Arjun…” Namit jiju yelled as we walked faster to the entrance.

“He is not letting me in my own house, and you are with him?”

Someone was really angry. I wished I had a switch to turn his emotions as per my will. I really did not need anything to do with anger for a few days, especially his, but luck did not seem to be on my side. If he continued with his anger, I was not going to get better there; instead, I was going to get sick if I did not control that beast.

You will have to tame him, Simmy, I told myself.

“Whoa! Wait a minute… You demanded some shitty stuff on my wedding night and did not let me go see my wife sooner… Now, here you have a problem when it’s you on the other side?” Dhruv Bhaiya said. Both he and jiju stood in front of the entrance door along with Arjun and Niti.

Once we got closer, Aunty asked Niti, “Niti, beta, everything ready?”

“Yes…” she replied, and then Aunty stepped in. Di, Saavi, and Ashok Uncle too walked inside, and they were granted easy access, but not me. I was stuck outside just like Kiaan. I was about to ask why they did not let me in until Aunty came into view with a ritual plate.

“Grah Pravesh should be done in your home, and this place is yours…”

Aunty performed both of our aartis and showered us with some flower petals. I loved being welcomed like that, so I was grinning throughout. Meanwhile, my husband, whom I had not seen except from the back, had his eyes on me for certain. I could feel his gaze, but I did not look at him. I was not planning to look into his magnetic eyes and fall for any charm of that beast. It was not in my best interest, and I also did not want to ruin my mood at all because of him. After the aarti, I did the other rituals, like touching the brass pot, which was a kalash filled with rice with my feet, the symbolic act of inviting prosperity and abundance into the home, and then I was allowed in. But Kiaan was left outside again. This was not part of the ritual, but the guys were having fun teasing him and testing his patience.

“Wait, you can’t go in until you bribe us. Buy me that restaurant I told you about…” Arjun demanded.

“The groom’s sister demands such stuff…” Kiaan reasoned, frustrated.

Arjun pulled Niti’s dupatta, who was standing nearby, and put it on his head.

“I am your sister now. Come on, get me that restaurant…” We all laughed when he did it. Even though I could not see my husband’s face from where I was standing, I was quite sure he was fuming.

“I would want…” Namit jiju was in the middle of telling him what he wanted when Di jumped into the conversation and said, “I want a palace…”

“Get me a whole ass country,” Dhruv Bhaiya said this time.

“Really?” When I heard him say that, I knew he was rolling his eyes in his most handsome… No, no… not handsome but monster ways. Yes, he only knew the monster’s ways. The dream Kiaan had changed the wiring of my brain; I guess that’s why I was acting or even thinking weirdly.

“Stop whining, you are rich…” Ashok Uncle said, joining hands with everyone against my husband. To be honest, it was actually fun seeing them all pulling his leg like that.

“And I want…” Namit jiju still had not told Kiaan what he wanted. Poor him did not get a chance again, as Kiaan intervened and annoyingly said, “You don’t want anything. Stop wasting my time and move…”

“You should go to your room and rest. We will leave now… Besides, this teasing session won’t last much longer either,” Aunty advised me. I wanted that session to last longer, though, and I also did not want to be left alone with my husband.

“Can you not stay?”

I really liked Aunty’s aura, her care, her motherly vibes. I did not want her to leave me, not yet.

She gently stroked my hair as she said, “I wish I could, sweetheart. But like I promised, once you get better, we will have loads of fun.”

“Girls, take her to her room…” Di came back to us from the entrance after hearing Aunty. Uncle and Aunty bid their goodbyes and stepped out first. The guys were still not letting Kiaan in, so I was relieved a little. Finally, Di, Saavi, and Niti took me to my room.

The moment I stepped inside the room, which basically belonged to Kiaan and was supposed to be mine now, too, I raked my eyes around my surroundings, and my steps halted.

NO.

The room was decorated in a mesmerizing way, just like how it’s supposed to be for a newlywed bride. The bed was covered with pink and yellow rose petals. Sunflowers and roses were kept in vases at each corner of the room. The room was filled not only with the sweet fragrance of those flowers but with jasmine too. It was the magic of an aroma oil diffuser. Candles and gentle yellow lights lit the room like it was a princess’s chamber. The reality sank into me fast, causing my insides to churn with anxiety and my heart to fall deep into some abyss. I felt the same as one feels in free fall. I could not feel the ground beneath me, my limbs felt numb, and my stomach felt as if it were being pulled upward toward my chest.

“How did you manage this in so little time?” Saavi asked Niti, admiring the room.

“All credits to my husband…” Niti replied.

The girls focused on how Arjun and Niti managed it all, while my focus was on the petals on the bed. They noticed the intricacy; I noticed the intimate aura the sunflowers brought. I would have to share what sunflowers make me feel with that one man who did not deserve to be near me. He had taken my stand when my family abandoned me, and I was grateful, but apart from that, he had not done a single thing to deserve to be my husband. In fact, he had done far worse things to me, even when I was minding my own business.

“Are you excited?” Di asked.

Excited? No.

Scared? Hell, yes.

“This is just for you. Kiaan won’t do anything unless you let him. We just wanted to make things pleasant, but that does not mean you are obligated to do anything…” Saavi added later.

“Yup, don’t sleep with him if you don’t want to. You can have all the bed and he can use the floor.” Di said, a playful smirk on her lips, while the other two laughed. I gave them an awkward, nervous smile.

“I hardly doubt he is gonna sleep. He will be awake all night tending to your needs…” Niti teased me, causing blood to rush to my cheeks.

“Yeah, all your needs…” Di whispered, and then the three of them broke out in playful giggles.

“Guys, stop it.” By then, I was like a burning volcano, my entire body heated by their words. I wished my wedding was real. I wished I had married a man who loved me, respected me. But those wishes were useless now, for I was married to someone who would never fulfill a husband’s duties.

To divert their attention, I decided to change the topic.

“Where are my bags?” I asked about my packed stuff, which I had left behind in my rented flat, and she had promised she would get those for me the same day.

“There…” Niti pointed in the direction of a closed door inside the room.

“I swear, if I had time and the keys, I would have arranged everything in your walk-in closet. But the closet is locked, and Kiaan did not pick up his phone for me to ask him where the keys to the closet were.” Niti pouted, feeling guilty. There was nothing to be guilty about. I loved arranging my stuff. Moreover, it helps me with my thinking, so I was happy she did not do it.

“Why would he keep an empty closet locked?” Saavi queried.

“I don’t know. My brother is weird.” Di replied, shaking her head.

My focus was stuck on what Saavi said, though.

Empty closet.

Why would Kiaan’s closet be empty? Where did he keep his clothes then?

Before I could even ask them about it, Di said, “Simmy, we are leaving. Take care, okay?” She hugged me gently. After her, it was Niti who, while embracing me, whispered in my ear, “He won’t hurt you. I know he is not someone you wished to marry, but he is a good man.” She pulled back, smiling. When Saavi hugged me, she said, “Never be hesitant to reach out to us for anything, not even a small candy.”

I smiled at the three beautiful, gentle women of my life and watched their retreating figures leave. They were really lucky, to be honest. They had an amazing family and loving husbands who adored them to the moon and back, while I…

‘Shit, Simmy, you are not a victim. Don’t forget.’ My inner self reminded me, and I thanked her for putting some sense into my head, for reminding me I was not born to be a victim but a fighter.

From the fighter, I was reminded of my first plan… I mean, my wedding gift to my husband. I had it packed in my grey bag. Before I could even walk to the bag and take out that gift for him, he stepped in and stumbled. That was when I realized he had been pushed inside. Then I heard the twist of the latch on the door.

Did they just lock the door?

“What childish behaviour is this, Namit?” Kiaan yelled from inside, thumping the door.

“This is for security.” Namit Jiju yelled from the other side.

“What?”

“Yes, don’t you dare leave my daughter alone…” This time it was Arjun. I giggled and received a glare from him. I pressed my lips into a thin line, still smiling though.

“She is not your daughter…” He replied from inside.

“I did her kanyadan, don’t forget.” I heard Arjun, Namit Jiju, and Dhruv Bhaiya laughing, and soon their voices died down, indicating they were gone now, and I was left with my scary husband. Sighing, he turned to the room and finally took in the view.

“What the hell!” he exclaimed. Of course, he was not happy, and why would he be? It’s not like he was in love with me and excited for our first night.

Even though I did not want anything to happen between us, his reaction was a little overboard. The room was quite artfully decorated, no denying that. He was really ungrateful. Anyways, I ignored his reaction just like I was going to do with everything I found annoying about him and focused on the gift. But before that, I needed to know if he got me anything.

“Did you get me a gift?”

“What?” He stared at me, confused.

“A gift…” His confusion did not wear off.

How could he be so dumb?

I sighed irritably and clarified, “Wedding gift…”

When the confusion passed from his features, it was now his poker face I had to deal with. It felt like I was the stupid one for even considering he would get me anything.

“Never mind, I am sure you did not get me anything. But I got you something…” I was excited, and I was sure it could be seen on my face and heard in my voice.

“Go inside the washroom,” I said, clasping my hands together and grinning.

He raised his brows in surprise and asked, “You kept a gift in the washroom?”

“No, I just don’t want you watching when I pull it out of my bag.”

He rolled his eyes and started to remove his tie. He put his coat on a lotus chair nearby, which was earlier on his arm. His fingertips began working with the knot of his tie, unfolding it once with the fingers of only one hand, like he was a master of the art. I gulped when he unknotted it completely and put it gently on his coat. He unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, and I felt tingly knots in my abdomen.

‘This is a real Kiaan, not a dream one.’ I averted my gaze when I heard my inner self. 

From the corner of my eye, I saw him dialing someone’s number. I really wished for him to just go inside the washroom, and I had to make it possible anyhow.

“Enzo, where are you? And where the hell is the staff?” He was always annoyed, angry, and ordering everyone around. I still wondered how his staff worked with him. He was certainly paying them a huge sum of money to bear his temper; otherwise, no one in their right mind would want to deal with him.

“I said twelve is when I want everyone back, not thirteen…”

His expression changed after something Enzo said. From his conversation, I understood his agitation was because the staff were supposed to be there but were going to come the next day. He gritted his teeth as he said under his breath, “I will kill Malhotra…” and then hung up. I got the whole gist. The staff were to be there on the same day as us, but Arjun lied to them that Kiaan wanted them back the next day.

After he hung up the phone, I knew I had to do something to convince him.

“Di helped me choose a gift for you. I will return it to her if you don't want it.” I lied to get his attention, but did not get it; instead, he began pacing to and fro, scrolling on his phone. I started following him around the entire room. Wherever he went, I followed. Surely that annoyed him, and when he turned back, my head collided with his chest.

“Ouch!” I winced, rubbing my head.

“What do you want?” His voice was low, but danger peeked from behind it.

“Take the gift…”

“Fine, give me…” he agreed, finally.

“Get in the bathroom… for five minutes… please…” He did not look convinced, so I pleaded once more.

“Please!!”

Along with my plea, I added some gestures to the mixture of convincing my husband recipe. I batted my eyelashes, and he gave me an incredulous look, like I had lost my mind. He sighed irritably and walked past me right into the washroom.

Once he got in, I hurried to open my grey bag. The entire bag had one thing: my gift for my husband. I pulled it out, and just then I heard his voice.

“You have three minutes left…”

“I know, Sherlock…” I replied, getting vexed. He could not shut his mouth for even five minutes. He always needed to control everything, including everyone’s time.

Control freak!

“Run your mouth like that, and you won’t like how fast these three minutes will pass.”

‘Shut your mouth, Simran.’ My inner self put some sense into me again. I put the gift on the bed and began my preparation with it. I took out my wedding veil from another bag and began covering the gift with it.

“One minute…” His voice reached me.

God, he was so irritating.

Once I was done with the setup of the gift, I turned off some of the lights and hid behind a curtain near the window.

“I am coming out…” I heard him, but I did not respond. I was extremely excited for what was going to happen. He stepped out of the washroom and scanned the room to find me.

“Simran…” he called.

“Where are you?”

I was recording everything on my phone with one hand and covering my mouth with the other to stifle my laugh.

“Simran, you are not a kid to play hide and seek…” He looked mildly annoyed, trying to find me in the gigantic yet lovely room.

“I swear, once I find you…” He stopped when his eyes went to the gift that looked like a human sitting on the bed. My bridal veil completely covered it from head to toe. I had placed it right in the middle of the bed.

“What are you up to?” he asked the gift. I pressed my hand tighter on my mouth so my laugh wouldn’t burst out.

“Is this your gift? You sitting on the bed like this?” It was challenging to control my laugh, but I also didn’t want to get busted without achieving my ultimate goal, which was shocking him to his very core.

I extended my hand, which had been covering my mouth, and reached for the top of the nearest cabinet where I had kept a remote. After I picked it up, I pressed a button, and my gift, covered with the veil, shook its head.

“What game are you trying to play?” I pressed the same button again, and it shook its head once more.

“You really think you even stand a chance?” I pressed another button, and the gift nodded its head.

“Use your words, for God’s sake.”

Huh? Wasn’t he the one who had just warned me against using my mouth a few minutes ago?

Hypocrite!

What I did next was hilarious. I began toggling between both buttons. One moment, the gift shook its head; the next moment, it nodded. I could not control myself and giggled.

“You really find it funny, don’t you?” he asked after hearing me giggle, but he had no clue yet that the sound didn’t come from the bed but from behind the curtains.

I giggled again, watching him talk to a non-living being. I kept toggling the button, and then I saw him getting on the bed and reaching to hold the veil. It was time for the real showdown. The moment he pulled the veil, I pressed another button, and the skeleton, which was his gift, started laughing.

It was so sudden and abrupt that he got scared and fell off the bed, landing on his ass. I had finished filming what I needed, and it was time I came out of my hiding. My control had finally slipped away. I walked to the bed laughing. He stared at me in shock and at the skeleton in horror. My body shook with laughter. I kept the phone and the remote on the bedside cabinet, trying to compose myself, but him on the floor like that was so comical that composing myself seemed like an impossible task.

I never thought I would ever get to see Kiaan being scared. My laugh was uncontrollable, and I sat on the bed holding my abdomen with one hand, which had started to ache.

“Oh… oh… shit!”

“Look… look… at you…” I said between my laughs.

“You look so… fun… funny…” My stomach was hurting so much, but I could not stop. I had never seen a six-foot-two beast lying on the floor because of a skeleton.

“Really funny, huh?” he asked, not a sign of humour on his face.

“Yeah… really…” I nodded. My eyes teared up with laughter, but I could not stop. The more I tried, the more miserably I failed. On top of that, the ache in my stomach because of the laugh was escalating. Pressing my abdomen tighter to ease the pain, I pointed a finger at him. “You are… You are like Tom of Tom and… jer… jerry…”

He was huge, yet I scared him.

He got up now, looking annoyed, walked to me, and bent to my level, hovering over me. His hands were on either side of me on the bed. His warm breath fanned my face. He was really close now, and I should not have been laughing, but my fear of him seemed to have vanished. I was still laughing, even with him in such close proximity. I held both of his arms for support, still chortling.

But I had to stop when he said, “Keep on laughing, firefly, if you want me to kiss that laugh out of you.” My eyes widened, and I pressed my lips together, though I was still smiling. My laugh was struggling to come out, but I knew he would actually do what he said.

“That’s like my good wife.” He smirked.

Jerk!

I released my grip on his arms, and he stood back up.

His gaze swept over the gift.

“That’s your gift? A skeleton?”

He pointed at the beautiful piece of art sitting beside me. Now that was offensive. She was sitting quietly; how dare he call her just a skeleton?

I stood up, glaring at him, and crossed my arms.

“It’s not just a skeleton, and it has a name.”

“Of course…” he muttered under his breath.

“She is a dancer. See…” I pressed a button, and she started dancing in place. No gift could ever do that. She was really entertaining.

“It’s cool, isn’t it?”

He stared at me like I had lost my mind. But it was actually so good. I got it from an antique store before the wedding, and it used to live with me. 

“It’s a she?” I nodded while smiling. He raked his hair like he was frustrated. But what was there to be frustrated about?

“That shit won’t live with us,” he announced, pointing at the beautiful gift. That was really hurtful for her. I had decided I would not let him insult her at all.

“It’s not a shit. And it has a name.”

“That’s a skeleton,” he argued.

“A skeleton with a name,” I shot back with equal valour.

“What’s its name then? Skull? Bones without muscles? Or wait… soulless bones?” He mocked me. 

I gaped at him, then I replied, “No… her name is Tharki Thakela…”

He looked at me with more horror and shock than before, and then at Tharki. He stared at me like I had grown horns on my head. But I said nothing to shock him.

“I’m sorry, what?” he almost yelled.

“You are not forgiven, and yes, you heard it right. Her name is Tharki, and she is your second wife.”

He blinked at me in disbelief before he said, “Simran, throw this shit out of this house before I…” I did not let him complete and interrupted, “Don’t you dare take a step towards her. This Tharki has been with me for years, and if you hurt her, I will… I will…”

I pointed to an exotic, expensive painting at a distance and said, “I will break that…”

He started taking deliberate steps towards me, slow and calculated. I was worried he would hurt Tharki.

“I will chop your fingers…” I threatened, but he still did not stop.

“I will…” He stopped once he was right in front of me. Only my “please” could help me now. It had worked once, and I hoped for it to work again. I made puppy eyes and smiled sweetly at him as I requested, “Don’t hurt her, please…”

“Take it to your room, and this…” He pointed at Tharki and added, “…thing should not come into my view…”

“My room?” I asked him in bewilderment. He had turned the world upside down to marry me, stood up against everyone, even taken my stand, which was so out of his character, and now he wanted me not to share a room with him.

Huh… that was so not happening.

“Your room is on the floor above this…”

Didn’t he say we would be like other couples?

Though I did not want to live like a normal couple with him, still, my staying in another room was a disrespect. I glared at him and grabbed his collar.

“I am not going anywhere, Mr. Chauhan. You married me in front of the whole world, lied to everyone like we were two souls madly in love with each other. Everything comes with consequences, and if you feel I would let you live the way you used to, then come out of your bubble. I am not letting you stomp on me. I am not letting you toy with me. You wanted me as your wife, didn’t you? Then suffer…” He stared at me, amused. Sure, he thought I was kidding, but I was not. I tightened my hold on his collar as I continued with my threat, “And if you force yourself on me, I will chop your dick and feed it to Tharki.”

I was going to do whatever he did not want me to. He had a sneer on his face, as if he was not fazed at all by my words.

“You do know, right, that’s a non-living thing?” he whispered, mentioning Tharki. I was fuming, but eventually let go of his collar.

“You will regret sharing a room with me. It’s not good for your sanity.” He had to be completely out of his mind to even think that.

“Since when have you started caring about my sanity?”

“You are my wife, Simran. Sharing a room with me will make you crave me. And even when you get me whole, you will still keep craving me. Your hunger will increase, and you will never ever be satiated. Are you sure you don’t need a break first before you step into it…”

I always knew he was a narcissist, and there he was proving it as well. I mean… I would crave him? Really? I would want the man who left no chance to insult me in the past, hurt me multiple times?

“Come out of your delusion, I would never want you,” I said with unshaken resolve.

“Then why share a room, huh?” I desperately wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.

“Because I am your…” I stopped. I did not want to say it.

“You are my what?” I removed my gaze away from his handsome, sculpted face that, even in such a situation, was reminding me of the dream I had the same evening.

“Look into my eyes and say it…” he whispered. He was not touching me, yet my body burned with every breath he took, with every word he uttered, with every gaze of his on me. But I was not going to let him win.

I looked at him and replied, “Because Tharki needs you. And I want to stay to make sure that you don’t hurt her.”

He looked at a smiling Tharki, and then he took a step back from me. I breathed to get my breath back to normal.

“Fine, stay here…” he said. His anger seemed to have returned, and he walked to the closed door of the room.

“That’s clos…” I was about to remind him that the door was locked from the outside. However, the words died in my mouth when he easily opened the door from inside and walked out.

Then why did he pretend he could not open it from the inside? 

Why stay with me for long?

He was weird.

I turned my attention to Tharki and patted her head.

“Well done, Tharki,” I praised her for a job well done as a mischievous smile appeared on my lips.

“It’s time for plan B,” I said to Tharki before I began weaving thoughts about how I would execute it.

Marrying me would cost you your peace, Kiaan Chauhan. Be ready for the storm you carried in bridal style and took holy vows with.

******

Kiaan

******

I almost lost my control… again.

No matter how hard I tried, my control was slipping out of my hands. Control was the one thing I never let slip from my grasp. But things had been shifting now, and I noticed it the first time it started happening.

I almost lost myself in the woods in Italy after I had just killed the thug we had captured while saving the kids from being trafficked. The fact that I found her when my beast was unleashed was the biggest weakness. I could not shackle him, and I would have folded in front of her if Namit had not appeared out of nowhere, causing my trance to break. Though I composed myself, since then, one thing after another kept burning the thread of control while I watched it burn helplessly. Marrying her was the only choice I had, but it was also the surest way to begin my ruination.

For three years, I had pretended to be someone I was not, like a maestro, and controlled myself. I pretended her scent did not bother me, pretended I did not find her addictive, and pretended her smile was not infectious. But ever since I decided to marry her, my control kept slipping like my hold was not tight enough. In Italy, when I told her, ‘Stop fighting us,’ I could see her searching for the meaning of it in my eyes. It felt almost as if she would agree, even though she was pushing me. She was not pushing hard enough, though. She could have slapped me, yet it felt as if she wanted to listen to my side, as if I went on my knees for her, she would submit to me willingly.

Fuck, I was almost on my knees for her and would have sworn to bring the world to her feet if Namit had not arrived.

Since then, my every attempt to maintain distance between us had been failing. I should not have gone to see her on the day of the Mehndi function, yet I did. I should not have agreed to meet her right before the wedding when she wished for it, yet I agreed. And when she asked what this marriage would be like, I replied something I could not believe till now.

I told her our relationship would be like any other relationship, but I knew better that I should not have given her false hopes. I had to maintain distance, and that would be the cruel fate we would have to live with for a while. Her pain would stem from the fact that she did not want me, while mine stemmed from that I could not have her. She was too pure for a tainted beast like me, who had blood of all kinds on his hands, on his soul.

I reached the third button of my shirt to open it, but then a familiar fragrance hit me softly. Her scent lingered on my shirt. I brought my arms up as I smelled the shirt on my arm, just where her fragrance lingered a bit too much. I wish I were with her rather than suffering here. I fucking wish I could hold her tightly, vowing to never let her go. Flashes of a few minutes back played in front of my eyes, and a chuckle almost bubbled up in my throat. She really was crazy, in a literal sense. I was a beast who dealt with guns and blood, yet she scared me with nothing more than a skeleton. I could not stop myself from keeping that laugh captive and actually laughed. I could not believe the very first day, and I was on my ass because she had brought a skeleton for me as a gift. I raked my hair, making it messier as I tried controlling my laugh, but god, I could not.

She had not changed, not even a bit.

Twelve years. It took me twelve goddamn years to finally find her.

What didn’t I do?

I searched every alley of the city, every hotel, every shady place, every corner of that goddamn country. Not just my country, but every other one she could have been in. I changed schools again and again, just in the hope that maybe one day, one day I’d see her walking toward me. I never moved out for college because I knew she was alive, no matter what everyone else said about her. I always wondered what if she came back and would not find me here; she would have been heartbroken, and I would have never let that happen. So I never left. I stayed back just for her.

She did walk to me one day, at the reception of Namit and Dhri. One glimpse and I knew she was my firefly. But she walked past me like she didn’t know me. I thought maybe it was because we’d grown up, but I knew that even older, she would have recognized me in an instant. Yet she didn’t. Not once, but so many times she stood beside me with no recognition, so many times we crossed paths at the reception, but she did not see me, not until I spilled a glass of juice on her lehenga intentionally. That was the first time she truly noticed me, but there was no familiarity in her eyes.

That look still haunted me, the look of being a stranger to someone whose eyes once glittered while watching me. I went from being her monster prince to nothing and then to a beast.

She was my firefly, yet she didn’t seem like her. She fought with me over the spilled juice, and when I fought back, she didn’t back down. That’s when I knew for certain it was her. She had the same valour, the same fire.

I kept fighting with her whenever we met, whenever I got a chance, and if I did not get a chance, then I created one, never missing a single opportunity, because I knew it would get me her attention. And I needed it. I was desperate for it. She hadn’t changed, except that her memories were gone. But I had changed, for the worse. Those twelve years had turned me into someone even I could barely recognize.

Surprisingly, even after all those fights we had, she caught feelings for me. It felt like someone brought back my lost soul to me, which I had thought would never return. I had never imagined she would seek solace in me and not in anyone else. Perhaps her soul recognized me. Otherwise, she would never have turned to the man she used to fight with every time we met. But I could not have her. I did not deserve her at all, and I had to stop her. I had to stop myself. When she told me how she felt, I was ecstatic but did not show because I knew our truth. I didn’t hold her when she fell for me. I let her fall into a pit of pain and suffering, and I stood there watching when she burned.

I burned the same, though, perhaps more even. I died a thousand deaths every time she cried because of me, every time her heart broke, every time her eyes gleamed with pain, but I did nothing. If I had held her, she would have held me tighter, and she would have never let me go. But I was not the same boy who needed to be held, who craved comfort. I was now someone who wrecked everything with a single touch.

Even though I had her now as my wife, there was no way we could be together for long. There was a war coming, and I had to be ready for it. I had to break myself by not letting myself get close to her, had to hurt myself by keeping reminding myself I could not keep her, that she needed to leave for her rightful place. And I had to hurt her in the process because I knew deep down her heart still beats for me, only me. No matter how hard I deny it but I knew she would forgive every crime of mine if I sought forgiveness from her. But I would never do that. Marrying her was the only way to keep her safe, yet the only way that could ruin me in the worst possible way.

While the wedding was the only time I truly felt she was my woman, what Enzo told me last night when he got me the foot patches for her was enough to remind me I could never have her. This war would take everything from me. It would take her and then my life, and I would willingly sacrifice myself just for her.

My mind was filled with her thoughts, and I had been standing at the same spot ever since I entered that room. I could not risk staying with her as I did not trust myself with her, but at the same time, I had begun craving for her glimpse even when it had only been a few minutes since I last saw her.

Suddenly, a thought pierced through me.

What if she leaves?

She was destined to leave me, but not now, not like this.

I hurriedly went back to our room. The door was half closed, and I walked inside in a hurry, panicking only for my panic to settle down. She was fast asleep, right beside that hideous skeleton. She looked so peaceful that even watching her sleep like that worked as a healer for my hidden wounds. The candles were still lit. I shook my head at her carelessness as I instantly blew them all.

I stood closer to her now. Some of her hair was stuck to her lips, some spread across her face.

I wish I could tuck that hair behind her ear.

It was simply some hair. I could do it, right, without thinking much about it?

What would go wrong, I thought. 

I extended my fingers to remove them from her face. I was close, really close, but then my phone in my pants vibrated. My silly trance broke, and I realized what a catastrophe it would have been if I had removed that hair. It would have been like giving the taste of morphine to an addict.

The break of my trance reminded me I had chosen to suffer, not prosper in her ecstasy.

'So much for being a beast, Kiaan.' 

My inner self mocked me, but could I blame him? No.

I headed out of the room as the chained beast inside me wailed in anger and agony. I fished out my phone from the pocket and found a text from grandpa.

“Meet me at The Marcellus Club.”

******

Marcellus Club was one of the oldest and most elite private clubs, where the filthy rich spent their solitary hours, some hiding secret affairs, others plotting the downfall of their enemies. Some met their companions for a game, while others came to disappear from the world. Grandpa had done it all there except for the affair part.

I didn’t need to show my card at the club’s entrance; they knew me. People stepped aside as I passed, and I headed straight to the first-floor private chess room, where I knew I would find him at that hour.

As expected, a chessboard lay open. The pieces were scattered mid-battle, moves already made from both sides. He was playing with the white pieces, as always, each move slow, deliberate, like he had all the time in the world. There was no opponent in the chair across from him; he was playing against himself. The black side was cornered, but not yet defeated. It seemed it was an open invitation for me from the black pieces for a duel against the man who dared to disturb me at that hour. Though I did not mind, because if not there, I would have been racing mindlessly, because staying in the same house with her that night was not a viable option. I knew at some point I would have given in, and I could not risk that.

“Playing with yourself so that no one can defeat you? Scared, grandpa?” I asked as I took leisurely steps, watching how he had just killed the black knight off the board with a piece he shouldn’t have moved yet.

“Playing with myself because it helps me think…” he replied, his eyes still fixed on the board like it held some unspoken answers, and he was simply trying to access them through the game. I sat across from him and played the next move, trapping his rook from every side.

“What are you thinking?” He seemed a little fazed when I moved against his rook. Surely he was thinking about something that had made him lose focus. Eventually, he looked up at me.

“Why did you sabotage your own wedding?” I half-smiled. It was about time he found out about it. I was neither surprised nor shocked. Knowing his intentions, I was aware that sooner or later he would ask me about it.

“Why did you send that anonymous letter to Arvind, claiming you murdered Rina Kashyap?” I recalled the letter Arvind Kashyap was holding when I confronted him about the chaos at the wedding, when I threatened him to stay away from my wife.

“Did I? I don’t remember,” I said, making the next move. He followed with his own, moving a pawn when it should have stayed in place, putting his queen in danger.

“You did not murder Rina,” he said urgently. I wasn’t sure if he was asking for confirmation or trying to convince himself.

“I never said I did,” I replied calmly.

“What games are you playing, Kiaan?” He seemed frustrated, and with that same frustration, he cleared a path for my pawn, compromising his queen in every way. I didn’t make another move yet. I waited.

“The same game you are playing.” He stared at me, confused, as if he couldn’t understand what I meant.

“My turn for a question now,” I said before asking, “Why did you go to Arvind Kashyap to warn him against me, to tell him to break this marriage?”

For a fleeting moment, a wave of shock passed over his features. I wondered how he could not expect me to know about his attempt to break off the marriage. But then, how could I blame him? He didn’t know who she was yet. That was the reason he was underestimating me.

“Because that girl deserves better, and you are not what she needs. She is an innocent girl, and she will get hurt,” he replied, exhaling hard as he gave me a death stare.

“Your queen is compromised, grandpa…” I eventually had his focus back on the board. He was fuming, not because of the chess game, but because he could not understand my game. Dharmesh Kapoor had always been a calm man, but when it came to me, that calmness always took a backseat, for I was the only one who dared to challenge his throne every chance I got.

“You might win the game, but you will lose the war.”

I chuckled. He still did not understand me.

“Who said I ever wanted to win the war?”

He stared at me incredulously as he stated the obvious: “Everyone fights to win.”

“Can I ask you one more question?” I didn’t wait for his reply before firing it off.

“If your opponent in this chess duel had been Grandma instead, would you have won against her?”

He was taken aback by my question, and at that moment, I played my move.

“Checkmate.”

He was still stunned by the way our conversation had shifted. His gaze fell to the white queen on the board, and I knew he saw her as his wife, not a chess piece. Regret settled in his features, regret that had lived inside him ever since Grandma’s death. Even after all these years, he still blamed himself, just as I knew I would if anything ever happened to my wife.

It was time to leave him alone to reflect. I pushed myself off the chair, my eyes lingering on my own protected queen on the board.

“You’re losing your grip, old man. You should start holding onto others for support.”

With that, I walked away. I had preparations to make for the war.

******

Hi Lovelies,

I hope you all are doing well. 🤗 

Follow me on insta for book spoilers, POVs: @shree_storyteller

Let's get straight to some questions: 😛

Did you all like Kiaan's second wife? 😉

Do you guys believe Kiaan murdered Rina Kashyap? 🤔

Be ready for more chaos because Simran Chauhan is not going to back down.🙈

I hope you guys liked the chapter. Do share your views about the same. It would mean a lot to me. ❤️

Thanks,

Shrishtee