Aarya's heart raced as she sat there, locked in his gaze. There was something dangerously magnetic about him, something that made her feel like she was teetering on the edge of a cliff, waiting for him to push her over the edge. But it wasn't just his presence—it was the power he wielded over her, the control he held over every aspect of this twisted situation.
"Why me?" she asked, her voice a whisper, as though speaking too loudly might shatter the fragile air between them.
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the edge of his glass. He was enjoying this—enjoying the game he was playing with her. And she hated him for it, yet at the same time, she couldn't deny the strange pull he had on her.
"Aarya," he said finally, his tone calm but loaded with an unsettling depth, "You're the one who walked into this world. You made the choice. You're the one who allowed me to touch you, to enter your life. And now... now, you're here to learn what it means to belong to someone like me."
The way he said "someone like me" made her blood run cold. She knew he was dangerous, knew there was a darkness inside him that no one could understand. But what terrified her more was how much she was starting to want to know.
"What do you mean, belong?" Aarya asked, her voice trembling. "I don't belong to you. I don't want this."
His lips curled into a smile that was both predatory and full of something else—something she couldn't quite place. "You do belong to me, Aarya. You just don't realize it yet."
She felt a knot tighten in her stomach. The fear that had been simmering beneath the surface now exploded into something sharper, more real. She wanted to run, to escape this... but something stopped her. What was wrong with her?
"You don't understand," he continued, his voice low, almost hypnotic. "You're part of a story much bigger than you realize. And soon, you'll see that everything in your life has led you to me. There's no escaping it. You were always meant to find me. Just like I was meant to find you."
His words struck her like a slap to the face. She couldn't breathe. The room seemed to close in on her as the weight of what he was saying began to settle in.
Was it possible? Was it possible that everything in her life, every choice she had made, every decision, had been leading her to this moment? To him?
"No," she whispered, shaking her head as if to rid herself of the thought. "No, that's not true."
He stood up slowly, the movement fluid, like a predator preparing to pounce. He walked around the table, his presence overwhelming, and came to stand beside her.
"You still don't understand, do you?" he asked softly, his breath warm against her ear. "You think you have control. But you don't. You never did."
Aarya's skin tingled at the closeness of his body, at the way his words seemed to seep into her mind like poison. She wanted to pull away, to scream, but she was frozen in place, as if he had already marked her—claimed her in ways she couldn't comprehend.
"You're here because I want you here," he continued, his hand brushing her hair back from her face, his fingers trailing down the side of her neck, where the gold chain rested against her skin. "And you'll stay here because... I will make sure you do."
Aarya's throat tightened. "I don't want this," she managed to say again, but it came out softer, less certain than before. His touch, his presence, was suffocating her in ways she couldn't explain.
He smiled again, that chilling, predatory smile. "You will, Aarya. You'll come to want this more than anything else. And when you do, you'll understand why you were chosen."
He moved away from her then, his footsteps soft but purposeful. She watched him, her heart pounding in her chest. Was he right? Was she already too far gone, already too wrapped up in this twisted game to break free?
"Breakfast is over," he said, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade. "There's something else I want to show you today."
Aarya stood up abruptly, her legs unsteady beneath her. "I'm not going anywhere with you," she said, her voice shaky but determined.
He didn't respond right away. He simply looked at her, as though weighing her defiance against the truth he knew would eventually break her. Then, after a long moment, he nodded slowly.
"You think you're strong, Aarya," he said, his voice softer now, but with an edge that made her stomach churn. "But you're not. Not yet. And when you finally realize that, you'll understand why I've brought you here."
Aarya's mind raced as she looked at him, the fear growing in her chest like a living thing. She was trapped. There was no escape. And with every word he spoke, with every moment she spent in his presence, she was being drawn deeper into his world.
The game had begun. And she didn't know if she could survive it.
Cliffhanger-
Aarya turned slowly, her eyes scanning the room that now felt like a gilded cage. Every breath she took seemed louder in the stillness, every second stretched unnaturally, like time itself was watching her. She pressed a trembling hand to her chest, trying to steady the thundering panic within. The key to everything? His words echoed endlessly, gnawing at her thoughts like a shadow that refused to lift. Just as she took a tentative step toward the door, a faint click sounded behind the wall—a sound so soft, she almost missed it. Her breath caught. The mirror across the room shimmered faintly, and then… it shifted. Not its reflection—but the glass itself, warping ever so slightly, as if it were no longer solid. Her eyes widened. A hidden passage? Another layer to this twisted game?
And then came the whisper.
It wasn't his voice. It wasn't anyone's voice she recognized. It was low, melodic, almost inhuman—"You should have left when you still could."
The mirror shattered.
Blackness surged from within, crawling like ink across the marble floor toward her feet.
Aarya backed away, her scream trapped in her throat.
And in that moment—she knew she had never been alone in the room.
To be continued…