Aarya stood motionless in the middle of the room, her breath shallow as she struggled to regain control over her body. Her thoughts raced, but every direction they took seemed to lead back to him. Every question she asked herself came with a chilling reminder of the reality she could no longer ignore.
He had left her once again, but something in his absence felt heavier than when he was present. The silence felt suffocating, like the calm before a storm. She knew deep down that he wasn't finished with her, and perhaps that was the most terrifying thing of all—she couldn't escape him, no matter how much she tried.
The light from the lamp beside her flickered as her hands tightened into fists. She glanced at the door as if expecting him to walk back in at any moment. But what if he didn't? What if this was just a game to him?
The thought gnawed at her insides, a dull ache that threatened to swallow her whole. Was this just some twisted game for him, a game in which she was a mere pawn, her thoughts and actions manipulated with every word he spoke?
The idea made her sick. She wasn't weak. She wasn't someone who could be played with. She refused to be that person. But even as she tried to convince herself of this, a part of her—a darker part, a part she barely recognized—began to wonder... what if she was already too far gone?
What if she was already tangled up in his web?
Her mind flashed back to his words, the way he spoke to her with such certainty, as though he knew everything about her—her desires, her fears, her weaknesses. Every inch of her was laid bare in his gaze. How could he possibly know so much? She had barely spoken to him, and yet he seemed to have cracked the code to her soul.
Aarya shook her head, trying to rid herself of these thoughts. She needed to think. To plan. She couldn't let him control her. But as soon as she made that vow, another part of her whispered that maybe, just maybe, she had already been playing his game from the very start.
With a deep breath, she moved toward her desk and grabbed her phone. She needed to reach out to someone. Anyone. Just to remind herself that there was still a world outside of his twisted sphere. She scrolled through her contacts, her thumb pausing over several names, but none of them felt right. No one would understand. They couldn't.
But just as she was about to put her phone down in frustration, a new message notification appeared on the screen.
It was from an unknown number.
Her pulse quickened as she opened the message, her hands trembling slightly as she read the short, cryptic text.
"I see you. And I know what you're thinking. Don't make the mistake of believing you can outrun this. You can't. He will have you, just as he always does."
Aarya's breath caught in her throat, her mind spinning with disbelief. How? How could someone know what she was thinking right now? The message sent a shiver down her spine. The words felt like they were etched into her mind, repeating in a mocking echo.
"Don't make the mistake of believing you can outrun this."
Was this him? Had he found another way to play with her, even when he wasn't there in person? Or was this someone else—someone watching her, waiting for the right moment to strike?
Her heart raced as she dropped the phone onto the desk, her thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. She wanted to panic, to scream, but she couldn't. That would only give in to him, give him more power.
No. She couldn't let him win.
She had to stay strong. She had to keep her head. But with every passing minute, it was becoming more and more difficult to convince herself of that.
The sudden sound of her phone buzzing again broke the silence in the room, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She picked it up, her hands shaking as she read the second message.
"You think you can escape him. You think you can escape this. But you can't. Not when you've already fallen so far."
Her stomach twisted as she reread the message. This couldn't be happening. This was too much. She had to get out of here. But the thought of leaving... of running away from everything that was happening... filled her with a deep, gnawing sense of dread.
What was happening to her?
The room felt like it was closing in on her. She could almost hear the silence creeping in, growing heavier, suffocating her. She glanced toward the door again, half-expecting him to walk through it, to step into her world and take over once more.
And yet, something told her he was already there—waiting, watching. Just out of sight.
With trembling hands, Aarya walked to the window once more, needing the cold, crisp air to clear her head. She pushed open the glass, letting the breeze rush in, but it did nothing to soothe the storm that raged within her.
She leaned her forehead against the cool glass, staring out into the darkness, searching for an answer. But the answer, she realized, was right in front of her, taunting her with every breath she took. There was no escape. There was no running from him.
Aarya's eyes narrowed as a sudden surge of defiance rushed through her. He couldn't have her. Not like this. Not without a fight.
But deep inside, a whisper of doubt lingered. A whisper that told her... maybe she was already too far gone to fight anymore.
Cliffhanger-
She stepped back into her apartment and locked the door behind her, her breaths shallow and uneven. The city outside remained oblivious—its lights blinking peacefully, traffic humming low—but inside, Aarya's world had tilted beyond recognition. Her gaze flicked to the phone still glowing on the desk. Her fingers hovered over the screen, about to call for help, when the screen flashed again. Another message.
This time, it wasn't from an unknown number.
It was from her own.
Her breath caught. Her own number?
The message read:
"You opened the door. That's all he needed."
The phone slipped from her trembling hands and clattered to the floor. In that instant, the lights in her apartment blinked once—twice—then went out, plunging her into darkness.
And from somewhere behind her, close—too close—a whisper brushed against her ear.
"Welcome back, Aarya."
She spun around—
But no one was there.