《 5 》

RYAN

Shock.

That was the expression etched across her face.

I saw it the moment I threw that little sentence at her. The line she never expected to hear. Her fingers tightened around the stem of her wine glass until her knuckles turned bone-white. She was frozen, the color draining from her face like someone had just ripped away the floor beneath her.

'By the way, Anvitha, did you take your pills this morning?'

I smiled as I walked away, offering a casual nod to one of the senior council members passing by, but my senses were tuned entirely to her. Her stare burned holes into my back. She was still standing in the same position, still pretending to be poised, but I knew better.

That single sentence shattered her armor, even if only for a second.

She must be wondering how the fuck I knew about the pills. But that's the thing - I know a lot more about Anvitha Ramaswamy than she thinks.

More than she knows about herself.

The question isn't if she'll unravel. It's when. When the beautifully constructed walls of her world begin to crumble. When she realizes her life is a crafted lie. That she isn't who she thinks she is.

Devraj built her. Molded her from broken glass and rage into steel and flame. A sweet, soft little girl into a dangerous, untouchable woman. And now... now she's a ticking time bomb.

One I plan to set off myself.

Because Anvitha isn't just someone I'm watching.

She's mine to break.

And I will break her.

Beautifully. Brutally. Bloodily.

But that doesn't mean it'll be easy. Devraj didn't raise a fool. He raised a storm. She's hated by her relatives because she threatens the order. The hierarchy. The legacy. Because she dares to take what was never meant for her.

That's why they fear her.

But me? I crave her.

There's something about her-something fierce in her gaze, defiant in her silence. She doesn't bend. Not yet. But she will.

I know her routines. I know how many hours she trains. I know the names of the guards she favors. I know she has a faint scar under her left shoulder blade,around her breast and on her back. I even know that she always starts her mornings with black coffee and pills and ends her nights either with medication or with quiet tears.

There's something satisfying about peeling back the layers. About knowing the secret cracks in a woman like her.

And the most maddening part?

She doesn't even know she's being watched.

Her beauty isn't loud, it's insidious. The kind that creeps up on you and stays.

Big brown eyes framed with heavy lashes. A straight little nose. Blood-red dyed tips in her shoulder-length hair-like fire licking through silk. Her skin? Glows against that same red. And her lips...fuck, her lips. Soft. Pink. The kind of lips a man shouldn't be thinking about during business hours.

But here I am.

Because one day, I'll taste them.

And she'll let me.

But for now... there's business.

I slipped into a corner room - sleek, quiet, and removed from the rest of the mansion's opulence. A place where surveillance feels like air.

"Call Mihika," I said, flicking the top button of my cuff as I stood by the window.

The line connected within seconds.

"Sir," she greeted with crisp efficiency.

"Update. Anvitha Ramaswamy. Every detail."

"She left the main event fifteen minutes after your last interaction," Mihika reported. "She's now in the garden. Alone. No phone activity yet. She's just... sitting."

Of course, she is. Processing. Bleeding in silence.

"Her interactions at the table were hostile. Especially with Alka and Aditya. Vikram stayed neutral but made pointed remarks. Her only calm exchange was with the girl - Tanishkha."

"Keep an eye on that girl," I said. "Tanishkha might be the soft spot."

"Already flagged. There's an increased frequency in eye contact. Shared drinks."

"And her pill schedule?"

"Still following the same 7:00 a.m. intake. No missed doses in the last two weeks. We swapped one dose for a sugar placebo on Monday to test behavioral change. No difference."

Hmm. That means she's built a tolerance. Dangerous.

"What about her access? Files? Communications?"

"Restricted," Mihika said. "But we've intercepted three encrypted emails. Two to a cyber-anonymous server. One to a private investigator. We haven't decrypted the content yet."

I smiled, slow and sharp. "So she's digging."

"Looks like it."

Good girl.

"Track the PI. Keep a ghost on her movement. I don't want her running into any truths we haven't prepared her for."

"Understood."

"What about Devraj?"

A pause. Then, "Still neutral. Publicly supportive. But... private surveillance shows an increase in confidential meetings. We suspect he's prepping a contingency."

Of course he is.

The old lion knows the jungle is shifting.

"Any word on Mihir?"

"Hostile posture. Avoids her. Ignores direct instructions. Keeps logs on a separate private device. We're working on cloning it."

"Move fast. I don't like blind spots."

"Yes, sir. One more thing... there's chatter from the south zone. A former associate claims to know Anvitha's origin. Shall I eliminate?"

I turned back to the window, watching the garden lights flicker across her silhouette.

"Not yet. Let the thread dangle. Sometimes... people reveal more when they think they're winning."

"As you say."

"That'll be all, Mihika."

The line clicked off.

I stood still for a moment. Watching her. Her shoulders stiff. Her lips barely moving as if speaking to herself. Her dress still perfect. Her eyes haunted.

I've seen generals crack before a war. But she?

She might just survive it.

And that's what makes her worthy.

Because Anvitha isn't just a pawn or a threat. She's the hurricane they tried to silence.

And if I have to pull her apart piece by piece to get what I want?

So be it.

But the closer I get... the more dangerous this game becomes.

Because there's one thing I didn't account for:

She might break me first.

Her silhouette was barely visible through the jasmine-draped garden as the last of the event's golden lights cast elongated shadows on the lawn. But I could see her-sharp, still, unnervingly composed. A blood-red gown hugging her curves like a second skin, her posture as graceful as it was guarded. My glass hung forgotten at my side as our eyes met across the garden.

Anvitha Ramaswamy.

There was something tense in her shoulders, a flicker of alarm in her pupils-barely there, but I caught it. Of course, she schooled her expression within a heartbeat, morphing it into something neutral. I knew that look. Suspicious. Questioning. Smart enough to stay quiet, stubborn enough not to show weakness.

I lifted my glass slightly and offered a smirk. Then, with calculated casualness, I raised my free hand and waved at her, two fingers lifted lazily in mock greeting. Her gaze didn't flinch. Not this woman.

She only narrowed her eyes, a subtle twitch of her jaw betraying what she wouldn't say aloud.

Good.

Let the unease sink in. Let it crawl under her skin.

Because I knew what that glance meant. She was going to search for me now. Try to figure out how I knew. What I knew.

And when she did... she would find out nothing. Because I would make sure of it.

Her father's personal guard approached then-tall, broad, dressed in muted grey. He leaned in and whispered something in her ear. I couldn't hear, but I didn't need to. Probably something about her car being ready or her father asking for her. She nodded once, barely sparing the man a glance, then-one last look. Straight at me.

Our eyes locked.

The silence between us wasn't empty. It was brimming. Threats. Promises. Curiosity. It simmered across the air like an unspoken pact. And then, with all the grace of a queen, she turned on her heel and followed the guard into the shadows.

Leaving now.

She's leaving now.

I watched her go, the hem of her dress catching in the wind like a crimson flame licking at the heels of a storm.

Good.

Because she wasn't supposed to be here tonight.

Because her being here threw off everything.

Because I hadn't planned on the emotions.

Because I couldn't afford to feel anything for her.

But it was already too late for that.

She would search for me now.

She would ask questions.

She would dig into shadows she had no business exploring.

And when she does, I will make sure she never forgets what she finds.

Even if she tries.

Even if time erodes memories and distance dulls feelings...

I won't let her forget me.

Because she's mine to ruin.

And this empire she thinks she'll rule?

It's built on ash and bones and secrets. The kind of secrets that bleed.

Anvitha Ramaswamy has no idea what world she's stepped into.

But I'll show her.

Brick by brick.

Lie by lie.

Truth by truth.

Until the only truth left standing is me.

The man who'll destroy her.

The man who can't stop wanting her.

The man who waved across the garden-and made her forget how to breathe.



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