AUTHORโS POVย
The Next Day
Shivnya 's mansion was wrapped in a quiet stillness, a calm that spoke more of grief than peace. Everyone was dressed in white-Abhimanyu, his family, and even Doctor Uncle, who had been like family to Shivnya. A priest had been called to perform a final ritual in Advaith's name-a symbolic farewell for the man who had once meant everything to her.
As the preparations neared completion, the priest glanced at the hawan kund and asked,
"Please call the family of the departed soul."
Everyone turned their eyes toward one another, uncertain, until Shivnya stepped forward.
She didn't look at anyone.
Her eyes were swollen but dry now.
There were no tears left to spill.
She sat down quietly before the sacred fire, her presence heavy, like grief had rooted itself into her bones.
The priest looked at her gently and asked,
"What is your relationship with the deceased?"
The question hit harder than expected.
Shivnya hesitated.
What was she to Advaith?
His lover?
His past?
His punishment?
But didn't she belong to someone else now?
She couldn't even claim Advaith as hers-not anymore. Not when her present was wrapped around someone else's name.
She looked at Abhimanyu instinctively.
Their eyes met.
There was no anger, no jealousy... only understanding.
The room was silent. Everyone watched, waiting. But when no one answered, the priest gave a soft smile and said,
"It's alright, child. You don't have to answer."
He noticed the red sindoor lining her hairline, the mangalsutra resting around her neck. A silent symbol that screamed she now belonged to someone else.
"Are you married, beta?" he asked gently.
"Yes," she replied softly.
"To whom?"
She gestured toward Abhimanyu.
The priest nodded.
"Then he must sit with you for the ritual."
Shivnya looked at Abhimanyu again. Her gaze held a question. A plea.
Would he sit beside her as she bid farewell to the man she once loved?
Or would he turn away?
But without hesitation, Abhimanyu walked forward and sat next to her.
Her heart didn't know what to do with that gesture.
And then... the ritual began.
An hour passed in silence, chants, and prayers. Flames flickered in the hawan kund, mirroring the fire that once burned in her heart-and had now turned to ashes.
When the pooja was done, the priest blessed them and quietly took his leave, leaving only the Rathore family behind. But Shivnya, still unable to meet anyone's eyes, quietly said:
"Baba... can I stay here alone for a few days? I promise I'll return... but for now, I need to be by myself."
The silence that followed was thick with concern.
Everyone remembered that room.
The one soaked with her pain.
No one wanted to leave her alone.
Especially not Ranveer.
But he also couldn't say no to her.
So, he found a way.
"Okay," he said at last, "but on one condition."
"What condition?"
"Abhimanyu will stay here with you."
Relief washed over the room like a breeze.
He would be with her.
She wouldn't be alone in her brokenness.
Shivnya nodded quietly.
And one by one, the family left.
Each step heavy.
Each heart unwilling.
But they trusted him.
And so, they left their daughter in his care.
As the last car left the driveway, silence wrapped around the mansion like a heavy fog.
Shivnya walked to her room without looking back.
Abhimanyu followed her, his steps hesitant.
He couldn't leave her alone-not like this.
But as soon as he entered, her voice came out, quiet but final.
"I want some alone time. Please... go."
His chest tightened.
He didn't want to leave.
He shouldn't leave.
But he did.
Without another word.
Because he wasn't sure what to do anymore.
Talk to her about Advaith? About her pain? About them?
He didn't know the right move-only that he had to take care of her.
His Shivuu.
So he stepped out, leaving her behind.
And the moment the door closed, Shivnya's breath hitched.
She felt hollow.
Why did he leave?
Couldn't he have stayed?
Couldn't he have fought her silence-just once?
The ache grew unbearable.
Advaith's absence.
Abhimanyu's distance.
Her own crumbling soul.
Shivnya moved to her bedside drawer and pulled it open.
Inside lay a strip of sleeping pills Abhimanyu had told her not to touch.
But he wasn't here now.
She popped two pills into her mouth and swallowed them dry.
Curling up on the bed, she waited.
Eyes closed.
Heart open.
Mind screaming.
But sleep didn't come.
She tossed.
Turned.
The silence was suffocating.
Not even the pills could numb her tonight.
Maybe it wasn't sleep she needed.
Maybe... it was him.
After an hour of wrestling with her thoughts, she gave in and grabbed her phone.
S: "Rishi, is there any pending work from the office?"
Rishi paused, taken aback by the sudden call.
He knew everything happening.
He also knew what this meant.
R: "Why, ma'am?"
S: "I'm your boss, not the other way around. Answer me."
R: "No, ma'am."
Her voice turned sharp.
S: "Are you sure?"
R: "Uh... yes, ma'am."
But he was lying. And she knew.
S: "Don't force me to call your junior."
He sighed.
R: "Sorry, ma'am. Yes... there's some work."
S: "How much?"
Her tone was cold, unforgiving.
She hated how weak she felt-and she wouldn't let anyone else see it.
R: "Not... much. Just a little bit, ma'am."
S: "Send all the files to the mansion. Now. And arrange the meetings."
R: "But, ma'am-"
S: "Do it. As I say."
Click. The call ended.
Shivnya walked to the bathroom.
Her reflection in the mirror was unfamiliar-red eyes, pale lips, skin dry and tired.
She didn't bother with skincare or warmth.
She just needed to move.
After a long, cold shower, she stepped out... and found the room empty.
Abhimanyu wasn't there.
And that stung more than she wanted to admit.
The files had arrived.
Without wasting a moment, she went into her study, locked herself in, and started working.
Meetings. Presentations. Numbers. Targets.
Barley came in quietly with fruit and coffee.
Shivnya didn't even glance at her.
She was in a virtual meeting, her voice crisp, precise, intimidating.
Her pain-buried behind deadlines and control.
But behind those sharp words and focused eyes... was a woman unraveling in silence.
Meanwhile, Abhimanyu...
He was rotting inside his own cage - not of Shivnya's making, but of his own. He had vowed to protect her, to love her during those sacred pheras, but now? Now, he couldn't even stand in front of her without trembling with guilt.
She had shut him out - locked the door, and locked him out of her heart.
He wanted to control himself.
He really did.
But his past... his demons... they were louder. They crawled under his skin and hissed in his ears.
Obsession.
Possessiveness.
His psycho love.
His wrath.
His toxicity.
He was a beast. A chained creature Shivnya kept buried inside her heart.
But now she had thrown him out, and that beast had broken loose.
Without thinking, he jumped into his car and drove - fast, reckless - toward the place that knew him best:
His dungeon.
Where his prey was waiting.
Kunal.
The bastard who had dared to mock his love. The same man who had returned only to witness the horror - his father and sister devoured by Shivnya's shadows. Now, he was chained, his mouth sealed with thick tape, and his soul barely breathing.
Abhimanyu crouched before him, his eyes dark, wild. Slowly, he ripped the tape from his lips.
Kunal gasped, coughed, then rasped, "Your filthy wife-"
Crack!
Abhimanyu's fist slammed into his face with such force that blood sprayed, and Kunal's lips split open with a shriek of pain.
Abhimanyu stood tall and dragged Kunal by the collar, slamming him against the wall. One hand coiled around his throat.
"You fucking family ruined my life. Ruined my love." His voice was guttural, animalistic. "I won't kill you... no. I'll make you beg for death - and when it comes, it won't take you."
He let go just before Kunal passed out, watching him gasp like a fish out of water.
Calmly, like a surgeon, Abhimanyu put on his black gloves. He opened a shelf and pulled out a vial - a rare compound labeled only as:
"Piranha Acid."
Not from the fish.
Worse.
A lab-made, skin-melting horror.
He tore Kunal's shirt sleeve, exposing his trembling arm, then tied him to the steel pole.
Abhimanyu filled a dropper, held it above Kunal's hand, and - drip.
One drop.
Then another.
Then another.
The acid hissed. The skin sizzled. The room reeked of flesh and pain.
Kunal screamed. His cries echoed off the stone walls. But Abhimanyu? He just smiled, watching the devil within him drink it all in.
By the time he emptied the dropper, Kunal's right hand was blistered, raw, dripping blood and melted skin.
Abhimanyu leaned in, whispering:
"This... was just the trailer. I will make sure your soul, your skin, your bones, every nerve, every inch of your being begs for release - and still... death won't come."
He turned away.
Not out of mercy.
But because he sensed something.
A pull.
A shiver in his soul.
Shivnya.
She needed him.
He stormed out of the dungeon, heart racing, rage still seething in his blood - and hit the accelerator toward the mansion.
Where his queen was waiting.
And his war... was far from over.
As Abhimanyu returned, Barley met him halfway, clearly shaken.
"Where is she? Is she okay?"
Barley pointed toward the study room and held up two fingers-two hours.
Two hours. Of non-stop work. Without rest.
His jaw clenched. What the hell was she thinking?!
Without another thought, he stormed into the study.
Shivnya sat stiffly, staring at her screen, lips tight, face puffy and pale from crying.
She was in a video conference-but he didn't care.
She glared at him sharply as he approached, but he didn't stop.
In one swift motion, he scooped her into his arms.
"What are you doing, Abhimanyu?!" she hissed, mortified.
He didn't flinch.
"Apologies, gentlemen. My wife needs rest. I'm sure you won't have a problem with that."
Before anyone could respond, he slammed the laptop shut.
Everyone on that call knew better than to argue.
Everyone knew who he was.
And who she was to him.
"Put me down, Abhimanyu!" she protested as he carried her.
"No way." His voice was cold with fury.
"What were you thinking? Sleeping pills, zero rest, burying yourself in work? What do you think you'll achieve-hiding your pain from yourself? From me?"
He laid her down on the bed, his touch careful despite his anger.
Shivnya stayed quiet.
She could see it-how deeply this had shaken him.
Abhimanyu left the room briefly, phone in hand.
He called the doctor-the same one who had treated her after Shrikant's attack.
After explaining everything, the doctor's words hit hard.
She couldn't take more sleeping pills.
The impact on her system could be dangerous.
And emotionally... it could lead to something irreversible.
Abhimanyu returned with an ice pack and sat beside her.
He gently began pressing it to her swollen face.
"What are you doing?" she asked, confused.
"Your face is swelling," he muttered.
"Really?" She tried to laugh. "Maybe just from all the crying..."
He ignored her.
"Barley, bring some fruit."
Shivnya narrowed her eyes at the way he dismissed her words.
"Bring some fruit juice. The one I prefer. You know what I mean."
Abhimanyu glanced at her, confused-but didn't say anything.
Barley came in shortly after with a tray-fruits and a juice glass.
But Shivnya's eyes immediately sharpened.
That wasn't the juice.
Barley caught the glare-and from behind her back, she revealed a bottle of wine.
Abhimanyu's expression changed in an instant.
"Take that back." His voice thundered.
"No alcohol. No cigarettes. You're quitting-both. You have to."
Barley nodded nervously and rushed out.
Hmm
Shivnya opened her mouth to argue, but he didn't let her speak.
Instead, he shoved a spoonful of fruit gently into her mouth.
She glared.
But... slowly, she chewed.
Halfway through the plate, sleep began to tug at her again.
Maybe the pills were kicking in.
Or maybe it was his warmth, his stubborn comfort, his quiet war against her pain.
She drifted off, and as she did, she unconsciously curled into him-head on his chest, hand on his shoulder, body melting into his hold.
He wrapped an arm around her, protective, firm.
He wasn't going anywhere.
---
In the days that followed,
Abhimanyu became more than just her husband.
He became her caretaker.
If she refused to eat, he fed her.
If she refused rest, he scooped her into his lap like a child and lulled her into sleep.
When she broke, he held her together.
Advaith's last rites were completed-some in the city by Shivnya, others outside by Doctor Uncle.
Each ritual was a tear in her soul-but she did it.
Slowly, the storm seemed to quiet.
By the 15th day, Abhimanyu dared to believe she was healing.
She was talking a little more.
Resting a bit longer.
Breathing, at least.
But on the 16th morning, he was proven wrong.
He had just stepped out to the kitchen, preparing breakfast for her himself.
Barley offered to help, but he had waved her off.
Shivnya didn't respond to anyone else anymore.
She was sharp, irritable, and had recently suspended fifteen employees over minor mistakes.
He thought food might bring her some calm.
But then-he heard it.
A scream.
"ADVAITH!"
His heart stopped.
Plate clattered.
Feet thundered.
And the silence that followed her scream was more terrifying than the scream itself.
Abhimanyu ran toward their room, heart in his throat.
He flung the door open.
Shivnya was curled up on the bed, drenched in sweat, her body trembling uncontrollably despite the 16ยฐC chill of the air conditioner. She looked like she was in the middle of a nightmare-but her eyes were wide open, soaked in tears.
Without wasting a second, he rushed to her, wrapping her fragile body in his arms.
She clung to him instantly and broke down, sobbing harder against his chest.
"What happened, jaan?" he asked, voice soft but panicked as he wiped the tears and sweat from her face. Her skin was burning up.
Then she looked at him.
Her lips quivered, her voice shaking as she stammered.
"Abhi... he's gone..."
"And I'm still alive..."
"It should've been me."
"I'm here, romancing with you..."
"While he's buried six feet under."
"I should die."
"I should torture myself."
"I deserve it."
Each word stabbed Abhimanyu deeper.
He thought she'd moved on... at least a little.
But this?
She was drowning. And he had no idea.
Before he could stop her, Shivnya pulled herself out of his arms and stood from the bed. Her steps were slow but steady-dangerously calm.
He followed her closely, confused and concerned.
She walked straight to the mansion's minibar.
She grabbed a bottle of dark rum.
Abhimanyu reached her in two strides, trying to snatch it from her hand.
"You're not drinking this."
"I will drink it."
"I said no."
"I SAID YES!"
Her voice cracked through the room like thunder.
Her anger wasn't hers anymore. It was the void inside her-a gaping black hole her subconscious believed could only be filled by alcohol, self-harm, and pain.
In her mind, peace came not from love, but from punishment.
She had forgotten.
Her peace-her sukoon-was him.
Her husband.
Her Abhimanyu.
But the grief... the guilt... it blinded her.
Suddenly, she turned to run-toward the one place that symbolized her worst pain.
The punishment room.
Abhimanyu's eyes widened.
"No-no, not there," he muttered under his breath, chasing after her.
He caught her by the waist just in time, lifting her up and pinning her gently-but firmly-against the wall.
Her feet didn't touch the ground.
His voice came out like a growl laced with pain and rage.
"What do you think this will do? Ease your guilt? Your pain? Huh?"
"Are you insane? Psychotic? Do you think he'll rest in peace seeing you punish yourself like this?"
Shivnya's breath hitched.
"Get this through your skull-if he ever loved you, he'd be in agony watching you destroy yourself. Drinking. Bleeding. Dying a little more every day."
His voice dropped to a dark whisper.
"I'm your husband. I know every thought in that twisted mind of yours. I know every breath you've taken, every idea you've buried, every scar you've hidden. And I'll know them until your last fucking breath."
He paused-his jaw clenched, his emotions slipping into something dangerous.
"I don't say anything because I love you. But don't make me call out the beast in me."
His voice hardened, lethal.
"You punish yourself brutally. I punish ruthlessly."
"Don't forget who I am-I'm a mafia king. And you..."
His eyes pierced hers.
"...you're a criminal who killed an innocent person just because of your uncontrolled rage."
"You're mine, Shivnya. I rule you. Your thoughts, your fears, your soul-you are mine. Accept it..."
His tone turned razor-sharp.
"...or I'll make you."
He let her down.
For a moment, the room was quiet-too quiet.
Then came the explosion.
Shivnya's fury surged.
Her voice trembled not with fear-but defiance.
"I'm not your puppet. I'm not yours. I belong to no one but myself!"
She stepped forward, her words cutting through the tension.
"And yes-I'm a criminal. So what now? You think that gives you rights over me?"
Abhimanyu turned, eyes wild. He grabbed her throat-not to hurt, just enough to cut her breath for a second. Just enough to shake her.
He lifted her again.
"YOU. ARE. MINE."
"My doll. Just mine."
He released her with a heavy breath, ashamed the moment the words left his lips.
He turned away, guilt crushing him.
"Damn it," he muttered, under his breath.
"Why the fuck did I let that side out in front of her..."
She finally took a shaky breath-her body trembling less, but her eyes still wild.
And then she spoke.
The words hit him like a bullet.
"Get out, Mr. Abhimanyu Singh Rathore."
Abhimanyu blinked.
No. She didn't just say that.
"Shivuu... not now. You need me. Please, I'm sorry-truly. I didn't mean to lose control like that. That beast... I hate him too..."
Her face was ice.
"Just get the hell out. Or I swear I'll have you kicked out of MY mansion. And don't you dare show me that fucking face again."
Her tone was colder than death. Her eyes, once filled with love for him, now burned with pure hatred.
Abhimanyu stepped closer.
"I won't go."
"Don't force me to call security," she warned, chin high.
He smirked bitterly.
"Call them. Let's see."
But Shivnya knew they wouldn't move a finger against him. She didn't need them.
She turned around, walked straight into the kitchen, and grabbed the rum bottle.
With a snap of her teeth, she cracked the seal and started drinking.
Abhimanyu's heart dropped.
"Shivnya, no-stop."
He moved toward her, but she was faster.
She grabbed a knife from the counter and held it against her wrist.
"One more step, Mr. Rathore, and I swear I'll slit my nerves open."
His breath hitched.
"What the hell are you doing, jaan? Please-put it down."
She didn't. Instead, she pressed it harder. The sharp tip bit into her skin. A small bead of blood oozed out and slid down her wrist.
Abhimanyu's heart was shattering.
He wanted to run to her, hold her, throw the damn knife across the room. But one wrong move... and she'd really do it.
"Leave. My. House."
Her voice was hollow now. Detached.
It snapped him out of his panic.
"No."
She pressed the blade deeper.
"I'm going!" he burst, voice trembling.
"Just... please, jaan, please don't hurt yourself. I'm begging you. I love you, my bacha. Please..."
He backed away slowly. She stepped forward, matching his pace, one slow step at a time.
They reached the front doors.
There, he dropped to his knees.
In front of her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"But please... don't abandon me like this. Don't throw me away. Don't ghost me."
But she was too far gone. Intoxicated, heartbroken, and lost in a storm of self-hate.
Her words came out slurred, emotionless.
"FORGET YOU EVER HAD A WIFE."
And the door slammed behind him.
Thrown out.
Left in the cold.
Alone.
---
Inside, Shivnya drank endlessly. She didn't care how much. She didn't care what time it was. She didn't even know when her body gave up and slumped to the floor.
She tried accessing the punishment room.
But he'd locked it.
Fingerprint access. His, and only his.
She banged on the door until her knuckles bled. Screamed until her voice gave out.
And then-silence.
Only the sound of her broken sobs echoing through the mansion. Her mansion.
Her cries haunted the halls like ghosts of her guilt.
And outside-Abhimanyu stood motionless, leaning against the iron gate, his eyes red, fists clenched, face stained with silent tears.
Listening.
Breaking.
Yearning.
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