Ishani POV:-

             The silence of the room was unbearable. It pressed against my ears, suffocating, making every beat of my heart sound louder than thunder. I sat curled in the corner of the bed, hugging my knees as though they could shield me from the truth clawing inside me.

The moonlight spilled across the floor in soft silver streaks, painting the room in an eerie glow. To any other person, it would have looked peaceful. But to me, it was another reminder of my prison—beautiful walls, expensive silk sheets, shimmering chandeliers, and yet, nothing more than a cage.

But tonight, the weight pressing on my chest wasn’t the golden bars of Ekansh’s obsession. It was the silence of my brother, Avimanyu bhaiya.

Not a letter.

Not a message.

Not a single attempt to see me.

The thought cut deeper than any chain Ekansh could ever wrap around me.

He hates me, a cruel voice whispered inside my mind. He must hate me for keeping secrets, for never telling him about Ekansh. He must think I betrayed him, that I chose this life.

I pressed my face into my knees, trembling. My brother had been my world once. My protector, my anchor, my safe place. Every time the world broke me, Avimanyu bhaiya was the one who held me together. And now… now he wasn’t here.

Because of me.

Because I failed to trust him.

Because I let Ekansh sink his claws into my life before I cried for help.

A sob tore from my throat before I could stop it. I bit my lip, trying to swallow it down, but tears slipped anyway, wetting my palms.

I wanted to believe Avimanyu bhaiya still loved me. That he was searching, desperate to find me. But the silence… oh, the silence was louder than screams.

---

The door creaked softly. My heart froze.

And then, as though summoned by my fears, he walked in.

Ekansh.

His tall frame filled the doorway, his presence impossible to ignore. Even in the dim light, the sharp lines of his jaw, the dangerous glint in his eyes, made the air heavy. He didn’t need to speak. Just existing in the room was enough to remind me of his power over me.

His gaze found me instantly—huddled, broken, small.

“You’re crying again, kitten.”

I jerked my head up, quickly wiping my cheeks. “No, I’m not.”

His lips curved into a faint smirk, but there was no humor in his eyes. “Don’t lie to me. I can taste your sadness from across the room.”

The way he said it—like my grief was a flavor on his tongue—made my stomach twist.

He stepped closer, slow and deliberate, each step echoing like a countdown in my chest. His eyes scanned me, reading me like an open book. And then, his voice dropped to that calm, dangerous softness and that always terrified me more than his anger.

“You were thinking about him again, weren’t you? Avimanyu.”

My breath hitched. “Don’t say his name.”

“Why not?” His head tilted slightly, curiosity flickering in his gaze. “Because you’re afraid he hates you now? That he won’t even look at you if he knew the truth?”

The words sliced through me. My chest constricted, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. How could he—?

Ekansh crouched in front of me, his tall frame folding gracefully, like a predator lowering itself before striking. His face was close, too close, and his eyes—dark, sharp, knowing—held me in place.

“You forget, kitten,” he murmured, his voice low, intimate, dangerous. “I know you better than anyone. I know your fears, your weaknesses… your heart.”

My throat burned. I shook my head, desperate to deny him. “You don’t know anything. Avimanyu bhaiya—he… he’s my brother. He loves me. But…” My voice cracked, breaking on the words. “But I never told him about you. About this. Maybe he thinks I betrayed him. Maybe he doesn’t want me anymore.”

The confession ripped out of me like a wound torn open. The fear I’d buried for weeks came pouring out, raw and jagged.

For the first time, Ekansh didn’t smirk. He didn’t mock me or gloat at my weakness. Instead, his eyes flickered—something unreadable, something almost… human.

“Kitten,” he said softly, his voice carrying a strange weight.

“If your brother can’t see the truth—that you are innocent, that you were mine long before he ever realized—then he doesn’t deserve your tears.”

My head snapped up, fury igniting in my veins. “Don’t you dare talk about him like that. You ruined everything! If Avimanyu bhaiya turns his back on me, it’s because of you. Because you stole me from him.”

Ekansh’s jaw tightened, his smirk gone, replaced by a shadow across his face. For a long moment, he said nothing. The silence stretched, sharp as a blade.

And then, his voice dropped to a whisper, quiet but laced with fire.

“Then let me prove it to you.”

I blinked, stunned. “Prove what?”

“That your brother doesn’t hate you. That he could never hate you.” His lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile. “I’ll bring Avimanyu to you, kitten. Whether he wants to come or not.”

My blood turned to ice.

“No.” The word burst out of me in panic. “No, don’t you dare. Don’t you dare drag him into this. Leave him out of it, Ekansh.”

But he didn’t listen. He never listened. His smirk deepened, his eyes glowing with that dark, obsessive fire that had bound me to him since the beginning.

“Oh, kitten,” he murmured, brushing his thumb across my cheek with infuriating tenderness. “You should know by now… I never leave anything that belongs to you. Or to me.”

His words made my stomach twist, terror crawling under my skin. I wanted to scream, to shove him away, to claw at his chest until he let me go. But my body betrayed me—frozen, trembling, powerless under the weight of his gaze.

My heart pounded painfully as a single, suffocating thought sank its claws into me.

What if Avimanyu bhaiya really didn’t want to see me?

What if he looked at me with disgust, with disappointment, with hatred?

Wouldn’t that break me more than Ekansh ever could?

---

I pulled away from his touch, shaking my head violently. “You don’t understand! If you go near him—you’ll ruin everything! He’ll hate me even more. He’ll think I… I chose this madness.”

Ekansh’s expression shifted, the softness vanishing like smoke. His jaw clenched, his eyes hardening into steel. “He already abandoned you, kitten. Not once has he come for you. Not once has he fought for you. And yet here you are, crying for him like a child.”

“That’s not true!” I snapped, my voice cracking with desperation. “You don’t know him. He’s my brother. He loves me!”

“Then where is he?” Ekansh shot back, his voice sharp as glass. “Where is this great brother who claims to love you so much? Why hasn’t he torn down these walls to take you away? Why hasn’t he fought me for you?”

His words hit like knives. Each one slicing deeper, tearing at the fragile hope I clung to.

I opened my mouth, but no words came. Because I didn’t have an answer. Because I didn’t know why Avimanyu bhaiya hadn’t come.

Tears burned my eyes, hot and merciless.

Ekansh leaned closer, his voice soft again, deadly in its calm. “Face it, kitten. He’s not coming. Not for you. Not now, not ever. The only one who will always come for you… is me.”

The finality in his tone chilled me to the bone.

I wanted to scream, to deny it, to cling to my brother’s image in my heart. But the silence of Avimanyu’s bhaiya absence echoed louder than my faith. And in that silence, Ekansh’s chains tightened around me.

---

That night, when he finally left the room, I lay awake staring at the ceiling. My tears had dried, but the ache in my chest throbbed relentlessly.

I wanted to believe Ekansh was wrong. That my bhaiya hadn’t abandoned me. That somewhere out there, he was still searching, still fighting. And Ekansh blackmail him.

But the doubt was poison.

And with every passing day, it spread deeper.

What if bhaiya had truly turned his back on me?

What if, in his eyes, I was already lost?

My fingers curled into the sheets as another tear slipped free.

Maybe Ekansh was right.

Maybe the only monster who refused to let me go… was the only one I had left.

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Author Note 💌

Ohhh this one hurt to write 😭💔 Ishani’s heart is breaking at the thought that Avimanyu hates her… and Ekansh? His twisted way of “proving love” just got even scarier 🔥.

👉 Comment below:

Do you believe Avimanyu abandoned Ishani? Or is he secretly fighting to find her? 👀

Should the next chapter be from Avimanyu’s POV (to finally reveal the truth of his silence)? Or should we stay in Ishani’s world, trapped between hope and despair, as Ekansh begins plotting to bring her brother to her?

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– Ananya 💋

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