Author pov:-

              The mansion was dressed like a palace. Strings of marigolds hung from the gates, golden drapes covered the pillars, and lamps flickered across the vast hall. To anyone on the outside, it looked like a celebration of love. But to Ishani, it was a funeral for her freedom.

The weight of the bridal lehenga suffocated her. Red and gold embroidery shimmered on the fabric, but it felt more like blood and chains than beauty. Around her neck, the ruby pendant Ekansh had given her burned against her skin like a brand. Every ornament felt like a lock fastening tighter and tighter.

Her reflection in the mirror showed a bride, but her eyes betrayed her. They screamed for help, for escape.

Then suddenly Sushree come along with everyone. Ishani eyes tear to saw everyone. She hug them dearly.

"Isha please don't cry.... please" Sushree bhabi said tear in her eyes.

---

The invitations had gone out far and wide. Ekansh wanted witnesses—wanted the world to see that Ishani was his. Her brother Avimanyu was there, his face pale, his fists clenched as he stood in a corner. Avimanyu wife Sushree and Anuj wife Anjali also there helplessness masked by polite smiles to avoid suspicion. Because Ekansh was from mafia. And if their rivals know about this family drama they will take advantage to it. And they hurt Ishani so Ishani family member give everyone a fake smile. And then there was Ruchika, dressed in a pale sari, her eyes red from crying. She avoided her brother’s gaze, but she never let Ishani out of sight.

Ekansh’s closest friends had also arrived: Siddhant never left Ekansh’s side, like a shadow ensuring no one dared interfere. Samir and Avimanyu, though loyal on the surface, exchanged tense glances with Anuj, their discomfort showing. Avimanyu’s wife, Sushree, hovered close to Ishani whenever she could, whispering promises of courage as she adjusted the bride’s dupatta.

Beneath the glittering surface of the celebration, a secret plan brewed. Anuj, Anjali, Ruchika, Samir, Avimanyu, and sushree had joined hands, vowing to save Ishani before the vows could be spoken. They whispered in corridors, passed notes hidden beneath trays of sweets, and studied the guards’ movements carefully. Every second was a risk, but they clung to hope.

But Siddhant… he was Ekansh’s man through and through. Every word they plotted, every glance they exchanged, Siddhant carried back to Ekansh. Their rebellion was doomed before it even began.

---

The wedding rituals began, each dragging Ishani closer to her doom. The priest’s chants filled the air, incense thick in the air. Guests smiled and whispered, blind to the horror beneath the glitter.

When Ishani was brought to the mandap, her steps were heavy. She could feel Ruchika’s gaze urging her to hold on.

Then came the signal. Anuj shifted closer. Samir distracted one guard. Avimanyu blocked Ekansh’s view for just a moment. Ruchika clutched Ishani’s hand under the guise of adjusting her veil, whispering, “Now.”

Ishani’s heart thundered. She turned, her eyes darting toward the side exit where freedom awaited. Her body moved before her mind caught up, lehenga swishing as she bolted.

One guard saw her. Gasps echoed. Guards rushed. Anuj shouted, “Run, Ishani!”

She raced down the palace corridor, her bare feet slipping on marble. For the first time in months, she felt the thrill of hope—raw, desperate, intoxicating. She pushed through a side door and burst into the gardens, the night air cool against her burning skin.

But freedom was a cruel illusion.

The alarm rang, bells clanging as Ekansh’s voice roared commands. Within minutes, the gates slammed shut. The city beyond was locked down by his men—roads barricaded, guards stationed at every exit.

And then, he found her.

Ekansh appeared in the garden, his sherwani dusted from the chase, his face a storm of fury and despair. In his hand gleamed a gun. Ishani froze, her chest heaving.

“You were really going to leave me,” he said, voice low, trembling with rage. “In front of everyone. In front of the world.”

Her voice cracked. “Because I’m not yours to keep!”

His eyes blazed. “YOU. ARE. MINE, Ishani. And if the world won’t accept it willingly, then I’ll make them. Tonight, no matter what it takes.”

He raised the gun, pointing it not at her, but at her family who had been dragged into the garden by his men. Anuj, Sushree, Anjali, Avimanyu, Samir even Ruchika—bound, surrounded by guards. Their terrified eyes burned into her soul.

Avimanyu fist his hand. Back free from the guard.

“MARRY ME,” Ekansh ordered, his voice a blade. “Or I’ll make you watch them fall one by one.”

Ishani’s knees buckled. “Please… don’t do this.”

But Ekansh’s resolve was unshaken. “The mandap is ready. The priest waits. We finish this now.”

"Don't do this chotii" Avimanyu said.

Ekansh fire the gun in sky "will you do Orr...I will...."

"Nooo....I will I wi-ll." Ishani said tears in her eyes.

Dragged back under the threat of death, Ishani was forced to sit beside him once more. The sacred fire burned, mocking her. Her bhabis and her best friend muffled cries filled her ears, each one stabbing her heart.

The priest said "call the bride's mother and father for kanyadan" Hearing this Ishani broken in to tears. Ekansh looked at Avimanyu and his wife and command

"Come and kanyadan your sister"

Avi groun "please Ekansh stop all of this she is only 19. Don't snatch her freedom."

"I won't, come here willingly or I will tell her about your secret". Ekansh said using his weakness. Unwilling be have to come for kanyadan.

Because he don't want to know the secret that he hind from her many years.

Avimanyu hold her hand in shakening and tied the knot with his hand and left tear in his eye. The priest started chanting mantras and asked him to offer the flowers to God, he grabbed Ishani hand firmly and poured the flowers into the fire.

Soon the priest asked to take the rounds of holy fire.

The rituals blurred into a nightmare. Ekansh’s grip on her hand was iron as he recited vows. The priest chanted mantra while they took the vows around the fire. After four rounds, the priest asked Ishani to come forward. She shake her head as no.

Ekansh take her in bridal style and complete another 3 vow. She keeps hitting his chest angrily.

the gun never far from reach. The priest’s voice quivered, but he obeyed, chanting under the weight of Ekansh’s glare.

When the sindoor came, Ishani tried to turn away. “Don’t,” she whispered, her voice broken. “If you ever cared about me, don’t.”

For a heartbeat, his hand trembled. His eyes flickered with pain. But obsession drowned it quickly. “I’m doing this because I can’t lose you.”

And before her horrified family, he pressed the red powder onto her hairline. Gasps, sobs, despair filled the air. The mangalsutra followed, the cold chain sealing her fate.

The gun lowered, but the damage was done. Ishani was no longer just his captive—she was his wife. In the eyes of law, society, and family, the bond was sealed.

Anuj collapsed in fury and grief. Ruchika turned away, unable to watch. Sushree held Ishani’s trembling fingers, whispering a silent promise that this was not the end.

But inside, Ishani felt her last hope crumble. She had been married at gunpoint, her freedom erased in front of everyone she loved.

Ekansh leaned close, his whisper burning her ear. “Now the world knows. You’re mine. Forever.”

---

Author Note 💌

💔 The darkest chapter yet! Ishani’s family and friends tried to rescue her, but Ekansh’s obsession crushed every plan. Even the city was locked down. In the end, he forced the marriage at gunpoint, binding her in front of everyone she loved.

🔥 The sindoor, the mangalsutra—symbols of love—were turned into weapons of control. Ishani’s despair is unbearable, but is this truly the end of her fight?

👉 Question for you: Should Ishani break free after the wedding and expose Ekansh to the world, or remain trapped in this forced marriage until someone destroys him from within?

Vote Team Break Free (💔 Ishani exposes the truth) or Team Trapped (🔥 Ekansh’s obsession deepens, and Ishani must fight harder).

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