Pipi suddenly started shivering in my arms the moment her cold voice echoed through the hall. Tiny anxious squeaks left him as he immediately buried himself deeper against my chest, his small body trembling slightly.

My protective instincts kicked in instantly. "It's okay," I whispered softly while gently stroking his fur. "You're safe." The atmosphere inside the mansion only grew heavier after that.

Agastya's mother's sharp eyes lowered toward the frightened little creature before slowly rising back to me again. Her expression remained unreadable. "What exactly is that thing?" she asked coldly.

"A baby penguin." Shaurya retorted from behind while leaning carelessly against the massive main doors of Raizada Mansion. My eyes instantly shifted toward him.

He stood there with both hands tucked inside the pockets of his black trousers, looking completely relaxed despite the suffocating tension filling the entrance hall. A lazy smirk rested on his face while amusement flickered openly in his sharp eyes.

Suddenly, Agastya's fingers curled around my jaw. Not tightly enough to hurt me, but firm enough to make my breath catch instantly. The sudden grip forced my eyes away from Shaurya and back toward him, leaving no room for distraction. 

His dark gaze locked onto mine with suffocating intensity while his thumb rested lightly near my chin, the calmness on his face somehow making everything feel far more dangerous. It wasn't anger. It was authority. Possessiveness. Obsession. As if the mere fact that my attention had lingered on another man for too long had triggered something deeply territorial inside him.

"Enough looking at him," he said quietly.

The low calmness in his voice sent an irritating shiver down my spine. Heat rushed to my face immediately because the way he said it did not sound like a request. It sounded like a rule. A warning. 

His fingers tightened ever so slightly around my jaw—not enough to hurt, just enough to remind me exactly who he was. Exactly what he was. And somehow, the most frightening part was realizing this had less to do with jealousy and more to do with his ego. Like it physically bothered him to see my attention on someone else while he stood right beside me.

I lowered my eyes for a brief second, unable to handle the frightening intensity in his voice. But even then, I could still feel his gaze on me. Heavy. Possessive. Unmoving. His fingers tightened around my jaw while his dark eyes never left my face for even a second. He tilted my jaw.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, Little Finch." My heartbeat instantly turned uneven.

Something strange shot through my entire body at the quiet command—something deep, dangerous, and impossible to name. It settled somewhere beneath my ribs and spread slowly through my chest, leaving warmth and panic tangled together inside me. I hated how easily his voice affected me. Hated how one look from him could still unravel years of distance like they meant nothing at all.

Slowly, my eyes lifted back to his. Big mistake. Because the moment our gazes met again, the darkness inside his eyes deepened almost possessively, like he had gotten exactly what he wanted. And somehow, standing this close to him after all these years still felt just as terrifying as it used to. Maybe worse. 

Behind us, Shaurya sighed dramatically. "There he goes again," he muttered under his breath. "Raizada possessiveness. Very rare disease. No cure unfortunately."

Without warning, Agastya suddenly raised his gun and pointed it directly toward Shaurya. My breath stopped instantly. But the most terrifying part was that his eyes never left mine. Not even for a second.

"One more word from you, Mehra," he said coldly, his fingers resting lazily against the trigger, "and they'll find you buried ten feet under exactly where you're standing."

The roughness in his voice sent a violent shiver through my entire body. The atmosphere inside the mansion turned deadly within seconds. Even the servants looked terrified to breathe too loudly. Yet Shaurya barely reacted. He simply raised both hands slightly with an exhausted sigh, clearly understanding the real warning hidden beneath Agastya's calm tone.

"Message received," he muttered dryly. "Psychopath mode activated. Understood."

But Agastya remained completely still. Completely calm. Gun still pointed at him like this meant absolutely nothing. And somehow, that calmness frightened me far more than anger ever could. My fingers unconsciously tightened around Pipi while my heartbeat pounded painfully inside my chest. I had always known Agastya was dangerous. Ruthless. Feared. But seeing this side of him again after years—so effortless, so controlled, so terrifyingly unhinged beneath that calm exterior—made something inside me tremble.

"Enough." His mother's furious voice suddenly echoed through the hall, sharp enough to cut through the deadly silence. For the first time since this started, Agastya's eyes finally shifted away from me. Slowly, she descended another step on the staircase, her expression cold with anger.

"I am speaking to the woman standing at my door without my permission," she said furiously. "Not to two men behaving like criminals inside my house."

A heavy silence followed after her words. Then calmly—almost casually—Agastya lowered the gun without a single expression crossing his face, as though threatening someone's life in the middle of the entrance hall was the most normal thing in the world for him. And maybe for a man like Agastya Singh Raizada... it was.

She looked at me again, and this time there was no unreadable calmness left in her eyes. Only cold disgust. "You can't stay in my house." My fingers instinctively tightened around Pipi while the entire hall fell into a suffocating silence.

"A prostitute does not deserve a respectable home," she continued sharply, each word cutting through me mercilessly. "She belongs in a brothel, not under my roof." My breath caught painfully inside my chest. 

For a second, I genuinely forgot how to breathe. Beside me, I felt Agastya go completely still, but I couldn't even bring myself to look at him because her words had already shattered something inside me.

"My son made a mistake bringing you here," she said coldly. "Now get out of my house."

The humiliation hit me so hard that my vision blurred instantly. I lowered my head quickly before anyone could properly see my face, but it was useless. Tears had already started slipping silently down my cheeks despite how desperately I tried stopping them. My throat burned painfully while shame, hurt, and helplessness twisted violently inside me.

Years had passed. Yet somehow, her words still carried the same power to break me apart completely.

Pipi whimpered softly in my trembling arms as if sensing my distress, but even that only made my chest ache more. I wanted to speak. Wanted to defend myself. Wanted to tell her she had no right to say things like that to me anymore.

But no words came out. Only silence. Painful, humiliating silence. And somewhere deep inside me, a cruel corner of my heart still wondered if maybe... maybe she truly hated me enough to believe every horrible word she just said.

The silence inside the mansion turned unbearable after her words. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Even the servants standing nearby kept their heads lowered as if afraid to witness what would happen next.

 Tears continued slipping silently down my cheeks no matter how desperately I tried stopping them. My fingers trembled around Pipi while humiliation burned through every inch of me. I hated this. Hated crying here. Hated breaking down in front of them after promising myself I would never let this family affect me again. But some wounds never truly healed. And his mother knew exactly where to strike.

Then suddenly—a deafening gunshot echoed through the hall.

I flinched violently in fear while Pipi squeaked against my chest. My heartbeat nearly stopped when I realized Agastya had fired the gun straight into the marble floor beside the staircase. Dust scattered across the ground as deadly silence consumed the mansion instantly.

Slowly, I lifted my tear-filled eyes toward him. And my breath caught painfully.

I had seen Agastya angry before. Cold before. Ruthless before. But this... this was something far more terrifying. His face looked frighteningly calm, yet the rage inside his dark eyes felt violent enough to destroy everything around him. The gun still rested loosely in his hand while his jaw remained tightly clenched.

Nobody dared to speak. Not even Shaurya. Then slowly, Agastya turned toward his mother. "Say that word again." His voice was quiet. Deadly quiet. The kind of quietness that came before destruction.

His mother looked furious. "You fired a gun inside this house for her?" A dark laugh escaped him suddenly. Not amused. Not sane. "For her?" he repeated softly before taking one slow step forward. "Careful, mother." His eyes turned terrifyingly cold. "You are speaking about my soon to be  wife."

The entire hall froze. Even I forgot how to breathe for a second. Wife. The word echoed painfully inside my chest while my tears continued falling silently. His mother looked genuinely stunned for the first time tonight before anger quickly replaced it again.

"That woman ruined your life!" "No." Agastya's voice cut through the hall sharply. "You all did." The silence after those words felt monstrous. Something shifted inside the atmosphere immediately because that wasn't anger speaking anymore. That was years of buried hatred finally bleeding through. Even Shaurya's expression lost its usual amusement.

Meanwhile, Agastya calmly lowered the gun before walking toward me. My heartbeat turned uneven with every step he took closer. Then without saying a single word, he gently wiped the tears from my face with his thumb.

The softness of that small gesture after everything that had just happened nearly shattered me completely. His dark eyes remained fixed on mine. "Why are you crying?" he asked quietly. I stared at him in disbelief. Why was I crying? Because his mother had humiliated me in front of everyone. Because this house still terrified me. Because despite everything... a part of me still cared far more than I should have.

But no words came out. Agastya's gaze darkened slightly as another tear slipped down my cheek. Then slowly, he looked back toward everyone standing in the hall, and when he spoke again, his voice carried enough cold authority to make even the servants tremble.

"Listen carefully." The mansion fell completely silent. "Anyone who disrespects her..." His fingers curled possessively around my wrist. "...disrespects me." A terrifying pause followed. "And people who disrespect me don't stay alive long enough to regret it."

"She is not staying in my house." His mother's voice echoed through the hall again, colder this time, firmer, like she had already made this decision years ago and nothing in this world could change it now. "Otherwise—"

"Otherwise what, Mom?" Agastya cut her off quietly. Too quietly.

The entire mansion fell silent again. Slowly, he turned toward her fully while keeping himself slightly in front of me, almost instinctively shielding me from the venom in her eyes. The gun still rested loosely in his hand, making the atmosphere even more suffocating.

His mother looked furious. "You will choose her over your own family?"

Agastya's expression didn't change. But I felt the dangerous shift in him immediately. "What family?" he asked coldly.

Her face hardened instantly. "The family that protected you after she destroyed your name? After the scandal she dragged you into? After the entire world questioned your upbringing because of her?"

My breath caught painfully inside my chest. The humiliation returned instantly—sharp and merciless. I lowered my eyes while shame crawled violently through me again because this time... she wasn't speaking blindly. There really had been a scandal years ago. Rumors. Pictures. Headlines. The entire country had dragged my name through filth, and Agastya's name had drowned alongside mine simply because he refused to leave my side.

Gold digger.

Characterless.

Escort.

Homewrecker.

Every disgusting word possible had been attached to my existence back then.

His mother took another step forward, her eyes burning with years of buried anger. "Do you even remember what she turned your life into?" she demanded furiously. "You almost burned this empire to the ground because of her!"

Agastya remained terrifyingly calm. But I knew him. And right now, that silence was dangerous.

"Mom—"

"No!" she snapped sharply. "You don't get to silence me tonight. This girl ruined your reputation, dragged our family name through mud, disappeared without explanation, and now suddenly returns like nothing happened?"

Tears blurred my vision again because every word hurt precisely because there was truth hidden somewhere inside them. I had left. I had disappeared. And I had never explained why.

Pipi whimpered softly in my trembling arms while the entire hall remained suffocatingly silent. Then suddenly, Agastya laughed.  A low, dark sound that instantly made everyone uneasy. "You done?" he asked quietly.

His mother stared at him in disbelief. "No, I am not done! She—"

"She was twenty." The cold sharpness in Agastya's voice sliced through the hall instantly. Everyone went silent. His dark eyes locked onto his mother with frightening intensity. "Twenty years old," he repeated quietly. "And your precious society tore her apart while all of you stood there watching."

My heartbeat stumbled painfully. "Agastya..." I whispered weakly, tears slipping down my cheeks again. But he ignored me completely. "No one asked what actually happened to her," he continued coldly. "No one cared what she suffered. You all just needed someone to blame."

His mother's expression faltered slightly, and for the first time tonight, I saw something dangerously close to guilt flicker across her face. But Agastya wasn't finished. "You call her a stain on this family?" he asked softly. "Then what does that make the people who destroyed her first?"

Dead silence followed his words. Nobody moved. Nobody even seemed capable of breathing. And standing there behind him while tears silently rolled down my face, I realized something terrifying once again. Agastya didn't just love me. He carried every wound I had ever suffered inside himself like they belonged to him too.

Maybe that's why I was still in love with this man even after everything that had happened years ago. Even after the pain, the separation, and the destruction we had brought into each other's lives. Because beneath all the darkness surrounding Agastya, beneath the violence, the rage, and the terrifying obsession... there was still someone who stood between me and the world every single time it tried to tear me apart.

We all had demons in our lives. The difference was just how we carried them. Some people buried them deep beneath their skin, pretending they didn't exist while slowly letting them destroy everything from the inside. And then there were people like Agastya—men who dragged their demons out into the open without shame. Men who let the world fear them if it meant protecting the people they loved.

He was one of them.

A monster when necessary. A storm when pushed. A man capable of terrifying an entire room with one look. And somehow... despite knowing exactly how dangerous he truly was, a broken part of my heart still found safety inside his darkness. Maybe that made me just as ruined as him.

"Now this discussion is over." Agastya's cold voice echoed through the hall with enough authority to silence everyone instantly. The dangerous rage in his eyes remained, but it was controlled again. Buried beneath that terrifying calmness he wore so effortlessly.

"Everyone goes back to their work." The servants immediately lowered their heads further before quickly dispersing without wasting a second. Nobody in this mansion looked brave enough to test his patience tonight.

Then his dark gaze shifted toward Shaurya. "Shaurya." "Hm?" "Show her the room."Shaurya straightened slightly at the seriousness in Agastya's tone while I froze beside him.

Room? Before I could say anything, Agastya looked at me again. The dangerous coldness in his face softened just a little when his eyes met mine, though the possessiveness in them remained exactly the same.

"I'll be back in some time," he said quietly. Something about those words made uneasiness crawl through my chest instantly because I already knew what that meant. He wasn't done. Not even close.

Then slowly, Agastya turned toward his mother again, and the softness disappeared from his face completely. "I need to discuss something with my mother." The quiet calmness in his voice sent another nervous shiver through me.

Because after everything that had happened tonight... I could only imagine how terrifying that discussion was going to be. Meanwhile, his mother remained standing on the staircase, her expression still cold, though something unsettled flickered behind her eyes now. Maybe even she realized she had pushed her son too far tonight.

Pipi whimpered softly in my arms while Agastya's gaze briefly lowered toward the tiny creature before returning to me again. Then without warning, his fingers suddenly brushed beneath my eyes gently, wiping away the remaining tears still clinging to my cheeks.

The softness of that touch after all the violence surrounding him felt dangerously intimate. "Stop crying," he murmured quietly. My heartbeat turned uneven again. Because the terrifying mafia man standing before the entire mansion moments ago somehow looked far more dangerous when he spoke softly to me like this.

Then finally, he stepped back. But not before his fingers briefly squeezed my wrist possessively one last time—as if silently reminding everyone in this house exactly who I belonged to.

I stood there silently while Agastya walked away with his mother toward the opposite side of the mansion. The moment he disappeared from sight, the suffocating pressure inside the hall eased slightly, yet strangely... it did not make me feel safer.

Because somehow, Agastya's presence had become both the storm and the shelter at the same time. "Well," Shaurya suddenly spoke beside me, shoving both hands casually into his pockets, "that family reunion went beautifully." A small exhausted breath escaped me despite everything.

Pipi peeked out weakly from my arms as if checking whether the danger had finally passed. Shaurya looked at the tiny creature seriously. "You survived your first Raizada argument. Congratulations. Most people need therapy afterward."

I stared at him for a second before a tiny laugh escaped me accidentally. It felt strange. Laughing after crying. But somehow, Shaurya made it easier.

His sharp eyes noticed immediately, though thankfully he didn't comment on it. Instead, he gestured toward the staircase. "Come on before Agastya returns and decides breathing without his permission is illegal too."

I rolled my eyes softly while following him upstairs. The mansion remained exactly how I remembered it—grand, luxurious, intimidating. Massive chandeliers hung from the high ceilings while expensive paintings decorated the endless walls. Yet despite all the beauty surrounding this place, it still felt cold.

Like no one here had truly been happy for a very long time. As we walked through the corridor, several servants immediately lowered their heads upon seeing me. Some looked nervous. Others curious. And a few... judgmental.

I noticed it instantly. Shaurya noticed it too.  His expression lost its amusement for a brief moment before he spoke casually without looking at them. "Anyone caught gossiping loses their salary for three months."

The corridor went dead silent. I blinked in surprise. One of the maids nearly looked ready to faint. Shaurya sighed dramatically. "See? I can also be scary. Nobody appreciates my talent." "You threaten people financially," I muttered softly.

"Exactly. Psychological warfare." Despite myself, another tiny smile appeared on my face. For a few moments, silence settled between us again while we continued walking deeper into the mansion.

Then quietly, Shaurya spoke. "He really lost his mind after you left." My steps slowed slightly. I looked down at Pipi instead of him. "Shaurya..."

"No, seriously." His voice turned softer this time. "I've known Agastya my entire life, Myra. But after you disappeared..." He exhaled quietly. "Something in him just broke." Pain twisted sharply inside my chest. I remained silent. Because deep down... I had always feared that.

Shaurya glanced at me briefly before continuing carefully. "He searched for you for almost two years." My breath caught instantly. "He what?" "He searched everywhere." Shaurya's eyes darkened slightly at the memory. "And when he couldn't find you..."

He stopped walking for a second before looking at me properly. "...he became this version of himself." The words settled heavily inside me. Suddenly, all the darkness surrounding Agastya made terrifying sense.

The violence.

The obsession.

The unbearable possessiveness.

The way he looked at me like losing me once had destroyed something fundamental inside him. I swallowed painfully. "Why didn't he move on?" I whispered before I could stop myself. Shaurya stared at me like I had asked the dumbest question alive.

"Myra," he said quietly, "that man was never capable of loving anyone except you." My chest tightened so painfully that it almost hurt to breathe. Before I could respond, Shaurya suddenly stopped in front of a large door at the end of the corridor.

And the moment I saw it... my heartbeat stumbled. Because I remembered this room. Agastya's room. Shaurya noticed my expression instantly. Then very slowly, a dangerous grin spread across his face.

"Oh," he murmured dramatically. "This is going to be fun." "This is not funny," I muttered instantly while glaring at Shaurya.

"Oh, it absolutely is." Before I could argue further, he pushed open the massive doors. And my breath caught. The room looked exactly like Agastya.

Dark.

Elegant.

Dangerously cold.

The entire space carried shades of black, charcoal, and deep brown while soft golden lights glowed faintly across the enormous room. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city outside, and everything inside screamed power, wealth, and control.

But strangely... despite how luxurious it looked, the room felt empty. Not physically. Emotionally. Like nobody truly lived here. My eyes slowly wandered around the space before suddenly stopping near the far wall.

And my heartbeat instantly stumbled.

Photos.

Mine.

I froze completely.

Several framed pictures rested on a long shelf beside his desk. Some were old candid photos from years ago. One from college. One where I was laughing while holding coffee. Another where I was sleeping on his shoulder completely unaware someone had taken the picture.

My throat tightened painfully. He kept them. All these years... he kept them. Shaurya leaned casually against the door while watching my expression carefully. "Told you," he murmured softly. "Psychopath."

I couldn't even respond. Because suddenly, I noticed something else. Fresh flowers. Beside my photographs. Fresh. Meaning someone replaced them regularly. My chest hurt.

No... not hurt.

Ached.

Deeply.

Then my eyes shifted toward the bed. And I immediately regretted having eyes. "Absolutely not." Shaurya looked delighted. "Oh, absolutely yes." I turned toward him in disbelief. "This is his room."

"Correct."

"I am not staying here."

"Incorrect."

"Shaurya."

"Myra." He copied my tone shamelessly before shrugging casually. "Look, I enjoy living. So if Agastya said you stay here, then congratulations. You stay here."  I stared at him speechlessly. This entire family was insane.

Then suddenly, Pipi jumped from my arms onto the massive bed and rolled around happily like he had found heaven itself. 

Traitor.

Complete traitor.

Shaurya pointed dramatically toward the creature. "See? Even the penguin approves." 

"It's not a penguin."

"Emotionally, it is."

I sighed tiredly while walking further inside the room, trying not to notice how much of me still existed here. But it was impossible. Because everywhere I looked... there were traces of memories.

A hoodie hanging carelessly over the chair—the same one I used to steal years ago. Books I once recommended to him. Even the faint smell of his cologne lingering in the air instantly dragged me backward in time.

Like the past had been waiting for me inside this room all along. Then quietly, Shaurya spoke again from behind me. "You know what's the scariest part?" I looked at him silently. He crossed his arms before answering softly.

"He never changed this room after you left." Silence. 

Pure silence.

Something inside my chest cracked painfully at those words. Because suddenly... this room no longer felt cold anymore. It felt haunted.