The hospital room was unusually quiet.

The soft beeping of the monitor was the only sound breaking the silence.

A girl lay unconscious on the hospital bed, her forehead covered with a bandage and one leg supported with a brace.

Beside her sat a man.

Tall. Silent. Dangerous.

Broken.

He gently held her hand in his, his eyes fixed on her pale face. For a long moment, he said nothing.

Finally...

"Mom... Dad..." His voice cracked.

"I'm sorry. I failed. I couldn't keep my promise."

"And today my Princess is lying here because of me."

He closed his eyes for a brief moment before taking a deep breath. When he opened them again, the vulnerability was still there... But behind that vulnerability... something far darker began to emerge.

Resolve.

"No," he whispered.

 "Nothing will happen to my Shikha."

"This time... I'll keep my promise."

"Trust your champion... just one last time."

"This time... I won't break my promise."

A dangerous silence settled inside the room. Then his expression changed. The softness in his eyes disappeared. Darkness took its place.

His gaze turned ice-cold.

"I gave you every benefit of the doubt, Miss Verma."

"I really wanted to believe there was some misunderstanding."

"But because of you, my sister has forgotten how to smile."

He paused.

"She lost the one thing she loved the most."

"Her dream."

His jaw clenched.

"Ahanshi Verma..."

"Now you'll learn what it feels like to watch a dream shatter."

"You'll know what it feels like when everything you've worked for starts slipping away."

"You've made the biggest mistake of your life."

"From this moment on... your life will become a living hell."

"You'll pay for every single tear that fell from my Shikha's eyes."

 "I'll make every breath you take feel like a punishment."

He paused, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper.

"And when I'm done... you'll beg for this pain to end. You'll pray for mercy. You'll even wish for death..."

A dark smile crossed his face.

"But death?"

"I won't let it be that easy for you."

His gaze never left the unconscious girl.

"You played your game, Miss Ahanshi Verma."

"Now..."

"Watch what happens..."

"When Rudraksh Malhotra starts playing his."

𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭𖹭

~ ɪᴛɪɪɪ