SHANAYA’S POV :

The first thing I registered was the chill in the air.

The next… the throbbing pain in the back of my neck.

It took me a second to remember where I was.

The cafe.

Isha.

The warmth of reunion.

The call from Kartik.

And then… the sting of betrayal.

I sucked in a breath as my eyes fluttered open.

A dimly lit room. Grey concrete walls. No windows. A metal door.

My wrists were tied behind the back of a cold chair with thick ropes. Ankles bound too. No noise outside. No sound of footsteps. Just the steady drip of a leaking pipe echoing like a cruel clock.

But I didn’t panic.

Not this time.

The old Shanaya—the one from five years ago who screamed and cried in fear, who waited for someone to come rescue her—She died the day Kabir walked away.

What remained… was me.

I closed my eyes and calmed my breath. Counted the rhythm. Felt the edges of the rope.

They’d made a mistake.

They tied me in front.

A rookie move.

I wriggled my fingers until I felt the friction of the knot. Pain pulsed through my wrists as I fought against it—but it didn’t matter. I welcomed it. Pain reminded me I was still alive. Still burning.

Minutes passed.

I didn’t know how many.

And then—snap.

The knot gave way.

I didn’t smile. I didn’t gloat. I simply stood, steadying my breath as I looked around for anything I could use as a weapon.

And that’s when I heard it.

The click of the door unlocking.

I froze, stepping back quickly, just behind the chair.

The door opened.

And there she was.

Isha.

My Isha.

Dressed in a sharp black suit, heels clicking against the concrete like a queen walking her kingdom. Her hair tied in a sleek ponytail. Eyes dark.

But not with pain.

With power.

My breath caught in my throat. I barely recognized her.

“You’re awake,” she said softly, voice like silk over a blade.

I didn’t respond. Just stared. The same way you stare at a ghost you thought you buried.

She stepped in fully, arms folded. “Tied too tight?”

“You underestimated me,” I said coldly. “First mistake.”

She let out a short laugh, almost amused. “You’ve changed. I almost liked you better when you were soft and fragile.”

“You mean easier to manipulate?”

A flicker in her eyes.

Ah.

There she was.

The real her.

She tilted her head, lips curling into something darker. “It’s funny, you know. Even after all these years, you still don’t get it.”

“Then enlighten me,” I spat. “Because drugging me wasn’t clear enough.”

She took a step forward, her expression unreadable now. “I envied you, Shanaya. Every goddamn moment. Your life. Your friends. Your laughter. Your light. And no matter how hard I tried to keep up, you always had more. More attention. More love. More everything.”

“That’s not my fault.”

“But it felt like it was.”

Her voice cracked slightly, only for a second. Then turned venomous again.

“I was your shadow for years. Watching you be adored, admired… while I was the sidekick. And then came Rohan.”

Her eyes sparkled with something twisted.

“Do you know how he looked at you?” she whispered. “Like you were the sun. Like nothing else mattered. And I hated it. I hated how he picked you.”

My chest tightened. “He never even looked at you that way.”

She smirked. “Exactly. That’s why he had to die.”

Silence.

The world tilted.

“What?”

“I killed him, Shanaya,” she said, stepping closer. “Mercifully, of course. Poisoned his meds. Enough to worsen his already failing heart. Just… sped up the process.”

A scream built in my throat, but I swallowed it. She wanted a reaction.

She wanted to see me break.

But I wouldn’t give her that.

“You’re sick,” I said quietly.

Her gaze darkened. “I did what needed to be done. And then… I made sure you’d be left alone. That attack five years ago?”

She leaned in, voice dripping with poison.

“That was me too.”

My breath left my body.

“I convinced Kshitij to send in the first test run. Scare you. Hurt you just enough. But then… Kabir ruined it. He nearly died saving you. He got too close. And I couldn’t have that, either.”

She smiled then.

A slow, victorious smile.

“So I convinced him to leave. Told him it was his fault. Played his guilt like a damn violin. And like the fool he is, he walked away.”

She was so close now, I could see the monster behind her mask.

“You destroyed everything,” I whispered.

“No,” she said softly. “You destroyed me. I just finally gave myself permission to return the favor.”

The door opened again behind her. A signal, maybe.

Isha stepped back.

“Sleep well, Shanaya,” she said sweetly. “By the time your boys find you, you’ll be too broken to matter.”

Then she turned and walked away.

The door shut.

And I collapsed to my knees.

Not in fear.

Not in defeat.

But in grief.

And in rage.

She thought I would break.

But she forgot—

I was forged in fire.

------

KABIR’S POV :

The silence before war has a sound.

It’s like your lungs forget how to breathe. Like your blood stills. Like time pauses, holding its breath as if the world knows what’s coming next.

That was what I felt standing outside the abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

Vihaan stood beside me—calm, calculating. The others—Rohit, Vansh, Ranveer, Yash—loaded with ammo and eyes that held storms. But it was Vihaan’s presence that both surprised and steadied me.

"You sure about this?" I asked, glancing at him.

He cocked his gun, his voice low. “I didn’t come this far to lose a friend or a queen. Let’s bring her home.”

For a second, I looked at him differently. Not the polished businessman with charm and strategy. But as something far more dangerous.

Someone like me.

We moved in with military precision.

Gunshots rang through the air before we even crossed the main gates. Our men scattered into positions, bullets lighting up the night like fireflies from hell. Every second was chaos—screams, blood, bodies falling like leaves in a storm.

I wasn’t shooting to wound.

I was shooting to end.

Every man who stood between me and Shanaya was a dead man walking.

Vihaan and I tore through the defenses, side by side. He covered my blind spots. I cleared his path. A rhythm was building between us—like we were always meant to be on the same battlefield.

Then—static cracked in my earpiece. Rohit’s voice.

"Third floor. North wing. Locked room. Movement detected."

My heart clenched.

I didn’t wait.

I stormed through the corridors, blood trailing in my wake. I killed with hands, with guns, with rage.

And then I saw it.

The door. Steel. Rusted. Bolted.

She’s in there.

I kicked it open with all the fury in my bones.

She turned—

And time stopped.

Shanaya.

Disheveled. Bruised. But standing. Her eyes locked with mine, wide and stormy, and then—

She ran.

Straight into me.

My arms wrapped around her so tight I was afraid I’d break her. But she didn’t pull away. Her fists clutched the back of my shirt, her body trembling in mine.

“I’ve got you,” I whispered. “You’re safe now. You’re safe, sweetheart.”

She didn’t speak. Just nodded against my chest.

We were about to leave when—

A voice cut the air.

“Wow, Kabir. You’re really a sucker for saving her every damn time, aren’t you?”

I froze.

So did she.

I turned slowly.

Isha.

Standing at the doorway. Gun raised. Hair messy. Eyes wild.

She laughed. “Let’s give little Shanaya a show. First, I’ll kill you. Then I’ll rip her apart again, slowly. Maybe I’ll let her live this time, you know? Just to see what breaks first—her heart or her mind.”

I instinctively moved in front of Shanaya, shielding her with my body.

Her voice behind me was a whisper. “Kabir—”

“I won’t let her hurt you,” I said firmly.

Isha raised the gun—

And then—

BANG.

She staggered.

A second shot.

A third.

I turned.

Shanaya.

Holding my gun.

Hand steady. Eyes wild with fire and fury and years of silence that had just shattered in three gunshots.

Isha fell to the ground. Dead.

------

SHANAYA’S POV :

My hands shook.

Not from fear. From freedom.

The monster that haunted every corner of my life was finally silent. And I was the one who ended her.

I walked toward her lifeless body and stared down. “For Rohan. For every time you made me question my worth. For five years of nightmares. This was never your story.”

I dropped the gun.

Kabir touched my face, eyes wide with something between awe and worry.

“I didn’t know you could shoot,” he breathed.

“I didn’t either,” I whispered. “Until I had to.”

He nodded slowly, pride gleaming in his bloodied face.

We turned to leave—

Then everything shattered again.

“Kabir!”

The shout came too late.

I saw the barrel. The smirk.

Kshitij.

Gun aimed straight at me.

And before I could react—

Kabir stepped in front of me again.

The shot rang.

And he collapsed.

Right in front of me.

I screamed.

My knees hit the ground so hard I didn’t feel them. My hands pressed to his chest. Blood soaked through my fingers. Too much. Too fast.

“NO! Kabir—Kabir, stay with me—look at me, please! Look at me!”

His eyes fluttered, barely open.

“Sha…naya…”

“No, no—you’re not going anywhere!” I sobbed, pressing harder, trying to stop the bleeding with nothing but my trembling hands. “You promised me. You said I was safe.”

“You are,” he whispered, voice breaking. “As long… as I’m breathing.”

Vihaan’s gun fired.

Kshitij fell.

But it was too late.

Kabir’s eyes closed.

And the only sound in the world was the sound of my heart shattering into dust.

---

End of the chapter

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