Aryan's POV
I couldn't sleep.
Her laugh echoed in my head—soft, sharp, and heartbreakingly hollow.
That bruise on her lip… it didn't leave my mind. It burned like a scar I had received.
The mansion kept replaying too. Not the luxury.
The loneliness in it.
The way the guards bowed, the lights shifted like the walls themselves knew pain lived here.
What kind of world had she been surviving in all this time?
How had I never known?
I sat in my room, lights off, eyes on my phone.
Nothing from her.
Not a single text.
My fists clenched.
I wasn't even sure if she was okay. Ratan had slapped her so hard she fainted.
And he just... stood there afterward. Calm. Watching. Like the devil in disguise.
The way he looked at me still lingered—powerful, controlled. But something else too. Calculating.
He'd whispered in my ear before walking away, his voice cold:
"Meet me. Tomorrow night. Come alone. I'll tell you everything about my daughter… and about Reyza."
He made sure Aarohi didn't hear it.
And just like that—he vanished.
I didn't know what the hell to expect.
But tonight, the silence was deafening.
Then, at exactly 2:14 AM, my phone lit up.
Unknown Number.
One message.
> Old cathedral. On the hill past the forest. Midnight. Come alone. Bring no phone next time.
– R.M.
I stared at it, heart pounding.
An old cathedral? That place had been abandoned for years—nothing but broken glass, stone angels, and ash.
Of course he picked that place.
Of course he wanted the meeting to feel like a funeral.
I stood up. Paced. Thought. But deep down, I already knew:
I was going.
Because whatever he was hiding—about Aarohi, Reyza, this twisted empire she was trapped in—I had to know.
And if he thought I'd come in afraid…
He didn't know me at all.