Dedication

"For every girl who wants the devil to kneel and worship the ground she walks on."

Tropes

Enemies to Lovers

Forced Marriage

Arranged Marriage Gone Wrong

Family Feud

Billionaire CEO

Possessive Hero

Touch Her and Die

Grumpy x Sunshine

Beauty and the Beast

Slow Burn Romance

Hate to Love

Marriage of Convenience

Power Couple

Forbidden Love

Obsessive Love

Sneak peek

The rain hadn’t stopped for hours.

Neither had the silence between them.

Sarika stood by the window, her fingers gripping the curtain so tightly it trembled with her. The storm outside felt quieter than the one inside her chest.

Behind her, she could feel him. Not touching. Not speaking. Just… there.

Watching.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” His voice cut through the room low, calm… dangerous.

She didn’t turn.“I’ve been breathing.”

A pause. Then footsteps. Slow. Measured. Each one louder than her heartbeat.

“Same thing?” he asked softly.

Before she could move, he was already behind her. Too close. Always too close.

Her breath hitched as his hand reached past her, pulling the curtain shut. The room dimmed instantly, trapping them in something far too intimate.

“Don’t,” she whispered.

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t stand so close like this… like it means something.”

That did it. His hand stilled.

Then slowly , dangerously, he turned her around. Sarika’s back hit the wall before she could react.

His palm pressed beside her head, caging her in. His face inches away.

His eyes—burning.

“You’re my wife.” The words weren’t loud. They didn’t need to be.

Her chin lifted, defiance trembling in her voice. “By force.”

A flicker of something dark crossed his face.

“And yet,” he murmured, leaning closer, “you tremble every time I touch you.”

“I’m not scared of you.”

“No,” he said, almost amused. “That’s the problem.”

His fingers brushed her wrist light, barely there and still, her breath shattered.

“Stop reacting like that,” she snapped, pulling her hand back.

“Like what?”

“Like I belong to you.”

This time… he didn’t smile.

His grip tightened—not enough to hurt, but enough to make a point.

“You do.” Her eyes burned.

“Say it again and I’ll—”

“You’ll what?”

Silence. Because they both knew—she had no power here.

But then… Slowly… deliberately…

She stepped closer instead of away. Close enough that her voice brushed his lips when she spoke , “One day, Avyukt… you’ll be the one begging to belong to me.”

For the first time ... He froze.

Not in anger. Not in control.

But in something far more dangerous.

Interest.