Aisha awoke to the blindingly sterile light of the late morning streaming through the penthouse's panoramic windows.

The silence was absolute, a heavy, suffocating blanket after the noise and tension of the night before.

​She sat up, her fingers immediately going to her collarbone, where the Chandra-Kiran had been. The skin felt strangely bare, a physical ghost of the weight and coldness of the diamonds.

That feeling of emptiness was quickly replaced by the memory of Siddharth's gloved hand pressing into her back, the velvet-lined menace of his whispered words on the balcony.

​"You will stop fighting and realize that the terror you feel is inseparable from the passion I will demand."
​She slid out of the enormous bed, her movements jerky.

She walked to the window, staring down at the dizzying sprawl of the city that Siddharth Raichand ruled.

The realization hit her with sickening clarity,she wasn't just his prisoner,she was his status symbol, and the safety he offered was nothing more than a guarantee that no one else would get to destroy her before he did.

​She felt a sharp, internal sting of shame recalling her furious words in the elevator. She had deliberately provoked him, and his controlled anger ...the blue eyes blazing before he gently pulled back..had terrified her far more than any physical violence could have.

He was a creature of such precision and dominance; he wouldn't lash out blindly. His cruelty would always be targeted, effective, and deeply personal.

​A gentle knock preceded the entry of a maid, who silently placed a tray with black coffee and fruit on a small table, avoiding eye contact entirely. Aisha knew the drill: Siddharth might be gone for the day, but his system of surveillance and service never slept.

​Aisha finished her coffee and was just pulling on a soft silk robe when the door to the master suite opened. Siddharth stood framed in the doorway, dressed impeccably in a charcoal suit, his presence instantly shrinking the enormous room.

He looked as cold, pristine, and perfectly composed as he had when he'd faced Jaisingh last night-a fact that sent a fresh chill down her spine.

​"Good morning, Jaana," he said, the endearment a low, proprietary sound that made her skin crawl. "Did you sleep well?"

​"I slept," Aisha replied, walking past him to pick up a brush from her vanity. She would not let him see her cower. "I dreamed of golden leashes. Thank you for the reminder."

​He stepped closer, his cologne-a faint, icy scent-enveloping her. He didn't touch her, but his proximity was a physical pressure, like the air itself was condensing around his power.

​"You are savage this morning," he observed, his voice holding a tone of detached approval, as if commenting on the sharpness of a newly acquired blade. "I prefer you sharp, but not at my expense. Tell me what is truly troubling you."

​"The fact that you put me on display like a prized artifact and then threaten to snap the necks of anyone who shows interest," Aisha retorted, meeting his gaze in the mirror. "You call that protection. I call it arrogance disguised as malice."

​His eyes darkened. He moved behind her, placing his hands on the marble vanity on either side of her, effectively caging her between his arms and the glass.

​"Arrogance?" he murmured, leaning down so his mouth was beside her ear. "Perhaps. But my malice is the only thing that separates you from men like Jaisingh.

Tell me, Jaana am I right. When he was looking at you last night-when his thoughts were stripping the gown from your body-did you feel protected by your own anger, or did you feel exposed?"

​His logic was sickeningly effective. He was forcing her to acknowledge that in the brutal world he inhabited, her resistance was only viable when backed by his brute force.

​"I felt disgust," she whispered, struggling to hold the tremor out of her voice. "And yes, your malice made him look away. I concede the point. But that doesn't make you a hero. It makes you the biggest, most dangerous predator in the room."

​A moment of pure, raw fury flashed in his blue eyes. She knew she had pushed too far. He inhaled sharply, and his gloved hands-he was wearing them again-curled into fists on the countertop. The air in the room became taut, pressurized.

​"You believe I am the most dangerous? Good," he said, his voice dropping to a sound that was suddenly too low, too cold. "Then you will know what happens when you test my patience. I will give you the protection you need, but you will give me the unquestioning compliance I demand."

​He pulled back, taking a breath that restored the measured calm to his expression, though the tension in his shoulders remained. He could not, would not, frighten her to the point of breaking. Not yet.

​He reached out, his hand sweeping the hair from her neck, exposing the faint, pink skin where the necklace had rested. The touch was agonizingly light.

​"Your savage replies amuse me, Aisha, but you must learn to conserve your fire," he said, his tone softening into a chilling kind of intimacy. "I am leaving for the day.

You will remain here. Do not attempt to leave, or you will find the walls of this palace will become far less decorative. You have been given the golden shroud, now learn to stay beneath it."

​He didn't wait for a reply. He simply turned and walked toward the door, every step conveying authority and purpose.

​As he reached the threshold, he paused. "Oh, and by the way, Jaisingh will no longer be attending any of the city's social functions.

A sudden, pressing need to travel abroad, apparently. You are perfectly safe from his lusty eyes, Little Bird."

​The subtle, veiled promise hung in the air long after the heavy door clicked shut behind him, leaving Aisha alone with the sickening realization that Siddharth had not just threatened Jaisingh,he had removed him. Permanently.

​She gripped the vanity, staring at her own reflection , a frightened woman in a silk robe, caught between a gilded cage and a predator who had just proven of his protection.

​What happens next?

Does Aisha try to find out what really happened to Jaisingh, or does she focus on finding an escape route?

What do you think ....I think jo bhi hoga maza aayega padhne mein

Sorry reader this chapter was short bcoz of deepawali.

So as I told the updates ..
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