The moment her eyes fluttered open, panic coursed through her veins. The room felt strange, unfamiliar, and suffocating. Fear clawed at her throat as she sat up in haste, her only thought to escape. With trembling legs, she rushed toward the gate, desperate for freedom. But before her fingers could even graze the handle, a powerful arm seized her, pulling her back into a prison of warmth and strength.

Her terrified eyes widened as she looked up at him, her body stiffening in his embrace. Every inch of her screamed to run, yet her fragile hands pushed helplessly against his chest, her trembling betraying her fear. He, however, only held her tighter, pressing her so close that she could feel the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against her frantic one. A dangerous smile tugged at his lips as he lowered his face closer to hers.

“Where do you think you’re running?” His voice was deep, thick with authority, but laced with an unsettling tenderness. “Our marriage happened just yesterday.”

Her eyes filled with tears, her lips quivering as she whispered, “That was forced… I don’t accept this relationship.”

For a long moment, he said nothing, only gazing into her with eyes that burned like fire. His stare was heavy, suffocating, yet there was something in it that sent shivers through her, an obsession, a desperate hunger that was far more dangerous than cruelty. His large hand slid down to catch hers, pressing it firmly against his chest where his heart thudded violently.

“Listen,” he said lowly, his tone a mix of threat and plea, “you can deny me, but the truth is you are my wife now.”

She shook her head violently, struggling, tears streaking her cheeks. “No… let me go…”

Her resistance only fueled his anger. With a swift motion, he scooped her onto his shoulder, ignoring her cries, and carried her across the room like a possession he would never part with. He dropped her onto the bed with controlled force, his body immediately pinning hers as he trapped her wrists above her head.

Leaning over her, his lips brushed against her temple, lingering dangerously close. “In this life, Swara, you cannot escape me. That’s not just a promise, it’s fate. Whether you embrace our relationship with happiness or force, you’ll still end up mine…. Always mine…. Remember this.”

After listening to him, she cried harder. His voice dropped to a whisper, almost reverent yet terrifyingly possessive.

“Even your tears are mine. Even your fear.” His thumb brushed the corner of her lips, his gaze locked on her trembling mouth. “One day, you’ll stop running… and you’ll realize there’s no safer place than my arms.”

Her breath hitched, torn between terror and the confusing pull of his intensity, while he continued to watch her as though she were the only thing keeping him alive.

Fear has many faces. Sometimes it hides in silence, sometimes it screams in the dark. For Swara, fear was not just an emotion; it was a cage. She had grown up learning to keep her head low, her voice softer than the whisper of the wind, and her steps cautious as if the ground beneath her could betray her at any moment. Innocence was her only shield, but it was also her greatest weakness.

Ranvijay, on the other hand, had never bowed to fear. His presence alone carried a storm, his silence louder than any thunder. To the world, he was merciless, unyielding, and untamed, a man whose eyes spoke of wars fought in the shadows. People feared him, yet those who truly knew him understood that beneath his steel was a heart that burned to protect what it claimed.

Fate had no mercy when it bound their lives together. She was like a trembling flower, while he resembled a raging fire. Their first meeting was not a promise of love, it was a clash of two worlds that should never have collided. But destiny does not ask for permission; it commands.

Because sometimes, the scariest beginning can lead to the most eternal bond.