Chapter 63 :

Anvaya's POV

A masked man, dressed in a black hoodie and dark pants, stood in front of me - silent, motionless, his face swallowed by the shadow of his hood. The dim light couldn't touch him; it was as if the darkness itself had crawled out of the corners to shape his form. His tall figure loomed over me, pressing me back against the cold wall, his presence sealing every inch of space and air around me. Even sound felt trapped between us - my voice, my breath, everything swallowed whole by his silence.

But then - my blood ran cold.

My hands, trembling slightly, rested against the wall behind me as if it could somehow hold me steady. My fingers pressed against the hard surface, searching for strength that wasn't there. My eyes darted up toward him, and in that instant, my mind conjured a face from the past - someone I thought I'd buried long ago.

A face. A voice. A night I had sworn I'd buried.

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, burning, threatening to fall, but I blinked them away furiously. No. Not now. I couldn't break, not yet.

My mind went blank - completely, terrifyingly blank - because sometimes memories don't just return; they invade. They crawl back in through the smallest cracks of your mind and paralyze every muscle in your body.

They hold you hostage.

And when they do, even the basic instincts - fight or flight - lose their meaning.

I just stared at him, my throat aching against his palm, breath shallow, heart trembling beneath my ribs, unsure of what I should do. Unsure whether I was even capable of saving myself this time.

Fight, Anvaya, my consciousness screamed, its voice echoing somewhere distant, like a plea in the dark.

I did. I had fought before - countless times - against fear, against people, against fate itself.

But this time - this time my body refused to move.

The fear felt too familiar.

My breath caught in my throat as I shut my eyes tightly, whispering silent prayers that this wasn't who I thought it was.

But-

My thoughts cut short when his grip suddenly loosened.

I gasped, my body collapsing forward, ready to hit the ground - but it didn't. Strong arms caught me mid-fall. My head spun, thoughts scattering like leaves in a storm while my pulse thundered in my ears.

What's going to happen to me now?

Did I get caught?

Was this whole runaway... for nothing?

Am I dying?

The chaos inside me froze when his voice finally broke through the silence.

"Anvaya," he said softly, and yet his voice carried power - steady, low, and strangely gentle. "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

My head snapped up.

And that's when I saw him.

Kaaryaksh.

He stood there, mask pulled down, his sharp features illuminated by the faint light filtering through the window. His cold, lifeless eyes - the ones I'd seen so many times - were no longer empty. They held something foreign, something I wasn't used to seeing in him. Concern.

For the first time, I saw his eyes soften.

His grip around me wasn't forceful anymore. It was protective. Careful.

A wave of relief washed over me, warm and dizzying - but beneath it, another current stirred. Fear. It still lingered, crawling under my skin, whispering reminders of what I'd just felt, what I'd just remembered.

He helped me stand, and my legs barely obeyed. I could feel the faint tremor in my knees, the cold sweat clinging to my back. My skin prickled with unease, with the ghosts of what I had thought was happening.

Because I had truly believed for that one terrifying moment, that the past had come to claim me.

Will Kaaryaksh hate me if he ever finds out what I've been hiding?

Will he leave me?

"I'm fine," I whispered, forcing a smile that didn't reach my eyes.

But my voice betrayed me - it trembled, breaking slightly at the end.

He didn't respond. Instead, without warning, he swept me up in his arms again.

I gasped, startled, "Kaaryaksh-" my hands instinctively clutching his shoulders as one of his arms slipped under my legs and the other steadied my back.

"Aksh, someone might see us," I murmured, glancing anxiously around the dimly lit street. "You know what'll happen then..."

He didn't answer.

He just walked - firm, silent steps - toward a black car parked nearby.

The driver and guards moved with practiced calm, as though nothing was out of place. As if they didn't find it odd that their employer, who was married, was holding another woman so close to him. The headlights flickered once, and one of his guards - expression unreadable - opened the back door for him. He stepped inside with me still in his arms.

My fingers finally loosened their grip from around his neck as he set me down gently between his legs. The door clicked shut, sealing us away from the world.

The car interior was dim, quiet. And yet, what unsettled me most wasn't him - it was them.

I stared at the men outside through the tinted glass, confusion tightening my chest. They acted as though nothing unusual had happened - as if it were completely normal to see their boss holding me.

Not Viola.

"Kaaryaksh," I whispered, turning to him, eyes wide. "What's this?"

He said nothing. His gaze stayed fixed on me, unreadable.

"Why are they behaving as if I'm not some outsider?" My voice cracked slightly. "Won't they tell Viola?"

The name itself made my heart twist painfully.

Viola.

Her face flashed in my mind - that cruel, perfect smile. The way she had ruined me without raising her voice. The way she must've smiled when I lost my job because of her.

Cold fear seeped back in, curling around my chest.

If she found out I was with Kaaryaksh - like this - she'd destroy me all over again.

The thought made my stomach drop. A chill ran through me, settling deep in my bones. If she found out... if she even suspected...

I wriggled slightly, panic starting to return. "Let me go, Kaaryaksh. Please. She'll hurt us if she gets to know about this-"

But before I could finish, his hand came up.

His fingers brushed my jaw, firm yet gentle - and then his lips met mine.

My breath caught. My eyes widened in shock.

His lips moved against mine slowly, deliberately, as though he was taking his time to erase every word, every fear I'd just voiced. The world outside disappeared - it was just his warmth, his scent, his heartbeat echoing against my chest.

My eyes fluttered closed. Yet, i still hadn't given in. My heart was trembling beneath the ribs, fear, anger, frustration still lingering around my heart. My thoughts had slowed down from the kiss, but the emotional turmoil raging inside me had left me feeling lost.

I gulped. And then - I gave in.

It was better to let him make me forget everything for now than thinking everything over and over until I lost my mind.

His other hand slid around my waist, pulling me closer, until my back pressed fully against his chest. The kiss deepened - not rushed, not forceful - but steady, like he wanted to remind me he was real.

When air became scarce, I tapped on his thigh, and he finally pulled away.

I gasped softly, chest rising and falling as he turned his head slightly. "Drive to area 96," he commanded, his voice once again low and composed.

The car began to move, smooth and quiet. The backseat was wide, separated by a dark glass partition that cut us off from the driver.

My nerves surged again. "But, Aksh... I need to be home on time. Mimi and Nitya will worry. I didn't even tell them where I was-"

"Will you stop panicking, Anvaya?"

The irritation in his tone was unmistakable - sharp, almost foreign. For the first time I heard him seriously irritated.

My mouth snapped shut.

For a moment, I sat still, biting the inside of my lip, feeling a strange heat in my chest. It wasn't just fear now - it was something else. A quiet ache that came from being scolded by him.

I didn't even realize I was sulking until I noticed the way I'd turned slightly away, pouting like a child.

I'd never imagined I could act this way - not me, not the person who'd learned to be strong and guarded. But with him, I was different. Softer.

Even then, the thoughts refused to leave me. The fear, the memory, the someone who haunted me - they all lingered, whispering through the cracks of my mind.

Thank God my assumption had been wrong. If it hadn't been him tonight...

I shivered.

That particular night, those months - those memories - they weren't something you remember. They were something you survive.

But the mind never truly forgets. It replays. It taunts.

I wish it didn't.

Kaaryaksh shifted, his hand coming to my chin. With a silent pull, he guided me to turn around, straddling his lap, my legs circling his waist. His grip was steady, grounding.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my forehead lightly against his, and simply stared.

His eyes met mine - deep, unreadable - and for a fleeting moment, everything outside that car ceased to exist.

My palms came around his jaw, before I slowly attached our lips.

I couldn't understand how my desires had learnt to heighten whenever I was around him. I couldn't understand this pull to feel him closer, in me. On me. It was weird. Unexplainable.

Irresistible.

But was it justified?

He was marr-

"Will you stop using your brain?" His words mid-kiss pulled me back to reality.

I raised my brows, baffled, "Huh?"

His eyes bore into mine.

"Next time when you kiss me, just kiss me. Don't think about anything."

My heart shook at his words, a silent way to think irrationally now.

"I need to tell you something tonight."

"What is it?"

"Something you should know to clear your mind from the thoughts you were having just now." He replied calmly as ever. But my eyes widened hearing him.

"How do you know what I was thinking?"

He chuckled quietly, "Because I know you."

And our lips joined again.