New Delhi
Rathore Palace
Uma sat beside Kiara, gently running her fingers through her hair like a mother trying to soothe a stormed soul.
"My child," she whispered, voice heavy with concern, "why can't you understand? I told you all of this so you could say it in court not in front of your aunt. These truths... they're not meant for her ears right now. Keep them close, hidden in your heart. Speak them only when the moment is right."
She paused, her voice softening even more.
"Tomorrow is an important day for you, Kiara. You know that, don't you?"
Kiara nodded quietly and turned to lie down, saying nothing. Her face, untouched by water for ten whole days, still glowed with that same pale, haunting beauty. Her fair skin hadn't dulled, even under the layers of silence and punishment.
Whenever Kiara said no, Reema found new ways to punish her strange, almost sinister ways. Sometimes, she was forbidden from bathing. Other times, she was locked in complete darkness. Her punishments weren't violent, but they were cruel psychological. And Uma knew exactly how twisted they could be.
But this time... this time, Kiara had done something different something dangerous. And Uma feared what kind of punishment might be waiting after tomorrow's party. For now, Reema was quiet occupied with the celebration ahead.
Uma took a deep breath and watched her sleeping child. Once she was certain Kiara had drifted into slumber, she tucked the blanket around her gently and placed three candles around the room. Kiara was terrified of the dark, but no one was allowed to sleep beside her not even Uma.
Reema had only educated Kiara for one reason so she could sign documents when asked to, and so the world would believe that her uncle and aunt had raised her with love and care. But Uma had used that very reason to give Kiara a real education. At least something real in this false world.
Kiara was sharp. She could understand things quickly. But understanding and living knowledge and experience those are not the same. And all Kiara knew of the outside world was whatever she saw through a narrow window.
Her body was growing. Her mind too. But the fear inside her the fear of the world, of Reema, of betrayal that fear still clung to her bones like cold.
That night, as Uma carefully locked Kiara's room and turned toward her own, she passed by another door slightly open. Arima's door. Reema's younger daughter.
Uma's eyes narrowed.
She sighed, already cursing under her breath, when something made her freeze mid-step soft sobs. Faint but unmistakable. They were coming from inside the room. Someone else was there.
Inside, Arima was gently running her fingers through a boy's hair.
"How did you get in, Arun?" she asked, her voice broken with tears and longing.
Arun didn't answer right away. His fingers toyed with her hair as his voice deepened.
"Just shut up... and keep going."
He pulled her into him, holding her like she was his last breath. The sobs faded into silence.
Uma turned away in disgust. She had seen enough. But just as she took a step back, she heard Arun's voice again low, rough, and sharp like a blade.
"You promised me something, remember?"
He paused.
"You said you'd give me that bastard sister of yours."
What about the deal, baby?"
Arima paused, her fingers gliding softly over Arun's chest as she looked up at him, teasing, calm, seductive.
"What's the rush?" she whispered. "Spend this night with me. You can have her later."
But Arun's face darkened.
In one sharp move, he pushed her back and hovered over her, eyes burning.
"I want her now," he growled. "You haven't even let me look at her not once. And you're asking me why I'm in a hurry? I want that girl tonight. Do you hear me? I want her badly."
His voice was thick with obsession, and for a second, Arima froze. Something in Arun's tone sent a chill down her spine. Then slowly, he lay beside her again.
Outside the room, hidden in the shadows, Uma stood frozen too. Her blood turned cold the moment she heard Kiara's name fall from Arun's mouth. A deep, gut-wrenching dread began crawling through her chest. Something was wrong terribly wrong. And Arima's next words confirmed every fear Uma had buried inside her.
Arun's voice cut through the air again like a blade, wild and determined.
"Then let's do it now," he hissed. "She's on the upper floor, isn't she? Let's go. I need to see her tonight."
"No!" Arima snapped, trying to keep her composure as she sat up, her eyes narrowing. "Arun, please. Don't behave like some lust-blind playboy. Just... wait."
She drew a breath, then spoke with measured, icy calm.
"Tomorrow night is the biggest party of our lives. By then, Raima and I will be crowned as the new queens of the Rathore empire. Mom said Kiara's chapter will end tomorrow forever. So just wait, okay?"
Arima leaned closer, her voice now like poison laced with sugar.
"She'll sign those papers before the party. Everyone will be too distracted by our coronation to notice anything else. After that, I'll be queen, Raima will be queen... and you will be king. We'll have everything our own kingdom, our own empire."
Her voice dropped lower.
"Can't you wait just one night for a crown like that?"
Arun smirked slowly, touching her lips. "Fine," he whispered. "Just one night. But after that... she's mine."
Arima smiled seductively and caressed his cheek with both hands, her voice smooth, honey-dipped with cruelty.
"But one condition," she whispered in his ear. "You'll have to kill her. By the morning after tomorrow... she must not be alive. Understand?"
Her eyes gleamed with fire.
"She must die. Once she signs those documents, she's a threat to us. She can't be allowed to walk out alive. Once she's gone... everything will belong to us."
Her breath hitched as Arun moved closer again, their bodies entangled in the dark.
But outside that very room, Uma's heart was thundering in her chest.
She stumbled back, her breath shaky.
Kiara.
The girl she had raised.
The baby she had cradled in her arms the day she was born.
The child entrusted to her by the "Badi Malikain" with honor and love.
So all of it... all of it had been a lie?
They had said they would send Kiara to an orphanage to "free her" from the Rathore name. They had promised that once she signed the documents, she would live a simple, safe life, far from this royal madness.
But now... now the truth stood naked in front of her.
They were planning to kill her.
Tears burned Uma's eyes, but she didn't let them fall. Her mind reeled.
"Was this why I raised her?" she thought bitterly. "Was this what I kept her alive for? So one day they could murder her in cold blood and that too in front of my eyes?"
"No," she told herself firmly. "I won't let this happen. Not to my Kiara."
Uma clenched her fists. Her memories flooded her of the time when she was a lost woman with nowhere to go, and the elder Rathore had offered her a home, a purpose. He had placed that infant her Kiara into her hands and said, "From today, you are her mother."
And Uma had raised her like one.
She had watched Kiara take her first steps. Wipe her tears after every fall. Whisper stories into her ears every night so the darkness wouldn't win.
And now, they wanted to take her from her? Kill her?
No. Never.
"What will I tell the elder Malik and Malikain?" her heart cried. "How will I ever face their memory if I let their child die?"
Uma wiped her tears roughly and stepped into the lift, her mind clear.
She had made a decision one that would change everything.
It wouldn't be easy. It would be dangerous. But she didn't care.
Even if it cost Uma her life, she would protect Kiara.
She had raised that girl like her own. And now, she would save her like her own.
Because Kiara was her responsibility.
And no one... no one was going to touch her.
Not while Uma was breathing.
Sky Island
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Sky Island was under extreme security lockdown.
Aarohn Warner's convoy was parked discreetly near the edge of the central zone, black and bulletproof, like shadows that refused to disappear.
Four massive ships were slowly approaching the island from the front, slicing the water like predators. Aarohn stood still, eyes locked on the horizon. Then, without looking at anyone in particular, he turned his cold gaze toward Raghav and asked in a low, controlled voice:
"How much longer?"
Before the words even settled, Ruhel answered quickly, nervously:
"Aarohn just five seconds. But this could cost us crores. Think again, please. Let the ship dock once... after that we can..
"Shut up."
The force of Aarohn's voice cut him off like a blade. Ruhel's words died mid-sentence as silence dropped over the team like a noose.
"Do what I said," Aarohn commanded without emotion.
Everyone glanced at one another uneasy, anxious but no one dared to argue. They shut their eyes tightly in anticipation. All except Aarohn. He didn't even blink.
Five seconds passed.
Then
BOOM.
A massive explosion ripped through the island's edge, right where the ships had been headed. The blast echoed across the sky, and debris from the shattered vessels flew like knives in all directions. People instinctively covered their ears, ducking as the shockwave hit.
But Aarohn...
He stood motionless.
That same deadly smile stretched across his face the one that always appeared right before someone lost everything.
Tilting his head slightly, Aarohn looked toward the smoking wreckage of the ships. Then he flicked his lighter closed, dropped it near a pool of saltwater, and turned toward his mansion, walking away slowly.
Between his fingers was a cigarette untouched by the chaos.
And on his face... the same calm, heart-burning grin that sent fear down spines.
Inside the bulletproof vehicle, Raghav was still recovering from the shock, fuming as he turned to Ruhel.
"This man's crazy, bro. You seriously don't think so?"
Ruhel, unbothered, shot him a side glance and replied coolly:
"Every single member of the Violet Gang is psycho, including you. But Aarohn... don't even compare. That man's getting more cruel and more aggressive by the day."
Raghav scratched his head with the barrel of his gun and muttered, "Still... Simon must've had some guts. He had no clue he was betraying a f*cking lion. Maybe the only reason he got a quick death is 'cause he was part of the Violet Devils. Otherwise..."
He gestured with a hand boom, like someone getting ripped apart.
Ruhel nodded slowly, taking a deep breath.
"Yeah," he said, glancing at Raghav. "I'm heading to enjoy a bit. Aarohn's fuse is short today no idea who he'll explode on next. You should come too. Might as well have some fun while we're still breathing."
Raghav leaned back, thinking... wondering.
What happens when the devil himself starts losing control?
Rathore Palace
Kiara was fast asleep lost deep in a world far away from the horrors of her reality.
Beside her, Uma sat quietly with a bowl of food in her hands. She gently held Kiara's hand, her voice barely a whisper as she spoke, "Kiara beta... open your eyes."
Kiara stirred, waking slowly. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, but she sat up instantly at the familiar softness of Uma's voice.
Uma, now holding her hand tightly, looked into her eyes and spoke with a calm seriousness, "Kiara... I know you've never seen the world beyond this window. But today your Maapi wants to ask you for something. Just once. Will you give it to me?"
Kiara blinked, slightly confused, then smiled softly. "But Maapi... you already have everything. What more could you possibly need?"
Uma leaned forward and kissed her forehead, her eyes glistening with emotion. "Listen to me carefully, beta. You have to leave this house before tonight's party
Anju will take you to a hidden dock near the Mumbai shoreline," Uma explained, holding Kiara's hands tightly.
There'll be a blue ship waiting for you."
She paused, voice trembling slightly, then added, "You must get on that ship, Kiara. That's all you need to do. Will you do this for me, my girl?"
Kiara looked at her with innocent concern, her voice low, "What's on that ship, Maapi?"
Uma cupped her face and smiled with a heaviness in her chest. "Where that ship takes you... there'll be a woman, just like me. She's one of us. She'll take care of you like I did. She's yours... You'll be safe, Kiara."
Her voice cracked.
"But if you don't leave today... if you don't escape this hell tonight... then..
Kiara quickly interrupted, holding Uma's hands in her own.
"Okay, Maapi. I'll do exactly as you say. Please don't cry. I don't like it when you cry..."
Uma broke into quiet tears, placing a kiss on Kiara's head. Her voice softened again, "I knew my Kiara would understand me..."
But in that very moment
A sharp voice cut through the room.
"What's going on here?"
The air went still.
Both Kiara and Uma froze. Their hearts thudded violently in their chests.
Uma's eyes closed, breath caught in fear. That voice... they knew it too well.
And when they turned
She stood there.
The woman.
Staring at them with eyes full of suspicion, rage, and control.
How will Kiara finally meet Aaron?
Will he end her story... or write her into his own?
Keep reading, darling. You're mine
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