
21โA Decision Carved in Fire
Vihaan sat alone in his dark room, the only source of light being the dim glow from the bedside lamp. Shadows stretched across the walls, making the space feel colder, emptier.

Vihaan sat alone in his dark room, the only source of light being the dim glow from the bedside lamp. Shadows stretched across the walls, making the space feel colder, emptier.
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[#2 ~ The Rajvansh Royals] The storm outside rattled the glass panes, but she barely noticed. Her name. Her life. Her scars, catalogued like she was nothing more than an assignment. He stood in the doorway. His usual calm, unreadable eyes flickered with something--fear, regret, maybe both. "How long?" Her voice was barely a whisper. She shook the folder at him, the papers spilling like broken pieces of her trust. "Was this all I was to you?" He didn't flinch. He never did. But his silence was louder than any answer. She laughed then, hollow and bitter. "God, I should've known. I let you in. I let you see me. And all this time, you were--what? Playing me?" His jaw tightened. "It wasn't like that." "Don't you dare." Her voice cracked, but she stood her ground. "Don't you dare tell me this wasn't a plan." Something flickered in his eyes--pain, raw and unguarded--but it only made her angrier. "Did you enjoy it?" she whispered. "Peeling me open. Watching me bleed secrets I've never said out loud? Was it thrilling to you?" He took a step forward, but she backed away like his presence burned. "I didn't expect-" He stopped. "I didn't expect you. I didn't expect this." Her heart twisted, but she forced steel into her voice. "You expect everything. That's your job. That's what makes you so damn good at it. And you knew exactly what you were doing when you touched me, when you kissed me, when you looked at me like-" Her voice broke. "Like it was real." He said nothing. Her hands trembled as she shoved the file against his chest. He caught it automatically, but didn't stop her as she stepped past him. At the threshold, she paused. "You want to know the worst part? For the first time in years, I thought I wasn't alone anymore." She turned, eyes shining with fury and heartbreak. "But you weren't saving me, Agastya. You were destroying me. Just like everyone else." And with that, she walked into the storm, leaving him standing in the wreckage of his own choices.
[#2 ~ The Mehra Cousins] "I'm bored," he complained. "Someone find me a wife." "You're asking for a wife, not a toy," she replied, frowning at him. "Besides, what kind of foolish woman would agree to marry you?" "Excuse me!" he exclaimed, clearly offended. "Women are dying to marry me!" She rolled her eyes. "You wish," she said with a sarcastic smile. He smirked. "You're just jealous." "What would I-" She stopped herself from cursing, remembering they were in the office. "Why would I be jealous?" "Because you love me," he said, nodding as if it were a fact. "You're delusional." "And you are completely, utterly, and hopelessly in love with me," he said, grinning. "Why don't you just marry me and save yourself from the misery of watching me marry someone else?" "Even if you were the last person on this planet, I would never marry you," she snapped. He smirked. "Never say never." โ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ต๐ฒ๐ท๐ฎ has no time for nonsense, especially not the kind that wears tailored suits and a cocky smile. As a sharp-tongued marketing strategist with a reputation for excellence, she's worked too hard to let anyone--especially Aarav Mehra--get under her skin. ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ต๐ฟ๐ฎ, the charming, appealing, heir to his family's luxury hospitality empire, has never met a woman who challenges him quite like Manya. She's infuriating, brilliant, and absolutely immune to his charm, making her the most interesting part of his day. When a family twist forces Manya and Aarav into a fake engagement, what begins as a performance quickly unravels into something dangerously real. Between barbed banter, stolen glances, and the kind of moments that feel too true to fake, their carefully drawn lines begin to blur, and both are forced to confront what's real, what's pretend, and whether love might just be the biggest risk either of them has ever taken.
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