-• do you like me? •-

"If I scream, you'll find seven men ready to bury you alive."

He drops his arm to the side and shakes his head slightly. I see his eyes smile in amusement. Does he hide his face so people don't see what he feels? Because if that is so, it isn't helping him much. His eyes are expressive like colors, existing in darker shades of each, but still so vivid and different.

Then he lifts his gaze and fixes it on me, draining me of the leftover courage. I take a step back in alarm, my hand locating the knob on the door and I grip it tightly for physical support. A cruel glint flashes through his ebony chasms, depth of an ocean in them, holding endless possibilities and dangers, lurking in the darkness with an enchanting surface that shines under the moonlight, a hypnotising blanket webbed with calm threads. His body reeks of dishonesty and deceptions, as though the beautiful vessel is made with perfection to distract you from what exists inside. A soul built to be a weapon, inherently destructive.

I've never seen a man so calmly dangerous. He's rarely violent, his voice never goes above yours, yet you find yourself obeying him. And I hate that. I hate the effect he has on me. It's not healthy. Feeling this way, as though I'm compelled to keep him close despite the threat he's to my mind, a walking hazard that poisons my thoughts, pollutes my soul.

"Don't," I warn him when he takes a step forward.

He is not the one to obey. He's one to rebel. And he does that, he defies me, my warning, as though he's the master of his own world, and it's not him stepping into mine, but me crossing it to enter his.

His proximity steals my breath. I plaster myself to the doorframe, his body hovering over mine, like a dark cloud that's waiting to explode. Then he slowly brings my key to the scanner, taps it once and encloses my hand with his over the knob. The coldness from his touch sends zaps of currents throughout my body and I flinch.

"What are you doing?" I gather enough courage to look into his eyes.

"I don't know," is his reply.

And the knob clicks in place, unlocking the door. It's pushed ajar because of my body, and as I step back, he enters inside, slamming the door shut with his foot.

The room is completely dark, but I stand out against the backdrop because of my shiny dress. He, however, becomes one with the night.

"The- the lights are on the right of the door." I tell him and wait patiently.

A few seconds pass but the lights don't turn on. "Rudra?"

"That's not my name."

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"Whatever you want it to be," he steps closer and I feel his breath on the side of my head. I quickly stumble back in shock, not having expected the sudden intimacy.

"Wha-whatever. Turn on the lights." I grit out.

"No," he states.

I let out a troubled sigh. "Why are you doing this?" I rake a frustrated hand through my hair. "Are you a sadist? Do you enjoy the thrill you feel after scaring me? What do you even want from me, Rudra!?"

"That's not my name!"

"I don't give a flying fuck!" I snap back. "I don't care who you are, what your identity is, and why you hide so much! I just don't! And will you please turn on the lights!? I know you can see me but I can't! Stop playing games with me! I'm not your fucking toy!"

He yanks me close by my waist. I gasp, my hands flying to hold his shoulders in seek of something stable to cling on. "There you go, now you know where I am."

"And also how smoothly you can lie." I clench my jaw, dropping my hands to his chest so I can push him back. He doesn't let me go. "Let me go."

"No."

I feel tears blur my eyesight. It's not that it matters. I can't see anything anyway. But the mental helplessness that I feel is stronger than the physical one.

"What do you want? Do you want to use me as a bait in another of your plan? Lie to me again? Deceive me into thinking you consider me anything more than a pawn in your game?" I fire the questions one after another. "Honestly, why are you even here? We don't owe anything to each other. We don't even exist for each other after the sun rises. And you, Rudra, you're the nightmare that I resent every morning."

"I've never considered you as something to use," he says immediately after I stop. "Yes, I deceived you, yes I lied to you, yes I took advantage of your innocence, but I always made sure the repercussions of my plans never touch you. I've always protected you."

"You're the reason I'm in this mess, Rudra!" I hiss at him, in disbelief of his words. How can he say so easily he has always protected me when he was the one to put me in danger in the first place?

"Princess -"

"I was not ignoring you. I'm cutting you off my life." I interrupt him to make my point.

"What?"

"This is it. This is the end of it. I don't want to be involved with you anymore. Yuvraaj Bhai is not fond of you either. And I don't want to disappoint my remaining brothers by getting involved with you. You're not worth it." I shake my head, pressing harder on his chest to escape his arms. He doesn't allow me, practically confining me to his body like I'm an extra limb he was born with. I give up tiredly.

I feel his hand cup my chin, the flesh of his thumb running along the length of my jaw. "You can decide my worth in your life, Princess, but not my time. It's me who decides that." He enunciates coldly.

"Why?" I ask him, expecting silence and receiving just that. "Why, Rudra? What are we? We're not friends or accomplices. And lovers? Please, we both know that's never happening. So why? Why do you keep pulling me towards you when there's literally nothing holding us together? Or is there? A past? A memory? A promise? Nothing, Rudra. Absolutely nothing." I push so hard that I finally manage to escape his arms. Knowing where my bed is, I locate the nightstand and turn on the lamp.

Soft dim orange light fills my room. I stand straight to look back at him. He's right in front of the door, his burly figure blocking my way out. "Leave."

"Don't tell me what to do." He growls out, sounding pissed off. Did my words made an impact on him? Good. He needs to know stringing me along in the darkness he lives in is not for me, I'm not needed there, I've no reason to be there, and I don't want to be there any longer. The sooner he accepts that, the better for both of us.

"Fine, then I'm leaving." I shrug and head past him. But of course, he's quick to stop me with a chain-like grip around my elbow. I'm yanked back, my arm against his, and my head rising to look into his eyes. "Let me go. Being in the same room as you is suffocating." I seethe.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." I shake my head. "I've just recently got my common sense back. And it tells me strangers are dangerous. You, Mr. Mystery man slash Rudra, are a stranger to me. I know nothing about you. The name I thought is yours, you're saying it's not. What should I hold on to believe you? That you're a good guy because you haven't hurt me even though you're very well capable of that? Do you know how messed up that sounds? I'm contemplating seeking medical health for even thinking to trust you."

He inhales deeply, his chest sinking as he releases the long breath. "I'm coming back to you. Whenever I want, whenever I need. I'm coming back to you."

I try to force my arm out of his grip. He holds it tighter. "You're deranged."

"Maybe." He nods. "You entered this darkness, Princess. On your own. Remember?" He leans down, his nose almost touching mine. "You saw me first, you followed me, you chose this darkness, Princess. You can't leave without my permission."

"I can if I tell my family about you."

He chuckles impassively and flips our position so he has me caged to the door, his arms confining me in the proximity. I concentrate on making sure my body avoids touching his as much as possible.

"Sure, go ahead." He challenges me. "Do it. Tell them about me. Tell the world about me. That's not stopping me. Not from getting my revenge and not from coming back to you."

"Sounds like a confession," I murmur, my voice intentionally softer, gentler. What does men hate most than watching a losing game? Confronting their own feelings. "Is that it, Rudra? Are you saying, in your own way, that you want me?" I tilt my head to the side.

He smirks, his sly eyes dimming my confidence. "Interpret my words the way you want. It doesn't really phase me."

"I'd rather make it clear. Do you like me?" I ask him bluntly.

He stiffens.

"I think you do," I rise to my full height, the confidence returning in my posture. "You like me, don't you?" I continue probing him with the same question. "Tell me, Rudra. Tell me you like me. Tell me why you want to keep coming back to me. Tell me-"

"Shh," he brings his hand to my chin, his thumb pressing against my lips, diminishing the possibilities of my resistance. My heart threatens to burst out of my chest. "There's someone outside," he whispers.

I roll my eyes and slap his hand away. "Stop trying to distract me-"

A knock interrupts me.

My eyes go wide in disbelief as I look up at him. He shrugs, as if to mock me for not believing him before. I clench my jaw and push him aside. Thankfully, this time he lets my strength win against his. I glance up at the wall clock and frown reading the time. It's one thirty in the freaking morning.

Who could it be?

Another knock comes, blocking my thoughts.

"Uhm, wait a minute!" I shout and turn around, turning on the lights of the room. "Don't make a sound." I shove him to the opening side of the door so he remains hidden. He makes an action of zipping is mouth, his eyes dancing in mirth. I take a deep breath in an attempt to compose myself before unlocking the knob.

Ayush stands on the other side, his brows furrowed together.

"Wha-What's wrong?"

"I was returning to my room from the library and saw the orange light under the door slit. Why are you still awake?"

"For the same reason as you." I tell him.

"You were studying for tomorrow's exam?"

I hum, freezing when I feel a long, skilled finger slide up the length of my hip. I quickly swat it away. "You- You should go." I tell him, clenching my jaw when the fingers return with the intention of tickling me. I recoil into myself.

"What's wrong?" He asks me in worry.

"I- I think a spider crawled inside my dress." Is my pathetic excuse.

"Oh," he whispers. "Wait. Now that I see, why are you so dressed up for a study session?" He frowns.

I hold back the urge to scream at him. Why does it matter to him how I study? Even if it's one in the morning and I'm looking like I've a gala to attend. "Da-" I grab the fingers just as they slip to the front, a sneaky attempt to tickle me in the belly. My entire hand falls short to grip his four fingers. "Dad bought it for me. I liked it so I kept it on. He bought something for you and Arush as well."

I see his eyes light up hearing that. "Oh, really? What is it?"

"I don't know. I didn't ask." I lie in order to avoid going into details of it.

He nods in response.

"Can you leave? The spider is starting to go deeper inside," I say and regret it the moment Rudra leans close enough for me to feel his breath on my skin.

"Oh, is it?" He whispers.

I elbow him in the chest. He coughs.

I cough louder to mask the throaty, manly voice.

"Feels like so much is happening to you at once. I'll go. Good night." Ayush gives me a pitiful smile.

"Thank you," I cough again. "Good night." I say and slam the door close.

Before I can turn, he traps me to the door once again. I rest my forehead on the frame in defeat. "You're exhausting, Rudra. All that's left for me is to beg you to get out of my life." I turn around to face him.

"I can't do that."

I gnash my teeth angrily. "I'm seventeen, Rudra. I've so many things to do in life. Getting involved with a possible criminal is not one of them. Don't turn my life upside down because yours is messed up!"

"I'm not a criminal."

"Well, whatever you are, but you're not ordinary either!" I throw my hands in the air. "What will it take for you to finally leave me the hell alone!?"

"Heaven." He replies.

"What?"

"I was born in hell." He clarifies. "Give me heaven, and if you can't, then don't bother cutting me off your life. Because that's not happening."

I rub a hand over my face, completely frazzled with this whole ordeal. "I need to sleep."

"Fine, I'll go." He steps back. "But on one condition."

I raise a brow at him.

"You're not ignoring me again."

"You're not using me again."

He sighs in defeat and nods.

"Unless I want to help you."

That makes him look at me. "Okay."

"And I'm never forgiving you for exposing my secret to Yuvaan."

"Sounds fair." He obliges.

"One more thing," I say firmly, "I'm not keeping quiet in front of my family because I'm dumb or scared, I'm doing it because my brother is involved in this. And if he's your accomplice, then I know it's something important. I've a hint it all surrounds one man, and if he's really as worse as he's perceived, then he must have done something to deserve that. That's all, that is what keeping me quiet. Nothing else. So don't mistake my silence for my fear or submission." I warn him.

"Understood." He nods.

I move aside so he's able to leave. He opens the door and looks over his shoulder at me. "Don't ignore me again, Taranya. That should be the last thing forcing you to turn your back on me."

"Funny, when it's your lies, your secrecy and your deception that did it."

"You're not strong enough to know my secrets."

"And you get to decide that?" I counter sarcastically.

He sighs. "No. Your brother." He shuts the door and I quickly lock it so he doesn't try to reopen it. Leaning against the wooden frame, I slide down in a sitting position and hug my legs to my chest.

I feel mentally exhausted after tonight. The whole chasing, hiding and arguing took a huge toll on me. With a grunt, I get up from the floor and walk up to the bed, falling in the arms of the sleep as soon as I collapse on the bed.

The next morning, during our morning run, Agastya quizzes me on what I've studied so far. I barely answer him. So he makes it his mission to keep an eye on me the whole day as I study at my desk. I don't find it as much annoying as I should have, mainly because I'm still a little shaken up from the last night's incident.

"Ready for your last exam?" Yuvraaj questions at the dining table.

The three of us nod.

"And ready for your vacation?" He asks further.

That captures our attention. "Vacation? Where?" Arush and I chorus.

"Wherever you want." He shrugs. "After you three return from the school, we'll spend the night in game room. Whoever wins the majority of games, gets to throw a dart on the world map." My jaw drops in shock.

"No, way!"

He nods.

"Oh my God!" I shriek and jump from the chair for a Hi-five with the twins. "You're coming along, right?" My eyes switch to Agastya.

He nods with a soft smile.

"Yes!" I sit back on the chair with a beaming grin. "So, when are we going?" I look at my eldest brother.

"I need you to focus on your exam first, Princess." He states curtly.

"Arey, I'm ready for the exam. Don't you worry about it." I wave my hand dismissively, my smile fading when I witness the awed expressions on everyone's faces. "What's wrong?"

"You just said arey," Vivaan points out.

"Oh," I murmur. "Is it a bad word? But everyone in the school uses it. Sorry, I just picked it up." I say sheepishly. I thought it's a good word since everyone uses it on daily basis.

"No, that's not it." Vivaan shakes his immediately. "It's just, that's a very Indian thing to say." He smiles.

I relax. "Your reactions almost gave me a heartattack."

"And you just made us proud." Agastya chuckles.

"Oh, did I?" I raise my non-existent collar. They all nod. Even Yuvaan is smiling. It makes me happy.

The next day, Agastya drops us at school. As I'm picking my backpack from near my feet, he grabs my wrist, waiting for the twins to step out first. "What is it?" I glance at the backseat once the door closes before meeting his eyes.

"Are you sure you're fine? I mean, you're not scared are you? Do you want me to wait in the corridor until you get done with your exam? I don't mind." He offers.

I sigh with a smile. "I'm fine," I tap his knuckles reassuringly.

He nods hesitantly. "If you're not confident about your safety with your bodyguard, call me. I'll drop everything to come to you."

"You think you can protect me better than him?" I tease. "He's got a black belt in Taekwondo. What did you get?"

"My life in exchange."

"He's got it too." I reply.

"Mine matters as much as yours to the people targeting you." He clarifies.

I roll my eyes. "Shut up, Agastya. And don't worry about me. Go and focus on your practice. You've to impress the scouts so bad that they fight over you to get you in their teams."

He chuckles, releasing my wrist as he rests back. Ayush knocks on the window, beckoning me out. I nod at him and send Agastya a wave before stepping out of his car.

He peers from the opposite window, "All the best, guys."

"Thank you." We echo.

We're summoned in the class with the warning bell that rings at twelve. I search for my seat and locate Shourya in the fourth row on the last second bench. I quickly make my way over. Putting my hall ticket on the desk, I unpack my backpack and take out my stationery. My phone buzzes at that moment. I unlock it to check the notification.

Rudra: All the best for your last exam.

I leave it on seen and shove it back in the backpack. The external supervisor enters the class and instructs us to keep our stuff in the racks outside.

I return to my seat and take a deep breath. I'm not hundred percent prepared, but I've done my best. I just hope I score enough to pass. If not, this vacation will be my last. Why? Because my brother will disown me.

Wait for me, Janet. I'm coming.

The supervisor distributes the answersheet and tells us to fill our information. Then five minutes later, we're served with the question paper. I dismiss all the nonsensical thoughts and focus on writing the answers.

It takes me an hour to complete the second section. I solve it first since geography and economics is easier than history. Then I crack my knuckles and prepare to solve the first section.

The bell rings two hours later.

I think I did good.

"When did Allauddin Khilji attacked Chittorgarh?" Arush asks as he goes through the question paper once again.

We're on our way to the parking lot together since we finished our last exam at the same time today.

"26 August 1303." Ayush replies.

Oh. Let's not count that one mark now.

"When did Cold war start and how long did it last?"

"It started on 12th March 1947 and lasted for 44 years and 9 months, so it ended on 26th December 1991."

"Okay, I got that one correct then." Arush sighs in relief.

And I got another wrong.

Maybe I didn't do good.

But I'm sure I'm passing. Ultimately, that's what matters.

I nod to myself and snatch the paper from Arush before he makes me admit I'm failing. I don't want to be depressed for the rest of my summer holidays. "Can we not talk about this?" I ask them as we descend the cobbled stairs of the school building. I miss my school. Because of exams, we were assigned different centers and although this is a private school too, it doesn't really match my vibe.

"Give that- Taranya!" He bellows and yanks me to his side.

I flinch hearing a loud thump. There's a shift in the air as silence prevails, before everyone starts to scream. I look past his chest, and find his horror stricken eyes fixed on something behind me. "What is it?" I struggle to look back.

He hugs me tightly, holding my face into his chest so I don't see what's causing this mayhem inside a school campus.

"Someone committed suicide!" I hear the sentence loud and clear amongst the shrieks.

And it makes my blood run cold.

Uhm, what?

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