(Samaira’s POV)

I could feel the pressure building in my chest, my breaths shallow as Advait’s words echoed in the silence. His admission was like a jagged stone lodged in my heart, and no matter how much I tried to process it, the more I was left reeling.

"Enough," I forced the word out, my voice trembling with pent-up frustration. "You’ve been saying the same damn thing for months, Advait. Not now, Not the right time. Well, when? When is the right time?" My heart raced, my palms sweating as I stepped closer to him. I could see the hesitation in his eyes, that flicker of something I couldn’t place—regret, guilt? I didn’t know anymore, and I didn’t care. "Why did you leave me? Why?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but I couldn’t let him. I couldn’t wait another second for the answers I deserved.

"Why did you leave me at the altar, Advait?" The words slipped out before I could stop them, the raw pain of that day flooding back, a wound I had kept hidden, buried beneath a thousand questions. I’d never gotten the chance to understand, never got the closure I needed. And now, standing here, I felt the weight of those unanswered questions pressing down on me.

Advait’s eyes darkened, and his jaw tightened as though he was battling with something inside him, something he was reluctant to face. He took a step back, his gaze briefly flickering to the side, then back to me. "It wasn’t to protect you from them, Samaira. I left you to protect you from something far worse, something you’re not ready to understand." His voice dropped to a whisper, but the words cut through me like a blade. "Something darker."

I blinked, my thoughts scattering like leaves in the wind. "What do you mean?" I demanded, my voice shaking with frustration. "What could possibly be worse than you leaving me alone, abandoned at the altar with no explanation?"

Before he could answer, Rhea—her presence always looming like a shadow—stepped forward, cutting through the thick tension in the air. She had been quietly observing, but now, she felt like an unwanted interloper in a conversation I was desperate to have with Advait. "Samaira," she said in that smooth, almost calculated tone, "I think it’s better if you don’t know everything right now."

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. The walls around me felt like they were closing in, and every word I tried to speak was choked in my throat.

"What’s going on here, Advait? Why are you both keeping me in the dark?" I stepped toward him, my fists clenched at my sides, my heart pounding harder. "What do you mean, something darker? You leave me, and then you tell me I’m ‘safe’ when people are literally attacking your house?" The words felt too much, too overwhelming, yet they tumbled out of me like a dam breaking. "What is this life? What is this marriage? And why do I keep being dragged into this mess?"

Advait’s eyes flashed, something dark and dangerous flickering in them. He was struggling, his usually confident demeanor cracking. "It’s not what you think, Samaira," he said, his voice low, but fierce. "I’ve been trying to protect you, to keep you out of all this. You are safe, but not because of me." He paused, and his gaze turned icy. "It’s because of who you are to me."

I froze. The words hit me like a ton of bricks. "What does that mean? Who I am to you?" I repeated, the confusion twisting in my gut. "What does this have to do with me? Why am I the one at the center of all this madness?" I could feel my pulse in my temples, the room spinning around me.

Rhea stepped in, her presence unsettling, her words too smooth, too controlled. "You’re his wife, Samaira," she said, her smile faint, almost condescending. "And that’s why you’re safe." She met my gaze, her eyes sharp. "You think we would let anything happen to you? No one dares to touch you. Not when they know who you belong to."

I couldn’t breathe. His wife? The words reverberated in my ears, each syllable echoing with the weight of a thousand questions. What was this twisted game?

"But why?" I choked out. "Why would you do this? You leave me at the altar and then marry me just to keep me safe from what? From them? What’s really going on, Advait?" My heart felt like it was about to shatter into a million pieces, my head spinning with the chaos of it all. "Why do you keep lying to me?"

Advait’s face darkened, his eyes narrowing. "It’s not that simple, Samaira," he said, his tone almost pleading. "You’re not ready for the truth yet. You think I left you to break your heart, but it was to keep you alive. To keep you out of a war you don’t understand. There are forces at play here that—"

Before he could finish, I snapped. "No!" I shouted, the anger boiling over, raw and uncontrollable. "You can’t keep doing this! You don’t get to hide behind that excuse. Why did you marry me, Advait? Was it because of some stupid plan to keep me ‘safe’? You think that’s enough to justify everything you’ve put me through?"

Rhea stepped forward, her eyes flashing with a warning, but her voice remained eerily calm. "Samaira, listen," she said, taking a step closer to me. "The truth will come, but not now. The less you know, the better."

"No!" I said, my voice trembling with the weight of it all. "I can’t take it anymore. You can’t keep me in the dark like this. I need answers!"

Rhea gave me a soft, almost sympathetic look. "You’re just like Advait described," she said, her voice low and almost affectionate. "Always questioning. Always wanting to know more than you should." She smiled gently, but there was a coldness in it that sent a shiver down my spine. "But trust me when I say, the less you know now, the safer you’ll be."

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, the door slammed open. A guard rushed in, panic written across his face. "They’ve breached the perimeter!" he shouted. "They’re inside the property!"

Advait’s eyes hardened, and without another word, he grabbed my wrist, pulling me closer to him, his grip tight, urgent. "Stay calm," he whispered into my ear, his voice steady, but there was a dangerous edge to it. "We’re not safe here anymore. I’ll protect you, Samaira, but you need to trust me."

I could barely process what was happening. My mind was still reeling from everything Rhea had said, from Advait’s cryptic words, from the attack on the house. Everything felt like it was falling apart.

But one thing was certain—nothing would ever be the same again.