Chapter 1 . CLAIMED BUT NOT CAPTURED
Reeyansh was a man of power — feared by his enemies, respected by his allies, and admired by those who sought to gain from his kingdom’s might. But there was one thing that had eluded him: Ishana. She was a force unlike any other — independent, strong-willed, and stubborn beyond belief. She refused to bend, and for that, she had captured Reeyansh’s attention in a way that no other woman ever had.
Ishana had resisted him from the very first moment they met. Her rebellious spirit irritated him, intrigued him, and for reasons he couldn’t fully comprehend, it consumed him. Reeyansh never tolerated defiance, but with Ishana, it felt like a challenge he couldn’t walk away from.
And that, perhaps, was the problem.
Reeyansh’s feelings had nothing to do with love. It was about control. Possession. He had never been denied anything in his life, and Ishana’s stubbornness was the final frontier he needed to conquer. She wasn’t like the others — she didn’t play by his rules, and that made her more fascinating than any royal beauty or dutiful princess.
“I’ll make her mine,” Reeyansh had declared to himself one evening, the words sharp in his mind. He couldn’t stand the thought of Ishana continuing to live her life freely, outside his grasp.
The wedding ceremony was his solution. A marriage forced upon her, a contract of possession that would bind her to him forever.
It was supposed to be the final move. His triumph over her defiance. The moment she would be bound to him, to his will. He had arranged everything — the hall, the guests, the ceremonial vows. She would be his, and nothing would stand in the way of it.
But as the time drew closer, a strange unease began to settle in his chest. Something was off.
Ishana was nowhere to be seen.
The guests filled the grand hall, waiting for the bride, but she did not arrive. Reeyansh’s brow furrowed. His jaw tightened as he scanned the room, his eyes narrowing.
“Ishana...” he muttered under his breath, his voice low, but filled with an intensity that matched his growing fury.
His mind raced as he stood tall, every inch the prince that commanded loyalty and fear. The ceremony was to begin, but still, no sign of her.
“I don’t tolerate disobedience,” he muttered again, his voice hard, the fire within him burning hotter with every passing second.
His men searched frantically through the palace and the surrounding grounds, but Ishana was nowhere to be found.
Reeyansh’s pulse quickened, his anger rising. He couldn’t allow her to ruin this. She wasn’t just a woman he wanted — she was a woman who defied him. And now she was playing games.
She had made the mistake of underestimating him.
The Prince turned sharply, storming out of the hall, his mind consumed with the desire to find her. Ishana, the woman who dared to walk away from him, had vanished. She had disappeared without a trace.
“I’ll find you,” Reeyansh hissed, his fists clenched in rage. His control was slipping, and that was something he could not tolerate. Not with her. Not with anyone.
