Chapter 1: The Return
Shanaya Sharma pressed her phone to her chest as if that could stop the message from echoing in her mind.
You’re mine, Shanaya.
Three words that felt like a promise and a threat all at once.
Shanaya had always been the girl who wanted simple things—a quiet life, her MBA degree, her own small business. At twenty-two, she was known for her kind heart, her delicate beauty, and her stubborn hope that she could make her own choices.
But nothing about her life had ever been simple, not since she first met Lakshya Malhotra, the man people called both a savior and a monster.
Lakshya Malhotra—thirty years old, billionaire owner of Royal Highkings Hotel and a vast empire of properties and businesses. A man with a reputation for ruthless power and an almost unnatural magnetism. To the world, he was untouchable. To Shanaya, he was the dark-eyed stranger she’d never been able to forget.
Her heart thudded in her ribs as she paced her narrow flat, trying to convince herself this was just another of Lakshya’s games. He had always been a phantom in her life—drifting in and out, testing the limits of her resistance.
But this time, she felt it in her bones. He was serious.
Her phone buzzed again. Another message.
Open the door.
“No,” she whispered, even as her feet betrayed her, carrying her to the entrance. Her hand trembled as she rested it on the lock.
And then she felt him—his presence on the other side, calm and certain.
Slowly, she turned the knob.
Lakshya stood there, tall and composed, wearing a black suit that fit his broad shoulders perfectly. His hair was neatly swept back from his striking face—sharply cut jaw, high cheekbones, and eyes as dark as midnight. The air around him seemed to hum with quiet authority.
Everything about him reminded her why people feared him—and why some women would do anything to be claimed by him.
“Hello, Shanaya,” he said, his deep voice smooth as velvet. “It’s been too long.”
She swallowed, her throat dry. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Shouldn’t I?” His gaze traveled over her slowly, lingering on the soft fall of her hair, the delicate line of her neck, the way her body tensed as if it already knew what he could make her feel.
“You don’t have the right to walk into my life like this,” she whispered.
His mouth curved in something close to a smile. “I don’t need permission to take what’s mine.”
“You think you own everything, don’t you?”
Lakshya stepped inside without waiting for her to move, shutting the door behind him with a soft click. The sound made her heart thud harder.
“I own what I protect,” he said calmly. “I own what I fight for. And I will always fight for you.”
Shanaya backed away until she felt the wall behind her. “I’m engaged. You have no claim over me.”
“Engaged to Utkarsh Kapoor?” Lakshya’s eyes narrowed slightly. “A man who doesn’t have the strength to keep you safe? Who doesn’t even see you?”
Utkarsh Kapoor—her father’s friend’s son. Twenty-five, gentle, and safe. He’d asked her to marry him out of love she couldn’t return, and she had accepted out of duty.
“You don’t know anything about what I feel,” she said, trying to steady her voice.
“Oh, but I do.” Lakshya’s gaze pinned her in place. “I know that no matter how much you try to deny it, you’ve never stopped thinking about me.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
He stepped closer, close enough that she could feel the heat of his body, smell the expensive cologne that clung to his skin. One gloved hand lifted, hovering just over her cheek, as if he was waiting for her permission to touch her.
“You can pretend you don’t want this,” he murmured, his voice low and dangerous. “But we both know you were always meant to be mine.”
Her pulse pounded in her ears.
“You’re insane,” she whispered.
Lakshya smiled, and the darkness in it made something inside her tremble.
“No,” he said softly. “What’s insane is thinking I’d ever let you belong to another man.”
His fingers finally brushed her skin, a delicate touch that felt far too intimate.
“In one week,” he said, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw, “you will marry me.”
Shanaya swallowed hard, her entire body shivering under his touch.
“I won’t,” she breathed.
His smile turned wicked. “You will. Because I never lose, Shanaya.”
And deep down, she knew he was right.
