The allure of darkness

"Don't underestimate the allure of darkness. Even the purest of hearts are drawn to it"

-Joseph Morgan

Ronobir was in his living room, pouring himself a glass of whisky, when his sister-in-law walked in, his brother trailing behind her. "Please tell me that what Rishabh is saying isn't true!" she snapped in a tone that meant trouble. Although Ronobir had been waiting for this moment ever since he made his decision known, he had hoped for at least one more day of peace.

Ronobir sighed deeply before turning around, glass in hand and a frown on his forehead, "And what has my brother told you?"

Rishabh gave him an annoyed look as he plonked himself onto one of the big, red, antique couches Ronobir loved so much, "I told her about your upcoming nuptials!"

Ronobir smirked as he took a seat opposite him and watched in amusement as his sister-in-law remained standing, with her arms crossed belligerently, "You can't force a girl to marry you, Ronny, do you know how low that is?"

"I am not forcing anyone. I made a proposition and her father accepted", Ronobir picked up his glass, sipping lazily, before directing his eyes to the amused ones of his brother, "wasn't that what happened Rishabh?".

"It was!" Rishabh answered idly as the girl fumed.

"You two are unbelievable", she huffed, "I have met her Ronny; she's a sweet girl and very young still, she doesn't deserve this!"

"Are you implying that I can't be good for her?", he faked indignation as he watched his friend roll her eyes at him, "that marrying me is a punishment of sorts?"

"We both know that you would break a girl like that", she said as she sat next to her fiancé, "she's too sweet for you Ronny!"

"Ouch", he clutched his chest dramatically, "I'll try not to be offended", he chuckled, "maybe you don't give her enough credit," Ronobir answered. Although there was no denying the fact that it had been her innocent eyes and aura of pureness, that had first drawn him to her, he had also seen something else that night; a passionate fire in her. A dark part that was dying to get out and he'd be damned if he wasn't the one to set it free.

Rishabh sighed, "The thing is Shruti, he needs a wife", he stated, "there's no other way around it!"

At thirty-two, Ronobir had already dodged that bullet long enough, the people under him expected him to be a family man and his mother had been begging for it ever since he turned twenty-seven. Ronobir had never wanted to be tied down to someone for the rest of his life nor he believed in love and things of that sort, the only things that mattered to him were power, his business, and his family; there was no room for anything else. And then he had seen her; so innocent and naïve, but with a fire burning inside her, he had wanted her ever since the moment he had laid eyes on her. He realized he needed her, even more so now that his father's health was failing; it was a matter of time before he was made Boss and every Boss needed a wife. So when he saw his opportunity he took it.

"I know! but why can't you find someone who's willing?" Shruti pouted. She was always complaining about the mob's unfair treatment of women and things like this put her on the edge even more.

"Because I want her!" he spat out with a possessiveness edge to his voice, his entire stance dark and dangerous. It was in moments like these when Shruti couldn't see Ronny, her friend, but Ronobir 'The Ice-Man Chatterjee', the BOSS everyone was afraid of. The one who could command with a mere flick of his fingers and render a whole room speechless, just by walking in. That was the Ronobir she was afraid of, the Ronobir she didn't want Mishti Khanna to meet.

"And when are we going?" Rishabh asked casually, easing the tension that started to grow in the room.

"Going where?" Shruti asked.

"Mumbai", Ronobir smirked, "for the engagement dinner. My fiancée needs to meet me and I need to meet her whole family." He downed the rest of his drink and placed the glass on the coffee table.

"So get your suitcases ready Shruti."

"That statement right there makes me feel like we're back in the dark ages," Shruti snorted as the brothers laughed, completely shameless of their actions.

"Complain all you want Shruti, the wedding is happening", his eyes shone with mischief, "but before that, I need to steal your fiancé for the night."

Ronobir gave Rishabh a serious look and he nodded in understanding, Shruti remained silent and pretended to be entertained by something on her phone, as the brothers walked out of the room. She knew better than to ask questions.

Ronobir and Rishabh strode to the headquarters of the family, where a man was hanging upside down from the ceiling. Some odd things had been happening lately, some delays shouldn't be occurring; four of his men had died this week, and he had to face four wives and tell them their husbands were gone. These people were his family and someone was messing with them and he was going to find out who, nobody went after his family and got out unharmed, he suspected the Bratva, but wasn't going to start a war before knowing for sure.

Ronobir was the boss now, the most powerful of them all and he would bring anyone trying to cross him, to their knees. Rishabh was his underboss and Rudra remained as the consigliere but there was no one better at torture than Sikander, his favorite soldier, and most trusted man.

That's why he had brought him along; if someone was going to get some answers it was going to be Sikander because he would not allow someone to keep hurting his people. So they spent the entire night in that place, hearing horrific screams and seeing more blood in a single night than most people saw in their entire lifetime.

When it was all over, they washed out the blood and headed to their private plane. Ronobir couldn't wait to see the pretty little thing that was Mishti Khanna, maybe with her light she would be able to erase the darkness that engulfed him when he closed his eyes.

Mishti sat in her bedroom as her mother brushed the long and straight locks of her hair. She was the epitome of perfection, a sleeveless lilac-colored dress graced her body, her lips were painted a soft rose color and her eyes had a fair amount of makeup, she looked pretty but not over the top.

Her father always said she looked like a doll but today Mishti hated that remark more than she had ever before.

"You don't have to do this sweetheart," Mauli Khanna whispered to her daughter as she met her eyes in the mirror. It pained her to see such sadness in her youngest daughter's eyes.

"You and I both know, I have to mother", Mishti bit out, "or all of us are going to end up in the ground". Mishti had a lot of time to mull over her decision the past few days, truth be told, running away had passed through her mind a couple of times but the thought of something happening to her family stopped her each time.

"This is your father's problem, he'll have to find a way to fix it", Mauli said as she dropped the brush on the dressing table and gripped her daughter's shoulder, "I don't want you to be condemned to this life!"

"It's too late for that mother, I was born in this place…it was only a matter of time before I had to pay the price", she looked down, "I was condemned to this the minute my name surfaced in their conversation."

Mauli sighed and stroked her hair softly; Mishti closed her eyes and let herself be caressed by her mother. Her father had told her that the wedding was happening in three weeks and that she would be going to Milan with her husband afterward, which meant she had only these last precious moments with her family, to cherish and remember, before becoming the prisoner of the most powerful man in the country.

The door opened and Pari walked in wearing a tight, red dress and the most devilish smirk on her lips, "Prince charming is here!"

Mishti held her breath for a few seconds before gripping her mother's hand and standing up. She smoothed her dress and headed towards the door with Pari leading the way and her mother trailing behind them.

Mishti had been ready for pretty much anything tonight except for what she found when she walked into the living room. They were three men and one woman; Shruti. Mishti had met her before and had genuinely liked her, until now when she realized that she was a part of their group. But what made her catch her breath wasn't her presence or the two other men who looked as dashing as models. No, what took her breath away and made her legs tremble, were the pair of brown eyes, currently looking at her with amusement. Eyes she had been dreaming of for the last three years.

"You!" she whispered so low that she was sure no one heard her, except maybe him because the corner of his lips tipped into a smirk as he walked towards her.

"You must be Mishti", his eyes sparkled as he looked at her, "I'm Ronobir!"

She stared at him dumbfounded, unable to form a coherent sentence, before lifting her chin and looking straight into his eyes, "Nice to meet you Ronobir!" She trembled as his gaze went to her lips and lingered there for a few seconds.

He took the hand that was resting on her side, and placed his lips on the back of it, in a soft kiss, "Great meeting you too Mishti."

She felt a tingling when his lips touched her but didn't want to give anything away. She released her hand from his grasp and glared at him. In response, he only looked at her with a smirk, as if her behavior had amused him greatly, which in turn made her angrier.

The maid walked in and announced that dinner was served, and as they headed towards the dining room, Mishti's eyes found Veer's, and what she saw in them broke her heart. He looked devastated, she had never seen such sadness in his beautiful gaze and it pained her to know it was because of her, and that they had been robbed of the chance of being together because of the whim of a powerful man.

Ronobir watched the exchange in silence and did his best to control his temper and not cause a scene. He knew infatuation when he saw it and if his child bride had a silly crush on that man; he would not allow it. Once she was his, she would forget about any man she had ever met before.

Dinner was as awkward and painful as Mishti had expected it to be. She learned that one of the other men who came with Ronobir was his younger brother Rishabh, Shruti's fiancé, and the other one who was called Sikander was one of his most trusted men.

Almost the entirety of the night Ronobir, his brother, and her father talked about business while Shruti tried to make small talk with her but Mishti didn't respond much as she wanted nothing to do with Ronobir's clan.

At one point in the evening, Pari put her flirt to the maximum, capturing Ronobir's attention, as she talked about the time she had spent in Italy and what she liked the most. She twirled her hair and smiled seductively and his eyes followed her every move. Pari had always managed to bewitch men and it seemed Ronobir was not an exception. For reasons Mishti didn't want to dwell on too much, that bothered her, Ronobir was here because he was going to marry her and yet he couldn't keep his eyes off her sister, he was supposed to be looking at her not Pari.

With each passing minute she grew angrier; at her father for allowing this nonsense, at Ronobir for doing this to her, and at herself for caring about what he did or didn't do. Mishti was more than glad when her father told them that Ronobir and Rishabh needed to discuss business with him and Ansh and that they were all going to be in his study.

She scurried away and locked herself in her room. The ordeal was over for today but she knew that Ronobir was staying until the wedding, or at least that was what her father had told her. He wanted to spend time with her before the wedding, the thought both angered and excited her at the same time and she hated herself for it.

She tried to sleep that night but her mind refused to shut off, images of him kept plaguing her thoughts, making her unable to stay calm. When she glanced at the clock and realized it was three a.m. already, she got up from her bed and threw on her robe before heading to the kitchen.

Nothing was going to help her sleep except maybe a cup of her favorite mint tea. She prepared her drink and sat on the stool, quietly sipping it. Alone in the darkness, her thoughts strayed to the wedding, how did girls in the past do this? Marry a man whom they barely knew anything about.

"You shouldn't be alone in the dark", the soft murmur of a velvety voice said behind her, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up at the sound, "even though interesting things happen in the dark…sometimes". A single finger touched her shoulder, slowly drifting along the bare expanse of her arm.

Mishti let herself get carried away by the sensation and closed her eyes at the touch, her head lolling to the side as he moved closer.

"I saw you today darling… with that little asshole."

His words made Mishti grow stiff.

"I don't know what are you talking about!" she said defensively as she stood up and tried to move away from him but he stopped her, putting both hands on top of the counter and trapping her between them.

"Don't take me for a fool", he moved closer until his entire front was flushed to her back, "I know what I saw and I will not allow this nonsense to continue."

"I love him!" she said impulsively and regretted it immediately, remembering Ananya's words.

Ronobir chuckled, "You don't love him, trust me."

"What do you know about love?"

"What do you know about love darling?", he pressed his face into her hair and breathed in her scent, "you are too much of a woman for someone like him."

"You don't even know him!"

"But I know his type", he whispered in her ear, "you need someone who can give you passion and danger. Who can make you acknowledge the darkest parts of yourself", his words were like a spell being cast on her, "you need a real man"

"You're insane" she whispered.

"Maybe… and I think you know better than to cross a mad man", his hands moved and gripped her waist from behind, "you are mine Mishti" he whispered before taking her earlobe into his mouth and sucking it lightly. Mishti felt the pull between her legs and hated her body for responding like this to him.

"I don't ever want to see you close to that man again, defy me and I'll send him to you in pieces," he whispered in her ear, his voice no longer seductive but hollow and cold, so cold that it sent a shiver down her back.

He retreated and walked away, the sound of his shoes resonating in the silent kitchen as Mishti remained still, her hands gripping the counter until her knuckles turned white. Her heart beat a mile a minute as the reality of her life sank in.

Bosses of all bosses, her father had said, Mishti knew how brutal a man had to be, to be called that. She was marrying a monster and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Mishti remained in the kitchen for a few more minutes before heading back to her room. If everything that happened until that moment hadn't convinced her tonight was the worst night of her life, what she saw next when she reached the top floor did.

Veer was tiptoeing away from the hallway, shirtless, Pari's door was open and she was leaning against it with a satisfied smile on her face. Mishti felt bile rise to her throat as her sister turned around and saw her, by then Veer had already disappeared around the corner.

"Why?", Mishti asked in a breathless whisper as she walked to her sister's door. Pari wasn't an idiot; she had to know Mishti had feelings for that man.

"You took something from me so I took something from you", her smile was arrogant, "tit for tat darling sister".

"What are you talking about? What could I have possibly taken from you?" Mishti cried out, feeling a hole in her chest that was threatening to choke her completely.

"Don't be naïve Mishti. I have no idea what you did to set his eyes on you, but it should have been me", Pari spat in her face, the smug smile replaced by an angry frown, "I should have been Ronobir's queen, not you, you dull little girl!"

"I never asked for this Pari!"

"And you expect me to believe you?"

"How can you hate me so much?" Mishti asked, her upper lip quivering as tears filled her eyes.

"Stop the melodramatics, Mishti, I won this one. Pretty easy too, he was more than willing", she smirked before turning around and walking inside her room, "and I can assure you he enjoyed it greatly!" she said before slamming the door in her younger sister's face.

Mishti went to her bedroom and cried herself to sleep. Everything was falling apart around her and she had no idea what to do. In a matter of days every dream she'd ever had, was crumbling to pieces.

There was no bright future ahead of her.

Only pain and coldness.