Chapter 1 : Tiya's Troubles

*Morning, Tiya's House*

Tiya's sleep was interrupted early in the morning when someone splashed water on her face. It was none other than her stepsister, Lipsa, who had thrown the water. "Get up, princess, who's going to do all the work?" Lipsa yelled. This was a daily routine.

Tiya, though slender and delicate in appearance, was exceptionally beautiful. God had gifted her with such an innocent and lovely face that anyone who saw her would lose their senses. But unlike her face, Tiya's fate wasn't beautiful. The most handsome guy in college, Avyansh, who had been her boyfriend, had left her because she wouldn't let him touch her. And her 52-year-old father, whom she loved the most in the world, had brutally beaten her the previous night, under the influence of her stepmother and stepsister.

Tiya looked at her condition—her cheeks bore slap marks, and her body was covered in bruises. She already hated her stepmother and stepsister, but now she hated her father as well. Her stepmother, Ediya, was a cunning woman. She always pretended to be loving and caring towards Tiya in front of her father, Riday. Lipsa, too, acted like an ideal elder sister. Riday, who was the manager of S.K. Company, was seldom at home due to work. Tiya had always believed that her father loved her deeply, but last night had shattered that belief.

Before raising his hand on her, her father hadn't even asked if the boy who had been caught was really her boyfriend. He had only listened to Lipsa's tears and started beating Tiya. The truth was, the boy was actually Lipsa's boyfriend, not Tiya's.

In his anger, Riday had shouted, "You never cared about my honor. Today you've proven that you're my illegitimate child. I raised you, fulfilled all your needs, and this is how you repay me—an ungrateful wretch!"

Since childhood, Tiya had been enduring the tyranny of her stepmother and stepsister, but she always thought her father loved her. However, today he had made it clear that she meant nothing to him, that she was just a mistake he had been carrying as a burden.

At such a young age, Tiya had faced two of life's biggest betrayals: first, the boy she loved had left her for another girl, and second, her father had declared that she was nothing more than a burden to him. These thoughts swirled in Tiya's mind, and tears streamed down her face.

Seeing Tiya, Lipsa said, "If you don't want to get beaten again, stop crying and get to work."

"I'm very hungry," Tiya said, sobbing.

Just then, her stepmother walked in and said, "Seems like you didn't get enough from last night's beating. Do you want more?"

When Tiya started crying, Lipsa grabbed her hair and warned, "If you tell Dad anything, I'll have you thrown out of the house. Who do you think you are, interfering in my personal matters? I've heard your boyfriend dumped you. You deserve it! Now stop acting and get to work, or I'll tell Dad that you hit me."

Trying to control herself, Tiya said, "I'll do the work quickly."

In pain, Tiya somehow got out of bed, freshened up in the bathroom, and went straight to the kitchen. Her father had already left for an out-of-town office tour early in the morning. Tiya would now have to live alone with her stepmother and stepsister for a few days, so it was better to obey them.

Tiya's entire body ached, and she felt like ending her life, but she couldn't do that. She had to fulfill her mother's dream. After finishing all the housework, hungry, she returned to her room. She was allowed to cook food but not to eat it.

Sitting alone in her room, Tiya sobbed, "Mumma, why did you leave me and go to God? Why didn't you take me with you? I always thought Dad loved me, but he doesn't love me at all. I'm just his illegitimate child. They both beat me, and they treat me so badly. They're all so evil. I promise, Mumma, I'll become very rich one day, and then I'll show them that I'm your daughter." Saying this, Tiya began to cry again.

Tiya didn't know what to do! She couldn't live peacefully at home, and at college, Sahana Rai was waiting to torment her. Sahana was a very beautiful and rich girl at Tiya's college. Avyansh had started a relationship with Sahana after leaving Tiya. When Avyansh accepted Sahana's proposal, she publicly humiliated Tiya, and the whole college had laughed at her.

Tiya didn't know how to stand up for herself. She only knew how to silently endure all the pain. Because her stepmother and stepsister didn't give her any money, Tiya worked a part-time job in the college canteen to support herself. Due to financial constraints, she had taken a one-year gap. She was in her second year of arts and was barely managing to pay her college fees through her scholarship, as she was a topper.

**A Few Days Later**

One night, Lipsa was partying with her friends at a nightclub bar. There were some spoiled rich boys there, heavily intoxicated. Their eyes fell on Lipsa, who was swaying in her skimpy clothes, drunk. They started looking at her lustfully. When Lipsa headed towards the bathroom, the boys followed her and caught hold of her. As soon as they grabbed her, all her drunkenness vanished.

One of the boys said, "Hey baby, come on, let's have some fun."

Another said, "Let's make tonight memorable, baby. Come with us."

They were all heavily intoxicated.

Lipsa, pleading, said, "Please let me go, please."

The third boy said, "How can we let you go, baby? You're so beautiful. Let's enjoy."

In a desperate attempt to save herself, Lipsa suddenly blurted out, "I have a younger sister, who's even more beautiful than me. You can enjoy with her, please just let me go."

The boy, looking at her lustfully, said, "Really? Let's see."

In a panic, Lipsa quickly pulled out her phone and showed them Tiya's picture, saying, "This is my sister, isn't she more beautiful than me?"

The boys stared at Tiya's photo.

Seeing her picture, their intentions became vile. One of them said, "Alright, where's your sister?"

Lipsa, trembling, replied, "She's at home, I'll have to call her."

One of the boys pulled her closer and said, "Then call her, who's stopping you?"

Lipsa could see the lust in their eyes for Tiya. She hesitated and said, "You'll have to pay something for her."

One of the boys said, "We already have you here. Why should we pay for your sister?" He grabbed her tightly. Lipsa forced a smile and replied, "You'll get me, but my sister, as you can see, is far more beautiful than me."

Another boy, glaring at her, asked, "So you want to sell your sister?"

Lipsa, smiling, replied, "Something like that."

One of the boys, in disbelief, said, "A moment ago, you were begging for your own dignity, and now you're bargaining your sister's. How much?"

Lipsa answered, "Fifty lakhs."

Hearing this, three of the boys were stunned, but the fourth one, who had been quiet until now, simply watched Lipsa. He seemed very rich. After a moment, he said, "Done."

Lipsa was shocked but hid it well. The boy pulled out his chequebook, wrote a cheque for fifty lakhs, and handed it to Lipsa, saying, "Call your sister." Lipsa smiled at him and said, "Sure," then dialed Tiya's number.

Tiya answered the call, and Lipsa, pretending to cry, said, "Tiya, please, save me, please! Please save me!"

Hearing Lipsa cry, Tiya panicked and asked, "What's wrong, Di? Why are you crying?"

Sobbing, Lipsa replied, "Please, come to the nightclub bar quickly. Save me, Tiya, please."

Tiya, alarmed, said, "I'm coming." Hearing this, Lipsa hung up the call, her expression immediately changing, and she told the boys, "She's coming."

While Lipsa was pushing her sister into darkness, Tiya rushed to the nightclub to save her, without thinking twice. Tiya didn't want to save Lipsa because she was her sister but because she was her father's daughter. Tiya arrived at the nightclub by rickshaw. She had been there several times before because, often, she had to take Lipsa home after she had drunk herself senseless.

She went inside and saw Lipsa. Tiya was surprised. Lipsa was sitting normally, chatting with people. Tiya approached her and asked, "Di, you seem perfectly fine. Why were you crying?"

Seeing Tiya, Lipsa breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Come, I'll explain what happened."

Lipsa took her to a room, which was a private room, and after going inside, she pushed Tiya and locked the door from outside. Tiya fell to the floor and saw four boys in front of her, who were completely drunk.

One of the boys said, "Man, this girl is actually really beautiful. Tonight is really going to be amazing for us."

Hearing their horrifying laughter, a storm of fear began to rise in Tiya's heart and mind, and she ran toward the door.

But she couldn't reach it. One of the boys grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. Tiya was pleading, trying desperately to free herself, but the boy didn't listen to a word.

The boys began to misbehave with her, and Tiya started screaming loudly, but in the noise of the bar, no one could hear her.

"Sis, save me, please save me!" Tiya screamed like a madwoman. One of the boys slapped her hard and said, "Don't shout too much. You're so proud of your beauty, aren't you? Tonight, we'll break that pride."

Another boy tore the sleeve of Tiya's clothes. Tiya started crying, and the boys had her hands held tightly. Her body was weakening, her courage was breaking. Just then, the door opened, and all four boys turned to look. Tiya also looked up. They saw a shadow on the floor. Then they looked up and saw a man had entered. A flicker of hope arose in Tiya's heart.

She cried out, "Please save me, I will never forget your favor for the rest of my life. Please save me from these people."

In the dim light of the room, the man's face was not visible. It was only clear that he was wearing a black suit, a white shirt, and a black tie. The man looked at Tiya, who was in a terrible state.

One of the boys, threatening the stranger, said, "Whoever you are, just leave. We bought this girl for 50 lakh. It's best if you don't interfere in our matter. You have no idea; I'm the mayor's son. My dad won't let you go."

Tiya, still crying, said, "Please, save me."

"What will I get by saving you?" the man's voice echoed in the room.

Hearing this, Tiya's last shred of hope also shattered. Her body started turning cold.

The mayor's son said, "Your time is up, hero. Now let us enjoy our 50 lakh investment."

The man turned to leave. The four boys once again advanced toward Tiya. The boy who was already holding her legs looked at her with a disgusting grin and said, "Who will save you now, baby? Let's enjoy." Tiya, overwhelmed with fear, fainted.

Just then, the mayor's son received a powerful kick and was thrown ten steps away. His three friends turned to look at him, shocked. In the blink of an eye, the man beat all four boys senseless. He took out his card and tossed it near the half-conscious boys, saying, "You paid 50 lakh for her, right? I'm offering you 1 crore. Get yourselves treated and forget this night and this incident forever."

At that moment, five more men arrived. These men worked for the dangerous man.

One of them, yawning as if just waking up, said, "Did a storm just come through?"

He spoke as though still half-asleep. That man was the first one's brother. They all looked at Tiya. The man in the black suit took off his coat and covered Tiya with it.

His brother said, "Brother, this looks serious. We can't leave this girl here. We should take her with us. Once she regains consciousness, we'll drop her at her home. Should you carry her, or should I?"

The man replied, "That won't be necessary."

He lifted Tiya in his arms, and they all left. Outside, 4-5 luxury Mercedes cars were parked. One of the men opened the door of a Mercedes for the man in the black suit, and he, holding Tiya in his arms, sat inside. His men closed the door, and within moments, the convoy of cars disappeared into the night, leaving a trail of dust behind. Rumor had it that with just a blink of this man's eye, people would disappear overnight.

Who was this man in the black suit, and why had he saved Tiya? Was he a savior or just another devil whose trap Tiya had fallen into? Would Tiya escape her stepmother and stepsister's cruelty? Would there ever be a morning of happiness in her life?