Unspoken Turmoil

Aditya stormed into the mansion, his footsteps heavy against the marble floor. The usual warmth of his home, the laughter and teasing of his family, felt distant tonight. His father watched him closely from the study, his mother exchanged glances with his brother, but no one spoke.

They knew him too well.

Aditya Singh was not a man who acted without reason. And tonight, something was different. The storm in his eyes, the rigid way he carried himself—it wasn't just anger. It was something deeper.

Instead of going to the dining hall where his family usually gathered, he walked straight up to his room, slamming the door behind him. The silence inside was deafening. He leaned against the wall, shutting his eyes for a moment before exhaling sharply.

His mind replayed the events of the day.

"I don't share what's mine."

He clenched his jaw, his own words echoing in his head like a siren he couldn't silence.

What the hell was that?

Since when did Avira become his?

Since when did he care if another man looked at her? Why did he feel like tearing Mehra apart the second his eyes lingered on her for too long? He wasn't the kind of man who lost control. He dictated his emotions, controlled every reaction. But today—today, something in him had snapped.

His grip on his emotions had faltered.

His possessiveness had surfaced.

And what was worse—he didn't regret it.

He let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. This is not who I am.

Yet, no matter how much he tried to rationalize it, one truth remained—something about Avira stirred a part of him he wasn't ready to face.

Meanwhile, across the city, Avira dragged herself inside her flat, exhaustion pressing down on her like a weight she couldn't shake. The moment she shut the door behind her, she let out a deep breath, her body sinking into the nearest couch.

Ananya, who had been curled up reading a book, looked up immediately.

"What happened?" she asked, noticing the fatigue in Avira's posture. "How was your day?"

Avira gave a dry chuckle. "Eventful."

Ananya frowned, setting her book aside. "Spill it."

And so, she did.

She told her about the meeting, the way Mehra's gaze had made her skin crawl, how she had instinctively moved closer to Aditya, and most of all—the way Aditya had pulled her away, his grip possessive, his words dangerous.

Ananya's eyes widened. "He said what? 'I don't share what's mine'?"

Avira nodded, rubbing her temples.

Ananya stared at her in disbelief. "And you're just sitting here like this is normal?"

Avira sighed. "What do you want me to say? It was weird, yes. But I don't have the energy to overthink it."

Ananya opened her mouth to say something but then closed it, shaking her head. "Fine. But Mehra—his behavior—are you okay?"

Avira forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

Ananya let it go, but she knew Avira better than that.

That night, as the world settled into slumber, Avira's past refused to let her rest.

It came creeping into her dreams, turning them into nightmares.

"Please… let me go."

Her voice was hoarse, broken with desperation.

"Make me out from here! Please don't do this… Don't touch me!"

She thrashed in her bed, tangled in her sheets, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gasps. The walls of her mind closed in on her, trapping her in a night she had tried so hard to forget.

Ananya jolted awake at the sound of her cries. Without a second thought, she rushed to Avira's side, shaking her gently.

"Avira! Wake up, it's just a dream," she whispered urgently.

Avira gasped awake, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her eyes wide with terror. The room spun around her, her heart hammering in her ribs as if trying to escape.

Ananya sat beside her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. "It's okay. You're safe. Breathe."

Safe.

The word felt foreign to her.

Tears clung to her lashes, her fingers trembling as she reached for the medicine Ananya handed her. She swallowed it with a shaking hand, staring at the ceiling, afraid to close her eyes again.

She didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

Neither did Ananya.

The next morning, Avira forced herself to push past the exhaustion, past the remnants of her nightmares, and get ready for work. But no matter how much she tried to mask it, the dark circles beneath her eyes and the heaviness in her movements betrayed her.

"I'm driving you today," Ananya said, grabbing her keys before Avira could protest.

Too tired to argue, Avira simply nodded.

Aditya stood near his car, his thoughts still tangled in the mess of emotions from the previous day.

But when he saw her—everything else disappeared.

The fire in her eyes was missing.

Her usually confident posture was slightly slumped, her steps less energetic. And her eyes…

They were swollen. Like she had cried herself to sleep.

A sharp, unfamiliar pain settled in his chest.

What had happened to her?

His fists clenched involuntarily. His thoughts were already running in dangerous directions. Did Mehra have anything to do with this? Did someone—?

Raj, standing beside him, nudged him with a smirk. "Boss, stop staring, you're looking too—"

Aditya's glare cut him off instantly.

But Raj wasn't paying attention anymore.

Because his gaze had landed on her.

Ananya.

For the first time in his life, Raj felt something he couldn't explain. His heart stuttered, time slowed, and everything else blurred.

Love at first sight? Maybe. But in that moment, he knew—he was done for.

Aditya, however, had no time for Raj's sudden lovestruck expression. His attention was fixed solely on Avira.

And for the first time, instead of anger or frustration, he felt something far more dangerous.

Concern.

And maybe… something more.