The first rays of the morning were filtering through the high windows of Zain Yan's mansion. The breakfast table was decorated like a royal feast—fruits, pastries, eggs, and hot toast. But there was no sweetness in the atmosphere.
Zain sat at the head of the table, his deep gaze fixed on Aanya sitting opposite him. Aanya looked like a living corpse. She was wearing Zain's white shirt, which was quite large on her small body, making her look even more innocent and helpless.
Zain picked up a piece of toast and slowly moved it toward her.
"Eat this, Aanya," he said calmly but with authority. "You haven't eaten anything since last night."
Aanya's lips trembled, and she turned her face the other way. There was a fire of hatred in her eyes.
"I don't want this!" she screamed. "Let me go home, Zain! You forced me to sign that contract. I will never accept this marriage!"
Zain's eyes turned cold in an instant. He put the toast back on the plate.
"Whether you accept it or not, you are now my wife. And your place is right here... in my house... under my control."
🔥 The Breaking of Patience
Aanya's patience snapped. In one jerk, she slammed the plates, glasses, and cutlery kept on the table onto the floor. The sound of glass breaking and food scattering echoed throughout the room.
"I hate you!" she shrieked and ran upstairs to Zain's room, locking the door from inside. She sat leaning against the door and began to sob.
Just then, there was a loud knock on the door.
"Open the door, Aanya!" Zain's voice was heard thundering. "You are testing my patience. Open it, or I will break it!"
"Go away from here! Leave me alone!" she shouted from inside.
"Aanya... I am saying this for the last time," Zain's voice now became even deeper and more dangerous. "If I break this door, your brother and mother will not be spared. Do you want me to call them right now and tell them where you are?"
Aanya's hands began to tremble. She knew that Zain does what he says. She opened the latch with trembling hands. Zain pushed the door open with a jerk and came inside. Aanya stepped back, but her back hit the wall. Zain placed both hands on the wall and cornered her.
He held Aanya's chin and brought his face close to hers. "Don't try to run away from me," he said, looking straight into her eyes. "Your every breath is mine now. This rebellion of yours excites me, Aanya. Do you really want to see my 'monstrous' side?"
A tear fell from Aanya's eye onto Zain's hand. She said in a tearful voice, "You are a wolf... you only know how to break people."
For a moment, Zain's grip loosened. He wiped her tear with his thumb and whispered near her ear,
"Watch closely, Aanya... whether you break first, or melt in the fire of my love."
He placed his cold lips on Aanya's forehead. This touch set Aanya's soul on fire. She pushed Zain with all her strength and fell into the other corner of the room. Zain didn't even budge. A mysterious smile appeared on his lips.
"Interesting," he said slowly.
As soon as Zain left the room, Aanya collapsed on the floor. The silence of the room was now haunting her. She saw herself in the mirror—Zain's white shirt reached her knees, the scent of which still made her feel Zain's presence.
Aanya touched the sleeve of the shirt with trembling hands. A storm of bitter memories arose in her mind.
Aanya's Inner Monologue:
"So am I really his 'wife' now? A piece of paper snatched my identity. This is what happened before too... the one I loved left me midway. And now, when I started to pick up the pieces of my life, this person imprisoned me. For one year... my whole life has become like a cage. Is only betrayal in the name of love and imprisonment in the name of protection written in my destiny?"
She closed her eyes and remembered her mother's and brother's faces. Her helplessness was now slowly turning into a cold resolve. She wiped her tears and looked into her eyes in the mirror.
"No..." she whispered, her voice now having a different edge. "This time I will not break. Zain Yan thinks he has imprisoned me, but he has no idea that when a prisoner stops loving their chains, they become the most dangerous."
Aanya stood up taking support of the wall. Her hatred was now becoming her strength.
"You called me your 'Empress', didn't you, Zain? So now I will force you to try and run away from your own prison. You want to break me, but I will burn you in the very fire you have lit yourself."
That room of the Yan mansion now looked like a luxurious prison. The sunbeams from the window were dancing on the expensive carpet spread on the floor, but for Aanya, that room was no less than a dark cell.
Just then, the heavy door opened. Zain Yan entered. In his hand was a large black box with a golden 'V' logo shining on it. A maid was walking behind him with her head bowed, carrying a tray and some makeup items.
Zain kept that box on the bed and removed the lid. Inside, that Dusty Rose-colored dress looked like a dream. Its Peter Pan collar and white pearl buttons shone in the dim light of the room. That dress was a perfect example of the softness of an old estate princess and 'Old Money' aesthetic.
Zain ran his fingers over the silky fabric of the dress and then looked at Aanya, who was sitting huddled in a corner of the bed. There was still fire in her eyes for Zain.
"Prepare her," Zain ordered the maid in a cold tone. "The look should be absolutely simple and graceful. I don't like flashiness."
Zain walked out of the room without stopping, without looking back. The sound of his coat fluttering and the cold scent of his perfume remained in the air.
The maid moved toward Aanya with trembling hands, holding the dress. "Ma'am... please take a bath. Sir is waiting."
Aanya looked at that precious dress, which was just another shackle for her. She jerked the maid's hand away forcefully. The soft silk of the dress scattered on the bed.
"No!" Aanya's voice didn't have a scream, but a deep hatred. "I am not some doll to dress up for that wolf. Does that scoundrel think I am his property? I will not get ready!"
Fear began to float in the maid's eyes. She sat on her knees. "Please Ma'am... don't say that. If you don't get ready, Sir will not leave us alive. His anger... you don't know..."
Aanya's heart was just about to melt seeing the maid's condition when...
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The heavy and measured sound of leather shoes echoed on the floor of the room. Oxygen in the air suddenly seemed to decrease. The maid's face turned white, and she immediately moved aside and bowed.
Zain Yan was back.
He stood near the door, one hand in his pants pocket and with the other hand, he was slowly turning his wristwatch. There was no anger in his eyes, just a terrifying silence—the same silence that occurs before a storm.
He slowly moved toward Aanya. His shadow was falling on Aanya's face. There was only the sound of his heavy breathing and footsteps in the room. He stopped so close to Aanya that the blackness of his deep eyes began to swallow her.
He leaned down and touched a stray hair hanging near Aanya's face with his finger. His finger was cold as ice. Aanya's body shivered, but she didn't avert her gaze.
A smile appeared on Zain's lips that could freeze anyone's blood. He said in a low, whispering voice, which reached only Aanya's ears...
The heavy teak door closed with a heavy echo. Zain, without turning back, said only two words in his cold voice:
"Get out."
The maid almost ran out of the room trembling, and the sound of the latch being fixed was heard piercing through the silence. Now there were only two people in that huge room—a predator and his wounded prey.
Zain began to move slowly toward Aanya. There was a strange rhythm in his walk, like a leopard cornering its prey. Aanya kept backing away, until the edge of the bed hit her thighs. She had no way to run now.
"You... you won't listen like this, will you?" Zain's voice was so low it was almost a whisper, but it had a crackle like lightning. "Do you think this small rebellion of yours will stop me? Perhaps you haven't understood me yet, Aanya."
He stopped right in front of her. Compared to Zain's height and broad chest, Aanya looked very small and delicate. The tension in the air was so deep it could be felt.
"If you can't listen to me with love," Zain raised his hand, his fingers reaching near Aanya's neck, "then I will have to show you my 'real form' that the whole world trembles at."
Aanya's breath hitched. She saw Zain's long, steady fingers rest on the first button of her shirt—which was Zain's own.
"What... what are you doing?" Aanya's voice got stuck. She tried to grab Zain's wrist, but Zain's grip was strong as iron.
There was no crease on Zain's face, just a dark passion shining in his eyes. He opened the first button of the shirt in one jerk.
"I am making you what you are from today," Zain brought his face so close to hers that their noses began to touch. "Mrs. Yan. And Mrs. Yan doesn't take a single step without my permission."