**Evening**

I was standing near the garden area, waiting for Kian. He had messaged me that he would come in 15 minutes and drop me to the pizza shop for my shift.

I saw some beautiful flowers and walked closer. I closed my eyes and leaned in to smell them. The sweet scent made me feel a little calm. For a moment, everything felt peaceful.

When I opened my eyes… Aryan was standing right in front of me.

My heart jumped. Fear rushed through me.

“Aryan… what are you doing here?” I asked, my voice shaking.

Before I could step back, he grabbed my wrist tightly and pulled me behind a thick tree, away from everyone’s eyes.

His touch felt… strange. Familiar. Like I had felt it somewhere before. But I couldn’t remember when. My mind was too scared to think properly.

He pushed me against the tree trunk and put both his hands on either side of my head, trapping me completely between him and the tree. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t even move.

I was so scared.

*Kian warned me… not to get close to anyone. Not boys, not girls. If he sees this… he will punish me again. He will be so angry.*

Aryan leaned closer. I could feel his warm breath on my lips. My back pressed harder against the rough tree.

“Don’t you dare…” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I have a boyfr—”

I stopped suddenly.

If I said I have a boyfriend, and Aryan told Kian… Kian would be hurt. He would think I betrayed him. I couldn’t do that.

Aryan smirked, noticing I stopped.

“Scared of me?” he asked softly, but his eyes were dark. “I’m not that bad, baby girl.”

He came even closer. His body was almost touching mine. I could feel his breath on my skin. My heart was beating so fast it hurt.

I don’t know why… but a small, confusing part of me wanted him to touch me. To hold me. But I knew it was wrong. I can’t cheat on my boyfriend. A is the one who held me when I was broken. A is the one who made me feel wanted.

I can’t do this.

Aryan’s eyes suddenly narrowed. He noticed the red bite mark on my neck. His fingers brushed over it.

“What the hell is this?” he asked, his voice turning cold and dangerous.

I flinched.

He pressed me harder against the tree.

“Let’s make a deal, baby girl,” he whispered, his face inches from mine. “Be my friend… or I tell Kian everything.”

My eyes filled with tears. I was trapped. Scared. Confused.

I didn’t know what to do.

She still can’t recognise me.

My Mishri… my innocent little baby.

I stood so close to her, my body pressing her against the tree. She looked up at me with those big, scared eyes behind her glasses, breathing fast, like a lost kitten.

*It’s me, baby girl.*

*Your A.*

*Your boyfriend.*

I saw it then — the red mark on her neck. Fresh. Dark. Someone had bitten her. Kissed her hard. Claimed her.

Kian.

My blood boiled. My jaw clenched so tight it hurt.

*You touched what’s mine, Kian. You trapped her. You hurt her.*

But don’t worry, Mishri. I will always protect my girl. I will destroy anyone who touches you.

She looked so innocent standing there, trembling, cream still on her face from earlier. My heart twisted. How can anyone hurt someone so pure? How can they make her cry?

I reached out slowly and gently pulled her glasses off her face. I brought my face very close to hers, so close that our noses almost touched. I could see her eyes clearly now — wide, scared, beautiful.

“Meet me at the club after your shift,” I whispered, my voice low and dark.

She shook her head quickly. “No… I will not.”

I smiled. A slow, dangerous smile.

I took her bag from her shoulder and her phone from her hand. I held them up, out of her reach.

“Want these back?” I asked softly. “Then come tonight. Club. After your shift. Alone.”

Her eyes filled with tears. She looked so small. So helpless. So mine.

I stepped back, still holding her things.

“See you tonight, baby girl.”

I turned and walked away, her phone and bag in my hand, my heart burning with obsession.

*You will come, Mishri.*

*You always come back to me.*

Aryan walked away from the tree with Mishri’s bag and phone in his hand, a dark, satisfied smile on his lips.

*She will come.*

*She has no choice.*

He wanted tomorrow — Valentine’s Day — to be perfect. A new beginning. A good memory. He had already arranged everything at the Midnight Club. Private. Empty. Just him and his little kitten.

**Midnight Club — Night**

The club was dimly lit with soft red lights. Aryan had booked the entire VIP section. No one else was allowed inside. Roses were scattered on the table, soft music played in the background, and a single candle flickered between two glasses.

“Mishuuu… my little kitten… come fast naa…

I have done so many arrangements. There is no one here. Just you and me.

I will tell you the truth tonight… and I will apologize for my mistake.

That misunderstanding… because of which you started hating me.

Come, kitten. Let me fix everything. Let me love you the way you deserve.”

*Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day… and I will make sure it becomes the best memory of your life.*

He smiled slowly, dangerous and loving at the same time.

“Just come, my little kitten…

I’m waiting.”

Aryan walked away from the tree with Mishri’s bag and phone in his hand, a dark, satisfied smile on his lips.

*She will come.*

*She has no choice.*

He wanted tomorrow — Valentine’s Day — to be perfect. A new beginning. A good memory. He had already arranged everything at the Midnight Club. Private. Empty. Just him and his little kitten.

---

**Midnight Club — Night**

The club was dimly lit with soft red lights. Aryan had booked the entire VIP section. No one else was allowed inside. Roses were scattered on the table, soft music played in the background, and a single candle flickered between two glasses.

He sat on the couch, legs spread, checking his phone again and again. His heart was beating with dark excitement and impatience.

He murmured to himself, voice low and obsessive,

“Mishuuu… my little kitten… come fast naa…

I have done so many arrangements. There is no one here. Just you and me.

I will tell you the truth tonight… and I will apologize for my mistake.

That misunderstanding… because of which you started hating me.

Come, kitten. Let me fix everything. Let me love you the way you deserve.”

He leaned back, eyes dark with possessiveness.

*You will come, Mishri.*

*You always come back to me.*

*Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day… and I will make sure it becomes the best memory of your life.*

He smiled slowly, dangerous and loving at the same time.

“Just come, my little kitten…

I’m waiting.”

Aryan had spent hours preparing everything for Mishri. The VIP room was decorated with deep red roses scattered across the floor, soft candlelight flickering on the tables, and vanilla-scented candles burning gently. A small table was set with two chairs, a bottle of juice (since he knew she didn’t drink), and a beautiful heart-shaped box waiting for tomorrow — Valentine’s Day. He wanted their first real meeting to be perfect. A new beginning. A good memory.

His friend Abhay was helping him with the final touches.

“Bro, everything looks amazing,” Abhay said, grinning. “She will love it.”

Aryan nodded, but he was restless.

“I’m going to get the cake from outside. If my kitten comes before I return, tell her to wait for her A. Don’t let her leave.”

Abhay laughed. “Okay, okay. Go fast.”

For fun, Abhay picked up the black mask Aryan sometimes wore and put it on while continuing to decorate. “How do I look, bro?” he joked, striking a pose.

Aryan chuckled and left.

---

A few minutes later, the door of the club burst open.

Kian stormed inside like a storm of pure rage. He had followed Mini’s location through a tracking app he had secretly installed on her old phone. When he saw the romantic decorations and a man in a black mask standing in the middle of it all, something inside him snapped completely.

“You…” Kian growled, eyes red with madness. “You are the one taking my Mishri away from me?”

Abhay turned around, still wearing the mask. “Wait, who are you—”

Kian didn’t let him finish.

He attacked like a beast.

The fight was brutal and savage.

Kian grabbed Abhay by the collar and slammed him against the wall with full force. The sound of bone hitting concrete echoed. Abhay tried to fight back, punching Kian in the stomach, but Kian was unstoppable. He headbutted Abhay, breaking his nose with a sickening crunch. Blood sprayed across the floor.

“You think you can touch what’s mine?” Kian roared, punching Abhay repeatedly in the face. Each punch was harder than the last. Abhay’s mask cracked. His lip split. His eye swelled shut.

Abhay managed to knee Kian in the stomach, making him stumble. But Kian recovered instantly and tackled him to the ground. He sat on Abhay’s chest and rained down punches — left, right, left, right — until Abhay’s face was covered in blood.

“I will kill anyone who comes between me and Mishri!” Kian shouted, voice hoarse with obsession. “She is only mine! Only mine! No one else gets to have her!”

Abhay was gasping, half-dead, blood bubbling from his mouth. He tried to speak, but Kian grabbed his throat and squeezed hard.

“You will never touch her again,” Kian whispered darkly, eyes wild. “She belongs to me. Her smiles, her tears, her everything — only I can have them.”

Abhay’s body went limp. He was barely breathing, blood pooling under his head, the cracked mask still covering most of his face.

Kian stood up, breathing heavily, his hands covered in blood. He looked at the beautiful decorations and smiled darkly.

“No one will take her from me.”

---

At that exact moment, the door opened softly.

Mishri stepped inside.

For a second, her eyes lit up with innocent happiness. The room was so beautiful — red roses everywhere, soft lights, the candlelit table. It looked like a dream. Her heart fluttered.

*Did A do all this for me? For Valentine’s Day?*

But then her eyes fell on the man lying on the floor in the black mask, bleeding badly.

Her world stopped.

“A…?” she whispered, voice breaking.

She ran forward and fell to her knees beside him. Tears flooded her eyes instantly.

“Who did this to you, A?” she cried, her hands hovering over his bloody face, too scared to touch. “Please… wake up… tell me who hurt you…”

Abhay, barely conscious, tried to speak. He wanted to tell her the truth — that Aryan was A.

He struggled, blood dripping from his mouth, and whispered weakly,

“Aryan… Aryan is…”

Before he could finish, his eyes rolled back. His body went still.

He was dead.

Mishri screamed.

A raw, heart-wrenching scream that echoed through the empty club. She fell over his body, sobbing hysterically, her hands shaking as she touched the cracked mask.

“No… no… A… please wake up… please don’t leave me… you promised… you said you would protect me…”

Her cries turned into broken wails. She hugged his lifeless body tightly, rocking back and forth, tears mixing with the blood on the floor.

“You were the only one… the only one who made me feel safe… why… why did they take you from me…”

She was completely broken. Traumatized. Her innocent mind couldn’t process the horror. She kept crying, screaming his name, her body shaking violently.

In the shadows, Kian watched everything with cold, possessive eyes. He didn’t move. He didn’t speak.

He just watched the girl he claimed as his cry over another man’s body.

---