Prologue
The storm howled through the empty streets, rain slamming against the pavement like shattered glass.
The air was thick—heavy with the smell of wet asphalt and something colder, something sharper.
Aanya stood in the middle of it all, her face turned up to the sky, arms hanging loosely by her sides. The rain soaked through her clothes, clinging to her skin like a second layer, but she didn’t move. She just breathed. Deep. Steady. Like she could drown At this moment and never have to face what came next.
A gunshot split the night.
Her breath caught. Her pulse spiked.
Slowly, she turned. The storm was deafening, but the world had never felt quieter.
A shadow moved through the rain, stepping into the dim light of a flickering streetlamp.
Broad shoulders. A dark, rain-soaked figure. The way he carried himself—slow, deliberate—made her chest tighten.
He stopped just short of the light, but it wasn’t enough to hide him.
The moment their eyes met, she felt it. That pull. That weight. Like gravity had shifted, bending the world around him.
He didn’t blink. Didn’t waver. Just stood there, rain streaming down his face, watching her like she was the only thing that mattered.
Low. Controlled. But edged with something dangerous.
Her stomach twisted. It wasn’t just a name. It was a statement. A claim.
Then came the second presence.
A slow, deliberate rhythm.
She turns, her eyes narrowing at the man approaching from the opposite side. His walk is unhurried, his expression unreadable, but the smirk on his lips holds something sinister.
Smooth. Amused. But tinged with something sharper.
His gaze flickers to her first, lingering a moment too long, then shifts to the other man. And just like that—the air turns electric.
They lock eyes. A silent challenge. A warning. A promise of destruction.
The storm rages, but the deadliest force in the night isn’t the rain—it’s them.
And she… she is the storm’s eye, standing between them, fragile yet untouchable.
Her eyes flicked between them.
The first one—the one who spoke her name—hadn’t moved. But his presence was overwhelming, thick with something she didn’t want to name.
The second one—the one who stayed in the shadows—tilted his head, his lips curling into a smile, like this was some kind of game.
Not soft. Not nervous. Not the kind of laugh meant to ease tension.
No, this was something else. A quiet, bitter sound that cut through the rain.
She tilted her head, her eyes glinting beneath the storm.
Her voice was smooth, but her words carried weight.
Aanya Joshi
What is it you both want?
She took a slow breath. Took a step back.
Aanya Joshi
Because if it’s a fight, you’re wasting your time.
She wasn’t afraid. Not of them.
Aanya Joshi
At least know what it is you desire.
But she knew what this meant.
And it wasn’t leaving without a reckoning.
She turns. Ready to leave. But—
Two hands. One on each wrist. Tight. Possessive. Unyielding.
Pulling her back before she could react.
The air disappeared from her lungs.
Sharp. Amused. Unforgiving.
??
And tonight, she’ll choose again.
The rain kept falling. The storm raged on.
But the real storm—the one between them—had just begun.
Comments