Chapter 12 : The Private Confrontation

The air in the palace had grown heavy with tension, every interaction between us charged with unspoken words and lingering glances.

I avoided him when I could, but Virendra had a way of finding me.

Watching me.

Hunting me.

By the end of the week, it became clear: this wouldn’t end unless one of us broke.

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It happened during the evening feast.

The hall was alive with music and chatter, but I could feel his gaze from across the room.

I didn’t need to look to know where he was—Virendra’s presence was suffocating, a constant weight pressing down on me.

When the feast ended, I excused myself, retreating to the palace gardens.

The cool air was a relief, but it didn’t last long.

Footsteps echoed behind me, heavy and deliberate.

I didn’t need to turn to know it was him.

"Do you enjoy running from me, Jayant?"

His voice was soft, taunting, but it carried the unmistakable edge of an Alpha who wouldn’t be ignored.

I turned to face him, my hands clenched at my sides.

"Do you enjoy chasing me, Virendra?" I shot back, my voice sharp.

He smirked, stepping closer. "I’d enjoy it more if you stopped pretending you didn’t want me to catch you."

I glared at him, my heart pounding. "You’re delusional."

"Am I?"

In a single stride, he closed the distance between us, his towering frame casting a shadow over me.

"Tell me," he murmured, his voice low, dangerous. "Do you tremble like this for Udayveer?"

My breath caught as his fingers brushed against my wrist, his touch both gentle and possessive.

"Stop it," I hissed, pulling away, but he grabbed my arm, his grip firm.

"Stop lying to yourself," he said, his eyes blazing. "You think I don’t see it? The way your scent shifts when I’m near? The way your body reacts to me?"

I struggled against him, anger and something far more dangerous boiling inside me.

"You think you know me?" I spat, my voice trembling. "You don’t. You never did."

He leaned in, his face inches from mine. "Maybe not. But I know this—"

Before I could respond, his hand slid to my neck, his thumb brushing against my scent gland.

Heat exploded through me, my body betraying me as a shiver ran down my spine.

I hated him.

I hated him for making me feel this way.

And yet…

"You’re mine, Jayant," he whispered, his voice raw, possessive. "You always will be."

Tears stung my eyes, a mix of fury and heartbreak.

"I was never yours," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

His expression hardened, the mask of control he always wore cracking for a brief moment.

And then, without another word, he stepped back, his eyes burning with unspoken emotion.

"You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me," he said, his voice cold.

And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving me alone in the garden, trembling and broken.

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...Virendra's POV...

The sound of my boots echoed through the empty corridor as I left the gardens.

The night was quiet, yet my mind was chaos.

Jayant’s trembling figure, his fiery words, and the way his scent spiked with both anger and something unspoken—all of it haunted me.

I had thought I could control this.

I had thought I could control him.

But now, I wasn’t sure who was unraveling faster—him, or me.

I found myself in my chambers, standing by the window as moonlight spilled across the cold stone floor.

The flicker of the past danced in my mind: Jayant’s laughter during those blissful months we had spent together, the way his gaze softened when he looked at me, the way he melted into my touch.

Those memories had been my weapons.

Tools to remind myself why I needed to destroy him—to destroy the family that had taken everything from me.

"A scar your family gave to me, and a scar I gave to your family."

That letter had been my triumph.

But now…

The thought of his pain didn’t fill me with the satisfaction it once had.

Instead, it burned.

I sank into a chair, my head in my hands.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Jayant was supposed to be a pawn in my revenge.

Not this obsession that consumed me.

Not the Omega I couldn’t stop thinking about, even when I wanted to.

I exhaled sharply, trying to calm the storm within me.

But his words from the garden echoed in my mind.

"I was never yours."

The anger that surged through me at his defiance wasn’t just about control.

It was fear.

Fear that he could walk away from me.

Fear that he could give himself to someone else.

Because the truth was—he was mine.

And I couldn’t bear the thought of losing him.

For the first time in years, I allowed myself to question everything.

Had I truly been seeking revenge all this time?

Or had I been searching for something else entirely?

The thought terrified me.

Because if it wasn’t revenge that drove me, then what was it?

The answer lingered at the edges of my mind, too dangerous to acknowledge.

Not yet.

I stood, my fists clenched.

I couldn’t let this weakness consume me.

Jayant wanted to fight me? Fine.

Let him scheme, let him defy me.

But I would remind him, time and again, that no matter how far he tried to run, he would always belong to me.

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