tea with devil

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Chapter Five: Tea with the Devil

The invitation arrived like a bullet wrapped in velvet.

A silver envelope, sealed with black wax. Delivered to the hospital by a man in a dark suit who refused to speak.

Rhea opened hers with a small gasp. “He’s invited me to dinner. Damien Orlov. At his estate.”

Aanya’s fingers froze mid-page. “He what?”

Rhea held up the card, her expression unreadable. “He said he wanted to thank me personally. And he mentioned… you too.”

Aanya looked up slowly. “Me?”

“He said, ‘I’d like to get to know her better.’ His exact words.”

Rhea smiled nervously, unsure if it was flattering or terrifying. “He has a strange way of saying thank you, huh?”

Aanya felt her blood chill.

Damien wasn’t just following the plot anymore. He was rewriting it — around her.

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The Orlov Estate – That Night

The car sent to pick them up was sleek and silent. Black-tinted windows. Leather seats. The driver never spoke.

As the estate gates opened, Aanya saw the mansion — gothic, sprawling, and coldly beautiful.

The kind of place that didn’t just host dinners. It hosted hunts.

Damien greeted them at the door himself.

He wore a crisp dark suit, collar open, no tie. Understated but razor-sharp. His gaze lingered on Aanya a moment too long.

“Dr. Sharma,” he said, kissing Rhea’s hand politely.

Then he turned to Aanya.

“And Aanya Kapoor,” he murmured. “Finally, something in this city worth looking at.”

Aanya kept her expression blank. “Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Orlov.”

“Call me Damien,” he said.

> Of course you want me to, she thought. But I won’t play your game.

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The Dinner

The table was set for three. Crystal glasses. Candlelight. Wine older than all of them combined.

Rhea sat beside Damien, smiling politely. But her hands fidgeted with her napkin.

Aanya sat across from them. Watching. Calculating.

Damien asked Rhea questions at first — about medicine, about her childhood, about fear.

Rhea answered, a little stiff, a little unsure.

Then he turned to Aanya.

“You’re unusually quiet tonight.”

“I prefer to listen,” she said.

“And judge?”

Aanya’s lips twitched. “Only when necessary.”

Damien leaned back, amused. “You don’t like me.”

“I don’t know you.”

“That’s not true.” He smiled faintly. “You look at me like you already do.”

The air between them snapped tight.

Rhea looked between them, visibly uncomfortable.

Damien turned his gaze back to her. “Tell me, Dr. Sharma… when you saved my life, did you feel anything?”

Rhea blinked. “What do you mean?”

“Did you feel… fate? A connection?”

Aanya spoke before she could answer.

“Fate doesn’t leave bullet wounds,” she said. “Fate doesn’t come wrapped in blood and bodyguards.”

Damien stared at her, a flicker of something dark in his eyes.

“You see me more clearly than anyone ever has,” he said. “That makes you dangerous.”

Aanya met his gaze. “You don’t scare me.”

He smiled. “Not yet.”

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After Dinner – The Library

Damien led them to his private library. Shelves of Russian and English classics lined the walls.

“Choose a book,” he said to Aanya. “Any book.”

She walked past the shelves, fingers brushing spines. Finally, she stopped at a leather-bound edition of Crime and Punishment.

“How fitting,” he murmured.

Aanya turned. “Because of guilt?”

“No,” Damien said softly. “Because of obsession.”

Rhea coughed lightly. “I should go check on my messages.”

Aanya’s stomach dropped. “I’ll come with you—”

But Damien blocked her with a quiet voice: “Stay.”

It wasn’t a suggestion.

When Rhea disappeared down the hall, the room turned colder.

Damien stepped closer.

“Why do you keep looking at me like I’m a monster?” he asked.

Aanya didn’t move. “Because I know you better than you think.”

Damien’s voice was quiet, almost sad. “Everyone wants something from me. Money. Power. Fear. But not you. You’re different.”

“I want you to stay away from her,” Aanya said firmly.

He tilted his head. “Why? You’re not her sister. Not her friend for long. Why care?”

Aanya swallowed. “Because I know how this ends.”

Damien’s eyes darkened. “Then maybe you’re the only one worth obsessing over.”

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The Car Ride Home

Rhea said nothing the whole way back.

When the car stopped outside their apartment, she finally turned to Aanya.

“Do you think he’s dangerous?”

Aanya didn’t answer immediately.

Then: “Yes. But not in the way you think.”

Rhea frowned. “Then how?”

Aanya looked out the window, her voice low.

“In the story I read… you fall for him. And he ruins you.”

Rhea blinked. “What?”

Aanya turned to her. “I’m going to make sure that never happens.”

Rhea gave a small, nervous laugh. “You talk like you’ve seen the future.”

“I have,” Aanya whispered.

> And I’m changing it. One chapter at a time.

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