It’s the need to own her mystery.

Later that week, something happens Meher didn’t plan.

Aaryan protects her.

A leaked internal file with forged data points to Meher as the fall person. A boardroom of vultures tries to corner her — a setup she didn’t expect.

Before she can speak, Aaryan shuts them all down.

“She answers to me,” he says coldly. “And if she’s guilty, so am I.”

The room freezes. No one dares challenge him.

Afterwards, Meher meets him in private.

“You didn’t have to defend me,” she says.

“You didn’t ask me to,” he replies. “I don’t like liars. But I hate people who corner the quiet.”

For the first time, Meher stumbles over her reply. Her voice softens.

“You saw me.”

Aaryan’s eyes meet hers.

“I see more than you think.”

Their silence lingers too long. The air shifts. His hand brushes hers by accident.

And that night, she doesn’t review stock graphs. She stares at his photo on her phone screen for hours.

Kabir, meanwhile, finally uncovers something odd in Meher’s profile. A financial trail — heavily encrypted — connected to shell companies that lead… nowhere. He doesn’t confront her. Yet.

Instead, he visits Zara.

“Who is she really?” he asks quietly.

Zara looks him in the eye. “Who is he really?”

They stare at each other — both guards up, both hearts cracking.

Back at Rathore Mansion, Aaryan dreams of her.

He wakes up restless, shirtless, breath sharp. It’s no longer about suspicion.

It’s hunger.

Not just physical.

It’s the need to own her mystery.The Rathore Palace gleams under chandeliers, but tension simmers behind every crystal-glass clink. Princess Ira has returned.

With her diamond choker and sharp smiles, she walks beside Aaryan at a family gala, playing her part. Meher, watching from across the hall in an ivory saree, remains expressionless.

But inside — something burns.

Later that night, Zara confronts her in the washroom.

“She’s all over him,” Zara says.

“She can touch his hand,” Meher whispers, touching her own chest. “But I own his heart. He just doesn’t know it yet.”Aaryan doesn’t want Ira. He never has. But Devyani, his mother, pressures him. “She’s royalty. You need an heir. A stable empire. Not a corporate fling.”

Aaryan, gripping a glass of whisky:

“Meher is not a fling.”

“Then who is she?” Devyani snaps. “You don’t even know her truth!”

And that’s the thing — he doesn’t.

And it eats him alive.

-TBC-

🧊 Princess Ira Rathore (30)

Royal fiancée selected for Aaryan

Elegant, manipulative, power-hungry

Secretly obsessed with Aaryan and hates Meher

Comes to destroy Meher’s image and claim her position

🕷️ Samar Sethi (33)