Chapter 23

Chapter 23
The Ultimatum

The rain had started around midnight — a steady, rhythmic fall that turned the city into a blur of headlights and shadows. Vedika sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the wall as water streamed down the windowpane. Her hands trembled despite the warmth of the room. The echo of Abhimaan’s words still clung to her like smoke.

“You have 24 hours.”

“Marry me... or I destroy everything you love.”

She had barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Pranav’s bloodied face, heard his pained voice over the phone, the static-laced desperation when he’d called for help. If she had arrived even a minute later, he might’ve bled to death alone in that godforsaken warehouse.

And then she had seen him.

Abhimaan Rathod.

A monster cloaked in velvet, demanding her submission — not out of love, but hunger. Obsession.

She could still feel his breath on her skin from the night before, still hear the rage laced with possession in his voice.

“You think you can run from me?” he had said. “I will burn the world to ash just to keep you in it.”

Vedika’s jaw tightened. She would not bow. Not to a man who played god with people’s lives. Not even if it cost her everything.

By morning, Vedika was already packing.

Her mother was in the kitchen. Kabir still asleep. She moved quickly, methodically, stuffing only essentials into a bag — documents, cash, a burner phone Pranav had given her months ago in case things ever got dangerous.

She scribbled a note and left it on the table.

“Maa, I have to go away for a while. Don’t try to find me. Don’t ask why. Just trust me. Take Kabir and stay with Chachaji for now. I love you both. — Vedika.”

Her hands shook as she tucked the note under the edge of a cup. Her eyes flicked once around the familiar walls of her home — the worn sofa, the little shrine in the corner, Kabir’s school books stacked on the dining table.

She wasn’t just leaving a place.

She was leaving her life.

But she had no choice.

Because Abhimaan wasn’t just powerful — he was everywhere.

Every move she made, he knew. Every person she trusted was at risk.

She slipped out before dawn, wrapping a scarf around her face and keeping her head down as she walked to the nearest bus station. Her plan was to reach the outskirts of the city, switch buses, and keep moving until she found a place he couldn’t trace.

But she never made it that far.

She was halfway down the highway, on a bus heading toward Nainital, when the driver suddenly pulled over to the side of the road.

There was a black SUV parked across the lane, blocking their path.

The driver got off to argue. That’s when three men boarded the bus.

Vedika’s blood turned to ice.

She turned her face, tried to shrink back, but it was too late.

They moved fast — professional, efficient. No yelling. No scene.

One of them leaned close, whispered, “Ma’am, don’t scream. Just walk with us. If you cooperate, your family stays safe.”

Vedika’s pulse roared in her ears.

She was dragged off the bus before anyone could react.

Thrown into the backseat of the SUV.

And there, sitting across from her — calm, cold, watching her like a storm restrained — was Abhimaan.

He wore a charcoal-black shirt, sleeves rolled, collar loose. The faint scent of oud clung to him. His eyes were unreadable.

“Running away?” he asked quietly.

Vedika didn’t respond.

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands folded.

“Was it that bad?”

She turned her face to the window.

He laughed — low, bitter.

“You think you’re brave. But you’re just reckless. Do you know what would’ve happened if I hadn’t intercepted you?”

She snapped her head toward him.

“You mean if you hadn’t sent your goons to kidnap me?”

His eyes darkened.

“I saved you, Vedika. You would’ve been followed, tracked. Picked up by someone else. Not everyone plays by my rules.”

She scoffed. “Oh, so now you’re my savior?”

“No,” he said softly. “I’m your end.”

They drove in silence for an hour.

The SUV pulled into a secluded estate — a mansion nestled on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by high walls and thick woods.

Vedika was taken inside. Not locked in a cell — not yet — but a lavish room with glass walls, velvet drapes, and no way out.

She stood stiffly in the middle of it, watching as Abhimaan entered behind her, closing the door with a soft click.

“You want to know why I’m doing this?” he asked.

“I don’t care,” she replied.

He ignored her.

“I’ve had everything — power, wealth, fear. But none of it meant anything until you stood in that courtroom and defied me.”

She turned, fury flashing in her eyes.

“I wasn’t defying you. I was fighting for justice. For the victims you crushed under your empire.”

He walked closer.

“Justice?” he said, almost amused. “Do you really believe that still exists in a world like ours?”

“It does,” she snapped. “As long as people like me fight for it.”

He stopped barely a foot away from her. “You think I don’t admire that? I do. But admiration isn’t what I feel anymore.”

His voice dropped.

“It’s need. It’s possession. It’s hunger that doesn’t go away. I’ve tried walking away, Vedika. I can’t. You’ve infected me.”

She recoiled slightly. “That’s not love.”

“I never said it was,” he said quietly.

“You want my answer?” she said, chin lifted. “It’s no. I would rather burn alive than marry you.”

He didn’t flinch.

“I expected that,” he said. “That’s why I’m giving you 24 hours. Think about it.”

“Think about what?” she spat. “Selling my soul to the man who hurt the people I love?”

“No,” he said. “Saving them.”

Her stomach twisted.

“You hurt Pranav. You threatened my mother. You stalked me. And now you want me to say yes?”

“I want you to survive,” he said simply. “You can either become my queen… or watch your world die.”

Vedika’s voice cracked with fury.

“You’re insane.”

He nodded.

“For you, maybe I am.”

Then he turned and walked to the door.

“One day,” he said, before exiting, “you’ll stop hating me. You’ll realize this was the only way.”

The lock clicked behind him.

Vedika sank to the floor, trembling with helpless rage.

She was trapped.

And the clock was ticking.

24 hours.

That’s all she had to figure out an escape.

Or lose everything.

Forever.