Prologue

As soon as I reached the warehouse, my breath caught.

There she was.

Lying in a pool of blood.

Half-conscious. Barely breathing.

For a moment….my heart stopped.

The air around me thickened, because this wasn’t just any place.

It was this place.

The same house. The same spot.

Where I had already lost once.

My men had surrounded the perimeter, but I didn’t waste a second on commands.

I ran to her, dropped to my knees.

“Aaru…” I whispered, gently lifting her head into my lap. My hands were trembling.

Tears burned their way down without warning.

“Aaru, please… wake up.”

My voice broke.

"AARU!” I shouted, louder this time, as if my voice could pull her back to me.

And then I saw it.

A note.

Right beside her.

"I had said, Malhotra… one day, you will cry with blood in your eyes. See? It’s happening.”

I didn’t need a name.

I knew who had done this.

Him.

I will not spare you.

I’ll carve you open so mercilessly, even your shadow will be lost.

You touched what was mine.

And then…

She blinked.

Just a little.

I leaned closer, patting her cheeks softly, desperately. Her clothes were soaked in red. My shirt was already stained from her blood.

She looked up at me, with barely, there eyes… and a faint, bitter smile.

“See, Mr. Malhotra… on the wedding day, you wished for me to die…”

She coughed weakly.

“I guess… your wish is going to be true.”

And with that… she passed out in my arms.

“No. You can’t leave me like this, Aaru,” I said, my voice shaking, my hands cupping her blood-streaked face.

Without wasting another breath, I scooped her into my arms and ran.

“DRIVE TO THE HOSPITAL, NOW!” I screamed at my men, fury and fear colliding in my chest.

And without looking back, I ran.

But even as I left that warehouse behind…

The fire inside me, that stayed.

And this time, it wouldn’t stop until he was burnt with it.