(When the prey starts glaring at the predator... understand that the story has changed.)
Summary of the last chapter –
Aarya woke up in a dark, cold room, disoriented and groggy. Her once-blue eyes now shimmered like silver, an eerie glow that seemed unnatural in the dull light of the room. Her hair, longer than before, cascaded down her back, tangled and wild. Her face, usually filled with emotion, appeared unnervingly calm, but there was something in her eyes—a storm, an unspoken chaos that had settled inside her. The world she had once known had shifted, and now, the very air around her felt different.
The door creaked open slowly. A shadowy figure moved toward her, its footsteps cold and deliberate. Aarya's body stiffened as fear, anger, and confusion filled her chest like a thunderstorm. She could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears. The shadow came closer.
And then she saw him. The last person she had ever expected to cross her path again. It was Shivay Rathore.
He stood there, eyes cold with hatred, a twisted smile playing at the corners of his lips. Aarya remembered him well. He was the man she had slapped earlier, a man now back with one goal in mind—revenge. Aarya's blood boiled at the thought, but despite the fear curling in her gut, her resolve remained unshaken.
"The hand that you slapped me with..." Shivay sneered, his voice laced with venom, "That same hand is useless now."
His words pierced through the heavy silence in the room like a blade, sending chills through Aarya's spine. She could feel the weight of his threat, and yet, beneath the layers of fear and anger, there was something deeper—a fire, an anger that only fueled her resolve. She could see the guards behind him, towering and imposing, ready to carry out whatever brutal orders were given.
"Make her feel pain she'll never forget," Shivay's voice rang out, commanding.
Aarya's body ached, the marks of the previous torture still fresh on her skin. But her spirit? Her spirit was untouchable. The anger inside her was slowly turning into something else, something fierce. Her lips trembled as she spoke, a quiet but defiant voice rising from deep within her:
"I am Aarya... I don't owe anyone anything. Whatever you give me, I'll return it with interest."
With a single, deliberate thought, something inside her snapped. There was a rush—a sudden surge of energy coursing through her veins. The pain that had once crippled her body began to fade, as though her body had turned into something else entirely. Aarya could feel the wounds on her body healing at an alarming rate. She didn't understand it, but she didn't care.
Something had awoken in her. Something primal. Something that was going to change everything.
Now begins the new chapter of the story…
The atmosphere in the room had become dense, as though the very air was heavy with unspoken words and unacknowledged fear. The silence stretched out like a thin, fragile thread that could snap at any moment. It was deafening.
But then, breaking through that silence, came the sound of boots.
Tap… tap… tap…
The rhythm grew louder, each step growing closer and closer. Aarya's heart pounded in her chest, but not from fear. No. The sensation that filled her chest was anticipation, the kind of anticipation that comes before a storm hits. The boots' sound reverberated in the room, signaling the arrival of the three guards who tortured her day in and day out. The same three faces that she had come to dread.
But today, something was different.
The guards had come, but there was hesitation in their steps. Uncertainty in their eyes. They had expected to see the same broken Aarya, the one who could barely stand, who cowered before them. But instead, they saw something entirely different. They saw a woman whose eyes no longer glimmered with fear. No, Aarya's eyes now sparkled with something far more dangerous—rage. And beneath that rage, there was something darker, something that whispered of destruction.
She grinned. A devilish, unsettling grin.
"So, your daily dose of beating is here? Fine, today I'm in the mood for some playtime..." Her voice was low, laced with malice, as if she was enjoying every moment of this confrontation. It was the voice of someone who no longer cared for their own survival. It was the voice of someone ready to turn the tables.
The guards stopped, their hesitation almost palpable. One of them, the boldest, pulled out his belt. Aarya could see the arrogance in his eyes—the same arrogance that had once sent her into a spiral of helplessness. But now, she wasn't the same Aarya. No. The storm inside her was now ready to rage.
"Come on, let's break her," he spat. His hand raised, ready to strike.
But Aarya was faster. Much faster.
In the blink of an eye, the belt swung toward her, but before it could land, she had already moved.
Thud!!
The sound was deafening. One second, the belt was in the air, and the next second, the guard who had swung it was lying on the floor. His body sprawled out, limp and unmoving. The remaining two guards stared, wide-eyed and frozen.
They tried to retreat, but Aarya was already in motion.
With each movement, she seemed to become something else entirely. Every move was deliberate, precise, as if she had been practicing it for years. Her hands were like lightning—each punch, each strike, felt like the culmination of endless training. The guards, who once used to taunt her, now found themselves running in fear. The moment one of them dared to take a step forward, they heard the sickening sound of ribs snapping.
"I'm not some princess waiting for a knight," Aarya snarled, her voice echoing through the room like the roar of a tempest. "I'm the storm... I'll blow you all away."
The remaining guards were too terrified to even move. They turned and fled in a panic, leaving Aarya alone in the room, standing tall. She was battered and bruised, blood smeared across her skin, but there was no sign of fear in her eyes. No sign of weakness.
She took a deep breath and walked slowly away from the scene. As she stepped outside, the world greeted her with the haunting silence of a ruined city. The sky above was dark, thick with storm clouds. The street was deserted, empty, like the calm before a much larger storm. But what truly sent a chill down her spine was the faint, eerie whistle in the distance. It sounded like the theme music of a tragic tale—a city on the verge of destruction.
Ahead of her, the house that had once imprisoned her was now burning. Flames licked the sky, thick black smoke swirling upward like a demon's breath. She could hear the screams, the cries for help—but Aarya was calm. Too calm. It was almost as if she had expected this. As if everything had been a part of her plan.
She took out the phone from her pocket—the one she had found in the ruins. Her fingers hovered over the screen, unlocking it. The name that appeared made her pause for a moment: "Rudrakshi."
"Rudrakshi...? Who's that...?" she muttered, her mind racing.
She scrolled through the files, looking at images that seemed familiar, yet distant. It didn't take long for the realization to hit her.
"This is the name… I heard in my grandmother's story..." She whispered, a strange, eerie calm settling over her. "Am I in that story? Is this some dream...?"
Her thoughts flickered to the tale her grandmother had told her, the one about Rudrakshi. She remembered that in the story, Rudrakshi had lost her hand in a brutal twist of fate. Aarya's eyes widened. "But... I haven't lost anything. I'm still whole..."
She froze, the weight of the realization crashing down on her. Was this fate? Or had she somehow changed the course of the story itself?
A faint smile tugged at her lips as she looked at the burning ruins ahead of her.
"Looks like I've changed the plot of the story." Her voice was low, but confident. She tilted her head slightly, eyes glinting with something more dangerous now. "Let's go... Grandma, I just had one complaint—"
She paused, taking in a breath before continuing, her smile growing wider. "You sent your dear granddaughter straight into the story. Well, fine... I'll live this story not your way, but mine."
Aarya closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the weight of her decision. She exhaled slowly, as if preparing for the path that lay ahead.
"I'm Aarya... no..." She corrected herself, a fire burning in her chest. "Rudrakshi Sinha. Now, this chapter will be written by me — on my terms."
She looked toward the horizon, where the firelight from the ruins danced in the distance. "Every line of this story will be mine. And this time — I'll live it... openly... Not just for myself... for everyone."
She took one last look at the burning house, a symbol of everything she had left behind, and began walking away. The flames flickered in her wake, but ahead of her lay an uncertain future. A dark, mysterious world waiting to be reshaped by her own hands.
Now, the question is —
Will Aarya really be able to change the course of this story?
Why does the phone contain memories of Rudrakshi?
And why has Aarya's body completely changed?
Will Shivay Rathore come back — and is Aarya ready this time?
Stay tuned — because the next chapter is going to be even more dangerous...