Tanushree pov

It was 7 a.m. when I woke up, stretching my arms slowly.

For a few seconds, I didn't remember where I was.

Then the high ceiling, the soft curtains, the calm silence reminded me.

MALHOTRA MANSION.

My in-laws' house.

Not the penthouse.

Not his dark world.

I smiled faintly.

"Hi... myself Tanushree."

I paused.

"No..."

"I am Tanushree Rudravansh Malhotra."

Wife of a man who is known more for his danger than his name.

A man who hates humans.

A man who barely speaks.

A man who is... not here.

He is abroad.

Busy. Distant. Silent.

Just like always.

And here I am...

Living in his parents' mansion.

As their daughter.

As his wife.

Without him.

I turned to the other side of the bed.

Empty.

Cold.

Untouched.

Just like every day.

There was no fear in my chest now.

No counting.

No trembling.

Just a strange calm I never thought I would feel in this family.

Because Maa(dhriti Vansh mother) knocks on my door every morning.

Dad(Anirudh Vansh father) asks if I had breakfast.

Arohi(Vansh small sister)drags me for tea and gossip.

And in this house...

I am not unwanted.

I am cared for.

I looked at the mangalsutra resting on my neck.

Still there.

Still heavy.

Still meaningful.

I don't know what I am in his life.

A responsibility?

A mistake?

A deal?

Or... something he hasn't understood yet.

Tanushree slowly got up from the bed.

The morning light slipped through the curtains, soft and calm.

She folded the quilt neatly, like she does every day, and walked toward the washroom.

A long bath.

Water falling over her head, washing away thoughts she never speaks about.

She came out, wiped her hair, and opened the cupboard.

Her hand automatically picked a dress.

Simple. Elegant. Quiet.

She wore it carefully.

Then came the bangles.

Red.

The same wedding bangles.

The same ones Vansh's dadi had strictly said

"These bangles should not be removed until they break on their own."

she cooked Cleaned.

Slept.

Lived...

Very carefully.

So that none of them break.

But fate doesn't listen to care.

Two bangles were already broken.

Only a few were left now.

She picked the broken pieces from the drawer where she had kept them safely... like memories.

Her fingers touched them gently.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

She didn't know why she kept smiling at small things like this.

Maybe because...

Smiling was the only thing she owned completely.

No one could take that from her.

She wore the remaining bangles.

Chan... chan...

The soft sound echoed in the quiet room.

That sound...

Once used to make her scared.

Now it made her feel alive.

She looked at herself in the mirror.

Sindoor.

Mangalsutra.

Dress.

Tired eyes.

Soft smile.

She smiled again.

Every day.

Not because she is very happy.

But because she doesn't have anything else to do...

except smile.

Tanushree walked into the kitchen quietly.

Even though the mansion had more than enough servants, she still came here sometimes.

Because cooking... calmed her.

The sound of tadka.

The smell of tea leaves.

The warmth of the stove.

It made her feel useful. Present.

Alive.

She prepared breakfast herself simple, homely food everyone liked.

After setting everything neatly on the dining table she stood there.

One by one, the family members entered.

She smiled at each of them.

That same soft, polite smile.

Anirudh walked in, adjusting his watch.

The moment his eyes fell on the table, he stopped.

Then looked at her.

A wide smile appeared on his face.

"Hiiiii,princess!"

She smiled back.

"Hii, Papa."

He came near the table, looking at the dishes.

"My little girl woke up early again?"

She nodded slightly.

He sighed dramatically.

"Did you again make the breakfast?"

Tanushree smiled.

"Yeah..."

He shook his head.

"How many times have I told you, you don't have to do all this?"

She looked at him, eyes gentle.

"But I love... doing this, Papa."

Her voice was soft, honest.

Anirudh looked at her for a moment.

There was something in that smile of hers.

Something that always made his chest feel heavy.

Like she was doing too much...

And asking for nothing.

Then dhriti walked in.

Her eyes directly went to Tanushree.

And like always, her face softened.

"Tanu... you made breakfast again?"

Tanushree gave her a small smile and nodded.

Before dhriti could say anything, Arohi came running inside.

"Bhabhiiii!"

She hugged Tanushree from side, almost making her lose balance.

Tanushree laughed softly.

"Arohi... careful..."

The dining table was filled with its usual calm.

"Tanu, today is your first day of college, right?"

Tanushree looked up and smiled softly.

"Yes, Papa."

"Are you ready?"

She nodded.

"Yeah... perfectly."

Her smile was there.

But inside

She was nervous.

Very nervous.

That college wasn't normal.

It was the top college of the city.

A place filled with rich, spoiled students

People she had never been comfortable around.

People who lived a life completely different from hers.

She lowered her gaze slightly, hiding her thoughts.

Anirudh noticed.

His tone softened.

"If you feel uncomfortable... I'm just a call away, okay?"

Tanushree looked at him and nodded.

"Yeah, Papa... don't worry."

Before things could settle, dhriti spoke, her concern obvious.

"But I am worried."

Tanushree looked at her.

"Maa..."

dhriti continued,

"Tanu, you won't even say anything back if someone bullies you."

Tanushree gave a small helpless smile.

"Maa... I'm not a kid. I'm just going to complete my degree."

dhriti sighed.

"Yes, Tanu... but still, I am worried."

Then suddenly, her tone changed slightly, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's okay. I'll cook them if anyone says anything to you."

Tanushree blinked.

Then a small laugh escaped her.

"Maa..."

For a moment

The fear inside her felt a little lighter.

Because no matter how scary the outside world was...

Here

She wasn't alone.

Everyone was seated at the dining table, having breakfast.

Tanushree was serving juice when suddenly

Something changed.

The atmosphere.

It felt... cold.

Heavy.

Like the air itself had stiffened, thickening into a suffocating fog that clawed at their throats, as if the room itself recoiled from an approaching storm.

Footsteps echoed.

Slow. Firm. Unyielding. Each one a deliberate thud that vibrated through the floorboards, carrying the weight of impending doom.

The doors of the dining hall didn't open.

They exploded inward.

Wood cracked against marble with a deafening boom, the hinges screaming as the heavy doors slammed against the walls hard enough to rattle the crystal chandelier above. The sound carved through the room like a gunshot.

And then

Kabir stepped inside.

Blood dripped from him in slow, deliberate trails.

Not splashes. Not stains.

He was drenched in it.

Thick crimson soaked through his white shirt until the fabric clung obscenely to the brutal architecture of his body every carved muscle visible beneath the ruin of cloth. His chest rose and fell with frightening calm, broad and scarred like something sculpted for war rather than born human. Torn sleeves hung around forearms thick with bulging veins, his knuckles split open and smeared red, fingers flexing once as if still remembering the shape of a man's throat.

A single drop slid from his jawline.

Then another.

His boots struck the marble floor.

Thud.

Thud.

Each step left behind a bloody imprint that spread slowly across the polished white surface like death signing its name.

In his hand rested a knife.

Massive.

Silver.

Still wet.

Fresh blood crawled down the blade before falling in rhythmic taps to the floor. Kabir looked at it once almost bored before dragging the knife casually against his thigh, wiping the gore across his black pants.

The metallic scent of slaughter invaded the dining hall, swallowing the warm aroma of breakfast whole.

He looked monstrous.

Six-foot-something of pure controlled violence.

Dark hair fell over his forehead in damp strands, sticking to the fresh cut above his brow. Blood streaked across his cheekbones like war paint. His jaw was locked tight enough to crack bone, rough stubble shadowing a mouth twisted into the faintest hint of amusement.

But it was his eyes

God.

Those eyes.

Cold black voids.

Empty of remorse. Empty of humanity. The kind of eyes that looked at screaming men and felt absolutely nothing.

The room changed around him.

The elegant dining hall once glowing with golden light and soft music now felt suffocating, reduced to a cage where terror sat at the head of the table.

And Kabir?

Kabir walked through it like a king returning home after a morning stroll.

Not a single ounce of urgency.

Not a flicker of guilt.

Only the lingering brutality that followed him like smoke the silent echo of bones crushed beneath ruthless hands, of desperate screams violently silenced somewhere beyond those doors.

Violence clung to him naturally.

Like perfume.

Dhriti's fork slipped from her fingers.

The sharp clang against porcelain shattered the silence.

Color drained from her face as her trembling eyes traveled over the blood soaking his body.

Anirudh looked up next.

His usual sarcasm died instantly.

The words never even reached his tongue.

For the first time in years, instinct overpowered ego, and something dangerously close to fear flickered across his expression.

Arohi froze mid-bite.

The spoon slid from her numb fingers and hit the table softly, but she didn't even hear it.

Her entire body had gone rigid.

Eyes wide.

Breath trapped.

Heart pounding so violently she thought he might hear it from across the room.

Kabir stopped at the head of the dining table.

Blood dripped from his fingertips.

Silence swallowed everything.

Then slowly

he smiled.

And somehow, that was far more terrifying than the blood.

But Tanushree

She looked destroyed.

Not physically.

Mentally.

The moment her eyes landed on Kabir, something inside her snapped into pure, animal terror.

Her body locked in place so suddenly it was as if invisible chains had wrapped around her limbs. Air caught painfully in her throat. Her fingers lost all strength.

The crystal juice pitcher slipped from her grasp.

And shattered.

The explosion of glass across the marble floor rang through the dining hall, orange juice splashing like diluted blood around her trembling feet, shards skittering beneath the table in sharp metallic echoes.

She didn't even flinch.

Couldn't.

Her entire world had narrowed down to the man standing at the head of the table.

Kabir.

Drenched in slaughter.

Her knees weakened violently, forcing her hand against the edge of the chair to keep herself upright. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to run.

 Hide.

 Survive.

But she couldn't move.

Because predators noticed movement.

And Kabir

Kabir looked exactly like the kind of monster who hunted fear for sport.

Her heartbeat slammed against her ribs in frantic, painful bursts.

Too loud.

Too fast.

She could hear it inside her skull.

Feel it in her fingertips.

His eyes shifted toward her.

And she stopped breathing.

God.

Those eyes were horrifying.

Dark. Empty. Inhuman.

Not the eyes of a man who killed out of rage.

Worse.

The eyes of someone who killed without feeling anything at all.

Her imagination betrayed her instantly flashes of broken bodies, crushed bones, screams drowned in blood. She could almost see those massive hands wrapped around someone's throat, squeezing calmly while life drained away.

Those same hands were stained red now.

Fresh.

Warm.

Deadly.

Tanushree felt unbearably small beneath his gaze, like fragile prey standing inches away from a starving beast. The elegant dining hall disappeared around her, the people vanished, the sounds faded until all that remained was him.

A walking massacre.

A nightmare wearing human skin.

Across the table, Anirudh shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

He leaned back slightly, trying to recover some semblance of composure, but the movement was stiff too careful.

Too afraid.

He forced out a dry laugh that sounded painfully unnatural in the suffocating silence.

"Well..." he muttered, voice cracking halfway through, "guess someone had a productive morning."

The sarcasm landed dead.

No one smiled.

No one breathed.

Because Kabir was still staring at Tanushree.

And the terrifying part?

He looked amused by her fear.

____________________

How’s the first chapter?

Intresting?

Or boring?