Contract Marriage

Chapter 5 Junoon Aur Tension

The next few days passed in complete silence.

Outwardly, Sanyukta behaved as if everything was normal.

She attended meetings, completed her work, smiled whenever someone spoke to her, and returned home every evening.

But inside...

She was falling apart.

The sudden return of Sameer had shaken the walls she had spent years building around herself.

Every time she closed her eyes, memories she had fought so hard to bury came rushing back.

"How did he find me?"

"Why has he come back?"

"What does he want now?"

Those questions haunted her every waking moment.

That evening, she left the office much earlier than usual.

She barely spoke to anyone.

Randhir noticed the change immediately.

She wasn't arguing with him.

She wasn't rolling her eyes at his orders.

She wasn't even looking at him.

He watched her leave the office with hurried steps.

"Maybe she's stressed because of the new client," he thought.

He dismissed the feeling and buried himself in work.

It was almost midnight when Randhir finally returned home.

The apartment was dark.

Only a small lamp in the living room was still glowing.

He quietly walked toward his room.

As he passed Sanyukta's bedroom, he heard something.

Soft cries.

He stopped.

The door wasn't completely closed.

He looked inside.

Sanyukta was asleep...

But she wasn't peaceful.

Her forehead was covered with sweat.

Her hands clutched the bedsheet tightly.

She was trembling.

"No..."

"Please..."

"Leave me..."

"I said no..."

Tears rolled down her cheeks even in her sleep.

Her face reflected pure terror.

Randhir had never seen her like this.

He instinctively stepped inside.

For a moment, he wanted to wake her.

But something stopped him.

Instead, he quietly stood there, watching helplessly.

After a few minutes, her breathing calmed down.

Randhir silently walked back to his room.

That night...

He couldn't sleep.

The same thing happened the next night.

And the night after that.

Every night she cried in her sleep.

Every night she begged someone invisible to leave her alone.

Every morning...

She behaved as though nothing had happened.

Randhir became increasingly worried.

"What is she hiding?"

"Who is she afraid of?"

One evening, while they were having dinner, he finally decided to ask.

R: "Sanyukta."

She looked up.

S: "Hmm?"

R: "Is everything alright?"

She smiled faintly.

S: "Yes."

R: "Don't lie."

She looked away.

R: "For the last few days you've hardly eaten... you barely sleep... and every night..."

She froze.

He had noticed.

"You cry in your sleep."

Silence filled the room.

She gripped her spoon tightly.

S: "It's nothing."

R: "Nightmares don't happen for no reason."

She stood up.

S: "I'm tired."

Without another word, she walked to her room.

Randhir watched her leave.

He knew she was hiding something.

He just didn't know what.

Meanwhile...

Life had become a nightmare for Sanyukta.

Every meeting with Sameer made her uncomfortable.

Whenever he visited the office, his eyes never left her.

He smiled as though he knew a secret no one else did.

She avoided him as much as possible.

But he always found a way to appear near her.

One evening, she became so absorbed in finishing an important report that she lost track of time.

One by one...

The employees left.

Soon the entire floor was empty.

Only the elderly watchman remained downstairs.

The office had become eerily quiet.

Sanyukta finally shut down her laptop.

She picked up her bag.

Just as she reached the corridor...

She heard footsteps behind her.

Slow.

Deliberate.

She turned.

Sameer.

A smile spread across his face.

S: "What are you doing here at this hour?"

He casually slipped his hands into his pockets.

Sa: "Relax, baby."

She immediately stiffened.

S: "Don't call me that."

He ignored her and continued walking toward her.

Sa: "I've waited a long time to meet you alone."

She stepped backward.

S: "Stay away from me."

He laughed softly.

Sa: "Why? We know each other so well."

Another step.

Another.

She kept moving back until she felt the wall behind her.

There was nowhere else to go.

S: "I'm warning you."

Sa: "You're still pretending?"

She glared at him.

S: "I'm married."

He chuckled.

Sa: "A fake marriage."

Her eyes widened.

S: "What?"

Sa: "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

Fear flashed across her face.

He knew.

He knew about the contract marriage.

Sa: "Now stop acting."

He reached for her arm.

She immediately pushed his hand away.

S: "Don't touch me."

His expression darkened.

Sa: "You've become very brave."

He tried to grab her again.

She struggled to free herself.

"Leave me!"

In the struggle, the sleeve of her kurta tore.

She immediately pulled away and tried to run.

Sameer blocked her path.

She shouted loudly.

"Help!"

At that exact moment...

The elevator doors opened.

Randhir stepped out.

He had returned because Sanyukta's phone wasn't answering, and she had still not reached home.

The sight before him made him freeze.

Sanyukta stood terrified, trying desperately to keep her distance.

Her sleeve was torn.

Sameer stood far too close to her.

For one second...

Everything went silent.

Then...

Randhir's anger exploded.

"Sameer!"

Before Sameer could react—

Randhir grabbed him by the collar and threw him backward.

His fist landed squarely across Sameer's face.

Sameer stumbled.

Randhir hit him again.

And again.

Years of bottled-up anger poured into every punch.

"How dare you touch her!"

Another punch.

"How dare you!"

Sameer tried to defend himself.

Randhir didn't stop.

He slammed him against the wall.

Employees from another floor and the watchman rushed upstairs after hearing the commotion.

They were stunned.

Sanyukta stood frozen, tears streaming down her face.

She had never seen Randhir this furious.

Finally, two security guards managed to pull Randhir back.

His chest rose and fell rapidly.

His eyes were filled with rage.

Sameer wiped the blood from the corner of his lip.

Instead of looking scared...

He smiled.

A cruel, provoking smile.

He looked directly at Randhir.

Sa: "You don't know anything about her."

Randhir glared at him.

R: "Shut up."

Sameer laughed.

Sa: "Before she became your wife..."

He paused deliberately.

"...she belonged to me."

Randhir's grip tightened.

Sameer continued, trying to provoke him further.

Sa: "You think you know her? You don't know her past at all."

Sanyukta's face turned pale.

She shook her head desperately.

"No..."

Sameer looked at her with satisfaction.

"I told you I'd come back."

Randhir stood motionless.

Not because he believed Sameer...

But because he could see the sheer terror on Sanyukta's face.

She wasn't reacting like someone exposed.

She was reacting like someone reliving a nightmare.

For the first time, Randhir realized that this wasn't about jealousy or an old relationship.

Something far darker connected Sameer to Sanyukta's past.

He immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her from Sameer's gaze.

Without taking his eyes off Sameer, Randhir spoke firmly.

"Security."

The guards straightened.

"Call the police."

Sameer's confident smile faltered for the first time.

Randhir's voice was cold enough to send a chill through the room.

"And until they arrive, make sure he doesn't come anywhere near my wife."

Behind him, Sanyukta's trembling hand instinctively clutched the back of his coat.

For the first time since Sameer's return, she felt that she wasn't facing her past alone anymore.