Night Love

chap:-15

Night Love)

​By - Eva Talukder

​Chapter 15: The Return to the Mansion

​The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting long, orange shadows over the lush hills of Sylhet. As the sleek Black Mercedes pulled up to the gates of the grand mansion, the iron bars groaned open like the jaws of a giant beast. For Arura, returning here felt like entering a tomb. This place was no longer a home; it was a fortress of secrets and a prison of broken dreams.

​Zayan turned off the engine, but he didn't move immediately. He sat there, his hands still gripping the steering wheel, staring at the massive structure in front of them. The silence inside the car was heavy, filled with the unspoken words of the night before. Arura sat in the passenger seat, her emerald green saree wrinkled, her eyes hollow. She looked like a ghost of the girl she used to be.

​"We’re here," Zayan said, his voice devoid of emotion. He got out and walked around to her side, opening the door with a sharp pull. He reached for her hand, his grip firm and uncompromising. Arura didn't fight him. She had learned that fighting Zayan was like trying to stop the tide with her bare hands. She let him lead her toward the grand entrance.

​As they stepped into the foyer, the clicking of Arura’s heels echoed against the marble floors. The servants bowed their heads in silence, but Arura didn't see them. Her eyes were fixed on the two figures waiting in the drawing room.

​Nilima and Ayan were there. The moment Nilima saw Arura, she gasped. She didn't wait for an invitation. She rushed across the room, her face twisted with worry and rage.

​Nilima: "Arura! Oh, thank God you’re back!"

​Nilima pulled Arura into a fierce embrace. She could feel how thin and fragile Arura felt in her arms. Arura buried her face in Nilima’s shoulder, a single sob escaping her throat. For a moment, the coldness of the mansion faded away, replaced by the warmth of a true friend.

​Nilima: (Looking over Arura’s shoulder at Zayan) "You’re a monster, Zayan! Look at her! Is this what you wanted? To break her until she can’t even speak?"

​Zayan stood by the fireplace, his expression like stone. He didn't look angry; he looked indifferent, which was even more terrifying. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it, the smoke swirling around his head like a dark halo.

​Zayan: "She’s my wife, Nilima. What happens between us is none of your concern. You’re a guest here. Act like one."

​Ayan: (Stepping forward) "Zayan, man, enough. You’ve had your revenge. You’ve forced the marriage, you’ve taken the shares. Why keep the girl in this state? We’ve been friends since we were kids, but I can’t recognize you anymore."

​Zayan: (Coldly) "Then maybe you never knew me at all, Ayan. My friendship with you doesn't give you the right to tell me how to run my house. Arura is where she belongs."

​He flicked the ash into the fireplace and walked past them toward the stairs without another word. He didn't yell, he didn't scream, but his quiet authority was enough to chill the room. Once he was gone, Nilima led Arura to the sofa, holding her hands tightly.

​Nilima: "I’m so sorry, Arura. I tried to stop him, but he’s obsessed. He’s possessed by the past."

​Arura: "He says my mother destroyed his life, Nilima. He says I have to pay for it. But I don't even know what happened! Why is he so full of hate?"

​Nilima sighed, her eyes filled with a complicated sadness. "The past is a tangled web, Arura. There are things you don't know yet. Things about his mother... and your mother. But Zayan is wrong to take it out on you."

​Arura: "He mentioned his mother today. He looked at her picture and he... he looked like he was in pain. But then he turned into that monster again. I hate him, Nilima. I hate him more than anything."

​Nilima: "I know. And you have every right to. But listen to me—you have to stay strong. Ayan and I are watching him. He respects us, even if he doesn't show it. He won't let anything happen to you while we are around."

​Arura looked around the room. Her eyes landed on a framed poster in the hallway—it was an old movie poster of a legendary actress. She was Arura’s favorite heroine. She had watched every movie of hers, captivated by her grace, her sad eyes, and her mysterious disappearance from the film industry years ago.

​Arura: "I always wondered what happened to her," she whispered, pointing at the poster. "She was so beautiful. She just vanished."

​Nilima looked at the poster and then back at Arura, a strange look crossing her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it. She knew the truth that Arura didn't—that the woman in that poster was Zayan’s mother. The woman whose departure had shattered Zayan’s world and turned him into the predator he was today. But she couldn't tell Arura yet. The secret belonged to the upcoming chapters of their lives.

​Nilima: "She was a great actress, Arura. But fame has a dark side. Just like this family."

​For the rest of the evening, Nilima stayed by Arura’s side. They talked about the old days, trying to find some normalcy in the middle of the madness. Ayan and Zayan stayed in the study, likely discussing business, though the tension between them was palpable even through the walls.

​As night fell, the mansion became a labyrinth of shadows. Nilima had to leave, but she promised to return the next day. "Don't let him get into your head, Arura. You are stronger than his obsession."

​When Arura went up to her room, she found Zayan waiting for her. He was sitting in the dark, the only light coming from the moon outside. He looked up as she entered, his eyes reflecting the silver light.

​Zayan: "Nilima loves you. She thinks she can save you from me."

​Arura: "She’s a better person than you’ll ever be."

​Zayan stood up and walked toward her. He stopped just inches away, his shadow looming over her. He reached out and touched the gold ring on her finger, twisting it slowly.

​Zayan: "Maybe. But she isn't the one you belong to. You are tied to me, Arura. By blood, by law, and by revenge. Tomorrow, we start a new routine. You will sit at my table, you will host my guests, and you will learn to be the wife of a man who destroyed your world."

​Arura: "And if I refuse?"

​Zayan: "Then I will remind you of the Mercedes. I will remind you that I can take away everything you love with a single phone call. Don't test me, Arura. We are just getting started."

​He walked out, locking the door behind him. Arura sank onto the bed, the weight of the emerald saree feeling like lead. She looked at the poster of the actress in the hallway through the crack in the door before it shut. She didn't know that the woman she admired was the key to all her misery. She didn't know that Chapter 17 was coming—the day when Zayan’s mother would pass away, and the final, devastating truth would be revealed.

​Until then, she was just a prisoner in a house of ghosts, waiting for the next storm to hit.