Night Love

chap:-16

Night Love)

​By - Eva Talukder

​Chapter 16: The Silent War

​The morning after their return to the main mansion was shrouded in a thick, gray fog that rolled over the hills of Sylhet. Inside the house, the atmosphere was even colder. Arura woke up to the sound of rain tapping against the glass—a sound that had become a constant reminder of that night in the Black Mercedes. She felt a heavy weight on her chest, a mixture of dread and exhaustion that she couldn't shake off. Every corner of this room, every luxury provided to her, felt like an insult.

​She spent the morning in a daze. Zayan had left early for his office, leaving behind a list of instructions with the head maid. Arura was to attend a charity gala with him in a few days, and she was expected to look the part of a graceful bride. The irony made her want to laugh and scream at the same time. How could she stand by his side and smile when her heart was bleeding?

​Around noon, Nilima came over as promised. Zayan had allowed her access, perhaps because he knew that Nilima’s presence kept Arura from completely losing her mind. They sat in the small garden pavilion, shielded from the light drizzle.

​Nilima: "You didn't eat your breakfast, Arura. The maid told me. You have to eat, even if it’s just a little. You can’t fight him if you’re weak."

​Arura: "Fight him? How do you fight someone who owns the very air you breathe, Nilima? He has my mother’s future in his hands. He has my dignity in his pocket. I feel like a ghost wandering through someone else’s life."

​Nilima: (Sighing and holding Arura’s cold hands) "I know it feels that way. But Zayan isn't as invincible as he looks. I’ve known him a long time. This anger... it’s a mask. He’s hurting, and he’s projecting that hurt onto you because it’s the only way he knows how to survive."

​Arura: "I don't care why he’s hurting anymore! Why should I be the one to pay the price? And that actress... that woman in the poster... why does everyone look at me strangely when I talk about her?"

​Nilima flinched. She looked away, her eyes tracing the patterns of the raindrops on the garden table.

​Nilima: "Some secrets aren't mine to tell, Arura. But keep your eyes open. Zayan is holding onto a lot of ghosts. Sometimes, the ghosts are more real to him than the people standing right in front of him."

​Their conversation was cut short when a black SUV pulled into the driveway. Zayan was back early. He walked toward the pavilion, his long coat fluttering in the wind. He looked powerful, intimidating, and remarkably handsome in a way that Arura hated. He nodded to Nilima—a silent acknowledgement of their friendship—but his eyes immediately went to Arura.

​Zayan: "Nilima, I hope you’ve been keeping my wife entertained. I have some business to discuss with her in private."

​Nilima: (Standing up, her voice sharp) "Don't push her too hard, Zayan. She’s human, not a stone. I’ll see you tomorrow, Arura."

​Nilima left, giving Arura a final, supportive squeeze of the hand. As soon as she was out of earshot, the air between Zayan and Arura turned electric with tension. Zayan sat down in the chair Nilima had just vacated.

​Zayan: "You look pale. Did you tell Nilima how much you hate it here? Did you ask her to help you run away?"

​Arura: "She already knows I hate it here. Everyone knows. You’re the only one who thinks this 'marriage' is something to be proud of."

​Zayan leaned forward, his elbows on the table. He reached out and traced the edge of the gold ring on her finger with his thumb. The intimacy of the gesture made Arura’s skin crawl.

​Zayan: "I never said I was proud of it. I said it was necessary. There’s a package in your room. A new dress for the gala. You will wear it, and you will wear the rubies I’ve set aside for you. They match the color of your saree from the night we were married."

​Arura: "I’m not a mannequin, Zayan! I won't go to any gala. I won't be your trophy while you pretend everything is perfect."

​Zayan’s eyes darkened, the amber flecks in them turning to fire. He stood up abruptly, pulling Arura to her feet. His grip on her arms was firm, forcing her to look up at him.

​Zayan: "You will do exactly as I say. You will stand by my side, and you will show the world that you are a Zayan. Because if you don't, I will make sure the rumors about your mother’s 'accidental' business failures become very real by morning. Do you understand?"

​Arura: "You’re a coward. You use people’s weaknesses because you have no strength of your own."

​Zayan: "Believe what you want. But remember this—you are the only thing in this world that belongs to me completely. Not my money, not this house... only you. And I will protect what is mine, even if I have to destroy you in the process."

​He let go of her, but he didn't leave. He stood there, watching her chest heave with anger and fear. For a moment, a strange look passed over his face—a look of longing, of a hunger that went beyond revenge. He looked like he wanted to say something, to reach out and pull her into his arms, but the iron walls around his heart wouldn't let him.

​The rest of the day was spent in a cold war. They ate dinner in silence, the only sound being the clinking of silverware. Arura felt like she was waiting for something to break. The mansion felt haunted. She kept seeing the image of the actress in her mind—the woman with the sad, beautiful eyes. Why did that woman feel so connected to her misery?

​As night fell, Arura went to her room and locked the door from the inside, though she knew it was useless. Zayan had the master key. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, her mind racing. She didn't know that miles away, in a secluded hospital, a woman was taking her final breaths. She didn't know that the phone call Zayan was about to receive would change the course of their lives forever.

​She didn't know that the woman she admired on the screen—the legendary actress—was currently struggling for life, and that her death would be the key that finally unlocked the cage of secrets Zayan had built.

​In the room next door, Zayan sat at his desk, staring at a phone that hadn't rung yet. He was trembling, though he would never admit it. He was waiting for the end of one life and the beginning of another.

​"Soon, Arura," he whispered to the dark. "Soon, the truth will come out, and then you’ll know why I had to break you."

​The rain turned into a thunderstorm, shaking the foundations of the mansion. The silence was about to be broken.