PAST:
Shefali's POV:
“You are mine.”
Those three words echoed like a gunshot in my head.
The entire club— the lights, the music, the people— blurred into static. I don’t even remember the moment my hand rose. All I knew was that I slapped him. Hard. The sound of my palm striking his face sliced through the music like a blade.
His face turned just slightly with the impact, and for a moment, the mask he wore— to hide his arrogance, cockiness, control, cold superiority— it all cracked at once. I could see it, see something feral beneath the surface, something unhinged. And just as I tried to get a proper look, just as I was about to really see him—
Alex yanked my arm.
“What the f**k, Shef—” he started, but I pulled my arm free before he could finish.
I spun around, chest heaving, hea
