Forced to make me Hate You

Devastating Bargain

"What?" Aavya gasped, the air leaving her lungs as if she’d been struck.

The shock vibrated through her, leaving her cold.

"You heard it, right?" Vedant confirmed, his expression unreadable.

"You want me?" She questioned him, her voice rising in disbelief.

"If you want me, then why did you deny my father’s request at first?" She yelled this time, her grief finally boiling over into a scream.

"If you had agreed then, he wouldn't be on a deathbed!"

"How could I agree with him? He wanted me to marry you," Vedant replied coolly.

"Then isn't it the same?" Aavya stepped toward him, her hands clenched in her lehenga. "Where do you differ in the things you both wanted?"

"You got me wrong. What he wanted was totally different from what I want," he said, his face a mask of emotionless stone.

"Didn't you say you want me?", Aavya confirmed his want once again.

"Yes. But what I want is you for this night—not for a whole life like your father," Vedant corrected her.

Aavya’s eyes widened, her pupils shrinking in pure terror. She felt a wave of nausea hit her.

"V...eda..nt," she stammered, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.

"I think you... had misspoken... You didn't mean... that, right?"

"No, I am not. I mean every single word you heard from me." He stepped toward her, his presence suffocating.

"I want you." He began to pace around her in slow, deliberate circles.

"But not to marry you."

He drifted to her right..

"But to play with you."

He moved behind her, his voice a chilling whisper near her ear.

"Play with your body."

He circled to her left, his eyes never leaving her pale face.

"Same as you played with mine. My love, my feelings, my emotions... and my life."

Finally, he stopped directly in front of her, his shadow looming over her.

"I want you in my bed. Tonight. No vows, no love. Just a transaction. Your body for his life. Do we have a deal?"

Aavya felt a shiver of pure terror run down her spine. This wasn't the man she had loved; this was a predator demanding her soul.

"You made a promise of love once—tonight, you will execute it," Vedant added, his gaze dropping to her trembling lips.

"Tonight, you belong to me. You will sell yourself to me for one night, just like you sold our love two years ago. One night of your life for the rest of his. Do we have a deal?"

"Vedant!" Aavya yelled, her voice thick with disgust.

"Don’t go too far. Do you even know what you're saying?" Gritting her teeth, she lunged forward and grabbed his crisp, expensive collar.

"Am I?" He didn't flinch.

Instead, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her flush against his chest. "Then you tell me, what else do you have besides yourself to pay me back?"

The silence between them was deafening. "For four years, you played with my heart. With my feelings, with my life. Now I want one night of yours and you're this furious?"

Aavya’s hands lost their strength. She let go of his collar, her head hanging low in agonising shame.

"You have five minutes to decide." ,Vedant said, releasing her wrist and stepping back.

"And this is the last time I am offering help in exchange for your night. If you don't decide now then even if you str!p n@ked in front of me later. I will never bother to look back.

So, think of your father and your family’s loans, then say what your mind wants."

"Don’t make me hate you, Vedant," Aavya whispered, turning away from him. "We can negotiate another way... please."

"I don't care. Even if it’s your hate, I want it for a night. Three minutes left."

Aavya turned back toward the idol of Maa Durga.

Maa, is this your way out?

She thought bitterly.

Taking the only thing I have left?

"Ten seconds left," Vedant’s voice cut through her thoughts. "Nine. Eight. Seven..three.two...."

"Stop," Aavya choked out. She gave a single, broken nod.

"Words, Aavya. I want to know your decision in words," he demanded.

Aavya swallowed the bile in her throat. "Fine then. I agree. You win. You will get my body in exchange for my father’s life."

The temple air grew heavy with the scent of burning incense and the weight of a devastating bargain. Aavya stood before the fierce idol of Goddess Durga, her silhouette trembling against the flickering oil lamps.

"Huh! Good," Vedant smirked, a cold, triumphant fire dancing in his eyes.