A dangerous proposal
910 Words
Shanaya spent the night pacing her bedroom floor, replaying Lakshya’s words over and over until they became a fever in her blood.
Because I have never wanted anything the way I want you.
She pressed a shaking hand over her mouth, trying to quiet the rising panic. This wasn’t about love. It wasn’t even about desire. It was obsession—an all-consuming hunger she didn’t know how to escape.
When dawn came, she hadn’t slept. She went to campus to distract herself with lectures and study, but the familiar halls of her MBA program felt hollow. Everywhere she turned, it felt like his presence lingered in the shadows, watching.
By afternoon, she couldn’t take it anymore. She called Utkarsh and asked him to meet her outside the main building.
When he arrived, he looked tired but determined, dressed in a crisp pale blue shirt that made him seem even gentler by contrast to Lakshya’s darkness.
“Shanaya,” he said, his voice low, “I talked to my father. Amit Kapoor has friends in the property office. We might be able to negotiate with Lakshya.”
Shanaya shook her head miserably. “You don’t know him, Utkarsh. He doesn’t negotiate. He decides, and everyone else obeys.”
“He can’t just take you,” Utkarsh insisted. “You’re not some…some object he can own.”
She wished she believed that. But deep down, she knew Lakshya’s world wasn’t ruled by ordinary rules.
“Promise me you won’t confront him,” she pleaded. “You’ll only make it worse.”
Utkarsh reached for her hand, holding it between both of his. “I love you. I can’t stand by and watch this happen.”
Tears stung her eyes. She had never wanted to hurt him. She just wanted to be free.
Before she could answer, her phone vibrated with a new message.
Come to Royal Highkings. Now.
Her heart stopped.
I’m waiting for you in the penthouse suite.
She lifted her gaze to Utkarsh, her voice raw. “He’ll never let me go.”
“Then let me go with you,” Utkarsh said fiercely.
“No,” she whispered. “That will only provoke him.”
She pulled her hand free and stepped back. “I have to face him.”
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The car Lakshya sent was already waiting outside the campus. A sleek black Mercedes, windows tinted so dark she couldn’t see inside.
The driver, a polite man in a dark uniform, held the door open without speaking.
Her legs felt like they didn’t belong to her as she climbed in.
During the drive across the city, she stared out the window, trying to steady her racing heart. The Royal Highkings Hotel rose like a glittering monolith over the skyline, its mirrored walls catching the fading light of evening.
When she stepped into the marble lobby, she felt the hush fall around her. Everyone knew who owned this place. Everyone knew what happened to people who crossed him.
The elevator doors slid open silently, revealing Ananya, Lakshya’s striking assistant, with her glossy hair and cool, professional expression.
“Miss Sharma,” Ananya said in her measured voice. “He’s expecting you.”
Shanaya swallowed hard and followed her into the elevator.
They rode in silence. Each floor ticked by with unbearable slowness, until they reached the penthouse.
Ananya stepped aside and gestured for her to enter.
Heart hammering, Shanaya crossed the threshold.
The suite was dimly lit, the skyline glowing through the tall glass windows. And there he was—Lakshya Malhotra, standing by the bar, one hand wrapped around a crystal glass.
He looked devastating in black, his powerful body relaxed, but his dark eyes locked onto her with that same unshakable intensity.
“Shanaya.”
Her name on his lips was both a caress and a claim.
She took a steadying breath. “I’m here. What do you want?”
His gaze swept over her—her simple cream dress, her flushed face, her trembling hands. When his eyes met hers again, they were darker than she’d ever seen them.
“I want you to agree to marry me,” he said calmly. “Tonight.”
Shock roared through her. “Tonight?”
“You already know your father can’t repay the loan,” Lakshya went on. “If you sign the marriage contract, everything will be forgiven. He keeps his home. His dignity. You keep your future.”
She shook her head. “And what do you get?”
He set the glass down and crossed to her, his movements measured and deliberate. When he stopped, he was close enough that she had to tilt her face to look up at him.
His voice dropped to a husky whisper.
“Everything.”
Her heart thudded so hard it hurt.
“You’re insane,” she whispered.
“Perhaps.” He lifted a hand and traced her jaw with the back of his fingers. “But you’ll be mine. And you’ll learn to accept it.”
She shivered, hating how her body betrayed her with its heat.
“Marry me,” Lakshya murmured, his gaze locked on her mouth. “Or walk away and watch everything your father built be destroyed.”
And for the first time, Shanaya realized she might not have a choice at all.
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⚠️ Content Warning:
This novel contains mature themes, possessive relationships, and dark romance intended for readers 18+. Reader discretion advised.
- Writer
