Forced to marry Rome’s mafia king, she fights him. But his obsession might break her first.*

*Zim Scorpio... Episode 1* *Sanam Burhan Shah* --- It was a cold, merciless night in Rome. The city had fallen asleep, but in _Zim Scorpio’s_ palace, sleep had no entry. He stood on the balcony, his hand gripping the railing. Below, the lights of Rome lay at his feet, but in his green eyes only one name burned: _Raja Shah_. 12 years. For 12 years he had waited for this night. The day he would make Raja Shah pay for his father’s blood. _“Boss,”_ Victor’s voice broke the silence. His head was bowed. _“The package has arrived.”_ Zoharan Mir, the king of Italy, had sent it. _The package. Raja Shah’s daughter. His weakness. His punishment._ His face was carved in ice-cold seriousness. _“Where is she?”_ Zim’s voice was ice that could freeze bone. “In the drawing room, boss. She’s terrified. Won’t stop crying.” Zim smiled. It wasn’t a smile—it was a death warrant. _“Let her cry. After tonight, her eyes will never be dry again.”_ He descended the stairs. With every step, the sound of his boots echoed like death itself walking in. The drawing room door opened. And for one moment, Zim’s breath stopped. Curled up in the corner of the sofa was a girl. Dressed in a white suit, like a piece of the moon had fallen to earth by mistake. Black hair loose and tangled, hands trembling violently. She had buried her face in her knees, but her shoulders shook with silent sobs. _Meheruma Shah, 19 years old._ A breathtakingly beautiful girl. Fair skin with a rosy glow, as if the moon itself had blushed. Big brown eyes, thick lashes that could tear a heart with every blink. A small nose, pink lips, natural beauty untouched by makeup. Her hair was silk-black, cascading down to her waist. She wore a light pink lawn suit, her dupatta clutched tightly across her shoulders. Innocence on her face, fear and helplessness in her eyes. _God damn it… if she wasn’t a houri, then what was she?_ Zim Scorpio’s green eyes froze on her for the first time. The blood inside him began to boil. _Possession. Obsession. Fire._ It felt like someone had built an empire over his heart. _What is this?_ Why did seeing the enemy’s daughter fill the emptiness inside him? _“No,”_ he gritted his teeth. _“This is just a game. Revenge.”_ He stepped forward. Hearing his footsteps, Meheruma shrank even further. Slowly, she lifted her head. And Zim’s world shook. Brown eyes, wide with fear, brimming with tears. The mix of innocence and terror shattered even a stone like Zim Scorpio for a second. When Meheruma saw him, her lips trembled. _“Y… you…”_ Her voice caught in her throat at the sight of this nightmare made flesh. Zim saw her state and froze for a second, crushing the feeling rising inside him. _No. No pity. She’s Raja’s daughter._ He moved like lightning and grabbed her arm in a grip of marble. _“Ah!”_ A cry escaped Meheruma. Zim’s grip was so tight she felt her bones would break. _“L… leave me… please,”_ she begged. Tears now streamed down her cheeks. Zim brought his face close to hers. So close that Meheruma could smell the mix of cigarette and expensive liquor on him. His breath touched her eyelashes. _“Listen, girl,”_ Zim’s whisper was sharper than a knife. _“Your father owed me a debt. And you… you are the interest on that debt.”_ Meheruma shook her head helplessly. _“I… what have I done? Let me go home… my mother will be waiting for me,”_ she sobbed. Meheruma was a college student. On her way back, someone had put a cloth over her face. When she woke up, she found herself in the claws of this wolf. _Mother._ The word cracked something inside Zim. He remembered his own mother. Her corpse he had seen at age 10. Because of Raja Shah. His grip tightened. Meheruma choked in pain. _“Your home is here now. This graveyard. And I… I am the terror, the king of this place,”_ he growled. He dragged her by the arm. Meheruma was forced to crawl along the floor behind him. Her sandals were left behind somewhere. Her bare feet felt like ice on the marble floor. _“No… for God’s sake… let me go,”_ she begged all the way. But the beast didn’t even flinch. He dragged her into his black bedroom. It wasn’t a room—it was a king’s tomb. Everything was black. Walls, curtains, bed. Zim threw her onto the bed. Meheruma bounced and curled up in pain. She was gasping. Fear, humiliation, pain—all mixed together, making her feel like her heart would burst. With trembling hands, she tried to adjust her dupatta over her chest. Her honor was dearer to her than her life. Zim’s eyes locked on that movement. For a moment, he thought—this girl… she was different. Not like the women in his world. Fear for her honor in her eyes. Even Zim himself, though deep in the mafia for years, still knew the difference between halal and haram. _No!_ He shook his head again. He stepped forward and with one jerk tore the dupatta off her and threw it aside. _“No!”_ Meheruma screamed, crossing her arms over her chest. Tears of humiliation fell. _“For God’s sake… please don’t do this,”_ she sobbed. Zim bent over her. He gripped her chin between his thumb and finger so hard Meheruma thought her jaw would break. He forced her to meet his eyes. _“Let you go?”_ Zim laughed, but there was pain in that laugh. _“In this palace, only Zim rules, girl. Only Zim Scorpio’s law runs here. And the first clause of my law is…”_ He brought his face closer. So close his warm breath touched her lips. Meheruma squeezed her eyes shut in fear. _“…that you are Raja Shah’s weakness. And from today, you are Zim Scorpio’s property.”_ Meheruma opened her tear-filled lashes. A hundred questions, a hundred pleas in her eyes. _“You… you’re not human,”_ she whispered. Her voice was broken. Zim’s face hardened for a second. Then he pulled back. He looked at her like she was an insect. _“You’re right. I’m not human. I’m the punishment your father earned.”_ He turned and walked to the door. Meheruma thought maybe his heart had softened. She reached out hopefully. _“Wait… please…”_ Zim stopped at the door. He didn’t turn. His broad back faced her. Then came the words that froze her soul: _“And yes… don’t come near me. If you do, I’ll break you. Smash you into pieces.”_ The door slammed shut. The sound of the lock clicking echoed outside. And Meheruma… Meheruma shattered. She collapsed on the bed and wept like a child. Her dupatta lay far away, her body trembled, and her heart… her heart was still left behind in Raja Shah’s mansion. _“Maa… Maa, take me away from here,”_ she sobbed. _“This man… he’s an animal… he’ll tear me apart.”_ Outside the door, Zim stood with his back against the wall. Every sob from inside hit his heart like a hammer blow. _What’s happening to me?_ He clenched his fists. _I brought her here to make her suffer… so why this restlessness? Why do her tears burn me?_ He punched the wall in rage. Blood spilled, but he felt no pain. _When has a beast ever felt pain?_ _Zim Scorpio didn’t know._ He didn’t know that the one he had caged as his “weakness” would soon become his very breath. He didn’t know that Meheruma’s tears, her fear, her broken sobs… would soon become Zim Scorpio’s _obsession_. And Zim Scorpio’s obsession… burns the world to ash. _He had caged his own destruction inside his palace._ And the downfall of Rome’s mafia king had begun… _[To be continued…]_