Taken in the Dark
1456 Words
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(Some dialogues may have small mix-ups. I’ll fix them later.)
Phase – I
★★★
AARA
Arjun’s Mansion Late Night
Darkness swallowed everything.
For a split second, my brain refused to react. The lights had gone out so suddenly that it felt unreal, like someone had pressed pause on the world.
Then instinct kicked in.
My heart started pounding hard against my chest. I couldn’t see anything. Not the door, not the walls, not even my own hands.
But I could feel it.
Someone else was in the room.
“Stay behind me.”
Arjun’s voice came low and controlled, but it carried something sharp beneath it. I didn’t argue this time. I moved without thinking, stepping closer until I was right behind him.
The air felt different. Heavy. Charged.
Thein
A faint sound.
Movement.
Not from the door.
From inside the room.
My breath caught.
That didn’t make sense.
No one had entered.
Or… had they?
A soft chuckle echoed somewhere to the left.
Too close.
Way too close.
“You really thought lights would keep you safe?” the voice whispered.
My blood ran cold instantly.
Raghav.
I didn’t need to see him to know it was him.
Arjun’s body tensed in front of me. I could feel it. The shift in his stance. The way his breathing slowed instead of speeding up.
Predator mod
“Show yourself,” Arjun said calmly.
Another soft laugh.
“No fun in that.”
Before I could react
Something grabbed me.
A hand.
Rough.
Fast.
Cold.
My scream barely left my throat before another hand clamped over my mouth, dragging me backward.
Everything happened too quickly.
My body jerked as I struggled, kicking, twisting, trying to break free, but the grip tightened painfully around my arms.
“Arjun
The name came out muffled.
But he heard it.
I knew he did.
Because the next second
Gunshots exploded.
Loud.
Deafening.
The room filled with chaos instantly. Men shouting. Furniture crashing. More footsteps.
Arjun moved fast.
Too fast.
“Let her go!” his voice thundered, no longer calm, no longer controlled.
Ruthless.
Deadly.
But I was already being dragged.
Whoever held me knew exactly what they were doing. They moved through the darkness like they had memorized every corner of the room.
A door opened.
Cold air hit my face.
Then I was pulled into the hallway.
More footsteps.
More chaos behind us.
My heart slammed against my ribs as panic finally took over completely.
This wasn’t a threat anymore.
This was real.
I was being taken.
I twisted harder, biting down on the hand covering my mouth. The man hissed and loosened his grip just enough for me to breathe.
“Don’t make this harder,” he muttered.
I elbowed him hard.
He cursed under his breath.
“Feisty,” another voice said ahead of us.
That voice.
Calm.
Amused.
Too familiar.
My stomach dropped.
Raghav stepped into view as we turned a corner, the faint emergency lights casting shadows across his face. He looked completely relaxed, like he wasn’t standing inside someone else’s mansion during a full attack.
Like this was just another night for him.
“Careful,” he said lightly, glancing at the man holding me. “She bites.”
“I noticed,” the man muttered.
Raghav’s eyes shifted to me.
And for a moment…
Everything else faded.
The noise.
The chaos.
The fear.
Because the way he looked at me…
It wasn’t just interest.
It wasn’t just curiosity.
It was something deeper.
Something obsessive.
“You always fight,” he said softly.
My chest tightened.
“I don’t know you,” I snapped.
He smiled.
“You will.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
He stepped closer, studying my face like he was trying to memorize every detail.
“Six years,” he murmured. “And you still look at me like a stranger.”
My breath hitched.
What did that mean?
“What do you want from me?” I demanded.
His expression didn’t change.
“You.”
The answer came too simply.
Too easily.
My stomach twisted.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one that matters.”
Before I could respond
Gunshots echoed again from behind us.
Closer.
Fast approaching.
Raghav sighed softly.
“Looks like your husband is getting impatient.”
Something in the way he said husband made my chest tighten.
Annoyance.
Possessiveness.
I couldn’t tell.
“Let her go.”
Arjun’s voice cut through the hallway like a blade.
Sharp.
Cold.
Lethal.
We all turned.
He stood at the far end of the corridor, gun in his hand, blood staining his sleeve. His expression had completely changed.
Gone was the controlled businessman.
This version of him…
Was dangerous.
Truly dangerous.
His eyes locked on me first.
A quick scan.
Checking.
Making sure I was alive.
Then they shifted to Raghav.
And whatever he saw there…
It snapped something.
“Last warning,” Arjun said quietly. “Let her go.”
Raghav tilted his head slightly.
“You always liked giving orders.”
“And you always liked testing limits.”
A small smile played on Raghav’s lips.
“And you always had a weakness.”
His gaze flickered toward me.
Arjun didn’t react.
Not outwardly.
But I felt it.
The shift.
The tension tightening.
“I’m not a weakness,” I muttered under my breath.
Raghav heard it.
Of course he did.
His smile widened.
“No,” he said softly. “You’re much worse.”
Before I could process that
Everything exploded again.
More gunfire.
Louder.
Closer.
The men behind Arjun rushed forward, and in that split second of distraction
The grip on me tightened.
“Time’s up,” Raghav said.
“No!” I struggled harder.
Arjun moved instantly.
But he was a second too late.
Something sharp pressed against my neck.
A needle.
My breath caught.
“You won’t
But before I could finish
A sharp sting.
My vision blurred instantly.
“No…” I whispered, my body going weak.
Arjun’s voice roared somewhere in the distance.
“AARA!”
The sound of it…
It was different.
Not controlled.
Not calm.
Desperate.
But my body wasn’t listening anymore.
The world tilted.
Darkened.
Faded.
The last thing I saw before everything went black…
Was Raghav’s face.
Close.
Too close.
And his voice, low and certain
“You were never his to begin with.”
Unknown Location Later
My head hurt.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The second was the silence.
Complete.
Unnatural.
I forced my eyes open slowly, my vision adjusting to the dim light. The room was unfamiliar. Cold walls. No windows. No sound.
My hands were tied.
My breath hitched slightly.
Okay.
Stay calm.
Think.
I tested the ropes.
Tight.
Too tight.
A door creaked open.
Footsteps echoed inside.
Slow.
Unhurried.
I didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
Raghav.
He stopped a few steps away, watching me carefully.
“You wake up fast,” he said.
I ignored him.
Instead, I focused on my surroundings again.
Exit points.
Distance.
Anything useful.
“You won’t find one,” he added calmly.
My jaw tightened.
“What do you want?” I asked again.
He crouched slightly in front of me.
Close enough that I could see every detail on his face.
“You still don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
A pause.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
“You were never supposed to live that night.”
I swallowed.
“You said that already.”
“I didn’t finish.”
My heart skipped.
“What do you mean?”
He studied me for a moment.
Then leaned closer.
And whispered
“You weren’t the target.”
Everything inside me stilled.
“What?”
“The accident wasn’t meant for you.”
My breath caught.
“Then who@
“It was meant for someone else.”
A pause.
Long enough to make my chest tighten.
Then he said quietly
“And you ruined it.”
My mind spun.
Nothing made sense.
“If I wasn’t the target, then why are you after me?”
Raghav smiled.
Slow.
Dangerous.
“Because now… you are.”
The door behind him suddenly burst open.
A loud crash echoed through the room.
Raghav turned sharply.
Gun raised.
And then
A single shot rang out.
His eyes darkened.
A slow smile formed again.
“Too late.”
My heart jumped.
Because standing at the door…
Gun in hand.
Eyes burning with something raw and dangerous
Was Arjun.
- Writer
