Chapter 2

Anushkaa

@nushhkiee

Chapter 2 -

The soft hum of the evening air couldn’t calm the storm raging inside Geet. As she walked through the vast, cold halls of Khurana Mansion, her steps echoed like reminders of her own vulnerability. She had no business being here - no place in this world of wealth, control, and unspoken power. But the gravity of Maan Singh Khurana’s presence, his gaze, it had a pull she couldn’t escape. And now, she was a part of his game, whether she liked it or not.

Maan had made it clear. She wasn’t here because he found her desirable - he didn’t need her for affection. No, he needed her for something far more complicated: Power. Control. Dominance.

As she paused in front of the door to his private study, her thoughts swirled in a mixture of fear and something she wasn’t ready to name. What kind of man offered a deal like this? Money for a night, with the cost of her dignity hanging in the balance? She was about to walk into his world, a world that she was not prepared for, but one she had no choice but to enter.

A part of her wanted to turn around, walk out, and never look back. But her family's debts - her father’s failing business, her brother’s hospital bills - had already pushed her to the edge. And what choice did she have? She couldn’t allow them to fall apart because of her pride.

She raised her hand and knocked softly on the door. The sound felt too loud in the silence of the mansion.

“Enter.”

The voice that responded was familiar, too familiar. Cold. Calculating. The same voice that had haunted her thoughts ever since their first encounter. Her breath caught in her throat as she pushed the door open, stepping into the opulent study.

Maan stood by the window, his back to her, his hands folded behind him in his signature stance - calm, composed, a man who controlled everything around him. He didn’t need to turn around to know she was there. He had been waiting for her.

"Geet," Maan’s voice was low, almost indulgent, as if he were savoring the moment. "I see you’ve made your decision."

“I ... I’m here to fulfill my part of the agreement,” she said, her voice trembling slightly.

Maan turned then, his gaze unwavering, that cold, calculating look settling on her. "Good. But before we proceed, I think we need to talk about how we got here."

Her pulse quickened. She had anticipated this moment - anticipated the deal, the money, the one night that was supposed to change everything. But she hadn’t expected him to bring up their first meeting, the unexpected moment when everything had shifted.

“What do you mean?” Geet asked, forcing her voice to remain steady, though her heart was thudding against her ribs.

He crossed the room slowly, the space between them closing with each step. "You’re probably wondering how I knew who you were that day at the cafe. It wasn’t just an accident that I happened to be there, Geet." His lips quirked in the slightest of smirks, a smirk that made her skin crawl and heat at the same time. "I’ve known about you for a while."

Geet’s breath caught in her throat. “What... what do you mean?”

Maan paused just in front of her, his dark eyes never leaving hers. "You see, Geet, you’re not the first one to come to me for help. Your family - your father - owes me a great deal of money. A very large sum."

She froze, her blood running cold. “What? No... no, that’s not possible! My father never ...”

Maan held up a hand, silencing her. “He didn’t tell you, did he? How he’s been running around trying to scrape together a loan from me for months now? How he promised to repay with interest but couldn’t? Your father’s dealings weren’t exactly... transparent. And when the debts grew too large, he tried to run from them. From me. I don’t take kindly to that, Geet."

Her mind raced, trying to piece it all together. The desperation in her father’s eyes, the late nights spent in meetings she’d never been allowed to hear about, the strained phone calls, the odd hours when he’d leave the house and come back looking even more exhausted and defeated than before. He had been hiding this from her - and now, it was too late to fix.

Maan’s gaze softened, almost imperceptibly, but his next words stung like ice. "Your family is mine now. You are mine now. Because you made the choice to step into this world. You signed the contract, Geet. And I always honor my agreements."

Her breath caught again as his words sunk in. "You knew about the debts all along, didn’t you?" she asked, her voice shaking with a mix of anger and betrayal. "That’s why you offered the deal. It wasn’t just for one night, was it? You’ve been watching my family all along, waiting for me to get desperate enough to come to you."

Maan tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "I don’t play games, Geet. I only offer solutions to problems. And you were always going to come to me. People like your father -people who can't pay what they owe - they don’t have a choice."

Geet clenched her fists, fighting the rising anger in her chest. "So, this was all a game to you? You knew I would come begging for help, and you set me up from the start."

Maan’s lips curled into a cold, calculating smile. "You weren’t begging, Geet. You were making a choice. You knew exactly what you were walking into when you came to me for help. I don’t deal with weakness, and I certainly don’t offer charity. You wanted to save your family. And in exchange, you get what I want."

Geet’s mind spun as she processed the weight of his words. The room seemed to close in around her. Her father’s debt, her family’s struggles, the desperation that had led her here - all of it had been part of Maan’s plan. She wasn’t just a victim of circumstance; she had been a pawn in a game she hadn’t even realized was being played.

Maan took another step closer, his gaze never leaving hers. "Now, Geet," he continued, his voice dropping to a dangerously low whisper, "you’re going to fulfill your part of the agreement. But remember - one night with me is just the beginning. You may think you’re in control, but that’s the mistake everyone makes when they come to me."

Her heart raced, and she could feel the weight of the decision she had made, the cost of it pressing down on her. This wasn’t just about money anymore. This was about power - his power - and how much of herself she was willing to lose to save those she loved.