You Are My Unique Gift

Caught Between The Worlds

KOMAL'S POV:

"What is he planning?" It was my first thought as soon as the chopper blades whined down to silence.

The thrumming vibration was replaced by a humid Miami breeze that sent tendrils of hair swirling on my face. I stepped out. The metallic clang echoed into the vast night as my boots clicked on the polished steel helipad.

"Miami? But why?" I groaned, rubbing a hand over my face. Rajeev trailed close behind, his hand hovering near his weapon but lips sealed so tightly, I was convinced someone had stitched them from inside.

Before me, bathed in the cool moonlight cast by a crescent moon, loomed the Billionaire Bunker – a mortifying reminder of Vihaan's wealth, power, and reach.

Its sharp, geometric lines seemed to tear at the sky, each glass panel reflecting the city lights in a fractured kaleidoscope. Palm trees, silhouetted against the silvered water of Biscayne Bay, stood like petrified sentinels guarding the sumptuous fortress.

"With a snap, I shape your world or shatter it." His words echoed in my head.

He wasn't lying!

A palpable tension crackled in the air, thick enough to taste. I could almost hear the anticipation humming with a low bass note thrumming in my chest.

"Where is your boss?" I threw the words at Rajeev, anticipating a reaction— a flinch, a hint of unease. To my raging frustration, he stood there like an unyielding rock with a face like an impenetrable mask. The audacity of his composure sent a prickling heat up my cheeks.

Rajeev intrigued me, a mystery waiting to be unraveled. But the urgency of the situation forced me to put that curiosity on hold. I needed answers, and I needed them fast. The silence stretched, daring me to break it again.

"So," I pressed, trying to keep my tone steady, "are you going to make this easy, or do we have to do it the hard way? I'm a journalist if you don't know!"

His eyes flickered. A beat passed.

"You won't find him easily," he finally spoke. A chilling smirk played on Rajeev's lips.

"He wants you to understand," he drawled, his voice laced with amusement. "What it means to suffer truly. Journalist or not, you're dumb if you can't even get it."

"What do you mean?" I stopped dead in my tracks, fists clenched to the side and jaw so tight, I could cut diamonds if I'd try.

He yawned. The casual gesture felt like a slap in the face. "He's making you taste your own medicine," he said, boredom evident in his eyes. "Making you feel the fear, the helplessness you inflicted on him."

"What? Still don't get it?" He raised an eyebrow. The dismissal in his eyes was urging me to strangle him.

Seemingly, the Vihaan's arrogance was so contagious it had affected everyone stepped in his radar.

Sala, Corona Virus! I gritted my teeth waiting for him to explain.

The anticipation, dread, and fear were exhausting. I didn't have it in me to bear it any longer. I was tired and my brain had stopped working for the way I had used it in overthinking and making up scenarios throughout the day.

"Vihaan is making you feel the emotions he has been through when you left him!" Rajeev deadpaned as if he was making a kid understand that the earth was round.

The air whooshed from my lungs. My entire day, a blur of frantic calls, unsettling emptiness, and blind obedience, flashed before me. Now, with Rajeev's words, it all clicked into place, a cruel mosaic of my own making.

The memory of that night, the text message sent with trembling fingers, the tears blurring my vision as I drove away, slammed into me. "It won't work anymore. I'm breaking up with you." The words echoed in my head in a heap of confusing mess of emotions. I had convinced myself it was the right decision, but now, doubt gnawed at me. Was I wrong? Was Vihaan experiencing the same gut-wrenching fear I had felt today?

"I didn't want him to be hurt. I was—" I whispered, the words catching in my throat.

"And there you got it!" I froze as the familiar confident voice filled the air. I closed my eyes and opened it again, letting the air kiss me everywhere.

It had always brought his fragrance but never him.

I spun around, and there they were— three figures emerging from the imposing shadow of the mansion.

Vihaan stood at the center while Viraj flanked him like a mirrored reflection. I didn't remember seeing the third man. Identical smirks twisted their features, yet Vihaan captured my gaze.

His voice flowed over me, smooth as silk yet laced with venom. "Welcome to Miami, Little Dove," he crooned. "How did it feel?" His voice wavered a little. "To search the entire city like a madman, stopping at every hope, every phantom trace of...him."

"Was this a game for you? Do you think it is funny to play with someone's emotions?"

I hissed as anger traveled through me in waves. It would be a matter of minutes before I'd rip that man apart.

"You're the one to talk?" He scoffed, peering straight into my eyes. I waited for him to eliminate the distance and come closer so I could read his eyes. But neither of us made a move.

Stubborn much!?

"Once it was me who had chased across the street of the entire city—"

"The entire city?" It was my turn to scoff, forcing a tremor out of my voice. "Did you check under every rock, too?"

His icy glare could turn diamonds to dust. "Close enough. Every bar, every beach, every memory we made. I tore the city apart brick by brick, searching for the woman who vanished like smoke."

A flicker of guilt pricked my conscience, quickly snuffed out by anger. "And what were you expecting, a parade? Your princess returning on a white horse? You didn't even bother reaching out until you hear about my engagement, Vihaan."

"That's because you didn't let me!" He retorted.

"As if it was impossible for you! You're a freaking billionaire. Nothing is far from your reach. Don't play the victim when you didn't even try!" I yelled, letting my anger vibrate the air between us. "You were too engrossed in your startup and becoming something to miss me."

"It was not I who moved across continents and kept moving to avoid people. It was clear that you wanted nothing to do with me." His voice was sharp. Each word was a shard of ice.

"You have no idea what I have been through and you won't get it until you feel the same. The frantic calls, the gnawing fear, the desperate search for something you threw away." His words were laced with venom, but a flicker of pain in his eyes sent a pang through me.

Had I caused him this much torment?

"And you think this," I gestured at the opulent surroundings, the chilling welcome party, "makes us even?"

"Even?" He laughed, a hollow sound that echoed across the bay. "This is just the beginning, Komal. You destroyed me, brick by brick, and I'm going to return the favor. Piece by agonizing piece."

My anger ignited in flames. "You bastard!" I roared. A primal scream escaped my throat as I lunged, fury fueling my charge.

But my attack was intercepted by Rajeev who tackled me to the ground with lightning reflexes. The wind was knocked out, and I could do all but sputtered, "Hey! What the—ouch! I'm not..." Another sharp pang of pain silenced my protest.

"Alright, alright! Fine!" I surrendered, exasperation replacing the heat in my voice. I inhaled deeply, trying to control the flare of my nostrils as Vihaan's laughter filled the air.

"Embarrassing yourself already, Little Dove?" he chuckled, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Hey! Stop with that endearment or I'll—ouch!" Internally, I cringed, wondering if my humiliation could reach new heights.

Suddenly, Vihaan barked a command, "Rajeev, ease up. It's alright."

The pressure on my wrists eased, and Rajeev stepped back. I rose, brushing off my clothes, the embers of anger still glowing.

"Where's Divirath?" I demanded, my voice surprisingly steady despite the tremor in my hands. "You have two minutes to answer this or I'll report the exclusive frauds of your organisation. LIVE!"

His chuckle sent shivers skittering down. "You can try." He challenged. " But I won't be sure about your favourite toy being safe... for long. Your defiance, Komal, has consequences. And trust me, I can make Divirath bear every one of them with excruciating pleasure."

His words, laced with poison, chipped away at my resolve. Was it a bluff? Did he truly wield the power to control fate itself? The doubt gnawed, leaving me exposed, and vulnerable.

"Still unsure of my capabilities?" He gestured towards Viraj, a smirk twisting his lips. "Perhaps I should demonstrate. What do you say, Viraj. Should we repeat the history?"

In a flash, the past materialized. Kratika's tear-stained face as Viraj confessed his deviant love. The chilling phone call warning her, the heart-wrenching k********g on her wedding day. The scars left behind, even if Kratika supposedly had a "good life" now.

Guilt clawed at my heart. I'd been so focused on myself, neglecting loved ones like Divirath, the light in my life who accepted me flaws and all. He didn't deserve this – not any of it.

"What... what do you want?" I choked out, swallowing the bitter lump in my throat. I met Vihaan's gaze, blinking back tears. Whatever torment awaited, I knew in my soul I deserved it.

"Ah, now you're speaking my language," Vihaan drawled, his smile widening. "But deals require trust, something you're sorely lacking, wouldn't you say?"

He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. "Prove yourself worthy, Komal. Earn your defiance, earn Divirath's safety. Or watch the consequences unfold, one agonizing heartbeat at a time."

"I am somebody else's fiance, Vihaan. I—"

"A single jewel on your finger can't steal you away from me," his yell cut me off.

Miami's humid air clung to me like a shroud, but it couldn't extinguish the inferno raging inside. Vihaan stood before me, not the charming prince I fell for, but a vengeful king poised to unleash his wrath.

"Years spent in my arms and you still haven't gotten who I am and what I could be!" He smirked, the distance between us shrinking with each menacing step he took. His word dripped with possessive entitlement.

His threats hung heavy in the air, suffocating. But beneath the fury, I saw a flicker of the man I loved, the man I hurt.

Just try! A voice inside me whispered.

I nodded with a gulp. "Vihaan," I started, my voice softer now, "this isn't you."

But his voice whipped me off before I could even finish the sentence. "Don't you dare," Vihaan spat, "utter my name with that innocent facade. The Komal I knew wouldn't have left a broken man behind. The Komal I knew wouldn't have played me like a cheap fiddle."

His words were daggers, piercing my carefully constructed defenses. My eyes stung, not from the Miami heat, but from the truth reflected in his rage.

"You have played me! It's time I return the favour." He yelled.

"Maybe I deserve this," I whispered, the admission a bitter pill to swallow.

He scoffed, a harsh sound devoid of pity. "Deserve? No, sweetheart. You're going to experience it. Every tear, every sleepless night, every ounce of fear that poisoned my soul. You're going to taste your own medicine, Komal Singh Sikarwar. I'll personally make you experience it."

The air crackled with his venomous words, each syllable a jagged shard piercing my soul. "I'll dismantle your world, Komal," Vihaan hissed, his eyes blazing with a twisted intensity. "Every shred of happiness, every flicker of light, I'll extinguish them with the inferno of my own darkness. And it begins with your precious fiancé."

Tears welled, blurring his chilling visage, but the fear, the suffocating fear, held me captive. My throat felt like sandpaper, each desperate gasp for air a silent scream against his cruel tyranny. My mind, a frantic storm, clawed for escape, but every path led back to him, to his monstrous demands.

"Vihaan, this madness has to stop! Release Divirath, and we can find a way out," I pleaded, my voice hoarse with desperation.

"There is no 'out,'" he mocked, circling me like a predator stalking its prey. His eyes, cold and calculating, dissected my every thought, every flicker of hope. "But perhaps... you can earn one." He stopped, inches away, his gaze drilling into mine.

"I am a businessman. We can make a deal." Vihaan paused. His eyes scanned my face.

A satisfied smile glittered his feature when he found what he was looking for.

"I offer you redemption, Komal," he drawled, a cruel smirk twisting his lips. "Two choices, two paths to atonement."

A sliver of hope, fragile and fleeting, flickered in my chest. But it died a quick death as he spoke his next words, each syllable a blow to my already battered spirit.

"Marry me. Tonight. Be my wife in every sense, every waking and sleeping moment." He paused, the silence heavy with malevolent amusement. "Or... marry Divirath. But remember, even in his arms, you'll belong to me, every night under the moon."

"What... what are you saying?" I gasped, my voice trembling as my mind struggled to grasp his twisted proposal.

"The choice is simple, Little Dove," he chuckled, a chilling sound devoid of warmth. "Become my wife in name and deed, or be mine in the darkness, leaving your precious fiancé with only the daylight hours."

A primal scream ripped through me, shattering the suffocating fear. In a blur of fury, my hand met his cheek, the resounding slap echoing in the tense silence. The world dissolved, replaced by the white-hot inferno of rage.

"You disgusting, deranged monster!" I roared, lunging at him again. Rajeev materialized in an instant, pinning me to the ground. But I barely felt the pressure, consumed by the searing fire of defiance.

"Divirath is dying a slow death at the moment." He walked backwards with a menacing smile. "Slow and painful for ever trying to steal what's mine. And this won't end here. I'll snatch everything away from you. Abhay, Sonica, your parents... everyone who's residing in your heart."

I watched with widened eyes as he covered the distance between us in long strides and kneeled beside me.

"It's my place and I don't share." He large claws cupped my cheeks and his thumb stroked my lower lip.

The tears I had been keeping trapped broke free and rolled down my cheeks, down the jaw until the dripped on my lap and drenched his palm.

"I will never be yours, Vihaan!" I spat, each word laced with venom. "You can threaten, manipulate, even force me, but my spirit, my soul, will never bend to your twisted will. You can't break me, Vihaan! I AM NOT KRATIKA."

I heard a growl. I didn't have to look to know it was Viraj.

"We'll see to that. For now, I have your soul trapped in my palms, Komal. Everything in you belongs to me. I am the hand that will write your destiny. I'll be your creator and destroyer. Divirath is in this city, dangling between life and death. Your choice would determine his fate."

His words, spoken with chilling conviction, made my heart stutter. White spots danced before my eyes as the sanity on his face evaporated, replaced by a dark glint that mirrored the storm raging within him.

He extended his hand, the gesture both seductive and threatening. "Choose wisely, Sarkaar. Your obedience is your only salvation."

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

He chuckled as he turned on his heels and walked away.