Simri couldn’t breathe.
Her fingers were still wrapped around Kabir’s wrist, and yet her mind refused to accept what her senses were screaming.
He was warm.
Not like before—not like those fragile, fleeting dreams where everything dissolved the moment she woke up. This… this was real. She could feel the steady pulse beneath his skin, the faint tremble in his breath, the way his fingers slowly curled around hers as if he was afraid she might disappear.
“Simri…” Kabir whispered, his voice no longer echoing like a distant memory, but grounded—right here, in this moment.
Her throat tightened. “H-how…?”
Kabir didn’t answer immediately. His eyes—those deep, unreadable eyes—were fixed on her like she was something sacred, something he had finally found after being lost for years.
“I don’t know,” he admitted softly. “All I knew was… I couldn’t let you go again.”
A chill ran down her spine.
The room around them felt… wrong. The air was heavier, almost electric, like reality itself was struggling to adjust to his presence.
Simri slowly stepped back.
And for the first time—Kabir didn’t fade.
Her heart skipped.
“You’re… really here,” she whispered.
Kabir gave a faint smile. “Would you like me to prove it again?”
There was a softness in his tone, but something deeper lingered beneath it—something intense, something almost dangerous.
Simri quickly looked away, her cheeks flushing. “N-no, that’s not what I meant.”
Kabir chuckled quietly, the sound low and warm. It made her chest tighten in a way she couldn’t explain.
But then—
A sudden knock on the door.
Both of them froze.
“Simri? Are you awake?” Arjun’s voice came from outside.
Reality crashed back instantly.
Simri’s eyes widened. “Arjun—!”
Kabir’s expression darkened.
Just slightly.
But enough.
“Who is he?” Kabir asked, his voice calm… too calm.
Simri hesitated. “He’s just—”
The knock came again. Louder this time. “Simri? I’m coming in.”
Panic shot through her.
She turned to Kabir. “You have to hide!”
Kabir didn’t move.
“I’m not hiding,” he said quietly.
“Are you crazy?!” she whispered urgently. “He’ll see you!”
Kabir tilted his head, studying her reaction. “Why does that matter so much?”
“Because—” she stopped.
Because what?
Because Arjun was real?
Because Kabir wasn’t supposed to be?
But now… he was.
The door handle turned.
Simri’s heart jumped to her throat.
Without thinking, she grabbed Kabir’s hand and pulled him toward the corner of the room, pushing him behind the curtain just as the door opened.
Arjun stepped inside.
He looked the same as always—casual, relaxed, a small smile on his face. But his eyes… they were searching.
“Hey,” he said softly. “You didn’t reply to my messages.”
Simri forced a smile. “I was sleeping.”
Arjun frowned slightly. “At this hour?”
“I… couldn’t sleep last night.”
That part wasn’t a lie.
Arjun stepped further into the room, his gaze slowly scanning the space.
Simri’s chest tightened.
Please don’t notice…
Please don’t—
“Are you alone?” he asked suddenly.
Her breath hitched.
“Of course,” she replied quickly.
But something in Arjun’s expression shifted.
He walked closer.
Too close.
Simri instinctively took a step back—toward the curtain.
Toward Kabir.
And in that moment—
Arjun stopped.
His eyes narrowed slightly, like he felt something… off.
“Simri,” he said slowly, “why does it feel like someone else is here?”
Her heart nearly stopped.
Behind the curtain, Kabir stood completely still.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
Simri forced a laugh. “You’re overthinking.”
But Arjun didn’t smile.
Instead, he stepped even closer… until he was just inches away from the curtain.
Simri’s pulse roared in her ears.
If he opens it—
Everything will change.
And Kabir—
Kabir might not stay quiet anymore.
—
Behind the thin fabric, Kabir’s eyes darkened.
His jaw tightened.
And for the first time since he became real—
Something dangerous flickered inside him.
A quiet, possessive whisper formed on his lips—
“She’s mine…”
