I walked into the room, clutching the tray of food, my heart hammering in my chest. The entire house was still buzzing with energy after the haldi ceremony, but all I could think about was her. Tanya, my obsession, my everything.

 Mom had told me to make sure she ate, and I would do anything to make sure she was taken care of-even if it meant ignoring the fact that I was falling deeper and deeper into something I couldn't control.

The soft light in the room flickered slightly, casting long shadows across the walls. The scent of turmeric and sandalwood still lingered in the air from the ceremony, clinging to my skin. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was her.

Tanya was sitting on the bed, her back turned to me, so still that for a moment, I thought she might have fallen asleep. But when I stepped closer, the soft sound of her crying hit me like a punch to the gut. It felt like the ground had been ripped from under me.

"Tanya?" My voice came out hoarse, barely more than a whisper. She didn't respond, didn't even flinch. I set the tray down, my hands shaking slightly, and sat beside her.

The sight of her crying-silent, broken tears—was unbearable. My chest tightened, and I felt something dark rise within me.

Whoever had caused this, whoever had dared to hurt her, they would pay. I would make sure of it.

I reached out, brushing away a tear from her cheek. Her skin was soft, warm under my fingertips, and it felt like touching something sacred.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, though every word was laced with desperation.

"Tell me who did this. I'll make them pay. I'll kill anyone for you. Just, please, stop crying."

Her tears didn't stop. My heart raced as I watched her, my pulse loud in my ears, drowning out every rational thought. I was ready to do anything for her-anything. Destroy anyone.

She finally looked at me, her eyes red and swollen from crying, and whispered, "Even if it's your brother?"

The words hung between us, sharp and cutting, and I felt my stomach drop. For a moment, the world seemed to tilt off its axis. My brother? The thought barely registered, but it didn't matter. I met her gaze, unflinching, unwavering.

"For you? A thousand times," I said, my voice rough but certain. I wasn't lying. My own brother had hurt her, there was no question—I would do what needed to be done. For her, I would cross every line. I already had.

But I couldn't tell her that. Not yet.

Not now, when she was so fragile, so broken. She didn't need to know that I had already dealt with him.

That part didn't matter. All that mattered was that she understood— my love for her wasn't something ordinary. It was consuming, obsessive. She was the only thing that mattered, the only thing keeping me tethered to this world.

The silence between us stretched, and I could see the confusion in her eyes, the way her mind was racing.

She was trying to make sense of it all, trying to understand why I was willing to do so much for her. But how could she? How could she ever understand how deep my feelings for her ran?

"I'm sorry," I whispered, leaning closer, until our foreheads almost touched. I could feel the warmth of her breath on my skin, and it made me feel alive in a way nothing else ever had. "I thought this was the only way to protect you, to keep you safe. I just want you to be okay. I want to be the one who makes you happy."

She didn't say anything. She just wiped her tears with a shaky hand, her face still turned away from me, and it broke something inside me. I wanted to pull her into my arms, to make her feel everything | felt, but I was frozen. All I could do was sit there, my heart aching with a mix of desperation and determination.

"Why?" she whispered after what felt like an eternity. Her voice was so small, so fragile, and it cut through me like a blade. "Why would you kill your brother for me?"

Her words hung heavy in the air, and I could feel my heart racing again.

Was she ready to hear it? Was she ready to know the truth? To know that I wasn't just in love with her-l was obsessed. That I had been watching her, loving her from a distance long before she even knew I existed? That I would do anything, anything, to keep her safe, even if it meant becoming the monster she feared?

I took a deep breath, my thumb brushing lightly against the corner of her lips as I spoke. "Because it's you, Tanya. It's always been you. I would destroy anyone, anything, for you. Don't you see it in my eyes? Don't you feel it? My love for you isn't just love-it's something more. You are my obsession, my craving. I can't exist without you."

Her eyes widened, and I could see the shock settle in. She couldn't understand, not fully. Not yet. She didn't know how deep my obsession with her ran, how I had been consumed by her every movement, her every smile, her every word. She didn't know that I had been planning this for years, that I had waited patiently for the moment I could finally claim her as mine.

"How?" Her voice was barely a whisper now,her lips trembling slightly as she spoke. "Why?"

I wanted to tell her everything, to confess the depths of my obsession, but I couldn't. Not yet.

She wasn't ready for the full truth.

Instead, I smiled, brushing my thumb gently across her lips once more, fighting the urge to pull her closer, to feel her against me. "It's a long story, little mouse," I said softly, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Right now, you need rest. You need to heal."

But in my mind, all I could think about was how close she was-how her soft, trembling lips were so close, how easy it would be to lean in, to close the distance between us.

How easy it would be to give in to the darkness inside me, to let my obsession take over completely.

But I couldn't. Not yet. She was still too fragile, too broken. She needed time. I could wait. I had waited for years, and I would wait as long as it took for her to be mine completely.

For now, all I could do was watch her, my heart pounding, as I fought to keep myself under control. But one day soon, she would know. She would know everything. And then she would understand-she was mine, and I was hers. Forever.