"Don't see her," Ahanay said, swirling a glass of golden whisky and gazing out of the window at the view of Worli ceiling. His girlfriend, Priya, remained silent. "You should have dropped the phone here."

"When are you going to kill her?"

"Soon," he said, bringing the glass to his lips to wash away the distaste that the word "soon" had left on his tongue. He thought that avoiding Naina would work, that disappearing before she opened her eyes could solve all his problems. Boy, was he wrong.

He had gone on business trips to Paris and San Francisco where he could have sent his assistant, but those trips were supposed to be an escape for him. Little did he know, his wife had found a cushy spot in his mind that she refused to leave, driving away his sanity. Every moment, be it in the plane or near the Eiffel tower, she travelled with him in his mind, eating croissants next to him with crumbs falling all over or slurping a Dr. Pepper till she burped.

Once, as he stooped to kiss her forehead in her sleep, he considered carrying her to one of his business trips for real.

"I should kill her soon," he reminded himself, despite recalling how different her hair had smelled when he had kissed her forehead. Something earthy like leaves and oxygen. How innocent she had looked in her sleep . . .

"How?"

"Seduction."

* * *

Ahanay couldn't stand business trips anymore. As the CEO, he had always worked smart, not hard. Yet this time, he threw himself into work that he could have handed to his subordinates, to distract himself from the tiny thing that snored in his room. But he had to kill her too, for that, he needed to be closer to her.

He could finish her within a snap of his fingers, but he knew that the dirty paparazzi and his rivals would dig anything to frame him and push him into a scandal. Besides, the investment committee would lose trust in him if anything suspicious happened and his bastard of a father wouldn't hand him the company. He had to convince everyone, including her, that he was in love with her so when she visited heaven, nobody would catch him as the conductor who filed her the heaven tickets. For that, seduction was the easiest route.

Food. Sleep. Sex. Naina got plenty of the first two, but none of the last and it was only natural for her to want that too. After all, Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Ahanay had forgotten another need that sat at the top of Naina's hierarchy of needs : money.

As he entered their home, feeling his heart pick up its pace at the thought of seeing her, the butler announced, "Madam is not at home."

"What do you mean?" He frowned and even the butler thought that he looked handsome while frowning.

The butler leaned forward to whisper and Ahanay had to stoop down to hear him, "She went out with a man."

"A man?"

"Yes." The butler nodded gravely. "He was as tall as you, as handsome as you."

"As handsome as me?" Ahanay caught his reflection on the shining floor before clearing his throat. "It must have been her brother."

"She doesn't have one, sir."

"A cousin."

"Cousins can marry each other in her community, sir."

"She's married to me," he growled and the butler bowed, hiding his cheeky smile. "Where did she go?"

"She didn't tell---"

"Of course, she didn't." Clenching his fists, Ahanay strode towards his secret dungeon and slammed the door so hard that the entire house shook as if an earthquake was summoned.

* * *

Ahanay wrapped his belt around his throbbing, red hand, the hand that had punched the marble wall in a roaring rage that consumed his entire being. He had never been so rash, but tonight, something strange was bothering him. He was restless as if his body was on fire and even the jacuzzi and the whisky couldn't calm him.

It was past midnight and his wife still hadn't returned home.

Just as he was about to send his guards to find her, footsteps approached him, clumsy and familiar. Here she comes. Taking one last sip, he furiously threw the glass against the wall that had hurt his hand, shattering it into a million pieces. The footsteps stilled.

"Did you have fun with that man?" he asked, scoffing. Who was he to her? And what the fuck were they doing till now?

"What? I'm barely drunk! Walls cannot talk! Woah, what is this!"

He allowed the "walls" to open with his remote and Naina stumbled in, looking wild and confused.

"Welcome to the dungeon," he said sarcastically, striding towards her with the black belt wrapped around his hand as she staggered back, hitting the wall that closed behind her. He was completely naked, drops of water from the jacuzzi slid down his abs and further down, where Naina didn't dare to look. "Now tell me my darling wife, who was that man?"

"Which-which man?" She hiccuped, her eyes round and wary.

"You know," he whispered, stepping closer to her and smirking at her nervousness. "My wife goes out with a man and comes home drunk at midnight."

"My husband goes out every day and never comes back," she fired back, narrowing her eyes.

"Why? Did you miss me?" He felt his body growing cold at her long pause. A pause that seemed to last for eternity. Her fear had dissipated and now, she was playing him! That little---

"Why should I?" Her demonic eyes were smiling at him, mocking him. "But it seems like . . ." Out of nowhere, he felt a soft hand wrap around his hardness and he sucked in a harsh breath. "You missed me."

For a minute, neither of them dared to move or breathe.

Fuck. His entire body was hot, his nerves were pulsating and his heart was racing ahead of time. His mind was blank. All he could feel was her soft hand holding his throbbing hardness. He needed her. More. No. He ached for her.

"Take off your dress. Now," he ordered, unable to control himself anymore. His eyes were hooded with lust and he grew larger and larger in her hand. It took every muscle in his body to not rip her clothes off and take her against the wall. His jaw was clamped shut and his hands were balled in fists, clawing at his own skin, reminding himself to go easy on her.

For a second, he saw her stunned eyes before a smile spread on her lips. "You know what? I will."

Her hand left him to grab the band of her skirt and he quickly turned around, perplexed. His heart was beating so loudly that he was afraid if she could hear it. What was going on? How did she become so brave? She couldn't be this drunk, her eyes and voice were as sober as a nun. Yet her actions---

"Turn around," she commanded and Ahanay felt his body go rigid like a rock. "Turn around and watch me."

He slowly turned around, his crazy heart doing somersaults and his thoughts battling with each other, trying to win over his muddled mind. He was way more experienced than her, yet why, why couldn't he hold himself upright? What was this beguiling, little witch doing to him?

Naina wiggled out of her dark, floral skirt, the material dropping into a heap around her ankles. The sound of that drop was louder than the silence around them, drawing Ahanay's eyes to her smooth and pale legs. But a powerful force was pulling him in and he couldn't help, but give in. His eyes surrendered to hers that was watching him all along. And for a split second, he caught a glimpse of her entire soul in those bewitching, black eyes.

"Keep watching," she said, her voice fearless and powerful as she reached towards the hem of her blouse.

"Keep watching?" He thought, recovering from all the suddenness and madness that this woman had brought upon him. "I'm going to do much more to you than just watch."

"W-What?"

"Go on," he urged, taking a step forward. "You're too far in the game to quit, my darling."

"Who-Who talked about quitting?" Biting her plump lips, she clutched at her blouse and closed her eyes, giving into the dangerous game of seduction and power. "Naina always wins."

*

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