The Billionaire's Bride [ Rewritten]

Part 30 | A Debt of Blood

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Kartik stood beside the long French window in his cabin, overlooking the city stretched beneath him. Traffic crawled like veins pumping life through endless concrete. People hurried across crossings.

The world hadn't paused.

It never did.

A month had rolled by.

Thirty-one days since twisted metal, shattered glass, and the sickening sight of blood.

Kartik's limbs had finally stopped protesting every movement. The stitches near his temple had come out a week ago, leaving behind a faint scar that disappeared beneath his hair. The fracture in his shoulder had healed enough for him to ditch the sling, though sudden movements still sent a dull ache through his arm.

His recovery had been remarkable and steady. He knew he owed it all to his doting wife.

Naira had poured herself into his care, watching over him with a tender, tireless vigilance. She was there for every grueling physical therapy session, anchoring him when his footing failed, and quietly ensuring that every detail of his world was managed so he could simply focus on healing.

Behind him, his office looked untouched.
His laptop had remained closed for the third day in a row. Contracts waited unsigned. Board meetings had been postponed. His assistant had stopped asking whether he planned on attending anything.

Surviving on caffeine and overthinking.

His gaze drifted toward the small crystal globe sitting on the corner of his desk.
He picked it up absentmindedly, rolling it between his fingers. A strange thought crossed his mind.

What if the world had been a cube instead of a sphere?

There would've been corners.
Places where things disappeared. Places where people could hide.

Where grief couldn't find you. Where guilt couldn't catch up. Where memories couldn't corner you in the middle of an ordinary Tuesday afternoon.

You could simply walk around an edge and leave everything waiting on the other side.

You could Hide.

For the first time in his life that sounded comforting.

Because never before had Kartik wanted to run away.

Not when his first high-profile acquisition collapsed at twenty-two.

Not when competitors circled his company like vultures, convinced he was too young to survive.

Not when betrayal came dressed as loyalty.

Not when success demanded pieces of him he could never get back.

Not when he'd buried himself in work after losing his twin to death.

He had walked into every battle life had thrown at him.

Built something stronger each time.

But this...

This wasn't business.

This wasn't a loss.

This was terror wrapped inside love.

His reflection stared back at him from the glass. Colder. Sharper.

Business only threatened what he owned. This threatened who he couldn't live without.

.
.
.

Three days ago,