UNWILLINGLY HIS

Darkness

Advait sat in his dimly lit study, his laptop screen glowing faintly as he reviewed a series of files. The mansion was unusually quiet, the kind of silence that seemed to stretch endlessly. His fingers moved across the keyboard with practiced precision until, without warning, the room went dark.

The screen blacked out, the soft hum of electricity fading into nothingness. A power cut.

Advait leaned back in his chair, letting out a low sigh. This wasn’t unusual—an old wiring issue the mansion staff hadn’t resolved yet. The backup generator would kick in soon, and everything would be back to normal.

But then, an unwelcome thought pierced his mind.

Samaira.

His breath hitched as memories from the past resurfaced. He remembered her trembling hands, her wide, fearful eyes whenever darkness engulfed the room. She had always been terrified of the dark, finding it suffocating and consuming.

Without hesitation, Advait rose from his chair, his urgency masked by the calm precision of his movements. He strode through the shadowy hallways, the faint moonlight streaming through the windows his only guide. His footsteps echoed against the cold marble floor as he approached her room.

He pushed the door open without knocking, his mind racing.

But what he saw stopped him in his tracks.

Samaira stood by the window, bathed in silver moonlight, her frame outlined against the glass. She wasn’t cowering in fear or curled up in a corner as he had expected. Instead, she was calm, her hands resting on the windowsill, her posture relaxed.

“Samaira,” he called softly, his voice breaking the stillness.

She turned slowly, her face unreadable in the dim light. “Yes?” she replied, her tone neutral, almost indifferent.

He frowned, studying her. “You’re not scared of the dark anymore?”

A faint, humorless smile tugged at her lips. “Not anymore,” she said, her voice carrying a quiet strength. “After everything that’s happened, the darkness doesn’t feel like a demon anymore. It feels like a savior—an escape from the chaos of this world.”

She turned her gaze back to the window, the moonlight glinting in her eyes. “I find peace in it now. Sometimes, the things that break you change you... from your very core.”

Her words cut through him like a blade, sharp and unexpected. He didn’t want to acknowledge the weight they carried, didn’t want to feel the faint tug of guilt they stirred. But he couldn’t deny it.

For a moment, he said nothing, his jaw tightening as he fought the unfamiliar pang in his chest. Then, in his usual controlled tone, he said, “Whatever happens is for a reason.” He stepped closer, his voice dropping slightly. “And whatever is happening now... it’s for a reason too. You may not understand it today, but one day, you will.”

Samaira turned to face him fully, her expression a mix of curiosity and defiance. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” she asked, her voice steady but laced with bitterness.

Advait smirked faintly, the mask of his usual demeanor slipping back into place. “Not everything is about comfort, Samaira. Sometimes, it’s about survival.” He gestured around the room. “And see, whatever happened, it’s made you stronger. You don’t fear the dark anymore.”

Samaira studied him intently, her brows furrowing slightly as if she were trying to read the thoughts he kept hidden. “You think this is strength?” she asked quietly. “Maybe it’s just emptiness.”

Her words lingered in the air, heavy and unyielding. Advait’s smirk faltered for the briefest of moments before he turned and stepped toward the door.

“Get some rest,” he said without looking back. “You’ll need it.”

The lights flickered back on, flooding the room with brightness as he left.

Samaira’s POV

I stared at the door long after he left, his words echoing in my mind.

“Whatever is happening now... it’s for a reason.”

A reason? What reason could there possibly be for this nightmare of a life?

I wanted to laugh, to scoff at his arrogance, but I couldn’t. His words lingered, tugging at something deep inside me.

Turning back to the window, I let my gaze drift over the moonlit gardens. The darkness outside no longer felt oppressive. It wasn’t the darkness that scared me anymore—it was the man walking these very halls.

Advait thought he knew me. He thought he could break me. But he didn’t see the truth. I wasn’t broken. I wasn’t strong either. I was something else entirely—numb.

His words about survival weren’t lost on me. I could see it in his eyes, the way his voice faltered just slightly. Maybe survival wasn’t just my battle—it was his too.

But why?

Advait’s POV

As he walked back to his study, her words echoed in his mind like a haunting melody.

“Maybe it’s just emptiness.”

He didn’t want to admit it, but they had struck a nerve. Samaira had always had a way of cutting through his armor, of finding the one vulnerable spot he hadn’t fortified.

Reaching his desk, he sat down and stared at the now-functional laptop screen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard. He couldn’t focus.

She had changed—there was no denying that. The fragile, naïve girl he had known was gone, replaced by someone colder, harder, and infinitely more intriguing. She wasn’t the same Samaira he had left behind.

And yet, she was.

“Whatever is happening now, it’s for a reason.”

He told her those words, but the truth was, he wasn’t sure if he believed them himself. He wanted to, needed to. Because if there was no reason, then what was all of this for?

He clenched his jaw, shaking off the unwanted thoughts. There was no room for doubt in his world. Samaira would come to understand that in time.

One day, she would see. She would see that everything he had done—everything he was doing—was for a reason.

And when that day came, she wouldn’t hate him anymore.

Would she?