Captivated By Him

|65|trapped in madman's cage

​The next morning in France, the sun rose over a nightmare.
​Nandini woke up trapped in a suffocating embrace. He had wrapped his arms around her waist tightly in his sleep. Wincing, she hissed in pain and tried to push him away.

​"Ma..nik.. utho i..i..need to use washroom (Manik... wake up, I... I need to use the washroom),"
she stammered, her voice trembling.
​He blinked his eyes open.

The moment she looked at him, she suddenly flinched, an instinctual wave of fear washing over her.

​"Where are you going, jaana? What's the rush so soon?" he asked smoothly, brushing the stray hairs away from her forehead.

​"I.. Manik, what's wrong with you? Why are you behaving like this suddenly? Who is Mannat, and who are those green eyes? Please tell me it was a joke..." she pleaded, tears pooling in her eyes, desperately begging for normalcy.

​He let out a dark, amused laugh.

​"Come on, Nandu. I was just joking, relax..." he said, his fingers gently caressing her face in a way that made her skin crawl.

"Go and freshen up, jaan... I will make breakfast for you," he added with a bright, terrifying smile.

​Confused and deeply unsettled, she slowly got up and rushed into the washroom. She splashed cold water on her face, trying desperately to piece together the fragments of last night.

​"What's wrong with me? Am I really imagining all of this?" she thought, staring at her pale reflection in the mirror.

​Meanwhile at warehouse

​On the other side of the city, inside a dim, abandoned warehouse, the real Manik lay on a makeshift bed. He was heavily bruised and injured, an IV drip hooked to his veins. Suddenly, his fingers twitched.

​The doctor sitting beside him panicked instantly. He fumbled for his phone and dialed Anurag.

​"Hello," Anurag's cold voice echoed from the other end.

​"Sir, Manik sir ko hosh aa raha hai (Sir, Manik sir is regaining consciousness)!" the doctor reported in a panicked rush.

​"Injection lagao, shaant karwao usse. Hosh nahi aana chahiye (Inject him, calm him down. He must not wake up)!"
Anurag replied, his voice freezing into pure malice.
​The doctor gasped, visibly shocked.

"But... sir, it can affect him badly!" he stammered.

​"I don't care! Jab tak main na chahun, he should not get up. Agar woh utha, toh trust me Khanna, main tumhara pura khandaan mita dunga (Until I say so, he should not get up. If he does, then trust me Khanna, I will destroy your entire lineage),"
Anurag warned ruthlessly.

​"O..k sir,"
Doctor Khanna whispered, disconnecting the call. He walked toward Manik with a loaded syringe.
​Manik's heavy eyelids fluttered open, fighting the darkness.

"Khan..na? Tum yeh.. (Khanna? You... what are you doing...)" he whispered hoarsely.

​Before he could say another word, Dr. Khanna plunged the needle into his line. Manik groaned, his eyelids turning painfully heavy as he sank back into a drug-induced slumber.

​Back at villa..

​As Anurag turned around after hanging up, his breath hitched. Nandini was standing right there, frozen like a statue.

​"Manik?? Who were you talking to? Whom are you trying to hurt?" she asked, the color completely draining from her face.

​"Tumhein nahi sunna chahiye tha yeh sab, Shona (You shouldn't have heard all this, Shona)," Anurag whispered, his eyes darkening.