Marked By His Shadow

The first time he saw her, she was laughing.

The second time, she was alone.

The third time... she was already his.

Aarohi never noticed him.

Not when she crossed the street with her headphones on.
Not when she sat by the café window every Friday evening.
Not when she whispered someone else's name in her sleep.

But he noticed everything.

The way she twists the ring on her finger when she's nervous.
The exact time she switches off her bedroom light.
The soft fear in her eyes when she feels like someone is watching.

Because someone always is.

He doesn't touch her.
He doesn't speak to her.
He doesn't need to.

Love, after all, doesn't require permission.

It requires patience.

And he has been patient.

Very patient.

Until the night she screams.

Until the night someone else dares to put their hands on her.

Until the night she realizes-

The real danger was never the man who attacked her.

It was the man who saved her.

And now...

She belongs to the darkness that saved her.

She belongs to him.