The iron gates creaked open with eerie smoothness, like they’d been waiting for her.

Aira clutched the strap of her bag tighter, her heartbeat thudding in her ears as the taxi rolled up the circular driveway. Her breath fogged the glass when she leaned forward, trying to make sense of the towering mansion in front of her.

Karan's mansion

Dark. Cold. Beautiful. Like him.

A man in black - stiff posture, not smiling - opened her door. “Miss Sharma,” he greeted her curtly. “Welcome. Please follow me.”

No time to hesitate. She stepped out.
The marble beneath her feet was colder than she expected, and the silence of the house swallowed her whole. Her footsteps echoed like tiny confessions as she followed the butler - or assistant, or… guard? - through corridors that seemed to stretch endlessly.

She wanted to look around, but she felt watched.

And then there she was.

He was standing at the end of the hallway.

Dr. Karan Malhotra.

Leaning casually against a wall, his shirt sleeves rolled up, hands in his pockets, eyes… fixed on her. Dark, intense, and unreadable. The air shifted the moment he looked at her.

“You came,” he said softly, as if he already knew she would.

“I didn’t have much choice,” she replied, her voice smaller than she intended.

Karan pushed off the wall and walked toward her - slow, controlled, predatory. He stopped just a breath away. She could smell his cologne, something rich and dark and way too intimate.

“There’s always a choice, Aira,” he murmured.

He tilted his head slightly, studying her like a puzzle he couldn’t wait to take apart. “Hungry?” he asked.

She blinked. “A little.”

“Good,” he said, his lips curling into something between a smirk and a threat. “But not for food, I hope.”

Her breath hitched.

"So now that you're here, the contract begins.”

She blinked in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll live here,” he said, simply. “For a month. With me. That’s the deal.”
Aira’s stomach flipped.

“Here? Like… in this house?”

Karan smirked. “Yes. You’ll eat here, sleep here, follow my rules here. You wanted money, Aira. This is how it comes.”

“This wasn’t - ”

Karan raised an eyebrow. “Page four. Clause three.

His tone was indifferent, cool. “You should’ve read it before signing.”

A flicker of memory surged.

‘Sign it. Or leave.’

She had been too overwhelmed. Too desperate.
The pen had trembled in her fingers as she scrawled her name.
She hadn’t flipped to page four.

The memory replayed in her mind like a sharp whisper, dragging her back to the moment she surrendered everything for a chance at saving her mother.

Aira’s mouth felt dry. “You tricked me.”

Karan didn’t blink. “I didn’t hide anything. You chose not to read.”

His gaze dropped to her lips, then rose again, eyes darkening. “One month. That’s all. And by the end of it… we’ll both have what we want.”

Before she could speak again, he stepped back and gestured to a woman in soft grey.

“This is Maya. She’ll show you to your room. Unpack. Shower. Change. You’ll join me for dinner in an hour.”

And with that, he turned and disappeared down the hall, his presence lingering long after he was gone.

Aira exhaled slowly.

This wasn’t just a deal.
It was the beginning of her undoing.

🥀🥀🥀

Author :- Let's see what happens in the next chapter when Aira finally enter in devil's world 😉

This chapter was little short, let me know your views on this chapter.

Please do vote😊
Drop ❤️ in comments.