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Vikrant clenches his jaw and glares at her for a few seconds. Then, with a deep sigh of surrender, he abruptly opens the door and walks out. He refuses to sleep in a place he now considers contaminated. He had just cleaned the room to his impeccable standards, but calling the staff again would only exacerbate the situation. He needs solitude. As soon as he leaves, Jhankar bursts into a silent victory dance on the bed, her hands in the air, her body bouncing with delight. After a few moments, she calms down, lies back, and exhales deeply.

“I know this isn’t going to be easy,” she whispers to herself. “But nothing is impossible. And Jhankar, you will do this.”

Her smile fades slightly as she reflects on everything that has happened in the past few days. Tears begin to fill her eyes again, and she sits up abruptly, wiping them with the back of her hand. Her gaze shifts toward the door where Vikrant had just exited.

“I will make every single moment of yours so difficult that you’ll dread marrying me. I may not have your strength or your power, but with patience, stubbornness, and clever little moves, I’ll trouble you more than you could ever imagine. You may have won battles before, Vikrant, but this war… this war is mine.”

CHAPTER 16

FIRST DAY

Vikrant had slept in an adjacent room. He was utterly exhausted, so he fell asleep quickly. As soon as he woke up in the morning, he prepared to bathe, as per his usual habit. However, a sudden realization struck him: he wasn’t in his room but rather in another one. That thought prompted him to return immediately to his original room, where he began a thorough inspection.

Jhankar was still fast asleep. On the bed lay a laptop and several open books. He deduced that after his departure, she had either been reading or working late into the night. To confirm this, he checked whether the laptop screen was still active. The moment he touched it, the last-used screen lit up. He began inspecting the device, and, naturally, his eyes wandered back to Jhankar. From the looks of it, she had been deeply engrossed in something important.

He took a deep breath and was about to leave when he noticed a faint bruise on her wrist. He instantly recognized it from when he had gripped her wrist too tightly the previous day. He knew exactly how it had happened. He had never dealt with women before and hadn't realized that his strength could leave such a mark.

Choosing to ignore the guilt and the growing unease, he headed for the bathroom. Vikrant was very particular about his routine, he didn’t tolerate negligence. He believed that even a minor delay in one task could cause a domino effect, throwing hisentire day into chaos. After a quick shower, he changed into his gym attire and prepared to leave. However, his eyes once again fell on Jhankar, still fast asleep amid a scattered mess of books and the open laptop.

He disliked disorder, especially around him. It disrupted his mental rhythm. He paused, walked over to the bed, shut down the laptop, arranged the books neatly, and adjusted the duvet carefully, tucking her in. After a final glance to ensure everything was in place, he left for the gym.

Jhankar had stayed up until 3:00 a.m., so she was still deeply asleep. When Vikrant returned from the gym, a maid approached him cautiously and spoke in a hushed tone.

“Sir, Sharda Maa said that today Madam has to make some sweets in the kitchen… Can we go to your room?”

Judging by the maid’s careful demeanor and his earlier visit to the room, Vikrant surmised that Jhankar was still asleep. He recalled seeing her searching for job vacancies at 2:30 a.m. Her exhaustion was understandable.

“Whatever it is, I’ll tell her. She’ll come to the kitchen in a while,” he replied coolly.

“Okay, sir…”

As he entered the room, he noticed that the bed was empty. He exhaled sharply—he wasn’t sure how he would’ve woken her up if she had still been sleeping. His eyes then landed on her standing in front of the closet… wearing his bathrobe.

“You’re wearing my bathrobe,” he said flatly.

Jhankar suddenly turned, her damp hair cascading over her cheeks with the sudden motion. She had clearly just bathed. Vikrant instinctively averted his gaze, caught off guard byher unbothered confidence. But she ignored him entirely and returned to sifting through clothes in the closet. Vikrant hated being ignored. It always triggered a reaction in him. He walked closer, attempting to control his irritation, and asking in a tense voice,

“What’s your problem?”

“I don’t know what to wear,” she replied without facing him. “Last night, your mother said I should wear a saree. But I’ve never worn one before. The blouse is hard to pin, probably because it’s loose. Your runaway bride must’ve been a little on the heavier side. I mean, obviously, you didn’t plan to kidnap someone else for this wedding. My teachers always emphasized preparation, and here we are…”

Vikrant had only asked because he couldn’t tolerate being ignored. But she was now rambling about something entirely different. He dismissed her words and, staring at his robe on her, snapped:

“I don’t like anyone touching my things.”

Jhankar turned her head slightly and replied sharply.

“And what about me? You kidnapped me, stormed into my life, and forced me into this marriage, and now you expect obedience? Do I look like a fool to you?”

Vikrant realized this girl wouldn’t yield easily. Anger flared in his eyes. He raised his finger to warn her, only for Jhankar to immediately catch his finger in her grip and lower it, staring at him squarely.

“Yesterday, while talking to your mother, I realized how deeply she loves you,” she said calmly. “Shall I create a scene in frontof her about your little kidnapping act? I heard she’s a heart patient.”

The moment her words sank in, Vikrant's expression changed. In a flash, he grabbed her neck and pinned her against the wall, his eyes burning with rage.

“Control your tongue,” he hissed.

But Jhankar, unfazed, wrenched his hand away from her neck and shoved him back with surprising force, causing him to stagger. As he glared at her in disbelief, she smiled.