Chapter Two: The Mask Slips

Chapter Two: The Mask Slips(Rose's POV)

Time stopped.

The air itself seemed to curdle.

The man standing before us wasn't V—not the charming, polished heir who laughed with diplomats and charmed my parents.

This was someone else entirely. Something else.

His eyes, usually warm and crinkled with smiles, were now flat, dark pools of ice.

The mask hadn't just slipped; it had shattered.

"Where," V's voice was a low, controlled tremor—each word a shard of glass—"is my wife?"

He took one step forward. Just one.

But it was enough to make the entire room shrink back.

He moved with a predator's grace, his focus absolute—and it landed squarely on me.

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.

I instinctively clenched my fist, crumpling Shanaya's note, praying he wouldn't see.

His hand shot out—fast as a cobra strike.

Fingers clamped around my wrist like a manacle, cold and unyielding. Pain lanced up my arm.

"Let go—" I gasped.

He ignored me. His gaze dropped to my clenched fist.

With a cruel twist, he pried my fingers open and snatched the paper.

He read it—once, twice—his eyes scanning the desperate words.

Then he laughed.

It was a hollow, chilling sound that didn't belong in the sunlit room.

Not laughter of joy, but of pure, unadulterated contempt.

"So my blushing bride got cold feet?" he sneered, crushing the note in his fist.

"She thinks she can run from me? From this?"

He gestured around the opulent room—at the extravagance, the spectacle.

"She thinks this is a game she can quit?"

His amusement vanished. What replaced it was worse—fury so intense it was almost quiet.

He leaned in, his voice dropping to a deadly whisper meant only for me, yet echoing in the terrified silence.

"I don't care if she's hiding in a gutter. I want my wife back at this mandap in twenty minutes."

"Or I will make sure this day is seared into your family's memory as the day they lost everything."

He turned on his heel.

The small army of relatives and associates followed him without a word—a silent, grim procession.

The door clicked shut, and the spell broke.

My knees gave way.

I collapsed to the floor, the cold marble biting my skin, the fire of his grip still burning on my cheek.

My mother sobbed—a raw, broken sound.

My father stood frozen, the weight of V's threat pressing down like iron.

Then he moved.

He dropped to his knees before me, gripping my shoulders—not to comfort, but to demand answers.

"Rose," he rasped, desperate. "You know. She tells you everything. Where did she go? You have to tell us!"

"Papa, I swear on my life, I don't know!" I cried, tears spilling.

"She was fine until yesterday! But after she went to see V—"

The words caught in my throat.

Too late.

My father's face shifted—from desperation to horror, then blazing anger.

"She met with V? Alone? Before the wedding and you said nothing?"

"I didn't think it was—"

CRACK.

His palm connected with my cheek.

The sound split the silence.

My head snapped to the side, white-hot pain blooming across my skin.

I sat frozen—too stunned to cry.

"YOU KNEW SHE WAS UNHAPPY AND YOU KEPT IT FROM US?" he roared.

Before he could strike again, a blur of movement cut through the space.

JK stepped between us, catching my father's wrist in a firm, unyielding grip.

"Bas! That's enough!"

His voice was low, furious—a tone I'd never heard from him before.

"Hitting her won't bring Shanaya back. This isn't her fault!"

My father froze, shocked by the defiance from a boy he considered a mere family friend.

JK turned to me, his eyes softening.

"Rose? Are you okay?"

I could only nod, pressing my hand to my throbbing cheek.

Then the door burst open.

My cousin Rohit stumbled in, face pale.

"Mama ji! V's men—they're tearing the farmhouse apart! Searching every room, every car... like animals!"

Before anyone could speak, the door slammed open again.

V was back.

This time, he wasn't alone.

Four men in dark suits flanked him—his personal security.

Their eyes missed nothing.

Relatives murmured to my uncles and father in hushed tones.

The words business, reputation, misunderstanding slithered through the air like venom.

V ignored them all. His gaze found me again.

"Well?" he asked, deceptively calm. "Has anyone managed to locate my missing property?"

Silence answered.

His lips curved into a terrible, mock-friendly smile.

"Rose," he crooned, stepping closer.

"My dear, sweet saali. Shanaya always said you two had no secrets. So let's try again. Where. Is. My. Wife?"

I shook my head, trembling.

"I don't know. I swear to god, V, I don't—"

He moved faster than thought. His hand caught my jaw, forcing my face up.

Pain shot through me, sharp and humiliating.

"Take your hands off her."

The voice was calm, firm—Jimin.

He stepped forward, hands in his pockets, looking utterly unbothered.

V's eyes narrowed, venom flickering.

"Oh, now you have an opinion? How convenient."

"Let her go, V," Jimin said evenly. "She's a child. She doesn't know anything. Your problem isn't with her."

V's grip tightened—then released.

He shoved me back into JK's waiting arms.

"You always did have a soft spot for this one, didn't you, Jimin?"

"I told you to stay away from her."

"Maybe you should be less concerned with who I talk to," Jimin replied coolly,

"and more concerned with what you did to make a woman run from a fifty-crore wedding."

The insult hit its mark.

V's composure cracked for a moment before his phone buzzed.

He turned away, answering sharply.

We all watched the tension gather in his shoulders as he listened.

When he turned back, the fury was gone—replaced by something worse.

A cold, terrifying certainty.

(V's POV)

"She followed you, sir. To the south warehouse. She heard the entire conversation with the dealer from Delhi.

She recorded some of it on her phone. She was gone before we could intercept her."

She recorded it.

So that was it.

Shanaya hadn't just gotten cold feet—she had evidence.

She thought she could expose me.

Destroy everything I'd built.

This wasn't a tantrum.

It was a declaration of war.

And she thought she could win.

A cold focus settled over me. The emotion drained away, leaving only calculation.

She'd made her move.

Now I would make mine.

She thought she could run.

But she forgot about the people she left behind.

They were my leverage. My path to her.

And the younger one... Rose. So soft. So loyal. So easily broken.

Perfect.

His thoughts flickered back to that night—their last real conversation before the wedding.

"Taehyung, you don't scare me," Shanaya had said quietly. "But sometimes I think you're more afraid of losing your image than losing yourself."

He had looked at her then, calm but cold.

"You don't understand. My family bled for this name. We built it brick by brick, fighting every lie and every rival.

If you ever do something that harms our reputation—even by accident—I won't forgive you, Shanaya."

He had meant it.

And now she had done the very thing he had warned her against.

When his call ended, he turned—and his father was standing there.

Mr. Kim, his tone cutting and absolute:

"Taehyung, the wedding will happen. Too many important people are here. Investors, ministers, the press—our name cannot be dragged through mud because of one foolish girl.

Handle it. I don't care how."

V nodded once.

He understood perfectly.

The show would go on—no matter the cost.

(Author's POV)

V turned back to the room, calm once more.

His gaze swept over everyone before landing on Jimin.

"You," he said softly. "You knew. Was this your pathetic attempt to undermine me? Did you help her run?"

Jimin didn't flinch.

"If I had, would you still be standing here? Or already in handcuffs?"

The wrong thing to say.

V moved—an eruption of violence.

He crossed the room in two strides, fisting Jimin's collar.

"You smug bastard! You've always been jealous! You think you can take what's mine?!"

JK and Rohit jumped in, pulling V back as he struggled, eyes locked on Jimin.

Jimin calmly straightened his collar, contempt curling his lips.

"You did this to yourself, V. No one else."

V stilled, breathing hard. The rage cooled, buried beneath iron control.

He turned to my father.

"The wedding," he said, his tone suddenly businesslike, "will proceed. Right now."

My father blinked, confused.

"V... what are you saying? Shanaya is gone—"

"Shanaya is irrelevant!"

The words cracked through the air like a whip.

"A deal was made. A merger was agreed upon. My reputation—my family's reputation—will not collapse over one girl's hysterics."

His gaze shifted—to me.

"The pheras will happen. Today."

JK stepped in front of me, defiant.

"With who?" my father whispered, horrified, already knowing the answer.

V smiled—a thin, merciless smile.

"With her."

The word hung heavy, sealing my fate.

"This isn't about love anymore, Mr. Sharma," he said softly.

"It's about obedience. About consequence.

Your daughter made a choice. Now her sister will bear the cost."

He wasn't asking.

He was declaring a new, terrible reality.

The cage—gilded and beautiful—had just slammed shut.

To Be Continued...

Will Rose be forced to marry V?

How will JK react?

And where is Shanaya hiding—with her dangerous evidence?

Meet you in the next chapter... 💔

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