The rule of his cage

The mansion didn’t feel like a home.

It felt like a place where voices weren’t allowed to exist.

Aarav stood at the entrance, his small suitcase beside him, staring at the towering gates that had just closed behind him with a heavy metallic sound.

Click.

Locked.

Not just the gate.

Something inside him too.

---

“From today onward, you live here.”

Ruhan’s voice came from behind, calm as ever.

Aarav turned slightly. Ruhan stood a few steps away, dressed in black, like he belonged to the shadows more than the light. His expression hadn’t changed since yesterday.

Cold.

Unreachable.

Aarav nodded. “Okay.”

That was all he said.

Because what else was there to say?

---

Inside, everything was too perfect.

Too clean.

Too quiet.

Servants moved silently, their eyes lowered. No one spoke to him. No one welcomed him.

It was like he didn’t exist.

---

“Your room is on the third floor,” Ruhan said as they walked. “You are not to enter my private office. You will not ask questions about my business.”

Aarav followed, listening.

“You will attend events when I tell you. You will act accordingly.”

A pause.

“And you will not interfere in my life.”

Each word felt like a rule carved into stone.

Aarav finally asked, “What about… your life here?”

Ruhan stopped walking.

Slowly turned.

“What about it?”

Aarav hesitated. “Do I… belong anywhere in it?”

For a second, silence filled the hallway.

Then—

“You belong where I place you.”

The answer was instant.

Sharp.

Final.

---

Aarav looked down.

“…I understand.”

Even if it hurt.

---

His room was big.

Too big.

The bed untouched. The curtains drawn perfectly. The air smelled like something expensive—but not warm.

Not human.

He placed his suitcase down quietly.

“Dinner is at 8,” Ruhan said from the doorway. “Do not be late.”

And just like that—

He left.

---

That night, Aarav sat across from him at a long dining table.

Too far.

Even though they were the only two people there.

Plates were placed.

Food served.

But the silence was heavier than anything else.

Aarav tried to eat.

Tried to act normal.

But under Ruhan’s gaze—

Even breathing felt wrong.

---

“You’re shaking.”

Aarav froze.

“I’m not,” he whispered.

Ruhan set his fork down.

“You are.”

His eyes were sharp, observing every small movement.

Aarav tightened his hands under the table.

“I’m fine.”

A lie.

A weak one.

Ruhan leaned back slightly, watching him like a puzzle.

“You’ll need to fix that.”

Aarav blinked. “Fix… what?”

“That weakness.”

The word hit harder than expected.

“You represent me now,” Ruhan continued. “I don’t tolerate flaws.”

Aarav’s appetite disappeared completely.

“I’ll try,” he said quietly.

“Don’t try,” Ruhan replied.

“Change.”

---

After dinner, Aarav stood up slowly.

“Where are you going?” Ruhan asked.

“To my room.”

“No.”

Aarav paused.

Ruhan’s gaze darkened slightly.

“You will stay.”

Aarav’s chest tightened. “Why?”

A long silence.

Then—

“To learn.”

---

Ruhan stood and walked toward him.

Each step slow.

Controlled.

Aarav’s heart began to pound.

Not because of what Ruhan did—

But because of what he might do.

Ruhan stopped right in front of him.

Close.

Too close.

“Look at me,” he said.

Aarav hesitated—

Then did.

Big mistake.

Because those eyes held nothing.

No warmth.

No softness.

Just control.

---

“You will stop flinching,” Ruhan said quietly.

Aarav hadn’t even noticed he was.

“You will stop hesitating.”

His voice dropped slightly.

“And you will stop looking like you’re about to break.”

Aarav swallowed hard.

“I’m trying—”

“I said don’t try.”

Ruhan’s hand suddenly gripped his chin—not violently, but firmly enough that Aarav couldn’t look away.

“Learn.”

Aarav’s breath caught.

“Or you won’t survive here.”

---

Then—

He let go.

Just like that.

As if Aarav meant nothing.

---

“Go to your room,” Ruhan said, already turning away.

Conversation over.

Lesson finished.

Aarav stood there for a few seconds.

Frozen.

Then slowly…

He walked away.

---

That night, in the silence of a room too big for one person—

Aarav curled into himself on the bed.

No tears.

No sound.

Just a quiet, suffocating feeling in his chest.

Because he finally understood something.

This wasn’t a marriage.

This wasn’t even a life.

It was a cage.

And the worst part?

He had signed himself into it.

---

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