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The mansion was silent, almost suffocating, except for the soft hum of the security system that Veeresh Deewan had installed everywhere. Cameras, guards, hidden passages — nothing escaped his gaze. Nothing.

Poornima sat in the kitchen, her hands shaking as she stirred the tea. One slip, one careless moment, and her plan might fail — but desperation had driven her.

She had infused the tea with sedatives. One sip, and the man who claimed her, the devil in human skin, would sleep. Maybe then she could run. Maybe then she could breathe again.

But as Veeresh entered the room, the faint smirk on his face froze her.

> “Planning something, Ruby?” His voice was calm, almost playful.

Her hands trembled. “I… I just… tea,” she stammered, heart hammering.

He watched her quietly, letting her slip the powder into the cup. Letting her believe she was in control.

She served it to him, hands quivering, and his eyes followed every movement, cold and calculating.

“Thank you,” he said finally, taking the cup. He drank it slowly, deliberately, as if savoring the moment.

Within minutes, Poornima’s heart leapt — he slumped into the chair, seemingly unconscious. Relief washed over her like rain. She ran to the window, pressing her hands to the glass, imagining the streets beyond, freedom, the world outside Veeresh’s suffocating empire.

But Veeresh wasn’t asleep.

For the next week, Poornima watched him, half-guilty, half-terrified. Every time she peeked at him, she saw the stillness of a man who controlled everything, yet in her mind, she thought he was truly drugged.

Her conscience pricked her relentlessly. She remembered how his hands had held her the night she kissed him, how his shoulder had absorbed her tears.

“What have I done?” she whispered one night, staring at his inert form.

“I betrayed him… even if he is a devil.”

The mansion felt like a prison. One week passed, the sun rising and setting without mercy. Poornima’s thoughts ran in circles — should I apologize, or leave before he wakes?

Every plan of escape had failed. Guards everywhere. Cameras in every corner. The world beyond Veeresh was a fantasy, unreachable.

Finally, after seven days, as she sat beside him in the quiet, Poornima made a decision.

“When you wake up,” she whispered, tears brimming in her eyes,

“I’ll apologize. I’ll talk to you. And I’ll accept… whatever comes. But I’ll never try to deceive you again.”

The mansion remained silent, the air thick with anticipation. Outside, the city continued unaware that the devil himself was lying in wait, about to awaken — and the girl who had tried to outsmart him was already trapped in the game she didn’t fully understand.