Page 141 of Since You Stole My Heart

Viraj tightened his grip. ‘You made the foolish mistake of not taking my warning seriously and chose to dig your own grave. Did you forget about the pictures?’

She met his gaze head-on. ‘You don’t have anything anymore. My brothers made sure of it.’

His voice went frighteningly calm. ‘Did they?’

Viraj reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a new phone.

Her eyes widened with a sudden jolt of adrenaline, her heart stuttering violently.

‘I really hoped it wouldn’t come to this,’ he said almost regretfully, waving it in front of her face.

‘You can shove your empty threats up your ass. I saw your broken phone, so you don’t have anything left,’ she fired back.

‘Do you really think I’d be stupid enough to keep everything in one place?’ Viraj leaned closer, the smell of alcohol heavy on his breath. ‘I might be obsessed with you, but I’m not careless. You’re not the only person I stalk. You’re just the one I enjoy the most.’

The realisation hit her with a sickening thud.

Everything Dhruv and Vihaan had done had been for nothing.

She was still trapped.

‘Let’s see how confident you feel now.’ Viraj tapped the screen and turned the phone towards her.

The same topless picture he had once sent her flashed in the small thumbnail, already uploaded. The ads crowding the bottom of the page made it clear it was an adult website.

A gasp tore out of her at the sheer force of the fear that hit the moment she read the caption.

Hi, I’m Kashvi Kashyap Sharma, and I’ll be yours at the right price.

Her stomach dropped so violently she nearly lost her balance.

Acting on instinct, Kashvi tried to lunge for his phone, but he tsked, holding her in place. ‘Careful,’ he cooed, his thumb hovering over the blue upload button. ‘If you make me lose my balance, I might make this live. Is that what you want? To go viral?’

She forced herself to stay still. Every muscle locked and every instinct screamed at her to keep fighting. She had to grit her teeth to stop herself from screaming in frustration.

Viraj patted her head. ‘It doesn’t have to be like this, but you make me lose my temper. All I want is for you to obey me and give in. Would it really be so bad to have a life with me?’

Revulsion burned through the fear. ‘I would rather jump off the tallest building I can find than spend a single second of my life with you.’

The hint of vulnerability in his eyes vanished, replaced by something dark and volatile. ‘Fine. Let me give you a reason to do that.’

With a sneer, Viraj pressed the upload button. Her heart leapt into her throat, and her breath froze.

A new prompt appeared on the screen with two options.

Are you ready to share?

When his thumb hovered too close to the flashing green tick, Kashvi screamed desperately, ‘Stop!’

‘You think I want to do this?’ Viraj snapped. The possessiveness in his tone made her skin crawl. ‘You’re mine, and mine only. The idea of creeps sitting behind their screens looking at this picture of you makes my blood boil. But you’re the one forcing me to do this.’

Before she could react, he caught her jaw again in a bruising grip. His fingers dug into her cheeks as he added, ‘You’re too slow and dumb to understand the danger you’re in. That’s why I have to make it real for you. Otherwise, you won’t give me what I want.’

Her teeth clenched under the strain. ‘I’ve been asking you what the hell you want, but you just keep playing these sick games.’

His eyes darkened with barely restrained rage. ‘Have you asked me nicely? Have you begged me?’

The heavy, humiliating question drove deep into her chest. She crushed the revulsion in her heart and said, ‘Tell me what it will take to get you to leave me alone... please.’