A Dark Billionaire Romance
The Dawn: A Dark Billionaire Romance (Scintilla Book 23)
Welcome to the Scintilla Universe. If you like Dark Romance, don’t miss this one.
Reading in order is a must! If you are already a fan of Scintilla, you can start with Book Number 23 (Book Link). If not, follow the sequence below.
The Chase
- The Chase: The Beginning (Installment 1)
- The Chase: Unveiling Paradise (Installment 2)
- The Chase: The Masked Guy (Installment 3)
- The Chase: Unleashing The Demons (Installment 4)
- The Chase: The Winner (Installment 5)
The Possession
- The Possession: New Beginning (Installment 1)
- The Possession: The Rules (Installment 2)
- The Possession: Gilded Cage (Installment 3)
- The Possession: Unleashed Fury (Installment 4)
- The Possession: Ensnared Hearts (Installment 5)
The Submission
- The Submission: Her Resistance (Installment 1)
- The Submission: Her Confession (Installment 2)
- The Submission: The Good Times (Installment 3)
- The Submission: The Devil Struck (Installment 4)
- The Submission: Angel’s Judgement (Installment 5)
- Masquerade
The Reward
- The Reward: The Storm (Installment 1)
- The Reward: The Punishment (Installment 2)
- Maalik: Maurya Ahluwalia’s Story (The Reward)
- The Reward: The Aftermath (Installment 3)
- Devastation: Akhil Ahluwalia’s Story (The Reward)
Scintilla Universe
Don’t miss the Excerpt – The Dawn: A Dark Billionaire Romance (Scintilla Book 23)
“Want to eat an apple?” he asked, his voice low, almost a murmur against my hair. Or fuzzed, more like—he’d been doing that nonstop since the moment I woke up from the coma.
There were different fruits, peeled and cut, on the table in front of us. I shook my head, brushing my cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt. Today, I was finally discharged.
Three days since I’d opened my eyes and found my way back to him.
Most of my physical wounds had already healed while I’d been unconscious—miracle of time and science, I guess—but the fatigue clung stubbornly. Still, I’d bounced back quicker than expected. I had to report for checkups every alternate day for the next month, but I was done with the sterile walls of the medical room. This—our room—was home. And it felt like breathing again.
Everyone was shocked how did it happen. They said Agni called me back, maybe he did. They said as soon as Agni’s fingers brushed against my cheek, I opened my eyes. Maybe I did.
The little boy was already turning to be my favorite guy in the world. When Ansh and Tia were born, I was more stressed and exhausted to enjoy the bliss. But today I felt it, every moment of Agni’s presence in this world. Three days, and he was already ruling all of us.
I made a mistake and told Aayansh I missed him. He got him. But that meant he took him from Inaaya, his mother who was already running high on emotions. It was bad. Yet I couldn’t ask him to take him back, I just couldn’t. Agni was really adorable.
“Looks like Agni is eating something,” I murmured, watching the crib a few feet away. The little guy’s mouth was working like he had a secret stash of gum.
“Kids do that.”
I reached over carefully and picked Agni up from his crib. He gave me a smile—one of those soft, sleepy, soul-melting smiles that made your heart ache in the best way.
“He’s the most adorable kid in the world, Aayansh,” I whispered.
“He is,” he agreed without hesitation, like it was a universal truth.
The moment was so full it almost ached. Him. Me. Agni. Just the three of us, like this was always meant to be. But I had asked Martha to come in about thirty minutes, and the clock was ticking. Agni needed to be fed. We couldn’t keep him with us all the time, even if I wanted to.
Right on cue, a gentle knock sounded from inside.
“Who is it?” Aayansh called out, irritation already tightening his voice.
“Martha,” I answered.
His brows pulled together. “Why?”
“She’s here to take Agni,” I replied, brushing my fingers down the baby’s soft back.
“Why?” he repeated, baffled, as if I’d just suggested we send Agni to boarding school.
“Because, Aayansh,” I said patiently, “he needs to be fed. And Inaaya needs him too.”
“He doesn’t like leaving you.”
“And Inaaya is his mother.”
“He’s officially mine,” he declared, smug and shameless in his usual way.
“That’s because you’re a total controlling jerk.”
“That I’m,” he said, lips quirking. “God, I missed this.”
The door creaked open and Martha stepped in with her warm smile. I gestured toward the balcony and she walked out to join us.
“Here you go,” I said gently, handing Agni over.
But Agni had other plans. His little fingers locked into my hair like tiny anchors, tugging without mercy.
“I don’t want to go bald, Agni,” I winced, trying not to laugh.
Aayansh narrowed his eyes at the little one, his expression downright menacing. But Agni stared back, utterly unimpressed and completely unfazed. Like he was the authority here.
Martha chuckled as she gently intervened, prying Agni’s stubborn grip from my hair with the practiced ease of a baby whisperer. She settled him against her shoulder and exited quietly, leaving behind a silence that felt intimate.
I shifted slightly in his lap so I could look up at him, my palm resting against his cheek.
“I love you,” I said simply.
“I love you too,” he replied, without blinking, like it was the only thing that ever made sense.
“I love you more,” I teased.
“Undoubtedly you do, sweetheart,” he murmured, his voice soft with affection and something deeper, almost aching. “Your love is my only anchor, and I need nothing else. Absolutely nothing else.”
He stood then, still holding me as if I weighed nothing. I looped my arms around his neck, clinging to him like a lifeline. He carried me inside and gently placed me on the bed, his body hovering close. But something shifted. A subtle withdrawal, a sudden weight behind his silence. His eyes clouded, and his shoulders stiffened.
“What happened?” I asked, my voice low, uncertain.
And then it broke—the mask, the restraint, the armor. Aayansh crumbled into tears.
He buried his face into the crook of my neck, and the force of his sobs rocked us both. I held him tighter, arms firm around his back, grounding him while my own heart cracked open. Words deserted me. I had no words of assurance, it was as if voice itself was stuck in the back of my throat.
Aayansh didn’t cry. Not like this. Maybe once or twice, a single tear when things got too much. But this—this was raw and wild and gutting. My fingers ran slow circles down his back, offering comfort where words failed.
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Author Payal Dedhia independently publishes books on Amazon Kindle. You can check out her collection by clicking here.
The Arranged Marriage series is a collection of 5 books.
Book 1 – The First Meet (Read now)
Book 2: The Life Together (Read now)
Book 3 – The Surprises in Store (Read now)
Book 4 – The Everchanging Times (Read now)
Book 5: The Story of Us (Coming Soon)
The Unscripted Love Series is a collection of 10 books
Book 1 – Arjun’s Jenny (click to read)
Book 2 – Priti’s Rendezvous with Somesh (click to read)
Book 3 – Rana’s Vivacious Girlfriend (click to read)
Book 4 – Claire’s Dashing Raj (click to read)
Book 5 – My Rebirth (click to read)
Book 6 – My Family (click to read)
Book 7 – My Sister’s Wedding (click to read)
Book 8 – My Secret Love (click to read)
Book 9 – My Silent Romeo (click to read)
Book 10 – The Brunch (click to read)
