The Aftermath – This scene is between Aayansh and Tisha from Tisha’s POV. Hope you enjoy it!
The Aftermath (Installment 3): The Punishment – A Dark Billionaire Romance (Scintilla Series)
The scent hit me first—thick smoke still clinging to the air, curling into my lungs. Then I saw it. The remains of my rose garden.
The last trace of an angel in Paradise.
I froze. My breath hitched as I took in the destruction before me. It was gone. Completely gone. My sanctuary. My escape.
Blackened stems stood like skeletons in the dirt, the earth itself burned, charred beyond repair. It was dead. A graveyard of what had once been something beautiful. A reflection of what we had become.
My fingers trembled as I knelt, pressing my palm against the brittle ground. It was warm. Still alive with the memory of fire.
I picked up what was left of a rose—black, crumbling at the edges. As I closed my fist, it disintegrated, the ashes coating my palm, sinking into my skin like a stain that would never leave.
My throat tightened. I swallowed hard, forcing the words out even as my voice wavered.
“Can you stop this now?”
It wasn’t a demand, not even a request—just a quiet plea, raw and unguarded.
Aayansh didn’t answer immediately. He studied me, his dark eyes scanning my face, slow, deliberate, searching for something. Proof, maybe. Proof that I was real. That I was staying.
He turned, extending a hand, and Antonio stepped forward, placing a napkin into his palm. Without a word, Aayansh reached for my hand, wiping away the charred remains of my roses, his movements precise, controlled. It was intimate in the strangest, most unsettling way. Like he was erasing the last evidence of what once belonged to me.
I gulped, waiting.
Then, just as gently as he had taken my hand, he let it go and turned away, exhaling as his gaze settled back on the smoldering remains.
“I want to.” His voice was steady. Detached. “But I can’t.”
His jaw tightened, his hands curling into fists at his sides, as though holding himself back from something. “The day I believe you’re here—truly here—I’ll stop. Until then, it continues.”
He tilted his head slightly, considering something, then spoke again.
“I called Nikhil to stop this afternoon. Then I called him back to continue.” His tone was flat, as if this was just another task on his to-do list. “It’s routine now. I need this. I need to remind myself what’s real. You may love me, but you won’t ever choose to live with me. I’ve accepted that. So I’ll keep watching the smoke for hours, keep watching the flowers burn, keep watching what was once a dream turn to dust.”
I inhaled sharply, but it did nothing to steady the ache in my chest.
The roses weren’t the only things he had set fire to.
And he wasn’t the only one who had learned to watch something beautiful burn.
Something inside me cracked. I stepped closer, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I’m back.”
His gaze flicked to mine, cold, unreadable, his expression giving nothing away. “Not on your own.” His voice dipped lower, rough, sharp—like a blade pressed against my skin. “I had to bring you back. I had to cage you. I still have to force you to stay.” He let the words settle, their weight suffocating. “I need to remember that, Tisha. I need to remember that you might love me, but you would never choose me. If you ever had a choice… you would leave.”
Tears blurred my vision. I shook my head violently, my chest tightening. “No… that’s not true.”
A bitter chuckle escaped him, dark and hollow. “It is.” His head tilted, his gaze pinning me in place. “Or else, why did it take me five years to get you back? Why didn’t you come to me on your own? Your friend wouldn’t be dead, and you wouldn’t have to cry alone in the bathroom, clamping your mouth shut so I wouldn’t hear it.”
My breath caught.
How did he—how did he know that?
Thank you for reading this short snippet from my upcoming book – The Aftermath (Installment 3): The Punishment – A Dark Billionaire Romance (Scintilla Series)
Do check out other articles on Twin Flames.
Author Payal Dedhia independently publishes books on Amazon Kindle. You can check out her collection by clicking here.
If you like Dark Romance Fiction, do read my Sctintilla Series. Click here to read.
Aayansh Ahluwalia isn’t just a billionaire business tycoon—he’s the kind of man who haunts people’s nightmares. The world may recognize Scintilla Corporations as a legitimate empire, but Aayansh isn’t confined to the light. In the shadows, he commands an empire of fear, power, and blood. He rules over the underdogs, the darkness that terrifies everyone else.
Ruthless and untouchable, they call him a devil for a reason—he doesn’t flinch, doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t blink when it comes to taking lives.
His existence is fearless. His power, unmatched. Yet beneath the wealth and carnage lies a void—a darkness so complete it consumes him. There’s no light, no hope. Just emptiness stretching endlessly, leaving him hollow.
Then, one night, everything changed.
He saw her—a woman so radiant, so full of life, she made his chaos stand still. She erupted into his world like a dream, settling in his heart and claiming it as her own.
Tisha Chopra.
Aayansh hadn’t been searching for her, hadn’t asked for her. But the moment he saw her, he knew—she would be his.
She didn’t belong in his world, and that only made him want her more. Her laughter, her light—it wasn’t meant to survive the darkness he thrived in, yet it pulled him in, unrelenting. Like a predator to prey, he followed. He didn’t want her to save him. No. He wanted to ruin her, piece by piece, until she belonged to him completely. He would drag her down, crown her queen in his Devil’s Paradise, and make her sit beside him on the devil’s throne while he ruled the world.What unfolds is a story steeped in obsession, control, and desire—a dangerous game where love is a battlefield, and submission comes at the cost of a soul.
Scintilla isn’t just the name of Aayansh’s empire; it’s the pulse of this saga—a place where power thrives and morality dies.
The series is divided into four phases:
🔥 The Chase – Where the predator finds his prey. Click here to read.
- The Beginning – A collision of worlds. A spark ignited.
- Unveiling Paradise – Her light tempts the darkness.
- The Masked Guy – Secrets wear masks. So do devils.
- Unleashing the Demons – Once awakened, there’s no turning back.
- The Winner – Victory tastes sweeter when claimed by force.
🔥 The Possession – Where obsession takes root. Click here to read.
- New Beginning – The chase ends. The real game begins.
- The Rules – Boundaries are set, only to be broken.
- Gilded Cage – Possession doesn’t feel like freedom.
- Unleashed Fury – When control falters, chaos reigns.
- Ensnared Hearts – Hearts trapped, souls scarred.
🔥 The Submission – Where surrender is demanded, not given. Click here to read.
- Her Resistance – Light fights back. Darkness pushes harder.
- Her Confession – Truths whispered in the dark.
- The Good Times – A fleeting calm before the storm.
- The Devil Struck – The predator strikes. The angel shatters.
- Angel’s Judgement – When love turns to reckoning.
🔥 The Reward – Where love and darkness collide, leaving nothing unscarred. Click here to read.
- The Storm – Chaos erupts, tearing apart the fragile ties of love and power.
- The Punishment – Sins are judged, debts are paid, and vengeance claims its due.
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)
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)
