The Dawn: Her light saved him, but now, his darkness must avenge her.
Scintilla Universe is divided into 4 parts (Click to read):
- The Chase
- The Possession
- The Submission
- The Reward
- Installment 1: The Storm
- Installment 2: The Punishment
- Maalik
- Installment 3: The Aftermath
- Installment 4
- Installment 5
- Other books in the series
The Dawn
I looked at her. Stared at every part of her. For an hour, maybe more. Time blurred, dissolving into the quiet rise and fall of her chest, the stillness that settled over the room like a heavy fog. I tried to hold on to something—anything—but it was slipping through my fingers, intangible, unreachable.
To not have her beside me, to not have her smile at me like she always did, to not have her try and fail to stand up to me, I missed all of it. Every day, from the last one month, since I regained consciousness, I slept here, beside her, because I wouldn’t be able to sleep anywhere else. I didn’t want to go back to those dark days and day and night bled into one. Here, in her arms, I could at least sleep for some time. And that was enough.
So much had changed inside me, yet she remained the same. Still my angel. Still the only thing that had ever truly belonged to me. I took a month to recover and I took my time so I didn’t falter for what I had to do now.
I wasn’t the same devil anymore. No, the angel’s life breathed inside me, using me to stay alive, and I intended to keep her alive. My angel would always stay alive inside the devil, her true place. Or I would stay alive because of her, with her light always inside me. She would wake up, we would get married, I wouldn’t have it any other way. There was no out for her, and even death wouldn’t win against me.
Tisha Chopra… she wasn’t just beside me—she was within me. Her presence wasn’t something I carried; it was something I had become. No power in this universe would take her away from me.
But she had done the unthinkable. Her light. It had changed my entire existence. It threaded through my darkness, keeping me tethered to something real. She had carved her place inside me, an unshakable presence, as if she had always belonged there. Maybe she had. Maybe I had been waiting my whole life to house her light, to let her seep into every part of me, filling the void I had forever felt inside me. Not anymore. Not ever again.
A lot of other things had also changed inside me, which is why I didn’t react the moment I woke up. No, I let myself recover, I let myself heal, and I let my men heal too. That was all because of her light.
The hunger for chaos, the reckless craving to burn everything to the ground—it was gone. She had taken it with her, tamed the storm, wrapped it in warmth until even my demons had no choice but to bow to her. They still lurked in the corners, restless shadows, but they didn’t claw at me anymore. They were still. Satisfied. As if they, too, had finally found their place inside her glow.
Just see the irony, the world bowed to the devil, the world was shit scared of the demons that resided inside me, and my Tisha… she ruled them now. God, only she could do that.
And yet, that warmth—the very thing that had saved me—was a reminder of everything I had failed to protect. On her wedding day, on our wedding day, on the day of blissful happiness, when I had kept her at edge, I had failed to protect her. And I would be forever be responsible for that.
My angel’s paradise had been tainted, defiled by those who thought they could touch what belonged to me. They would pay—not out of rage, not for revenge. This wasn’t about vengeance. It was about setting things right, about balancing the scales that had tipped too far in the wrong direction. I had let Armaan Chopra live, and the cost had been unbearable. One mistake, and lives had been lost—Tisha’s mother, Marcus, MC, and so many of my soldiers.
All because I had hesitated. Because I had chosen mercy when I should have chosen execution. I had brought Ava home, made decisions that I thought were right, but in the end, my mistakes had cost too much.
And the one who had suffered the most, the one who had bled the deepest for my mistakes, was the one who had deserved it the least. My angel. My light. The only thing that had ever been pure in my world.
Too many graves had been dug because I had faltered. Too much blood had soaked the ground because I had allowed sentiment to cloud my judgment. That would never happen again. I would compartmentalize. Tisha would never again be a factor in my decisions—she never even tried to be, but her presence alone was enough to make me hesitate. That hesitation had been my weakness, and weakness was an indulgence I could no longer afford.
I wouldn’t let history repeat itself. I had learned. The lesson had been carved into my very bones, into the scars left behind from the massacre I should have prevented. On my wedding day, I should have walked those grounds myself, should have ensured that every gun was loaded, every exit secured. But I had let my guard down. I had allowed myself to believe, just for a second, that I could have something untouched by war. And the universe had corrected that mistake in the cruelest way possible.
Pain coiled tight in my chest, a slow suffocation that no amount of forced breathing could ease. I shut my eyes, dragging air into my lungs, but it burned going down. The ache was raw, gnawing, unrelenting. A tear slipped free before I could stop it, hot and unwanted. Then another. My jaw clenched, muscles locking, fists curling against my thighs as if I could physically crush the grief before it swallowed me whole.
The door creaked open.
I wiped my face in an instant, the motion swift, practiced. Years of control snapping back into place, shoving the emotion down where it belonged. When I turned, my face was blank, my posture easy, as if the moment of weakness had never existed.
I turned to find Tanveer. He had returned from Chicago where I had sent him away because he got too close to Tisha. Antonio wasn’t ready for work, and I ordered him to rest. He didn’t want to, so I asked him to coordinate, manage the staff. Everyone was shaken up. They needed a leader, and after Marcus, he was the right choice.
Tanveer stepped inside, his gaze meeting mine for a brief second before he looked away, giving me space to pull myself together.
I nodded, exhaling slowly, forcing my limbs to move when all I wanted to do was stay. Just a little longer. Just until she stirred, until those lashes fluttered, until her lips curled in the way that always made my chest tighten.
Bending down, I pressed a kiss to her forehead, lingering, letting the warmth of my breath caress her cool skin. My fingers ghosted over her face, memorizing every delicate line, every soft curve, as if I could brand her into my soul, make her a permanent part of me so that even if the world took her away, she would still live beneath my skin.
“I’m sorry, Tisha,” I whispered, my voice thick, barely holding back the wreckage brewing inside me. “You told me about karma. About payback. And I laughed at you. I didn’t listen. I was a fool.” My throat tightened, the weight of it pressing against my ribs. “I’m so damn sorry, sweetheart.”
Nothing.
Just silence. Cold and indifferent.
I swallowed hard, letting it settle in my chest, pushing down the raw, unbearable ache clawing its way up my throat. Then, finally, I pulled away.
Tanveer handed me a tissue without a word. I took it, dabbing at my eyes, scrubbing my face with both hands until all the softness was gone, until there was nothing left but steel. The weakness had been stripped away, buried beneath the weight of what had to be done.
Kartik had been right.
The devil was needed.
And the world was about to get the devil.
I had changed, yes—but not for them. Not for these unworthy souls who mistook my restraint for vulnerability. Just the idea of me being out of commission had emboldened them, had made them forget who I was, what I had built, what I had given them.
What hadn’t I done for them?
I took risks to wash their dirty money. I ran a hire-for-kill so their enemies could be wiped from existence. I expanded my business, played the long game, made them more powerful than they ever could’ve been on their own. And what did they do the second they thought I was weak? They tried to bite the hand that had fed them, forgetting that it was the same hand that could snap their necks just as easily.
And my son—my poor, brilliant son—had been left to deal with their mess. They had thrown him into the undercurrent, expecting him to drown, waiting for him to falter. But they had forgotten who he was.
He was mine.
And my son didn’t fucking drown.
Maurya had held his own, kept things afloat while the sharks circled, waiting for their chance to strike. But it wasn’t his job to clean up after them. It was mine.
And I would.
I would wipe them off the board, tear them apart piece by piece, until there was nothing left but the silence of those who had dared to betray me.
I owed Maurya that much.
He deserved a clean slate.
And I would give it to him. Even if I had to burn everything down to do it.
The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped onto the marble floor, my gaze immediately finding Gaurav Patel. He sat there, lost in his world, while Ansh and Tia buzzed around him, vying for his attention.
“Nana, come see this! Please play with me,” Tia whined, tugging at his sleeve. “Ansh never lets me win. I don’t like playing with him anymore.”
“I don’t cheat,” Ansh shot back, puffing out his chest in defiance. “You just need to get better at the game if you want to win.”
A small smirk tugged at the corner of my lips, but I wiped it away before approaching them. Martha started to step forward, but I shook my head. She understood, nodding before retreating.
“Ansh, Tia, babies, play nicely with each other,” I said, crouching down. “Daddy needs to talk to Nana.”
Tia immediately jumped into my arms, small and warm, wrapping herself around me like a koala. I kissed the top of her head, breathing her in—strawberries and innocence. Then I turned to Ansh, pressing a kiss to his forehead before letting them go. They wandered a few feet away, their heads bent over a board game, lost in their own world again.
Only then did I turn to Gaurav.
His eyes met mine, and for a moment, neither of us spoke. The silence stretched between us, thick with everything that had been left unsaid for too long. His face twisted, his eyes turning red as he blinked rapidly, his hands trembling as he wiped at the corners before the tears could fall.
This was the first time I had spoken to him.
“Martha says you’re not eating much.” My voice was even but firm. “I don’t want that happening again.”
His lips parted, a shaky breath escaping. “What… what Tisha is to you… Manya was to me.” His voice cracked, raw with grief. “But in a different way. I was ready to leave her—for her happiness. Maybe I shouldn’t have. Maybe I shouldn’t have let that bas—” His words broke, his jaw clenching as he forced himself to swallow the rest. “I shouldn’t have let him into her life. See what he did… he… she’s gone now. Forever gone.”
A sob tore from his throat, unrestrained, broken. I shut my eyes for a beat, taking a deep breath, letting the weight of his pain settle over me.
“So many lost their lives in my paradise,” I said, my voice quieter now. “And I apologize for that.” I met his gaze, steady and unflinching. “I know forgiveness isn’t possible. But you’re Tisha’s father. And if anyone could forgive me… it’s you.”
Gaurav shook his head immediately. “It wasn’t your fault,” he murmured. “You called us to our daughter’s wedding—something we wanted more than anything.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. “Armaan… he turned into a wild animal that day. He—” He stopped abruptly, his eyes darting toward the children, unwilling to speak the horrors out loud.
I glanced at Ansh and Tia. They were still playing, laughing softly, their world untouched by the blood-soaked memories that lingered in the air between us. Their innocence was a fragile thing, a flickering light in all this darkness, and I’d do whatever it took to keep it burning.
And for that, I was grateful.
“What happened can’t be changed,” I said, my voice steady but low. “But it’s time to heal now.”
Gaurav exhaled shakily, rubbing his palms together as if trying to ground himself. “I’ll leave soon…” he started, but his words faltered. “I—”
“You’re not going anywhere.” My tone left no room for argument. “I know this place is more of a nightmare for you than a home, but it is your home now. You belong here. Ansh and Tia need you. They need their Nana. Even Mini needs you…” I hesitated, running a hand through my hair before sighing. “Sorry is a small word, Gaurav, but forgive me—for everything. For torturing you. For what I put you through. I—” My throat tightened, and I shook my head, unable to find the right words. “There’s nothing I can say to make up for it. But I’m not the same man anymore. And your life… it’s here. In Paradise. With the kids, with Tisha, with this family. You’re one of us now.”
His shoulders trembled as more tears fell freely, his body giving in to the grief he had carried for far too long. Then, without warning, he stepped forward and hugged me.
I stiffened, caught off guard. The gesture was sudden, uncalculated. For a brief second, I didn’t know what to do, but then I patted his shoulder once before gently pushing him back.
“Eat well. Heal,” I told him, meeting his gaze. “I know how much you loved Manya. I know how much Tisha loved her mother. That’s why I kept Armaan alive… but what’s done is done.” I paused, my jaw tightening. “Now, you have to get better. If you want to do something, take over managing the house. With Tisha’s absence, everything’s in chaos.”
That last part was a lie. Mini and Inaaya had it under control since she returned from Canada, but Gaurav needed something to anchor him, to keep his mind from sinking into the past. He nodded, wiping at his face, his expression determined but weary.
I turned away, leaving him alone with his thoughts.
Maurya was by the door, waiting for me, his sharp eyes scanning my face. He had been watching the entire exchange in silence.
As I reached him, I did something that caught him completely off guard—I pulled him into me, pressing a kiss to his forehead.
He stiffened, his breath hitching, clearly not expecting the warmth.
“What—” he started.
“Let’s clean up,” I murmured. “Everything is yours now. I’m just your cleaning agent.”
Maurya blinked at me, still processing. “What?”
“This is your world, Maurya,” I said, watching him carefully. “You’re the king now. I’ll just be helping you set things up.”
His lips parted slightly, hesitation flickering across his face. “I… I don’t think I’m ready.”
“You are,” I countered without hesitation. “Whatever happened wasn’t supposed to, but you still kept things under control for a month while I was healing. You outdid yourself, son. This world… there’s no way out.”
Maurya inhaled sharply, his expression shifting, solidifying into something steely and unyielding. “I don’t want an out,” he said, his voice firm, final. “This is my world now, and I want to rule it. That way, I can keep all of you safe as well.”
A slow smirk pulled at my lips. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”
He nodded, his fingers tightening into fists.
Then he punched in the code, and together, we walked out.
It was time to clean house.
Even Shivay would pay for breaking my daughter’s heart.
Every. Fucking. Person. Would pay.
The End of the excerpt of The Dawn.
Stay tuned; the book will be released soon.
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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.
- Maalik (Maurya’s story)
- The Aftermath – Amid the wreckage, the cost of darkness comes to light.
- The Dawn – Hope flickers, fragile and hesitant, in the ruins of despair.
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)
