08-06-2026, 04:54 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-06-2026, 04:59 PM by heygiwriter. Edited 1 time in total. Edited 1 time in total.)
Chapter 18: The Angel and the Warning
The morning after, soft sunlight filtered through the curtains of their bedroom. Nikitha lay awake, staring at the ceiling while Jay slept soundly beside her. Her phone rested on the bedside table, the chat with Tharun still open on the screen.
She felt a strange, unsettling mix of emotions swirling inside her.
Jay was jealous. She could see it so clearly now — in the way he had fucked her last night with such raw desperation, in the tension in his jaw when he read the messages, in how he had impulsively sent that kiss emoji out of spite. But why? They were never meant to be together in the first place. He had chosen Anjali to hide their marriage. He had outside affairs because she was never someone he could fully depend on emotionally. So why, now that she hadn’t even started anything with Tharun, was he suddenly so disturbed, jealous, and possessive?
This is not love, she told herself firmly. He’s just confused.
Still, she knew she had to play this game very carefully. One small slip, one inconsistent story, and Tharun could expose their hidden marriage. With him now speaking to both her and Jay, the risk of their versions clashing was dangerously real.
Jay stirred beside her and slowly opened his eyes. He caught her staring at him with a complex, unreadable expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, his voice still husky from sleep. A small, tired smirk appeared on his lips. “You want another round already?”
Nikitha’s expression remained serious. She sat up, pulling the sheet over her chest.
“No,” she said quietly but firmly. “I don’t want you to discuss anything about me with Tharun. Not a single word. I will manage him myself. I don’t want two different versions of my story floating around. We could get caught so easily if he compares notes with you.”
Last night i said my husband was out of town, but you have mentioned that my husband is abroad.. see how many versions.. i will manage him..
Jay frowned, searching her face. “You’re still thinking about that?”
“Yes,” she replied, her tone sharp. “We are deep into this now, Jay.
I don’t want any mess to happen.
One mistake and everything we’ve built — the loans, the secrecy, our entire life here — could collapse.”
Later that day at the office, the entire team gathered in the main conference room for the first major demo of the new game.
The lights dimmed. The large screen lit up. When the angel avatar appeared, Nikitha froze in her seat.
The character had been completely transformed.
What was once a simple, girlish figure was now strikingly mature, elegant, and sensual — fuller curves, graceful posture, and an undeniable feminine allure. The peach-colored gown with the delicate floral border looked even more refined, almost glowing under the digital lighting.
She felt her cheeks burn.
As the team clapped and discussed the visuals excitedly, Nikitha slowly rose from her chair and walked closer to where Tharun was standing near the screen. She spoke in a low voice so only he could hear.
“Tharun sir… why does she look so matured now? Last night when you sent the image, it was just a girl.”
Tharun turned to her. His calm, intense gaze locked onto hers. The corner of his mouth lifted in a subtle, dangerous smile.
“Last night, after I spoke with you,” he said softly, his voice low enough that only she could hear, “I decided to make some changes. It was missing the charm you had. So…”
Nikitha felt a rush of heat spread through her entire body. It was so bold. So open. She quickly glanced around the room — Jay, Anjali, and the others were focused on the screen, animatedly discussing gameplay mechanics. No one was paying attention to their quiet corner conversation.
She looked back at Tharun. His eyes were locked on hers with unmistakable hunger and confidence.
“I used some AI tools and sent your reference to the design team,” he continued, his voice almost a whisper.
“Look carefully. Except for the face… everything else is you.”
Nikitha’s breath caught in her throat. She stared at the avatar again. The body shape, the way it moved, the curve of the hips, the graceful sway — it really did match her almost perfectly.
![[Image: 736419673_image-10-u7.jpg]](https://img2.pixhost.to/images/8500/736419673_image-10-u7.jpg)
She realized with a jolt just how serious Tharun was about her.
A dangerous thrill ran down her spine.
A part of her — a part she had long kept buried — yearned desperately for this kind of focused, deliberate attention. The kind of attention Jay had never fully given her. Not because he didn’t care, but because their entire relationship had been built on survival, practicality, and necessity. She knew he didn’t owe her romance. After all, she was the one who had dragged him into this messy, forced marriage in the first place. She had ruined his life that day in the temple, and he had simply chosen to survive alongside her.
But Jay’s warning about Tharun’s girlfriend kept echoing loudly in her mind.
She couldn’t enjoy this. Not fully. Knowing Tharun had a girlfriend made her fear emotional investment. Right now, what Tharun was doing — the compliments, the special avatar, the focused attention — felt emotionally intoxicating. It was hitting her in places she hadn’t realized were starved. But what if this was all just for sex? What if she let herself feel special, only to discover she was nothing more than a temporary conquest? She would look like a fool to herself.
She knew his intention was likely just physical. She couldn’t buy into the drama.
If Tharun had simply flirted casually, she might have even appreciated it. She would have thought about sleeping with him — it could just be a fling or sex, maybe a temporary affair for thrill. But this… this felt like emotional attachment in the making. He was using emotional methods to win her body.
And that terrified her.
For a moment, her eyes drifted toward Jay.
He had never done anything fancy. No grand gestures, no poetic words. But with him, she never felt this fear — the fear of being hurt, cheated on, or discarded. He was straight with her. Open. Real. In that second, she didn’t want a fairy-tale marriage. She wanted a soul like Jay’s — someone steady, someone who would stick with her even when things got ugly.
She decided to step back.
Quietly excusing herself from Tharun, she walked slowly toward where Jay was standing. He didn’t notice her approach. He was deeply engaged in conversation with Sharmi about the hero avatar’s gun design. Without him noticing, Nikitha positioned herself right beside him and gently held the tip of his shirt between her fingers — a small, silent anchor for courage.
She looked at the two men standing before her in the room.
One wanted her badly… but she feared he would eventually hurt her.
The other would never hurt her… but she feared she was already hurting him.
Her heart felt painfully heavy.
The morning after, soft sunlight filtered through the curtains of their bedroom. Nikitha lay awake, staring at the ceiling while Jay slept soundly beside her. Her phone rested on the bedside table, the chat with Tharun still open on the screen.
She felt a strange, unsettling mix of emotions swirling inside her.
Jay was jealous. She could see it so clearly now — in the way he had fucked her last night with such raw desperation, in the tension in his jaw when he read the messages, in how he had impulsively sent that kiss emoji out of spite. But why? They were never meant to be together in the first place. He had chosen Anjali to hide their marriage. He had outside affairs because she was never someone he could fully depend on emotionally. So why, now that she hadn’t even started anything with Tharun, was he suddenly so disturbed, jealous, and possessive?
This is not love, she told herself firmly. He’s just confused.
Still, she knew she had to play this game very carefully. One small slip, one inconsistent story, and Tharun could expose their hidden marriage. With him now speaking to both her and Jay, the risk of their versions clashing was dangerously real.
Jay stirred beside her and slowly opened his eyes. He caught her staring at him with a complex, unreadable expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, his voice still husky from sleep. A small, tired smirk appeared on his lips. “You want another round already?”
Nikitha’s expression remained serious. She sat up, pulling the sheet over her chest.
“No,” she said quietly but firmly. “I don’t want you to discuss anything about me with Tharun. Not a single word. I will manage him myself. I don’t want two different versions of my story floating around. We could get caught so easily if he compares notes with you.”
Last night i said my husband was out of town, but you have mentioned that my husband is abroad.. see how many versions.. i will manage him..
Jay frowned, searching her face. “You’re still thinking about that?”
“Yes,” she replied, her tone sharp. “We are deep into this now, Jay.
I don’t want any mess to happen.
One mistake and everything we’ve built — the loans, the secrecy, our entire life here — could collapse.”
Later that day at the office, the entire team gathered in the main conference room for the first major demo of the new game.
The lights dimmed. The large screen lit up. When the angel avatar appeared, Nikitha froze in her seat.
The character had been completely transformed.
What was once a simple, girlish figure was now strikingly mature, elegant, and sensual — fuller curves, graceful posture, and an undeniable feminine allure. The peach-colored gown with the delicate floral border looked even more refined, almost glowing under the digital lighting.
She felt her cheeks burn.
As the team clapped and discussed the visuals excitedly, Nikitha slowly rose from her chair and walked closer to where Tharun was standing near the screen. She spoke in a low voice so only he could hear.
“Tharun sir… why does she look so matured now? Last night when you sent the image, it was just a girl.”
Tharun turned to her. His calm, intense gaze locked onto hers. The corner of his mouth lifted in a subtle, dangerous smile.
“Last night, after I spoke with you,” he said softly, his voice low enough that only she could hear, “I decided to make some changes. It was missing the charm you had. So…”
Nikitha felt a rush of heat spread through her entire body. It was so bold. So open. She quickly glanced around the room — Jay, Anjali, and the others were focused on the screen, animatedly discussing gameplay mechanics. No one was paying attention to their quiet corner conversation.
She looked back at Tharun. His eyes were locked on hers with unmistakable hunger and confidence.
“I used some AI tools and sent your reference to the design team,” he continued, his voice almost a whisper.
“Look carefully. Except for the face… everything else is you.”
Nikitha’s breath caught in her throat. She stared at the avatar again. The body shape, the way it moved, the curve of the hips, the graceful sway — it really did match her almost perfectly.
She realized with a jolt just how serious Tharun was about her.
A dangerous thrill ran down her spine.
A part of her — a part she had long kept buried — yearned desperately for this kind of focused, deliberate attention. The kind of attention Jay had never fully given her. Not because he didn’t care, but because their entire relationship had been built on survival, practicality, and necessity. She knew he didn’t owe her romance. After all, she was the one who had dragged him into this messy, forced marriage in the first place. She had ruined his life that day in the temple, and he had simply chosen to survive alongside her.
But Jay’s warning about Tharun’s girlfriend kept echoing loudly in her mind.
She couldn’t enjoy this. Not fully. Knowing Tharun had a girlfriend made her fear emotional investment. Right now, what Tharun was doing — the compliments, the special avatar, the focused attention — felt emotionally intoxicating. It was hitting her in places she hadn’t realized were starved. But what if this was all just for sex? What if she let herself feel special, only to discover she was nothing more than a temporary conquest? She would look like a fool to herself.
She knew his intention was likely just physical. She couldn’t buy into the drama.
If Tharun had simply flirted casually, she might have even appreciated it. She would have thought about sleeping with him — it could just be a fling or sex, maybe a temporary affair for thrill. But this… this felt like emotional attachment in the making. He was using emotional methods to win her body.
And that terrified her.
For a moment, her eyes drifted toward Jay.
He had never done anything fancy. No grand gestures, no poetic words. But with him, she never felt this fear — the fear of being hurt, cheated on, or discarded. He was straight with her. Open. Real. In that second, she didn’t want a fairy-tale marriage. She wanted a soul like Jay’s — someone steady, someone who would stick with her even when things got ugly.
She decided to step back.
Quietly excusing herself from Tharun, she walked slowly toward where Jay was standing. He didn’t notice her approach. He was deeply engaged in conversation with Sharmi about the hero avatar’s gun design. Without him noticing, Nikitha positioned herself right beside him and gently held the tip of his shirt between her fingers — a small, silent anchor for courage.
She looked at the two men standing before her in the room.
One wanted her badly… but she feared he would eventually hurt her.
The other would never hurt her… but she feared she was already hurting him.
Her heart felt painfully heavy.
![[+]](https://xossipy.com/themes/sharepoint/collapse_collapsed.png)