​As Khushi reached the bottom of the stairs, she froze in her tracks. The air in the mansion usually felt heavy and cold, but today, it smelled like herbs and sizzling butter. There was Ayaan—the most feared man she knew, the "Phantom King" who ruled the underworld—standing in the kitchen and calmly making breakfast.

​He looked different. He had traded his sharp suits for a deep maroon shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing the intricate tattoos on his muscular arms.