Twisted Vows Files of the Dead

His lips left mine slowly. Like he was giving me time to change my mind. Like I still could.

But I didn’t.

Saanvi Arora

(softly) Why… did you do that?

Aarav didn’t answer immediately. He just stood there, eyes on me like he could read every thought fighting in my chest.

My face was burning. My lips were warm. But my heart… it didn’t know whether to race or break.

Aarav Virani

(softly) Because you’re not what I expected.

Saanvi Arora

(stepping back, flustered) That’s not an answer.

I bumped into the desk behind me. That envelope. The one with Aryan’s name on it. It stared back at me like it had been waiting this whole time.

Suddenly, the kiss didn’t matter. Not compared to the truth I came here for.

Saanvi Arora

(barely breathing) This is Aryan’s?

Aarav Virani

(nods) Everything he recorded. Everything they tried to bury.

I opened it slowly. Every fold felt like betrayal. My hands shook. Inside were pages scribbled with notes, transfer logs, fake ID lists… a stained ID card. And… a recorder.

I stared at it. My throat tightened.

Because I knew that voice would haunt me before it even spoke.

[Saanvi presses play]

Aryan’s Voice (recording) “If this reaches anyone… then it means they silenced me.” “I was close. Too close. And now they’re watching me.”

My knees weakened. I gripped the edge of the desk. This wasn’t just fear. This was prophecy. He knew he wouldn’t make it out.

Aryan’s Voice “Follow the accounts. Serenwood’s funding is fake. They’re using dead students. Selling access. And the name behind all of it-”

Static crackled.

Aryan’s Voice (faint) “-Ravindra Sehgal.”

The recorder clicked off. Silence.

Saanvi Arora

(whispers) That’s your father…

Aarav Virani

(quietly) Yes.

Saanvi Arora

(pulling back) And you still made me sign that contract?

Aarav Virani

(voice low) Because I knew what would happen if you came here on your own. You would’ve been swallowed by the same machine that killed him.

His voice had no arrogance now. Just bitterness. And something else… guilt.

Saanvi Arora

So you’ve just been… playing both sides?

Aarav Virani

(calmly) I’ve been surviving both sides.

I stared at him. Really stared. And for the first time, I didn’t see control. I saw conflict.

A boy with a powerful name… and the weight of every dirty secret his family ever paid to hide.

Saanvi Arora

(quietly) Why show me this now?

Aarav Virani

Because you kissed me back.

My heart stuttered. That kiss had nothing to do with this. Did it? Or maybe… it had everything to do with it.

I looked at the recorder again. At Aryan’s final words. Truth. Corruption. Silence. Death.

And now… the choice in front of me.

--- END --

He gave her her brother’s final message. Now the weight of it belongs to her.

✨ Next: Chapter 6 – Choose Your War The offer is simple: stay silent, or fight. But war has rules. And love? It never plays fair.

She thought the kiss was her biggest mistake. But it was only the beginning.

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT ONE!