Aisha couldn't sleep.
The storm outside had grown meaner, wind scraping violently against the glass walls of the penthouse, thunder rolling like angry drums. But none of it scared her as much as the silence inside the apartment—the thick, suffocating silence that always meant the house was waiting for something.
Aarav still hadn't come home.
He hadn't messaged.
He hadn't called.
And the last thing he told her before leaving echoed in her mind:
"Stay away from that door tonight."
Which door?
He didn't specify.
But she knew.
He meant that door—
the locked door at the far end of the corridor.
The door that breathed cold air.
The door that whispered at night.
The door that had a voice behind it.
Aisha wrapped the blanket tighter around her shoulders and walked out into the dimly lit hallway, guided by faint warm lights embedded along the floor. The power flickered for a moment as lightning flashed across the sky.
Her heart beat faster.
The corridor felt narrower tonight.
Heavier.
Like the air itself had turned into thick fog.
As she neared the end of the corridor, her pulse hammered louder.
And then she froze.
---
Click.
A soft, metallic sound.
One she had never heard from that door before.
The sound of a lock…
turning.
From the inside.
Aisha's throat dried.
Her feet refused to move.
For days, she had heard whispers.
For nights, she had felt shadows.
But this—
this was the first time the door had made a physical sound.
Her hand shook as she touched the wall for support.
Again—
Click. Click.
The lock twisted further.
Aisha took a step back, her breath trapped in her lungs.
"Hello…?" she whispered, though she didn't know why.
Her voice trembled.
But the storm drowned it.
Then she heard it.
A voice.
A low, hoarse whisper—fragile and broken, like someone hadn't spoken in a long time.
"Don't… leave… me…"
Aisha froze completely.
It wasn't Rhea's voice.
It wasn't her imagination.
It sounded like a woman.
Weak.
Pleading.
Alive.
For a moment, Aisha felt her body turn cold as ice.
She had always suspected someone was behind that door.
But now the truth breathed against the surface.
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
"Who—who's there?" she whispered.
The voice didn't reply.
Instead—
Thud.
Something—or someone—hit the door from inside.
Aisha stumbled backward, panic flooding her chest. The air smelled different now—damp, metallic, almost… old.
The penthouse wasn't quiet anymore.
It was awake.
Another thud.
This time louder.
Storm winds slammed against the windows, rattling them like the entire building was shaking. The lights flickered violently.
"Aarav…" she whispered desperately.
She needed him.
She needed answers.
But he wasn't there.
Just as she turned to run back to her room—
The door creaked.
Aisha spun around.
The door wasn't fully open.
But it wasn't completely shut either.
A thin, black line of darkness split down the middle as it cracked open just slightly—like a mouth parting to whisper a secret.
Cold air rushed out, brushing over her skin, raising goosebumps.
Her hand lifted on its own.
Some part of her needed to know.
Needed to see.
She took one slow step forward.
Then another.
The darkness seeped into the corridor like a living thing.
Aisha reached out and touched the edge of the door—
And the faintest whisper floated out:
"Aisha…"
Her blood turned to ice.
Her name.
The voice knew her name.
"Who are you?" she breathed, terror twisting her stomach.
No answer—
Just a quiet, shuddering inhale, like someone was crying on the other side.
Aisha pushed the door open a little more.
---
A flash of white.
A shadow moved inside—swiftly, like something sliding back into the darkness.
Aisha gasped and stumbled backward, her back hitting the wall. Her fingers shook uncontrollably.
The whole house felt different now—
alive, breathing, watching.
Her mind raced.
Who was inside?
Why did Aarav forbid her?
Why did this room exist?
And why did the voice know her name?
Before she could take another step, her phone rang sharply from her bedroom.
The sudden noise made her jump.
With trembling legs, she rushed back, almost tripping on the carpet.
It was Aarav.
Finally.
She answered with frantic breath.
"Aarav—something's happening— the door, the voice—it opened—someone is inside—"
His voice was instantly sharp, cut through with fear.
"Aisha. Listen to me. Step away from that door."
"I did, but—"
"AISHA!" he barked.
She had never heard him shout like this.
"Go back to your room. Lock the door. Do not open it until I reach home."
Her hands shook.
"What's behind that door, Aarav? Who is she? Why is she calling my name?"
A moment of dead silence.
When he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper—broken, almost trembling:
"Because she knows you."
Aisha's heart stopped.
"What?"
"Aisha…" Aarav swallowed hard, voice thick with a pain she didn't understand.
"You were never supposed to hear her. You were never supposed to be near that room."
Her breath hitched.
"What are you hiding from me?"
He took a shaky breath—she could hear it.
Aarav was scared.
Terrified.
As if her hearing that voice was the beginning of something he had been trying to prevent for years.
"Aarav…" she whispered, voice cracking.
"Tell me the truth."
He didn't answer immediately.
The storm outside roared louder.
Then he said the words that made her knees weaken:
"Aisha… she was locked away because of me."
Aisha's chest tightened painfully.
"And now… you're in danger because of me."
His voice broke.
"I'm coming home. Don't open your door. Whatever you hear—don't come out."
The call ended abruptly.
Aisha stared at the phone, her mind spinning.
She walked slowly back toward her bedroom, but before she reached the door—
Creak…
The sound echoed behind her.
The locked room door opened a little more.
Aisha whipped around.
The darkness inside was deeper now.
And then—from the shadow—
she saw it.
A silhouette.
The faint outline of a woman.
Thin, fragile, long hair falling forward.
The woman lifted her head toward Aisha.
Aisha's breath caught in her throat.
Then—
the woman's voice drifted out:
"You look… just like me."
Aisha felt her heart nearly stop.
Who was she?
Why did she look like Aisha?
What had Aarav done?
The woman took a shaky step out of the darkness…
And everything Aisha thought she knew about her marriage
began to collapse.