Mrunal yawned for the third time in ten minutes, rubbing her eyes as the glowing cursor blinked accusingly on her screen. Her coffee had gone cold. Her inbox was overflowing. And yet all she could think about was the message that never came. Or rather—the one she didn’t let come.

She hadn’t slept. Not really. Not after declining his voice chat. His words still rang in her head: “You won’t be able to un-hear it.”

She didn’t want to admit it, but she’d pressed her phone to her chest for hours, wondering—what if it sounded familiar? What if she’d already heard SinEater say her name?

"Girl, you look like hell," Tanya’s voice broke into her thoughts, sing-song and nosy as always. “Don’t tell me you’re still bingeing those K-dramas and crying over sad boys.”

Mrunal blinked, startled. “No—I mean—yes. I mean, I’m just tired.”

Tanya slid into the chair beside her desk like a tornado of gossip and perfume. “You’re blushing. What are you hiding?”

“Nothing,” Mrunal lied.

Tanya narrowed her eyes. “Wait a damn second… this wouldn’t have anything to do with Velvet, would it?”

Mrunal stiffened. “How do you—?”

“Oh please, I practically live on that site,” Tanya grinned, wicked. “You finally caved, didn’t you? I knew it. You got that post-breakup glow of someone who got properly filth-texted.”

Mrunal groaned, covering her face. “It’s just texting, Tanya. Anonymous. No photos. No names.”

Tanya cackled. “Anonymous my ass. That site’s a drug. First, it’s just flirty little messages. Then you’re begging for voice. Then you’re waking up at 3 AM wondering what that stranger smells like.”

Mrunal winced. “I didn’t say anything about voice…”

Tanya raised an eyebrow. “Did he ask?”

A beat.

“Maybe.”

“Ohhhhhh.” Tanya smirked. “And you didn’t say yes?”

“I panicked,” Mrunal mumbled. “What if he knows me? What if I know him?”

“Then lucky you,” Tanya said, sipping her iced coffee. “Hot stranger turning out to be a hot real man? That’s the stuff Wattpad is made of.”

“I’m not you, Tanya. I don’t do spontaneous sexting and wild fantasies in daylight.”

“You do now,” Tanya winked. “Welcome to the dark side, baby.”

Mrunal tried to laugh—but it caught in her throat. Because behind the jokes and teasing, something had changed. She was different. Restless. Desperate for night to fall again.

Later at night,

Mrunal didn’t wait tonight. She was already online before midnight, dressed in an oversized tee, her heart drumming louder than the rain tapping against her windows. She hadn’t spoken to anyone all evening. Not Tanya, not her parents, not even herself.

All she’d wanted was him. The screen blinked.

SinEater is online.

No pleasantries. No coy teasing like the first two nights. She was done pretending.

DarkMuse30: Tell me your dirtiest secret.

The cursor blinked. Once. Twice. Then it appeared:

SinEater: Only if you give me yours first.

She swallowed, her fingers cold but trembling. Her skin buzzed—she didn’t know if it was fear or anticipation. Maybe both.

DarkMuse30: Fine. Sometimes I dream of being owned. Not sweet, not romantic. Just... someone's need. His obsession. His ruin.

She hit send. And immediately regretted it. The words sat there, raw and ugly. Too honest. Too much. But then…

SinEater: Good girl.

Her breath caught. That shouldn’t have made her throb. But it did.

SinEater: I want to chain a woman to my hunger. Not with rope or cuffs. With the fact that no one will ever fuck her the way I do.*I want her ruined for everyone else. And I want her to thank me for it.

Mrunal’s hands shook as she read and reread the message, her heart racing.

DarkMuse30: And what if she doesn't thank you?

SinEater: Then I’ll break her a little more. Until she begs.

A silence stretched. She stared at the screen, her mouth dry, thighs pressed together.

SinEater: Tell me, Muse... Are you wet right now?

She hesitated. The words should have offended her. They didn’t. They electrified her.

DarkMuse30:Yes. And I haven’t even touched myself.

SinEater: Don’t. Not yet. I want you squirming for me, aching. Tell me what you want tonight.

Her mouth parted. No one had ever asked her that before—not like this. Not to listen, but to command it out of her.

DarkMuse30: I want to be pinned. Silenced with your mouth. Fucked until I forget who I am.*

The reply came fast:

SinEater: You’re mine already.

3:02 AM.

Mrunal lay awake in her bed, eyes wide open, heart thudding like she’d run a marathon. The words from earlier echoed through her like a pulse: You’re mine already.

She hadn’t touched herself. Not because she didn’t want to—God, she did. But something about the way he held control even through typed words made her hesitate.

It wasn’t like any sexting game. It was intimate. Terrifying. Thrilling. Her phone rested on her pillow, screen dim. She’d read the chat three times, tracing his sentences like forbidden scripture.

Who was he? Why did a stranger make her feel more seen than the man she dated for ten years ever had? A part of her—buried deep and careful—wanted to believe this was just anonymous fun. A flirtation with danger she could abandon when it got too real. But another part of her… was already wondering what his voice would sound like. How his breath would feel at her ear.

She bit her lip, thinking of his last message. Tell me what you want tonight. No one had ever asked her that before.

She rolled over, tugging the blanket up like it could hide her flushed skin. She hated that her thighs still tingled. That she kept imagining his hands. His mouth. His control. Her fingers hovered over her phone again.

She didn’t message him. Not yet. But the app glowed on her screen like an open door.

DarkMuse30: I can’t sleep. Because of what you said. Because of how you made me feel.

She hit send. Waited. Then came the reply:

SinEater: Good. Sleep is for people who feel safe. I don’t want you to feel safe with me.
I want you to feel seen.

She stared at that word—seen. No one had said that to her before. Not her ex. Not even her friends, really. For the first time, the chat didn’t feel like a game. It felt like a window into something far deeper. And that terrified her more than anything.

DarkMuse30: Why me? Out of all the profiles, why did you pick me?

SinEater: Because I could tell you were hiding something delicious. And because I always find the ones trying hardest to be invisible.

Her breath caught. Was that what she was? Invisible? Or was she finally becoming real to someone?