Shalmali Kirloskar never had the luxury of dreaming. With a chronically ill father and a life weighed down by responsibility, she’s spent her youth in survival mode — quietly resilient, fiercely devoted, and painfully alone. Until a single encounter changes everything.

Shivin Mahanti is a man carved from ice and iron. Brilliant. Merciless. Untouchable. The secret force behind Shi Corporation, a multibillion-dollar empire cloaked in mystery. To the world, he’s a myth. To those who cross him, he’s a storm. Power fuels him. Control defines him. And love? That’s the one weakness he swore never to entertain again.

But then came Shalmali.

She doesn’t bend. She doesn’t play by his rules. Her fire threatens his carefully constructed world — and he finds himself unable to walk away.

Desperate to save her father and save her loved ones from his wrath, Shalmali accepts a deal with Shivin — one that costs her freedom and puts her life under his command. A modern-day contract where the stakes are power, pride, and something far more dangerous… desire.

As boundaries blur and hearts falter, what begins as a ruthless bargain transforms into something neither of them expected. She begins to see the fractured soul behind his iron mask. He discovers the one person he can’t control… is the one he cannot live without.

But when obsession masquerades as love, and buried secrets threaten to surface, can they survive each other — or will their love story end in ruin?

A dark, gripping romance of power, surrender, and two broken souls daring to risk it all for something real.