River stone University, New Delhi

Ritu adjusted her backpack and sighed as she stepped onto the university campus. The golden morning sunlight filtered through the tall trees lining the entrance, casting a warm glow on the bustling students around her. Some were rushing to their lectures, others were gathered in groups, laughing and chatting. A new beginning, a fresh start—that’s what she had hoped for when she got admission here. But destiny had a twisted sense of humor.

"Ritu?"

Her body tensed at the familiar voice. The one she had hoped never to hear again.

She turned slowly, her hands already clenching into fists, and there he was—Amrit malhotra *.

The same irritating smirk, the same sharp gaze that had haunted her childhood. He was taller now, his once unruly hair slightly tamed, but the arrogance in his posture remained the same.

"Amrit," she said flatly, her voice laced with years of pent-up frustration.

"Didn’t expect to see me here, did you?" he said, slipping his hands into his pockets.His eyes gleamed with amusement. "I guess fate just loves playing games with us."

"More like a cruel joke," she muttered

Amrit chuckled. "Still the same firecracker, I see."

She rolled her eyes. "And you’re still the same annoying brat who used to pull my ponytail in third grade."

"And you’re still the girl who poured an entire bottle of ink on my white school shirt in sixth grade," he shot back.

"That was because you called me a—" She stopped herself, inhaling sharply. "Forget it. I don’t have time for this."

She turned to walk away, but he smoothly stepped in front of her. "Hold on, ritu . We’re stuck together now. Same university, same department. You can’t avoid me forever."

Ritu froze. "Same department?"

He grinned. "Oh, you didn’t know? Biological Science . Looks like we’re going to be spending a lot of time together."

Her stomach twisted. Five years. Five years of enduring amrit’s presence. The boy who had been the bane of her childhood . Ritu entered the classroom with a heavy sigh, gripping the straps of her backpack tightly as if holding on to her last shred of patience. The large hall was already filled with students, some chatting excitedly, others scrolling through their phones, and a few flipping through their notebooks like the overachievers they probably were.

Her mind, however, wasn’t in the present. Five years. Five whole years of dealing with Amrit on a daily basis. Just the thought made her stomach churn. Was there a way to transfer colleges? Maybe switch to an online course? Fake her own death?

“Ugh,” she muttered under her breath as she made her way toward an empty seat in the second row.

She had barely settled down when the girl next to her tapped her shoulder.

"Heyyy! It’s Tanu," the girl said, flashing a wide, confident smile.

Ritu returned the smile, though hers was more cautious. "Ritu this side."

Tanu leaned back in her chair, still grinning. "Ohh, nice to meet you, Ritu. BTW, you look kinda stressed. Everything alright?"

Ritu exhaled sharply, her frustration slipping out before she could stop herself. "Ab puri narak mere peeche hai, kahe ka alright!"

Tanu blinked. "Uh, what?"

Ritu realized she had spoken too fast and too low for Tanu to catch it. She forced a smile, quickly covering up her moment of weakness. "Oh, sorry. Yeah, I’m pretty well."

Tanu gave her a suspicious side-eye but didn’t push. Instead, she shrugged. "If you say so."

Just then, the professor walked in, immediately commanding the room’s attention. The chatter died down as students straightened in their seats, opening their notebooks.

Ritu, eager to distract herself from her existential crisis, focused on the whiteboard. The professor introduced himself as Dr. Prakash Mehta, an expert in Molecular Biology with 30 years of teaching experience.

"Welcome to your first year in Biological Science," he began. "This course will be rigorous, and over the next five years, you will be challenged intellectually, emotionally, and practically. If you’re not serious about it, you might as well walk out now."

Ritu was nodding along, mentally preparing herself for the academic workload when something shifted in the air behind her. A prickle ran down her spine.

She didn’t know why, but she suddenly had this unshakable feeling that she was being watched.

Slowly—hesitantly—she turned around.

And there he was.

Amrit

Sitting directly behind her, one arm draped over the back of his chair, his lips curled into an infuriatingly smug smirk.

His eyes held amusement, challenge, and something dangerously close to pure wickedness.

Ritu's stomach dropped.

Of course.

Because life wasn’t done torturing her yet.

She snapped her head back toward the front, gripping her pen so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Tanu, who had noticed the whole exchange, leaned in slightly and whispered, "You okay? You just turned pale like you saw a ghost."

Ritu closed her eyes for a brief second, inhaling sharply. More like the devil himself.

"I’m fine," she gritted out.

But in her mind, there was only one thought screaming loud and clear—

"How the hell am I going to survive five years of this?!"

By the time the first class ended, Ritu had mentally aged at least ten years. She barely listened as the professor wrapped up, already exhausted from just existing in the same space as Amrit Malhotra.

She exhaled deeply, resting her head on the desk for a moment. Maybe if she closed her eyes, she could pretend she was anywhere but here.

Big mistake.

Because the moment she did, she heard low, amused laughter from behind her.

She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.

Amrit.

The laughter was soft yet taunting, like he was thoroughly entertained by her misery.

He leaned forward just enough to whisper, "Ab tujhe main nahi chhodunga, Ritu."

A shiver ran down her spine, not from fear, but from pure frustration. Why does he enjoy annoying me so much?!

Before she could snap back, the professor walked out, and students began packing up their bags.

Ritu pushed back her chair a little too aggressively and grabbed her notebook.

She needed to get out of here before she lost her mind.

Tanu, now stretching lazily in her seat, looked at her and said, "Canteen chalein? Coffee peeyenge?"

"Yes, please," Ritu muttered, eager for a caffeine break.

As they walked through the lively college corridors, Tanu suddenly grinned.

"You know," she began, "since I was a kid, I dreamed of studying here. Gargi College was always my dream. And now I’m finally here!"

Ritu smiled at that. "For real? Same. I always wanted to study here."

Tanu raised an eyebrow. "Then why do you look like someone forced you into prison?"

Ritu sighed, shaking her head. "Because now, I have to tolerate certain people."

Tanu smirked knowingly. "And who exactly are these certain people?"

Ritu rolled her eyes. "Did you see that black-shirted idiot sitting behind us?"

Tanu blinked, then her eyes sparkled with recognition. "Ohhh, Amrit? Yeah, I saw him. He looks kinda cool, actually."

Ritu scoffed. "Cool? Trust me, he’s the most annoying creature on this planet."

Tanu smirked, sensing something interesting. "Hmm… So what’s the history there?"

Ritu groaned, rubbing her temples. "He’s been in my life since childhood. Every single year, every single place. It’s like the universe enjoys torturing me."

Tanu chuckled. "Ohhh, so he’s been annoying you since childhood? How adorable."

Ritu shot her a glare. "No, it’s not! He’s an absolute nightmare."

Tanu just hummed in amusement. "Interesting."

They reached the canteen, where students gathered in groups, chatting and laughing over plates of cookies, sandwiches, and steaming cups of chai. The air smelled of fresh coffee and fried snacks.

Ritu ordered an espresso , while Tanu got an strawberry matcha. They started walking toward an empty table, still deep in conversation.

But just as Ritu took a step forward—

Her foot slipped.

Her heart lurched as she stumbled forward, her grip on her coffee loosening.

And before she could react—

SPLASH.

The entire cup of cold coffee spilled straight onto someone’s shirt.

A black shirt.

Oh no.

Slowly—dreadfully—Ritu looked up.

Amrit stood before her, staring down at his soaked black shirt, his expression shifting from shock to pure outrage.

For a second, no one moved.

Then—

"Yeh kyuuu?! Tum hamesha mujhe preshan karne mein lagi hoti ho!" Amrit’s voice was half frustrated, half exasperated.

Ritu blinked, still processing what had happened. Then, regaining her composure, she shot back, "Yeh galti se hua hai! Main tumhare jaisa nahi hoon jo jaan-boojh ke pareshaan kare."

Amrit narrowed his eyes at her. "Oh please, don’t act innocent. Tera dushman hi ban gaya hoon na?"

Before Ritu could reply, Tanu burst out laughing.

"Okay, okay, hold on!" she said, grinning. "This is the best thing I’ve seen today."

On one side, Tanu was laughing like crazy, and on the other side, Ritu and Amrit were locked in an intense eye contact battle, as if given the chance, they'd start a world war right then and there and destroy each other.