Aresha walked out of the principal’s office like she wasn’t shaken.
Like nothing touched her.
But her steps were uneven.
Her fingers trembled.
Her chest felt too tight.
Suspended.
Guardian meeting.
Her stepmother.
She felt the panic crawling up her throat like a living thing.
Zara and Myra ran toward her in the corridor.
“What happened?”
“What did they say?”
“Tell us!”
Aresha didn’t even blink.
“Suspended,” she said flatly.
“And they want my guardian tomorrow.”
Both girls froze.
Zara whispered, “Your guardian… means…”
“Yes.”
Aresha kept walking.
“My… stepmother.”
The word tasted like poison.
Her companions looked at each other, helpless.
They’d never seen her afraid.
Never seen her voice falter.
Myra whispered, “Aresha, are you sure you don’t want us there—”
“Don’t.”
Her voice hardened instantly.
“Don’t make me repeat myself.”
Because if she showed even a crack—just one—everything inside her would spill.
And Aresha Malik didn’t spill.
---
At Home
The gate of her house always creaked when she pushed it.
She hated that sound; it felt like the door was announcing her arrival…
to the devil waiting inside.
Her stepmother, Rina, stood at the doorway with crossed arms and a dead smile.
“You’re home early,” Rina said sweetly—too sweetly.
“Did the college finally get tired of your pathetic existence?”
Aresha didn’t reply.
She simply removed her shoes, walked inside, and waited.
The slap came like a ritual.
S M A C K.
Her head jerked to the side.
Her bandaged scalp burned.
Rina’s voice changed from sugary to venomous.
“Speak when I talk to you!”
Aresha’s fists clenched.
She had been pushed into a wall today.
Bled in front of half the class.
Suspended.
And still… this was worse.
Rina grabbed her chin harshly.
“What did you do now? Why is your college calling me tomorrow, huh? Another complaint? Another mess?”
Aresha looked at her with that same dead look she used at college.
“I bullied someone,” she said plainly.
Aresha didn’t admit guilt.
She didn’t apologize.
She simply stated facts.
Rina’s nails dug into her cheek.
“Oh? Still pretending to be tough? You want to act arrogant outside but come home like a dog?”
Aresha didn’t flinch.
She’d learned long ago it only made things worse.
Rina pushed her against the wall—right on the injured spot.
Aresha hissed quietly.
“What will I tell the principal, hm? That my stepdaughter is a failure? A burden? An embarrassment?”
Aresha stayed silent.
Rina hated silence.
So the night went the same way it always did—
hitting, kicking, insults, the kind of touches that made Aresha’s soul feel filthy.
By the time she collapsed on her bed, her back bruised and her hair damp with tears she didn’t want to shed—
she remembered Rehan.
The way he pushed her.
The way he looked shocked afterward.
The way he avoided her eyes.
And for some reason…
that hurt differently.
---
Morning — At the College Gate
Rina arrived in her expensive saree and fake smile, ready to play the role of “concerned guardian.”
Aresha walked two steps behind her like a shadow.
Students stared, whispering.
“Is that her mom?”
“She looks strict…”
“No wonder Aresha is like that…”
Aresha kept her face blank.
The only person who didn’t whisper was Rehan, standing near the staircase.
He was staring at her bandaged head.
Staring at her bruises.
Staring at the way she limped slightly.
Guilt stabbed him.
When Aresha’s eyes flicked to him for half a second, he felt his chest tighten.
He had never seen her look… small.
---
In the Principal’s Office
The staff sat in a line.
Rina sat opposite them, Aresha beside her.
The principal began gently, “Mrs. Malik, we want to discuss Aresha’s behavior. She has been bullying students, and yesterday—”
Rina gasped dramatically.
“Bullying? My daughter? Impossible! She is the sweetest girl.”
Aresha stared.
Sweetest…
She nearly laughed.
The vice-principal looked confused.
“But the students say—”
Rina grabbed Aresha’s hand, squeezing painfully.
“Aresha, sweetheart, why would you do such a thing? Why would you hurt others? We raised you with love.”
Aresha’s jaw tightened in disbelief.
Love?
Her fingers trembled.
Her breath shook.
Everyone in the room noticed.
The counselor leaned forward softly.
“Aresha… is there anything you want to say?”
Her vision blurred.
Not from tears—
from the weight of everything pressing on her chest.
The lies.
The pain.
The abuse.
The fact that she couldn’t speak.
Her voice finally broke.
“…No.”
Rina smiled triumphantly.
But the counselor did not look convinced.
Neither did Rehan, who stood outside the half-open door, frozen…
listening.
---
After the Meeting — Hallway
When Aresha stepped out, students stared.
Some smirked.
Some whispered.
Some pitied.
That pity…
hurt more than hatred.
Rehan stepped forward.
“Aresha, wait—”
She stopped.
Her eyes looked colder than ever before.
He swallowed.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you so badly yesterday. I—I pushed you too hard.”
Her expression didn’t change.
“I know.”
“You… know?”
She looked at him like she was staring through him.
“Rehan,” she said quietly, “what you did yesterday… was nothing compared to what I go through daily.”
Rehan froze.
Aresha took a step closer, voice barely above a whisper.
“Don’t feel guilty. You can’t hurt someone who’s already broken.”
She walked away.
Rehan’s heart dropped.
Because he had finally seen something beneath Aresha Malik’s cruelty—
a girl who was drowning.
.
.
.
.
.
