ep 2

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.

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