44.The wrong eyes

Aarohi's POV

I don't remember running.

Just the cold slam of the hallway door behind me, the way my breath tore out of my chest, and the sound—God, the sound—of her voice and his silence echoing in my head.

Meera kissed him.

And he didn't stop her.

My feet carried me blindly down the corridor, past classrooms and blurred faces. I think someone called my name. I didn't stop. Couldn't.

This place suddenly felt too loud, too exposed. Like every wall knew what I'd just seen.

And the worst part?

This was our place. Mine and Aryan's. The one space where I didn't feel like I had to pretend. Where I didn't have to wear a smile I didn't feel. Where he made everything—me—feel okay.

And now it was ruined.

I burst into the girls' washroom at the far end of the corridor, locked myself in the last stall, and sank to the floor. My back hit the wall, and my knees folded into my chest like armor.

Why did it hurt so much?

Why did it feel like I was splitting open?

I buried my face in my hands. My heart wouldn't slow down. I could still see them—her hands on his face, his eyes frozen, lips pressed against hers. That tiny hesitation. That second too long before he pulled away.

What did it mean?

What if…

What if I was never the one he really wanted?

What if Meera—beautiful, brave, normal Meera—was who he chose?

A sob rose up, sharp and sudden.

Then everything went quiet.

Like the air had been sucked out of the room.

I looked up slowly.

My reflection in the small metal lock glinted at me.

And for a second, I didn't recognize her.

My breathing stilled.

My hands trembled.

Inside my chest, something shifted—like a shadow stretching.

Then a voice.

Not outside.

Inside.

"Finally," it purred, silk and steel. "You broke enough to let me out."

I clutched my head, shaking it. "No. No, not now—"

"Too late, darling. You saw what you needed to see. He's not yours. He never was."

"Stop it."

"He picked her. She did what you couldn't. Simple."

"I said shut up!"

The voice chuckled darkly, low and cold and terrifyingly calm. "Oh, don't cry. You'll forget soon anyway. Because it's my turn now."

My vision blurred—not from tears, but something else. Something inside me twisting, like my mind was slipping into a different shape.

A colder one.

Stronger.

Meaner.

My lips curved.

Not in sorrow.

But in a smile.

Not mine.

"Let's go say hello," the voice said through my mouth.

Aryan's POV

I should've run after her.

But I didn't.

I stood there too long—staring at the empty doorway, Meera's lips still burning on my skin, my mind spiraling with things I didn't say fast enough.

"Aarohi."

Her name felt like glass in my throat.

I turned and pushed out of the room, my pace quickening with every step. The corridor felt endless, each turn a maze I couldn't solve fast enough. I checked the classrooms, the library, the damn staircase she used to sit on during lunch when the cafeteria got too loud.

Nothing.

Until—

The washroom door creaked open just as I passed.

I froze.

Then she stepped out.

At least, I thought it was her.

But something didn't sit right.

Her hair was slightly tousled, like she'd run her hands through it too many times. Her uniform a little more rumpled. And her expression—

Blank.

Except for her smile.

That wasn't Aarohi's smile.

"Aarohi?" I asked, taking a cautious step forward.

She tilted her head, slowly, like she was studying me. Her gaze crawled over my face, not soft or searching like usual, but… amused. Cold. Like she knew a secret I didn't.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," she said, voice sweet but sharp. Like sugar laced with venom.

I blinked. "Are you okay?"

She walked past me, not answering, her fingers brushing the wall like she was trying to remember what it felt like. She stopped at the end of the hallway and turned, leaning against the lockers.

"I saw you," she said.

My heart dropped.

"Aarohi, it wasn't what it looked like. Meera kissed me, but I—"

She held up a hand. "Shhh."

One word. One gesture. But it silenced me.

"I don't care what she did," she said. "I care what you let happen."

Her voice was calmer than I expected. Too calm.

I took a step closer. "Please. I need to explain—"

"Explain what? That you didn't push her away fast enough?" she asked, smiling again—but her eyes didn't smile with her. "That you thought of her, even for a second, when you should've been thinking of me?"

That's when I knew.

This wasn't just heartbreak talking.

This wasn't her.

"Aarohi," I said softly, watching her more closely now. "What's going on?"

She moved toward me slowly, step by step, each one deliberate. "You made her your favorite, didn't you?" she whispered. "She tried so hard to get your attention. Always clinging to your side, always interrupting. You knew. And you let her."

Her voice dropped, darker now. "But I'll give you credit. It worked. She got your attention. For a second."

I swallowed hard. "You're not making sense."

She stopped a foot away from me. Too close. And now, I could feel it—the shift. The wrongness.

This wasn't just Aarohi angry.

This was someone else.

"Who are you?" I asked, barely a whisper.

Her grin widened.

But she didn't answer.

Instead, she leaned in—too close to my ear—and murmured, "Maybe next time, you'll think twice before breaking what you don't understand."

Then she turned and walked away—heels echoing like the click of a countdown.

I stood frozen.

Because I'd seen Aarohi furious. I'd seen her broken.

But this… this wasn't either.

This was something else.

And for the first time since I met her, I wasn't just worried for her.

I was scared of her.