CHAPTER ONE

Long time... Miss patel

Anshika's POV

Hieeeee sunshineessss! ☀️

Sooo yeahhh, before you all go on with the story, I would like to introduce myself.

I’m Anshika Patel.

Nineteen.

Gujarati.

Professional overthinker.

Part-time idiot.

Full-time yapper.

And—

I HATE GOING TO COLLEGE. 😭

Like, genuinely.

Who invented college?

And more importantly—

WHO DECIDED WE NEEDED TO WAKE UP EARLY FOR IT?

Because whoever you are...

I just wanna talk.

Anyway.

It was another beautiful morning.

By beautiful, I mean I was staring at my ceiling, contemplating whether attendance was really that important.

Spoiler alert:

It was.

Unfortunately.

I dragged myself out of bed and walked towards the bathroom like a zombie whose soul had already left her body.

After getting ready, I stood in front of the mirror.

Today, I wore a cream sleek shrug over a plain white tee with jeans.

Simple.

Comfortable.

And most importantly—

NO MAKEUP.

I hated makeup.

Not because I had anything against it.

I just couldn't understand why I needed seventeen different products on my face just to convince people I had slept properly.

My face was going to look tired.

Let it.

I sprayed some perfume, fixed my hair, grabbed my bag and looked around my room.

This was my little world.

Not exactly home.

Not exactly temporary either.

I shared a PG with two flatmates—

Ansh and Anya.

They were...

Okay-ish.

Not bad.

Not amazing.

Just...

People I lived with.

We weren't exactly best friends.

I didn't really talk much to them, and they didn't really ask much about me.

Which honestly suited me perfectly.

I didn't have the energy to explain myself to people anymore.

I'd learned that sometimes people only stayed as long as you were convenient.

And when you weren't?

Well...

They left.

Simple.

I had gotten pretty good at pretending I didn't care.

Or at least, I liked to think I had.

I grabbed my phone and checked the time.

8:17 AM.

My eyes widened.

"Oh shit."

I ran outside.

"ANSHIKA, YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE!" Anya shouted from somewhere behind me.

"I KNOW!"

"Then why are you walking?!"

I stopped.

Looked down at myself.

Looked at the road.

Looked back at her.

"Because running is exhausting."

She stared at me.

I smiled.

"Bye!"

And ran.

Okay.

Maybe I wasn't completely stupid.

Just mostly.

HVIS COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

My second home.

Unfortunately.

I reached college, adjusted my bag on my shoulder and walked through the entrance with the enthusiasm of someone walking towards their own execution.

Students were everywhere.

Some were rushing towards classes.

Some were standing around talking.

Some were already complaining about assignments.

And somewhere in the middle of all that chaos...

was me.

I walked towards my classroom without paying much attention to anyone.

My brain was still approximately 40% asleep.

I entered the classroom lazily.

And immediately headed towards the last bench.

My favourite place.

Away from the professors.

Away from unnecessary attention.

And most importantly—

near Dhruv.

"Morning, idiot."

I dropped my bag beside him.

He looked at me.

"You're late."

"I prefer the term fashionably delayed."

"You look like you woke up five minutes ago."

"I did."

He sighed.

I grinned.

This was Dhruv.

My best friend.

The one person who had stayed.

Not because he had to.

Not because he felt sorry for me.

Just...

because he wanted to.

There was a time when I had people everywhere.

Friends.

Groups.

People I thought would stay forever.

And then somehow, one by one, they left.

Some without explanations.

Some with excuses.

Some simply stopped choosing me.

And when everyone else decided I wasn't worth staying for...

Dhruv did.

He stayed.

Even when I was difficult.

Even when I disappeared.

Even when I didn't talk.

Even when I pretended everything was fine.

He was there.

Maybe that's why I trusted him more than I trusted most people.

I pulled out my notebook and placed it on the desk.

"What's today's torture?" I whispered.

Dhruv looked at me.

"New professor."

I froze.

"Excuse me?"

"New professor."

"No."

"Yes."

"Nope."

"Anshika—"

"I reject."

"You can't reject a professor."

"Watch me."

He laughed.

I leaned back against the wall.

"What's his name?"

Dhruv shrugged.

"Vedant Sharma, I think."

I nodded absentmindedly.

"Okay."

Didn't matter.

New professor.

New subject.

Same boring college.

Same last bench.

Same life.

At least...

that's what I thought.

Because a few minutes later, the classroom door opened.

And the entire room went quiet.

I looked up.

A man walked inside.

Tall.

Composed.

Dressed simply.

His expression unreadable.

He placed a file on the desk and slowly looked around the classroom.

His eyes passed over everyone.

Until they stopped on me.

For one strange second—

I couldn't breathe.

Not because I knew him.

I didn't.

At least...

I didn't think I did.

But there was something about the way he looked at me.

Like he wasn't seeing a student.

Like he was seeing a memory.

Then his expression changed.

Barely.

A flicker.

Something dark.

Something I couldn't understand.

He looked away.

"Good morning."

His voice was calm.

The class replied together.

"Good morning, sir."

I stared at him for another second.

Then quietly leaned towards Dhruv.

"Why does our new professor look like he personally hates happiness?"

Dhruv tried not to laugh.

"Shut up."

I smiled.

And opened my notebook.

Completely unaware that the man standing at the front of the classroom hadn't come here by coincidence.

And completely unaware that, somewhere in his carefully controlled mind, one thought had already repeated itself the moment he saw me.

She doesn't remember me.

And maybe...

that was exactly what he wanted.

I don't know why I was still looking at him.

Maybe because something about him felt familiar.

Too familiar.

I looked down at my notebook.

Then back at him.

And suddenly—

I smelled it.

That perfume.

My heart stopped.

No.

No, no, no.

There was absolutely no way.

Perfumes don't have memories.

Right?

Except this one did.

It carried old afternoons.

Old conversations.

Old promises.

Old versions of me that I had tried so hard to forget.

My fingers tightened around my pen.

I looked at his face properly this time.

And everything inside me went silent.

I knew him.

I knew him.

How could I not?

I'd recognize that face anywhere.

Even after all these years.

Even after everything.

Vedant.

My Vedant.

No.

Not mine.

Not anymore.

My hands started trembling.

Badly.

I quickly placed them underneath the desk, hoping nobody would notice.

Especially Dhruv.

"Anshika?"

I blinked.

Dhruv was looking at me.

"You okay?"

I forced a smile.

"Yeah."

It came out too quickly.

Too softly.

He frowned.

"You look pale."

"I'm fine."

Lie.

A very bad one.

At the front of the classroom, he picked up a marker.

He turned towards the board.

And for a second, I thought maybe I had imagined everything.

Maybe he wouldn't recognize me.

Maybe I could sit here quietly.

Attend his lectures.

Pass his class.

And leave.

Maybe we could pretend we were strangers.

Maybe—

He turned around.

His eyes found mine.

And there it was.

That tiny pause.

That almost invisible change in his expression.

Recognition.

He knew.

Of course he knew.

He had come here knowing exactly who I was.

He placed the marker down.

"Before we begin," he said calmly, "I suppose I should introduce myself."

The class became quiet.

"My name is Vedant Sharma."

My heart sank.

He continued.

"I'm from Delhi, and I'll be taking your Biology classes this semester."

Biology.

Of course.

Because apparently the universe had a sense of humour.

He explained a few basic things about the subject, the syllabus and his expectations.

I barely heard any of it.

All I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat.

Then—

his eyes moved towards me again.

He smiled.

Not warmly.

Not cruelly either.

Just...

knowingly.

"Any questions?"

Nobody said anything.

He nodded.

"Good."

He picked up his attendance sheet.

His eyes travelled down the list.

One name after another.

Then he stopped.

"Anshika Patel."

My stomach twisted.

I didn't answer.

I couldn't.

He looked directly at me.

"Miss Patel?"

My lips parted.

"Yes, sir."

His expression didn't change.

But his next words shattered whatever tiny piece of composure I had left.

"Long time, Miss Patel."

Silence.

Complete silence.

I stared at him.

He stared back.

Dhruv looked between us, completely confused.

I smiled.

Softly.

Almost naturally.

Almost like nothing had happened.

"Yes, sir."

My voice barely came out.

I lowered my eyes to my notebook.

I wanted to laugh.

I wanted to cry.

I wanted to get out of that classroom and never come back.

But mostly...

I wanted to ask him one question.

Why?

Why did you come back?

Why now?

Why here?

Why me?

But I already knew the answer.

He hadn't come back to forgive me.

He hadn't come back to forget.

He had come back because he wanted something.

Maybe revenge.

Maybe an explanation.

Maybe both.

And judging by the way he looked at me...

he wanted to see me break.

He wanted the girl he remembered to fall apart in front of him.

Maybe he thought he could still hurt me.

Maybe he thought there was something left to destroy.

I gave him another small smile.

A sad one this time.

Because the truth was almost funny.

He wanted to break me.

But I was already beyond broken.

There wasn't much left.

Except these stupid trembling hands that refused to lie.

I slowly curled my fingers into my palm beneath the desk.

Dhruv leaned closer.

"Anshika..."

I shook my head.

"Don't."

"But—"

"Please."

He stopped.

And for the first time that morning, my smile disappeared.

Because the man standing at the front of the classroom wasn't a stranger.

He was a chapter I had thought I'd buried.

And now...

he was my professor.

I looked at the board.

VEDANT SHARMA — BIOLOGY

I swallowed hard.

Yeah.

This semester was going to destroy me.