Chapter 7: A New Beginning, Old Shadows

Three months had passed since Sia Malhotra, or rather Diya pretending to be Sia, had joined St. Xavier's College in Delhi. The luxurious confines of the Malhotra mansion now felt like a distant memory. Her days were filled with lectures, coffee breaks at the campus café, and endless study sessions.

And most importantly-no Abeer Rathore.

Thank God.

The sound of laughter pulled her back to the present. She was sitting on the grassy lawn with her best friend Rudra Kapoor, a tall, lean guy with messy hair and a perpetual mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Seriously, Sia," Rudra said between fits of laughter, "You're telling me you almost faceplanted on stage during that debate? I wish I was there to record it."

Sia glared at him. "Rudra, I swear to God, one more comment, and I'll shove your face into that plate of samosas."

He clutched his chest dramatically. "Ah, violence! And here I thought we were besties. Betrayal!"

Their friend Ayesha giggled. "Honestly, though, I would've paid to see that. You're such a perfectionist; it's hilarious when you mess up."

Sia groaned. "This is why I have trust issues."

Rudra wiggled his eyebrows. "Come on, perfectionist. Let's go get coffee before your next class. I have to share my genius plan for acing the midterms."

"Your plan is going to involve bribing the cafeteria auntie for cheat sheets, isn't it?" Sia deadpanned.

He gasped. "How dare you insult my academic integrity!"

They walked toward the café, bickering the entire way. It felt good-normal. No mafia kings, no life-threatening danger. Just friends, college life, and bad cafeteria .

In a dimly lit warehouse on the outskirts of the city, Abeer Rathore stood in front of a trembling man tied to a chair. His expression was calm, but his eyes held a deadly glint.

"You're wasting my time," Abeer said coldly. "Where's the shipment?"

The man stammered, "P-please, I don't know-"

Before he could finish, Abeer's right-hand man, Dev, landed a brutal punch to his face.

Abeer sighed. "I'm a patient man, but only up to a point." He crouched down, his voice dropping to a whisper. "You see, the problem with liars is that they think fear will save them. But I don't deal in fear. I deal in certainty."

He straightened, pulling out a gleaming knife and twirling it casually. "And I'm certain you'll tell me everything."

The man broke down. "Okay! Okay! It's with Ranjit! He's moving it through the old dockyard!"

Abeer smiled faintly. "See? That wasn't so hard."

He signaled to Dev. "Clean this up."

As he walked out of the warehouse, his phone buzzed. It was Sunita Malhotra. He ignored the call. For the past three months, his life had been focused on consolidating power and eliminating threats.

But a gnawing sense of unease lingered at the back of his mind.

Sia Malhotra.

He hadn't seen her in months, and that absence felt... unsettling. She had always been predictable, desperate for his attention. But now?

She was a ghost.

And Abeer Rathore didn't like ghosts.

Sia sat cross-legged on Rudra's dorm room floor, textbooks spread out in front of them.

"Okay, so the plan is simple," Rudra announced, waving a marker dramatically. "We form a secret society to overthrow the professors. Code name: Operation Freedom."

Ayesha rolled her eyes. "Or you could just study like normal people."

"Where's the fun in that?" Rudra pouted.

Sia laughed. "You're impossible."

He winked. "And you love me for it."

Their study session devolved into jokes and laughter, but Sia couldn't help feeling a pang of gratitude. For the first time in years, she had friends, dreams, and a sense of belonging.

Maybe this world wasn't so bad after all.

As Sia walked back to her dorm, her phone buzzed.

Unknown Number: Miss Malhotra, there's been a... situation. You need to come home immediately.

Her heart skipped a beat.

No. No. She was done with that world.

Sia ignored the message, blocking the number. But as she turned the corner, she caught a glimpse of something-or rather, someone-that made her blood freeze.

A girl stood near the entrance of the dormitory. She was stunning, with dark hair, fierce eyes, and an air of danger.

A character Sia knew all too well.

Tara Vaidya.

The female lead from her novel.

What the hell was she doing here?