Ananya was floating in a dream, a beautiful one, filled with golden fields and a soft breeze playing with her hair. She could hear laughter, feel the warmth of the sun, and just as she turned, expecting to see something magical—
SPLASH!
Cold water shocked her system, drenching her entire body in an instant.
"Maa!" she shrieked, bolting upright in bed, her wavy black hair now sticking to her face. She wiped her eyes and glared at the woman standing triumphantly with an empty bucket in her hands.
"You have an internship starting soon, and you are still dreaming your life away," her mother scolded. "Final year, Ananya! Placement season is coming. Wake up!"
Groaning, Ananya wrapped herself in a blanket. "This is abuse."
"This is love. Now get moving!"
Still grumbling, Ananya dragged herself out of bed, knowing full well there was no fighting her mother. She checked the time—7:30 AM. She had barely half an hour to get ready before rushing to college. But before she could even grab her towel, her phone buzzed loudly on the bedside table. She groaned and picked it up, already knowing who it was.
"I swear, if this is about some gossip—" Ananya started.
"Of course, it is!" Khushi Mishra's cheerful voice cut her off. "Did you hear about the new guest lecturer? Some hotshot business guy, Aryan Malhotra. CEO, billionaire, absolute eye candy."
Ananya rolled her eyes. "Not interested."
"You will be when you see him."
"Khushi, I have bigger things to worry about—like my internship, my grades, and you know, my entire future?"
"Oh, please. A little eye candy never hurt anyone. And rumor has it, he’s got the personality of a brick wall. Imagine what fun it would be to get under his skin!"
Ananya chuckled despite herself. "Why are you like this?"
"Because life is too short to be boring. Now hurry up and get ready, or your mom might drown you for real next time."
Across the city, in a sleek penthouse that overlooked the Mumbai skyline, Aryan Malhotra opened his eyes precisely one second before his alarm went off. He never needed it; his body was trained to wake up at the same time every morning.
He threw off his blanket, got out of bed, and headed straight to his personal gym. The rhythmic sounds of his breathing filled the space as he worked through his usual routine—weights, push-ups, and a short run on the treadmill. Precision. Control. Routine. These were the things that kept him grounded.
After a quick cold shower, he dressed in his usual tailored suit and headed to his home office, where a neatly arranged pile of documents awaited him. He took a sip of black coffee, his eyes scanning through reports when his phone buzzed.
Rohan.
Aryan sighed and picked up the call. "You work too much," Rohan complained before Aryan could even greet him.
"And you don’t work enough," Aryan retorted, taking another sip of his coffee.
"Come on, man. You’re taking on guest lectures now? Since when do you entertain college kids?"
Aryan leaned back in his chair. "It’s a favor. A promise to an old mentor. One lecture and I’m done."
"A lecture filled with young, wide-eyed students who’ll probably hang on your every word." Rohan smirked on the other end. "You might even meet someone interesting."
"Doubt it." Aryan shut his laptop. "I have no time for distractions."
"You say that now, but fate has a way of proving people wrong."
Aryan shook his head, already bored of the conversation. "If you called just to waste my time—"
"Fine, fine. I’ll let you get back to your cold, loveless life. See you at lunch?"
Aryan hesitated but eventually agreed. "See you at noon."
Hanging up, he glanced at his schedule. The lecture was in three days. Just another obligation to check off his list.
Little did he know, fate had other plans.
Stay with us
It's just the beginning!
Write a comment ...