A heartfelt enemies-to-lovers story by Gunjita Das, where Rittika’s hatred for the charming Aryansh slowly turns into love, only for fate to deliver an unexpected betrayal through her best friend.
Fate rarely announces its arrival.
Yes, that’s the first thing I thought when the boy for whom I changed my beloved school appeared in front of me in the classroom of my new school.
I hated him from the tips of my fingers to the tips of my toes.
“Why?” you ask?
Well, this boy was the officially designated heartthrob of everyone.
Weird, right?
And guess what? I, too, was pulled into his charms, which led to a disaster, and I was forced to leave the school to protect the slightest bit of reputation I had left.
And all because of that boy—Aryansh Mehta.
With boiling blood and frowning eyes, I watched Aryansh enter the classroom with his friends.
I mean, he had already made friends? Silly me, that’s the kind of boy he was.
Later that day, whispers could be heard about how Aryansh already had a crush on someone. Come on, the very first day?
Calm down, brother!
I was annoyed by his very presence.
His “ha-ha, hi-hi” just couldn’t be tolerated. But was it in my hands?
No.
Did I have the wish to beat him until I was satisfied?
Yes.
I came back home, still in a rage. I went straight to my room and didn’t even greet Mumma.
And the worst of all?
My mom was best friends with Aryansh’s mom.
Eww.
I couldn’t tell Mom about it. I couldn’t even blame him for leaving my last school.
So, I went up to my mother and asked her if I could change my school. To my relief, she agreed. And I changed my school, but today, his presence in my new school brought me back to the same situation.
“WHY?”
I asked, sitting on my bed and looking at Jagannath. I had worshipped Him since my early childhood. He was the main character of our house.
I kept talking to Him until I realized He wasn’t listening like He used to. I was getting too hyper.
So, I pulled up the sheets and slept.
Yes.
I slept.
That was the best I could do.
I woke up to the cold wind blowing through the window that had remained open since the afternoon. I sat up on my bed and closed it. As I did, I heard some people talking in the living room.
I got up and went there, only to find that boy’s face again.
Aryansh had come to visit us along with his mother.
But why?
They saw me, and all those typical fake smiles and sentences like, “Woah! You’ve gotten so tall,” and “You’ve grown up a lot, ha-ha,” started.
Oh, thanks.
I didn’t know I’d grown up and gotten taller.
Thank you so much for the information, ma’am.
Urghh.
That was the exact feeling I had while talking with Aryansh and his mother.
I won’t deny that his mother is a sweet soul. But she’s way too judgmental. She comments on our house, our clothes, and even our photos.
Things like:
“This angle doesn’t suit you. You look pretty weird here.”
And then she laughs it off.
Irritating.
I went back to my room and stayed there until they left.
Neither their mocking words nor their fake praise could be tolerated anymore.
But when I came out again, I felt weird.
It wasn’t happiness, nor was it relief, but a silent wave of something that couldn’t be expressed.
Very silent.
Very little.
But still, a feeling I couldn’t name.
I sat on the sofa, where the aroma of Aryansh’s perfume lingered.
The one I hated the most, by the way.
It suddenly felt different.
The same feeling I had experienced when I was alone in my room.
As I visualized him—his clothes, his hairstyle, his looks.
The next day, I got ready, and just as I was about to put my lunch box into my bag, the bus arrived.
The bus honked with the loudest horn I had ever heard.
I rushed out, and my lunch box remained on the table.
I went to school.
By the time I realized it, it was too late.
During lunch break, as my hunger reached its peak, I asked my friends if they could share their food, which they obviously did.
As I was eating, I zoned out, and after a while, I found myself staring at Aryansh.
Very weird, right?
Why would I be looking at Aryansh like that?
But I was.
And he noticed.
I quickly looked away, which only made it even more obvious.
He called me out.
“Woah. Checking somebody out, Rittika?”
“Hu-huh? Never. I don’t check anybody,” I yelled nervously.
But deep down, I knew that even if I had zoned out, I couldn’t deny that it felt nice.
Days passed.
Months passed.
And eventually, an entire year passed.
And I had started liking him—pretty badly.
Yes.
The one I hated.
I tried catching a glimpse of him every day.
Even a millisecond would satisfy me.
And on the days he visited us with his mother, I couldn’t handle how good I felt.
No more fakeness.
No more going to my room.
Nothing.
Just trying to talk to him most of the time.
I liked him a lot.
But I had no intention of telling him.
At least not with my concerningly low confidence.
I started planning a proposal.
It took time.
Actually, a lot of time.
So much time that he got someone else.
Yes.
The very moment I got to know about it, a sudden wave of sorrow struck me.
My friends knew everything.
But only them.
I regretted every day I had felt like telling him but never could.
I tried to forget the entire episode, and just when I was about to move on, I found out who Aryansh’s new girlfriend was.
I was shocked.
Pure shock.
Liya?
My best friend?
The one who knew everything?
She ditched me?
She got together with Aryansh?
Basically, I got trolled.
Fate really doesn’t announce its arrival.
