𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐁𝐒𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍

Chapter 25

A week later...

I woke up to the most terrifying sound in existence—my alarm.

Ugh, aaj ka din shuru hone se pehle hi khatam ho jaye toh kitna acha hota! (Ugh, it would be so great if today ended before it even started!)

I groaned, rolling over and smacking my pillow over my face. But just as I was about to drift back into my peaceful slumber—

"CHAL NA, MAYA! TU KYA EXAM CENTER PE SOTI HAI KYA?!" (GET UP, MAYA! DO YOU PLAN TO SLEEP AT THE EXAM CENTER?!)

Raj's loud voice boomed through my room as he barged in like a villain from a low-budget horror film.

I jumped, sitting up so fast that I nearly fell off the bed. "Raj! Dimag kharab hai kya tera? Subah-subah kyun chilla raha hai?!" (Raj! Have you lost your mind? Why are you shouting this early?!)

Raj folded his arms, leaning against the doorframe with a smirk. "Maine tujhe uthaya nahi toh maths tera future utha lega." (If I don't wake you up, maths will ruin your future.)

I groaned. "Bas yaad mat dila, warna abhi rone lagungi." (Don't remind me, or I'll start crying right now.)

He rolled his eyes. "Drama queen. Exam hai, toh uth, tayar ho, aur fail hone se pehle ek acchi photo kheech le. Yaadgaar rahega." (Drama queen. You have an exam, so get up, get ready, and take a good photo before you fail. It'll be a nice memory.)

I grabbed my pillow and threw it at him, which he, of course, dodged. "Nikal yahan se!" (Get out!)

He laughed. "Theek hai, par jaldi aa. Tujhe drop bhi toh karna hai." (Alright, but hurry up. I still have to drop you.)

With a sigh, I dragged myself out of bed, freshened up, and got dressed in my simple blue kurti and jeans. Staring at my reflection, I muttered, "Maya, tu ek strong ladki hai. Ek maths ka paper teri izzat nahi lut sakta." (Maya, you are a strong girl. One maths paper cannot ruin your dignity.)

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my bag and walked out, where Raj was waiting with the car.

As I slid into the passenger seat, he smirked. "Tayaar hai maut ko gale lagane ke liye?" (Ready to embrace death?)

I shot him a glare. "Tujhe is ghar mein rehna hai ya nahi?" (Do you still want to live in this house?)

He chuckled. "Sorry, sorry. Waise, tu tension mat le. Ho sakta hai tera professor tujh par itna meherbaan ho ki tujhe bina likhe pass kar de." (Sorry, sorry. But don't stress. Maybe your professor will be so generous that he'll pass you without you writing a single word.)

I rolled my eyes. "Haan, Rudra Sir kehti hoon ki, Sir, main toh aapse itni zyada tang karti hoon, please mujhe free mein marks de do." (Yeah, let me just go and tell Rudra Sir, 'Sir, I annoy you so much, please give me free marks.')

Raj grinned. "Haan, waise bhi tu unki favorite student hai na?" (Yeah, after all, aren't you his favorite student?)

I whacked his arm. "Shut up, Raj."

After the exam...

I walked out of the exam hall, mentally exhausted. Maths had sucked the soul out of me. I was about to rant to Raj over the phone when my eyes landed on him.

Rudra.

Standing near the faculty room, looking like his usual brooding self. But that wasn't what caught my attention.

It was the woman beside him.

Some external examiner, judging by the way she was dressed so formally. And oh boy, was she trying. The way she flipped her hair, the way she leaned slightly toward him, the way she touched his arm lightly while laughing—

A strange feeling crept up my spine.

What was this?

I shouldn't care. It wasn't my business. He was my professor, and I was his student. But then—why was I suddenly feeling like I wanted to throw my maths book at her face?

What made it worse?

Rudra didn't even glance at her.

Not once.

He was nodding, responding to whatever she was saying, but his body language screamed uninterested. And yet, that didn't stop the woman from trying.

I clenched my jaw.

I hated this feeling.

Why was I reacting like this? Why was I suddenly so annoyed?

Before I could overthink it, Rudra's eyes shifted. And then—he saw me.

I froze.

His brows furrowed slightly, as if noticing something was off. But before he could even think of walking toward me—

I turned around and walked away.

Nope. Not dealing with this today.

If I was going to be jealous over Khadoos, I needed serious help.

I walked as fast as I could, pretending I hadn't seen Rudra at all. My heart was acting up for no reason, and I refused to acknowledge why. It wasn't my business if some external examiner was throwing herself at him. Not. My. Business.

I just needed to get out of here.

But, of course, life wasn't that merciful.

Just as I turned a corner, a familiar deep voice reached my ears.

"You're walking away like you just committed a crime, little furball."

My steps faltered. My grip on my bag tightened. No, no, no. Ignore him, Maya. Just keep walking.

But before I could escape, he stepped in front of me, blocking my way. His usual smirk was firmly in place, his dark eyes glinting with amusement.

"So? How was the exam?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "Or should I ask how many prayers you whispered before submitting your paper?"

I clenched my jaw, keeping my face as neutral as possible. "It was fine, Sir."

His smirk widened. "Sir? Since when do you call me that with such... formality?"

I refused to look at him. "Since always."

He chuckled, taking a step closer. "Hmm... interesting."

I took a step back. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go."

He didn't move. Instead, he studied me with that annoyingly sharp gaze of his. Then, as if realization struck him, his smirk turned downright devilish.

"Ohh... I see what's happening here."

I frowned, finally meeting his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

His voice dropped slightly, teasing. "You saw, didn't you?"

My stomach twisted. I looked away immediately. "Saw what?"

He let out a soft laugh. "The external examiner. The one who wouldn't stop talking to me."

I scoffed. "I don't know what you mean."

He leaned in just a fraction, enough to make my breath hitch. "Oh, you definitely know. In fact, I think you got a little... jealous."

I snapped my head up, glaring. "Excuse me?"

He grinned. "What? I'm just stating facts. You suddenly ignoring me? The way you turned around the second I saw you? It all makes sense."

I groaned. "I was not jealous."

He nodded, completely ignoring my words. "Right, right. You weren't jealous at all. You just randomly decided to act like I don't exist."

I crossed my arms. "I just didn't feel like talking."

He hummed, pretending to think. "So if I were to, let's say, have coffee with her, you wouldn't care?"

I clenched my fists. "No."

"What if she asked for my number?"

I forced a smile. "Good for her."

"What if I actually gave it to her?"

My eye twitched.

He grinned. "There it is."

I exhaled sharply. "You are insufferable."

"And you're adorable when you're trying to lie."

I turned to leave, but before I could take a step, he grabbed my wrist gently. His touch sent an unexpected shiver up my spine.

His voice softened, teasing replaced with something else. "Relax, little furball. I wasn't interested in her. Not even for a second."

I swallowed, trying to keep my heart from doing somersaults. "I don't care."

His smirk returned. "Of course, you don't."

With that, he let go of my wrist, letting me escape. But even as I walked away, I could still feel his gaze on me.

And worse?

I could feel my own heart betraying me.

I stormed out of the corridor, my heartbeat annoyingly loud in my ears. Ugh! Why does he have to be like this? Why does he have to smirk like that? And why the hell does he have to be right?

I was not jealous. Nope. Not at all.

...Okay, maybe a little.

But it's not my fault! He stood there, looking all serious and brooding while that external examiner practically drooled over him. And he—he just stood there like he didn't even notice. Like he didn't care.

Why did that bother me so much?

I shook my head, trying to shove all thoughts of him away. Focus, Maya. You just finished your exam. You should be celebrating. Not thinking about Mr. Khadoos and his stupid teasing.

I took a deep breath, pulling out my phone to text Raj.

Me: Exam done. I survived.

Raj: Shocking. How much do you think you failed by?

Me: Shut up. I actually did well.

Raj: Sure. And I'm the next Einstein.

I rolled my eyes. Typical. I was about to type another sarcastic reply when—

"Still ignoring me?"

Crap.

I turned slowly, only to find Rudra leaning against the wall a few feet away, arms crossed, watching me with that knowing smirk.

"Didn't know you were following me now," I muttered.

He chuckled. "I wasn't. You're just hard to miss. Especially when you stomp off like you're planning world domination."

I groaned. "I wasn't stomping."

"You sure? Because the floor's still shaking."

I shot him a glare. "Why are you still here?"

"I was waiting."

"For what?"

He raised a brow. "For you, obviously."

My stomach did a weird flip. Nope. Nope. Not happening.

"Well, you've waited enough. You can go now."

He tsked, stepping closer. "Still mad?"

"I was never mad."

"Still jealous, then?"

I whipped my head up. "I was never jealous either."

His smirk widened. "Then why are you avoiding me?"

"I'm not avoiding you," I said, taking a step back. "I just have better things to do."

"Oh? Like what?"

I blinked. "Uh... go home."

He nodded slowly, like he didn't believe me at all. "Right. Well, if you're going home, let me drop you."

"What? No! I can go by myself."

He sighed dramatically. "Maya, do you realize how predictable you are? You always say no first and then—"

"No."

He smirked. "—then you agree anyway."

I glared. "I won't."

"Wanna bet?"

I clenched my jaw. "I don't bet with people like you."

"People like me?"

"Annoying. Irritating. Smug."

He chuckled, tilting his head slightly. "And yet, you're still standing here, arguing with me instead of walking away."

I groaned. "You are—"

"I know," he interrupted, amused. "Insufferable."

I huffed, turning away. "Fine. Do whatever you want."

He grinned. "That's more like it."

I didn't reply. I just kept walking ahead, knowing he was right behind me.

And the worst part?

A tiny part of me liked that he was.

The entire walk to the parking lot was filled with his teasing glances and smug smirks, and I had had enough.

So, I did what any normal, mature, rational person would do.

I stopped dead in my tracks, turned to him dramatically, and mimicked that stupid external teacher's voice.

"Oh, Mr. Singhania," I batted my eyelashes, tilting my head like she did. "You're so smart and handsome! How do you even focus on teaching when you look like that?"

Rudra blinked. Then, slowly, a smirk tugged at his lips. "Oh?"

I wasn't done. I raised a hand to my forehead, sighing dreamily. "I mean, if I had a professor like you, I'd never pass my exams. I'd just keep staring at you all day!"

Rudra bit his lip like he was holding back laughter. "Wow. That was... accurate."

I folded my arms. "Of course it was. That's exactly how she was talking to you."

He tilted his head. "And you paid that much attention to her?"

I groaned. "That's not the point, Mr. Khadoos! The point is—"

"You were jealous."

I froze.

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were."

"No, I wasn't."

He grinned. "Then why are you still talking about it?"

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Nothing.

He chuckled. "It's okay, Maya. I get it. You don't have to—"

"I like you, okay?" I blurted out, throwing my hands in the air.

Silence.

I blinked. Wait. What?

I... I did not mean to say that. I definitely did not mean to say that!

Rudra's smirk disappeared, replaced by something unreadable. "What?"

I panicked. "I mean—I don't—ugh! You annoy me! You're irritating, you're smug, and you—" I pointed at him accusingly. "You make my brain stop working sometimes, and I hate it!"

His lips twitched. "Maya..."

"And the worst part?" I continued, ignoring him. "Even when you're annoying me, I still want to be around you! And that's your fault! So, technically, this is your problem now!"

He just stared at me. Silent. Expression unreadable.

I swallowed. "Say something."

A slow smirk appeared on his lips. "You like me."

I groaned. "That is not what I said!"

"That is exactly what you said."

"I—I was just—"

"Mimicking the external teacher?" he teased.

I narrowed my eyes. "I hate you."

His smirk deepened. "No, you don't."

I huffed, turning away. "Whatever. I'm leaving."

But before I could take another step, his fingers curled gently around my wrist.

"Wait."

I turned back, heart hammering against my ribs.

He was looking at me. Not teasingly. Not smugly. Just... looking.

And for once, I didn't know what to do.

*Target vote 70 +

*Target comment 20 + {comment kar dena bohut mushkil se likha hai itna bada chapter)

( Hey sweeties! Do you like this chapter?

If yes then please drop a Vote and comment your opinion on it.

And I'm noticing something that some people are scaming votes like voting on all the chapters at same time.

Guys it's considered as a scam and it might get my story deleted .

So don't do that. And if my book got deleted because of scam votes I will not write anymore because I have put my 100% here)??