In the morning, Ananya made sure to reach the dining room before Viraj. She knew the consequences of not obeying her brother. Now, sitting in front of him, she initiated the conversation.

"I don't think Sneha has anything to do with the men who tried to hurt me yesterday or any of your rivals." She began. He looked at her as he had his tea.

"Leave that task to me." He said.

"Can't I at least thank her in the college?" She asked.

"Wait for a week for me to confirm. Then you can talk to her." He answered in his usual straight tone.

"Okay." She sighed.

"By the way, do you bully your classmates?" He asked.

Ananya looked at her brother in shock.

"Did Sneha tell you this?" She asked in fear.

"Yes. Do you?"

Ananya made a face and then sighed.

"Not all classmates. Only a few of them."

"Why?" He asked.

"Because...I don't know. I don't like them. They are mostly scholarship students who are just too proud of their achievements. Their parents are proud of them. On the orientation day, their parents talk so proudly about them. I hate it. I hate it that they..." Ananya stopped as she didn't know what to say.

"...live a normal life with their parents?" He completed for her.

She looked at her brother and nodded with a sigh.

"Don't release your anger on innocent kids, Ananya. It's not their fault that our parents are like this." He tried to explain to his sister.

"Okay, bhai." She answered despite what she felt inside.

"Especially when students like them have saved you." He added.

She looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean, bhai? Sneha is also...?" She asked.

"Yes. She is a scholarship student as well." He completed.

"Oh!" Ananya murmured.

"And, why do you skip your classes?" He asked further.

Ananya looked at her brother sheepishly.

"Did she tell you this as well?" She asked hesitantly.

"Answer the question."

"Yes, bhai." She answered while looking at the table.

"Why? I thought you liked going to college." He asked.

"I bunk only Ancient Indian History and EVS classes, bhai. In Ancient Indian History, the professor speaks so slowly that we all almost sleep in the class. And, I bunk EVS because Tina and Shruti are not in this class. So, I feel bored as I have no friends there, and thus, I skip."

"Very convincing reason to skip classes, isn't it?" He spoke in a scolding manner.

"I won't do it from now on." She promised meekly.

"Good." He said and then added. "Gaurav will drive you to college today and I will pick you up in the evening. Okay?"

"Yes, bhai." She answered robotically.

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"I can't believe she is completely ignoring you after what you did for her!" Jyoti said as they both glanced in the direction of Ananya, who was sitting alone in the rightmost corner seat. It was the EVS class and the last lecture of the day.

"It's good only. I don't want to talk to a girl like her." Sneha said remembering her bullying nature.

"Still! A small 'thank you' would have done the work...at least a formality! Had I been at her place, I would have jumped on you to make you my friend." Jyoti said dramatically.

"In that case, I am glad that she is not jumping on me because I don't want to be her friend...in any case." Sneha said as everyone stood on the teacher's arrival.

The class carried on and Sneha jotted down the main points of 'sustainable farming'. Sneha could feel someone staring at her, so on reflex, she turned to her right and saw Ananya looking at her. As soon as their eyes met, Ananya looked away quickly.

Sneha found it too weird. The way Ananya behaved felt as if she wanted to talk to her but was resisting. What's going on in her mind, she wondered. However, her thoughts were interrupted by the teacher.

"That's it for today. I want you all to find out about the latest government policy on sustainable farming. Before we conclude, I want to inform you all about your mid-term project. You all have to make a working model on any issue related to the environment. And, this project will be done in pairs. So, choose your partner wisely and let me know your names and topic within a week. I will inform the submission date soon. Thank you." The professor finished and everyone stood up to leave the class.

"Okay, partner. So, what do you want to work on." Sneha said with a chuckle to Jyoti. It was obvious that Sneha and Jyoti would pair up.

"I don't know. Ozone layer depletion?" Jyoti suggested as they walked out of the classroom and towards the parking area. Jyoti had her scooty parked there and she was going to drop Sneha at the library as her cycle was broken by a certain person.

"And how are we going to make a working model on it?" Sneha asked while smacking Jyoti on her arm.

"Well! That's a good question. You suggest then?" Jyoti asked as she retrieved her keys from the bag.

Both of them tried to think hard.

"Acid rain, I guess? We can show the evaporation and condensation in a closed box filled with air. And then show the effect of acid rain on certain objects?" Jyoti suggested.

"Hmm... I think that would be good. I just don't know if that would be feasible by us!" Sneha thought over it.

"Is he looking at you?" Jyoti said out of nowhere.

"What?" Sneha muttered as she looked in the direction where Jyoti was looking.

Indeed there stood in all his glory, Viraj Khatri partly leaning on his car and playing with his phone. And, he was looking at her with absolutely no expression on his face.

Sneha immediately lowered her gaze and then looked at Jyoti.

"He must be here for Ananya." She said.

"Obviously!" Jyoti added as they both stopped near the scooty. They both were aware that Viraj sometimes came to pick up his sister. However, staring at a particular person in the college was a new event.

While Jyoti placed her bag under the seat and retrieved her helmet, Sneha contemplated if she should turn back and see if Viraj was still looking at her.

Slowly, she turned around to look at him once again but instantly turned around when she saw him still looking at her.

'He still doubts me.' She told herself.

Jyoti tried to start the vehicle, but it didn't ignite. She tried again and again while Sneha wondered what was wrong.

"Bhai!" Came Ananya's voice as she spotted her brother.

Viraj only looked at his sister from Sneha.

"Let's go." He said as he attempted to open the door.

"Bhai, can you drop Tina at the Everest mall? Her driver was called by her parents urgently." Ananya requested.

Sneha heard their conversation clearly because they were not far away from each other.

"I am not your friend's driver. Ask her to take a cab." He said as he opened the door wide for himself.

Sneha couldn't help but look at him in surprise. He was so arrogant, she confirmed.

"But it's in our way!" Ananya tried again while the girl named Tina looked here and there in embarrassment.

"Should I repeat myself?" Viraj warned.

"No, bhai." Ananya answered instantly and looked at her friend with sorry eyes.

"He is so weird!" Jyoti told Sneha in almost a whisper as she continued trying to fix her scooty.

"You have no idea!" Sneha replied as she remembered the car ride of yesterday.

She knew by now that Viraj was a man of few words and hated being questioned or ordered around. She didn't care a bit though. It's not like she has to spend her whole life with him, she thought.

"Finally!" Jyoti sighed in relief as the scooty eventually came to life. Sneha chuckled.

"Sit." Jyoti stated and Sneha sat behind her.

Their scooty took off before Viraj's car. So, as soon as they came out of the campus, they were greeted by the traffic lights.

She could see from the scooty's rearview mirror that Viraj was right behind her. Unintentionally, she became self-conscious.

'Is my top alright? I hope it did not slide up!' She wondered. The fear of it being short came over her mind. Her bottom would be so accessible right now. She internally facepalmed herself.

'He probably doesn't even care, Sneha!' She scolded herself.

However, to her horror, he was indeed enjoying the view.

"Did you find anything about her?" Ananya's voice broke her brother's gaze.

"What?" He asked as he gave his sister a sideways glance.

"Sneha?" She asked.

"Not yet." He answered as he continued looking at her.

The traffic cleared and both the vehicles parted ways. Sneha sighed in relief as she no longer saw his car behind her. She checked her back and sighed again as the top was properly covering her back.

"By the way, Ananya's brother is so hot! Even his voice is so manly." Jyoti commented.

Sneha only chuckled.

"Once you see him with his gun, all his hotness freezes." She answered back as she replayed his threats. The entire women community in their college knew how handsome Viraj Khatri is. But, his evergreen cold behaviour and strict tone always scared everyone. And for Sneha, it was a major turn-off. She always preferred cool boys; ones who joke around and are fun to talk to...not scary.

"Who cares! But it's soothing to the eyes to see such hotness once in a while." Jyoti commented again.

"Whatever." Sneha chuckled.

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Viraj waited patiently outside his car. It was 4 pm and he knew that the classes would end soon. And the honey-coloured girl whom he actually wanted to see every day...due to some reason he didn't know, would come in the parking lot as well. The weekend particularly irritated him as there was no college and no chance of peeking at Sneha.

Picking up Ananya was his responsibility and now it was also an opportunity to steal glances at Sneha. He told himself that it was because he doubted her but deep inside, he knew it wasn't so anymore. Manish had informed him today morning that neither Sneha nor anyone from her family had anything to do with his life or business. They were just commoners in Mumbai.

And, he was glad about it. Now, he could properly thank her for helping his sister that day.

"Why is he here today? Ananya is absent right?" Jyoti commented and Sneha looked in the usual direction again.

It confused her a lot. Firstly, Viraj rarely came to pick his sister before the night she saved Ananya. Secondly, he always waited for her inside his car. And, lastly, he would never look at anyone for more than 2 seconds. But, right now, he seems to break all the routine. He came to pick Ananya every day. He actually took the pain to come out of his car and stand outside under the scorching sun. And, of course, he had his eyes fixed at one particular person until his sister arrived.

Sneha was about to turn her gaze away from his when she noticed him nodding his head once while looking at her. It was clear that he was asking her to go near him. She definitely wasn't going to do it. So, to skip the situation, she ignored him and behaved as if she did not get his signal. In this way, he would not feel insulted as well.

She grabbed Jyoti's arm and quickened their steps.

"Sneha." Viraj's heavy voice finally called for her, making her halt in her steps.