Boredom was a dangerous thing. 

For someone like me, it meant one of two things—I either found a productive way to spend my time, or I entertained myself at someone else's expense. 

And tonight? I had nothing to do. so Unfortunately for her tonight was one of those nights.

Naturally, I decided to torment the only person whose reactions actually amused me. 

Kiara Oberoi. 

I leaned back in the stiff library chair, stretching my arms over my head with a dramatic yawn, earning a few disapproving glances from the students nearby. I smirked. Like I cared. The only reaction I was interested in would come soon enough.

My fingers drummed lazily against the wooden desk, my  other hand flipping through the pages of a book I had no intention of reading. Something about business ethics—ironic, considering I had none.

The real entertainment was yet to begin.

Kiara had a routine. A meticulous, unbreakable routine. I knew it because I made it my business to know. I paid handsomely for the information, of course, bribing one of the school's admin workers to spill every detail about her schedule. It was almost too easy.

8:00 PM. Library.

And guess where I was sitting right now?

And now, all I had to do was wait. 

I smirked, tapping the book's spine against the table . I could practically see it already—the moment she walked in, that instant flicker of irritation in her eyes when she realized what I'd done.

She hated me . Loathed me.

And that was precisely why I enjoyed this so much and also to know why Yuvraj was ready to ruin himself over her.

The library doors creaked open.  My pulse kicked up, an odd little thrill sparking in my veins.

Right on time. 

Kiara in all her untouchable, pristine perfection.

I didn't even have to look to know it was her—the sharp click of her heels against the floor, the way she walked with quiet precision, like she owned every space she stepped into. 

But then, she stopped. 

Her dark hair was pulled into a sleek ponytail, her expression composed as always—until her gaze landed on me.

I smirked, tilting my head slightly to catch her reaction. 

Kiara Oberoi stood in the aisle, her perfectly poised expression slipping just a fraction when she saw me sitting in her seat. 

And just like that, the night got interesting. 

"Oberoi," I said sharply,  "I trust I didn't take your usual seat, did I?"

her eyes narrowed as she set her books down with a quiet thud. "I didn't know you were such a stalker, Malhotra. Remembering where I sit now, are we?" she replied.

Obviously. I paid a heavy amount for this sweetheart.

I thought this to myself, didn't say it out loud.

Let the torment begin.

My smirk faltered slightly as Kiara stood up abruptly after we bickered for a while, pulling out a small tube of lip gloss from her bag.

I watched, intrigued, as she twisted it open and dragged the applicator across her lips—slow, deliberate. The glossy sheen caught the dim library lights, and I hated how my mind immediately wandered.

That wasn't for me. It wasn't meant for me.

And yet, I was watching. Closely.

She snapped the cap shut, tucked it away, and strode toward the towering bookshelves on the far side of the library.

I straightened in my seat, tracking her movements. What book did she want?

What was so important that she was willing to leave the battlefield?

Then I saw it.

"Corporate Power & Strategy."

Of course.

I shot up from my seat before she even got close, crossing the distance with ease. The second her fingers brushed the spine of the book, mine closed around it first.

I tugged it from the shelf with a victorious smirk, turning to face her.

"That one?" I said, holding the book just out of her reach, my tone smooth and dripping with mockery. "Popular choice. someone has good taste. Looks like a good read."

Kiara exhaled through her nose, stepping closer. "I wanted it,"

I flipped through the pages lazily. "Too bad I got it first. Guess that makes me smarter, huh?" my smirk widened as I leaned lazily against the shelf, the picture of my victory. "And since I heard two assignments can't be on the same topic, well..." my grin widened, and she looked like wanted nothing more than to wipe it off my face.

Her brow arched. "Smarter? Please. You probably picked it because the title sounded fancy."

"Fancy words win fancy grades,Oberoi. I thought you'd know that by now."  I closed the book and tucked it under my arm. "But that's not the point, is it?"

Kiara sighed, but there was something else in her expression—something I couldn't quite place.

Frustration? Annoyance? Amusement? "Give me the book, Malhotra," she said. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Give me the book, Malhotra. Or I swear to God, you will regret it."

"Are you threatening me ?" I asked, this was the first time someone even dared to threaten me.

"No," she said firmly, stepping closer. "I'm warning you."

The air between us shifted as she stepped forward. Then another step.

Until there was barely an inch between us.

My breath stalled.

Kiara Oberoi was leaning in.

I could smell her perfume now—something soft, floral, utterly unfair.

I should have stepped back. I should have said something, anything, but my rational side wasn't being rational at all.

Because all I could think about was how effortlessly she had applied that lip gloss moments ago. And now—now I was envisioning numerous ways to smear it off.

Her gaze flickered down, then back up, her lips curling ever so slightly.

She knew.

She knew what she was doing.

And for the first time that night, I wondered—who was tormenting whom?

But I shouldn't have been thinking about closing the gap.

Kiara Oberoi was a trouble. The kind that came wrapped in silk and daggers, looking effortless and untouchable. The kind I wasn't supposed to want.

Her brother said it before too and he wasn't kidding when he said he would kill me when it came to her.

Friends or not.

But fuck—was it really the right moment to worry about that?

Hell naur.

So I decided to do it.

My fingers twitched, my body already leaning in, my mind a blur of thoughts I shouldn't have been thinking. Her lips, damn it, her lips were still glossy, still taunting, and some unhinged part of me wanted to ruin that perfect application.

Wanted to see her completely undone.

But before I could even process the reckless decision I was about to make—

The book was gone.

I blinked.

Kiara stood there, smirking, flipping the pages between her fingers as if she hadn't just completely pulled the ground from beneath my feet.

Shit.

She made me lose focus. Made me unaware of my surroundings.

My grip clenched at my sides. When was the last time that happened? When was the last time anyone made me hesitate?

I exhaled sharply, jaw tight, but she only cocked her head, watching me the way a cat watches a trapped mouse.

"I warned you," she murmured, voice light, teasing. But I heard it.

The slight shake in her breath. The unsteadiness she tried so damn hard to conceal.

And then—

Ba-dump.

I heard it.

Her heartbeat.

Fast, erratic, betraying the very confidence she tried to wield against me.

So I wasn't the only one affected by this.

Something twisted in my chest, something dangerous, something I shouldn't have liked as much as I did.

But before I could do anything—before I could tilt my head and call her out on it—she spun on her heel and bolted.

Bolted.

The book clutched against her chest, hair swaying behind her, heels clicking against the floor in hurried, determined strides.

"Kiara!"

Her name tore out of me, sharp and commanding, my voice slicing through the still air.

She didn't stop.

Didn't hesitate.

Didn't even look back.

I stood frozen for a second, heart pounding, still catching up to the fact that she had just run from me.

Not walked. Ran.

Kiara Oberoi didn't run from anyone.

Yet she ran from me.

A slow smirk curled on my lips as the realization settled deep in my bones.

Oh, sweetheart.

This wasn't over.

Not even close.

And she knew it.

Moments later, I stood outside her dorm, rapping my knuckles against the wooden door, sharp and deliberate.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Kiara."

My voice was deep, smooth, laced with the kind of amusement that I knew would irritate her.

I could almost picture her inside, standing just on the other side of this flimsy barrier, arms crossed, debating whether to open it or ignore me.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Damn it, Kiara." My voice was muffled through the wood, sharper now, laced with irritation. "Open the door."

She wanted a show? I'd give her a damn cinema.

Knock. Knock.

I leaned against the frame, exhaling slowly. My patience wasn't endless, but for Kiara Oberoi, I was willing to let this game drag out a little longer.

"Kiara," I said again, this time softer, coaxing. "You're only making this harder for yourself."

Silence.

I waited.

And then, after a long stretch of nothing, I stepped back, letting my palm drag down the door before shoving my hands into my pockets.

Fine. She won this round.

For now.

When I stepped out into the hallway, the dorm was eerily quiet, my footsteps the only sound echoing off the walls.

And then, out of nowhere—

"This isn't over." My voice was steady, low, simmering with amusement and something much darker beneath it.

Kiara spun around, her expression carefully composed, but I caught the flicker of something else. Unease? Thrill? Maybe both.

"Good," she said, offering me a smile that was all saccharine sweetness with zero sincerity. "But I don't know what you're talking about."

Liar.

My eyes narrowed, jaw tightening as she brushed past me. The faint scent of her perfume lingered, something soft and deceptive—just like her.

I turned, watching as she strode down the hall, graceful as ever, heading toward my usual spot in the library.

My gaze sharpened.

She wouldn't.

She wouldn't—

But she did.

Slowing her steps, she reached for the book, the same damn book she had snatched from me earlier, and placed it back on the shelf.

I saw the way her fingers lingered on the spine.

The way she didn't rush.

She wanted me to see.

Something coiled tight in my chest, a slow, simmering realisation creeping up my spine as I watched her turn to leave—completely unbothered.

I didn't hesitate, closing the distance in long, measured strides.

Reaching for the book, I yanked it off the shelf, flipping it open—

What the hell?

A slow, sharp breath left my lips as I stared at the torn pages. The ones she needed for the assignment.

Disbelief flickered through me, quickly replaced by irritation.

"Kiara!"

I called after her, voice cutting through the silence like a blade.

She didn't stop.

Didn't even turn around.

Just lifted a hand in a lazy wave as she disappeared down the hall, leaving me standing there, holding a mutilated book and the crushing realization that—for once—I was frustrated—beyond frustrated. And not because she won this round. She never truly could.

No, the thing that had my blood boiling, the thing that made my jaw tighten as I stared at the ripped pages in my hand, was the sheer audacity of her.

The girl who had somehow convinced my oldest friend to throw away everything for her.

That was the only reason I had ever entertained this game in the first place. Curiosity. Nothing more.

I needed to understand. Why would Yuvraj—someone who had everything, someone who knew the stakes—choose her? What made her worth the downfall? What made her worth anything?

Because from where I stood, she was just another privileged girl with too much pride and not enough restraint. And if she thought she could pull something like this and walk away unscathed, then she was more foolish than I had given her credit for.

I exhaled slowly, rolling the torn pages between my fingers before letting them drop onto my desk. She thought this was funny. A little power move. A way to feel like she had outplayed me.

Cute.

But she'd made a mistake.

Because I wasn't Yuvraj.

And I didn't lose.

If she wanted to play dirty, I'd make sure she learned what it really meant to go up against me.

Because One thing Kiara Oberoi forgot was that I am Danish Malhotra.

I don't carve out my own paths—I make sure they're already laid out before me. Doors don't close in my face; they open before I even need to knock. I don't ask for what I want. I take it.

So if she thought she could outmaneuver me—thought she could return that book after ripping out the pages and leaving me with nothing—she clearly hadn't been paying attention.

Extra Cute.

I was sitting in my usual spot in the common room, one leg stretched over the other, the faint buzz of conversations around me fading into white noise. My fingers tapped idly against the surface of my phone as I debated how much effort I wanted to put into this.

I could track down another copy of the book. That would be the reasonable choice. But reasonably it wasn't fun. And if Kiara wanted a play, I'd make sure she realized what a mistake that was.

A smirk curled at the corner of my lips as I scrolled through my contacts, stopping at the name I needed. I pressed the call.

The line barely rang before a voice answered.

"What favor do you want now?" Akaay drawled.

There was a faint hum of music in the background, some muffled chatter, which meant he was probably out with his friends, but he still answered. That's the thing about favors—you do enough of them, and people pick up the phone no matter what.

I leaned back, stretching. "Need a quick switch in the school database."

Akaay groaned. "Danish, if you're making me hack the system again, at least make it something entertaining."

"It is entertaining. I need you to change the timestamp on a book return. Kiara Oberoi checked in a book today—make it look like I returned it first."

There was silence for a beat. Then, "You're really doing all this over a book?"

I smirked. "No. I'm doing it to prove a point."

Akaay let out a low whistle. "Damn, all this effort for your future wife? I'm impressed."

"She's not my future wife," I said flatly.

"Uh-huh. Sure. So I'm just out here committing cybercrimes for the hell of it?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Stop whining and do it. Or get someone else to."

He sighed dramatically. "Fine. But I want something in return."

I exhaled, already knowing where this was going. "Name it."

"I'll let you know closer to the date."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll let you be my best man at the wedding."

Akaay barked out a laugh. "Oh, that's rich. Manifesting already, huh? At least tell me she's hot, cctv footage of the event only showed her back."

I hung up the call.

Not even five seconds later, my phone buzzed with an email notification.

You received a new library record update.

I opened it, scanning the text. Akaay came through, as expected. The book was now registered under my name, returned before Kiara's. Which meant that when she submitted her assignment and the professor checked sources, hers wouldn't count.

A slow smirk spread across my lips.

Checkmate, Oberoi.

Now, all I had to do was sit back and watch her burn.