Anaa - a tale of ego and love

Chapter 10

Author's note: The plot is finally picking up, and it only took me ten chapters to get here. 🥲P.S. I've removed Areesh's POV, which had some moments of him and Izza developing a friendship. You'll get all the necessary info about what happened when Areesh dropped her off in this chapter anyway, so I decided to cut it entirely.

Altamash's POV

The tension in Shamsher Nagar was palpable as news of the scandal spread. Altamash could feel the weight of every eye on him as they walked through the school. Everyone had seen the videos—the teachers, the students, even the groundskeepers.

Altamash turned to Anya, his jaw tight. "I'm calling an assembly."

Anya nodded, her resolve matching his. "I'll make the arrangements."

The assembly hall buzzed with anticipation as Altamash stepped up to the podium. The murmurs died down as he spoke.

"Good morning," Altamash began, his voice cutting through the tension. "I'm sure you've all seen the videos. Let me be clear: Miss Izza Khan is a valued member of our faculty. The videos do not reflect her character or professionalism. Her drink was tampered with, and she was the victim of a malicious act."

Gasps rippled through the crowd, and Altamash let the moment sink in before continuing. "We are investigating thoroughly, and any slander against Miss Khan or myself will be met with disciplinary action. We will not tolerate any attempt to undermine this institution."

He scanned the room. "This school stands on respect and integrity. I expect each of you to uphold these values."

With that, he dismissed them, his message loud and clear.

Anya's Office - Later

The door to Anya's office flew open, and Areesh stormed in, his face grim. "We've got a bigger problem," he announced, voice taut with frustration. "Izza's address was leaked. When I dropped her off, there were reporters outside her house."

Altamash shot to his feet, his eyes flashing with fury. "What? Is she okay?"

"I made sure she got inside safely, but the media wouldn't leave. I had to pay some of them off just to get them to back off, temporarily," Areesh said, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "I don't know how long that'll last."

Altamash's rage boiled over. His voice thundered through the room. "How the hell did they get Izza's address? This has to be illegal!"

"I don't fucking know!" Areesh's own frustration mirrored Altamash's. "I've got people looking into it, but no leads yet."

Altamash took a deep breath, trying to rein in his fury, though his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Okay," he said, his tone dropping dangerously low. "We won't let them bully us into submission. We need to release Zubair's confession and the CCTV footage. Call Raani. Let's expose this mess for what it is."

Before he could continue, Anya burst into the office, her phone gripped tightly in her hand. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with concern. "Bhai... it's Izza's parents." She handed the phone to him, showing him a string of frantic text messages from Izza.

She thrust the phone into his hands, and Altamash's gaze dropped to the screen. A barrage of frantic text messages from Izza scrolled before him—desperate words outlining the chaos that had erupted outside her home. The media had swarmed like vultures, circling for scraps of scandal. Worse, her parents were devastated, inconsolable. They were pressuring Izza to resign from the school, to escape the public eye, even considering marrying her off to the first available suitor just to salvage her reputation.