Ira pov
I managed to slip through the crowd and head toward the library, hoping to get away from the noise. But, of course, the universe wasn't on my side today.
Just as I reached for the door, a hand shot out from behind me, holding the door open.
"Ladies first," a low, velvety voice murmured.
I turned and felt my breath hitch. Aarav Kapoor stood there, inches away, the corner of his mouth curving into the faintest smirk. His dark eyes locked onto mine, as if studying me, daring me to look away.
"Uh... thanks," I muttered awkwardly, stepping inside the library.
"Don't mention it." His voice was smooth, like silk laced with something dangerous.
He didn't follow me inside-just stood there for a moment, his gaze lingering on me longer than necessary before he walked away. The scent of his expensive cologne hung in the air, leaving my thoughts a tangled mess.
I shook my head, trying to snap out of it. He's just a guy. A ridiculously attractive, annoyingly confident guy. That's all.
By the time I sat down at my desk, the rumors had already reached me. Aarav Kapoor wasn't just popular-he was untouchable.
"They say he got expelled from his last college for beating someone up."
"Did you hear? His family's connected to the underworld."
"He's dangerous. No one messes with him."
"But he's so hot, right?"
The whispers swirled around me like a storm, growing louder with every passing moment. I buried my face in my notebook, trying to drown it out.
Aria plopped down next to me with a sigh, grinning from ear to ear. "I told you he's something else, didn't I?"
I groaned. "Yeah, well, I don't get the hype. He's just a senior."
"Just a senior?" Aria scoffed. "Ira, he's a legend. Everyone wants him. He's got that whole bad-boy-who'll-ruin-your-life vibe. And, trust me, people love that."
I rolled my eyes. "I don't care how popular he is. He's not ruining my life."
Aria smirked. "Famous last words."
---
As the day went on, I found it hard to avoid Aarav. He was everywhere-whether in passing through the hallway or lounging casually on the steps outside the cafeteria, always with that same enigmatic expression, as if the world amused him in some private way.
And every time I crossed his path, his eyes found mine, as if he could sense me even before I entered the room. He looked at me like he knew something I didn't-something dangerous, something I wasn't ready for.
At the end of the day, Aria grabbed my wrist as we walked toward the parking lot. "Listen, Ira," she said, her voice unusually serious. "Stay away from Aarav."
"What? Why?" I asked, surprised at her sudden change in tone.
"Because he's trouble. The kind that looks good but leaves scars."
I shrugged off her warning with a nervous laugh, but deep down, something about Aarav Kapoor unsettled me. Maybe it was the way he stared, or the way the entire college seemed to orbit around him.
Or maybe, just maybe, I wasn't as immune to his charm as I thought I was.
YOU ARE READING
INFATUATED HATE
Romance"Cloaked in the shadows of his ruthless world, he finds her - a burst of color in his monochrome existence. She is his rainbow, the one he despises with a fervor as intense as his desire. In the delicate balance between love and loathing, their tumu...
