The Eternal War.

The empty mansion.

It was like someone had pressed the pause button in college the next morning. Everywhere I went, people stared. They stopped talking and the moment the thought i was out of hearing range, they talked, no one approached me.

I sat alone in class, having changed from journalism to fashion while in paris.

"We have a new student joining us today." The professor said. "It's Jennifer Daniel, be nice to her." I sighed in relief, father had let me keep my original surname at college. I had no idea who to refer myself as anymore. For the past one year there had been no confusion, I was Jennifer Daniel. But here, everyone knew me as the youngest Dobriyal and Pia Jaiswal, some called me Pia Dobriyal.

"No one knows what happened." The girl behind me whispered. "She just disappeared one day, Abhay too, i thought they both had run away but then abhay was reported missing and turned out she was in New York."

"Tanushree said she was pregnant."

"I followed her insta throughout the year, she wasn't."

"She had the photos taken at once and uploaded them yearlong."

I snorted and they both shut up. "You really think i would upload something i wore six months ago?" I whispered and the had the audacity to look sheepish.

"What happened then?" She asked.

"I don't know." I said turning back to face the front. The professor, gave us assignments and let us go, we were supposed to draw something out of our dream.

Misha met me at the canteen during break. "Hey." I said looking at all the options with disdain, nothing healthy.

"Here." She said handing me a box from her bag. "What, mom knows you've turned into a health freak, chicken salad." She said taking out hers, ruhi and angad joined us, not speaking much. Kabir was slightly late.

Halfway through the lunch, i gathered the courage to ask misha.

"Who is Abhay Raichand?" All four of them stopped eating and no one met my eyes. "Misha," i said in frustration when she didn't answer "people are saying I got impregnated by him, or that i ran away with him, I need to know who he was and where he is right now."

She still didn't answer.

I closed my box and stood up. "Excuse me." I said.

"Where are you-"

"Home. I need some alone time." I said before she could finish her question. I grabbed the car keys from the table and walked out of the college.

I drove straight home, and rushed up my room, as expected, mother came in to check up on me, once she left, i took off my bracelet and placed it under my pillow. Then i snuck out the front door. I drove straight aimlessly for a while, feeling free for the first time in a while.

But it wasn't aimless driving. I stood outside a strangely familiar mansion.

"One day, you couldn't stay away from trouble for one day." A voice echoed and i gasped in pain as my chest started hurting.

I rang the doorbell and no one answered. I pushed it and the doors flew open.

"He's back." I heard him say.

"I won't let him hurt you."

I dropped to my knees and stared around, the voices stopped.

Taking a few minutes to compose myself, i turned on the lights.

No one had entered the mansion in ages, there were four empty glasses on the table, dust and cobwebs everywhere. Other than the glasses, it could have been an abandoned hotel, no personal pictures, shoes lying around. Except a cell phone one the table.