Curse of heart

"Now, now. With those tears, who could resist comforting you? Did you use this trick on Mr. Rathi?" He smirked, mockingly staring into my eyes. "In just 48 hours? You've sharpened your skills."

I felt disgusted. He thinks so little of me. Yes, I made a mistake-a mistake I cannot erase-but it wasn't what he thought it was. As I wallowed in self-pity, his voice cut through my thoughts again.

"You've just wasted 10 minutes in your little game. We'll extend the detention until 09:12, he said with a victorious smile.

"But... I have an indoor class at 09:15," I tried to explain, but he cut me off.

"You should have thought about that before playing your love games with your muse. This training academy isn't for faint hearted like you. It makes an officer from a citizen. You are not worthy of it and I will prove it."

I was silent. I had no response. I would never be able to change his mind. There would never be a chance to clear this misunderstanding. It would never be enough to prove my innocence-that I didn't try to ...

"10 rounds. You have until 09:12," his voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

I nodded. I had no other option.

As I jogged around the track, my mind drifted back to a time when things were different. When I was different.
Six years ago...
I saw him for the first time in the bustling corridors of the college campus. He was tall, confident, everything I wasn't. I remember the way he smiled at me, so effortlessly. It was the beginning of something, something I thought would last...
But then everything changed. One mistake-one terrible misunderstanding-and he hated me for it. The warmth in his eyes turned to ice, and now, that ice was all I saw whenever he looked at me.