Royal Scandal

My file fell into the puddle on my first day. And the boy who pushed past me was watching me pick it up — smiling. Rehansh Raichand. The boy whose seat I had supposedly stolen. The rain wasn't helping. Siya Verma had imagined her first day at Royal Imperial University a hundred times in her small rented room in Udaipur. In her imagination, she wore a fresh blazer. Her file was crisp. Her shoes didn't squeak. In reality, her blue dress was sticking to her back. Her second-hand trolley had one broken wheel that screeched every two seconds. And her file — containing her entire life, her 98.2% marksheet, her scholarship letter, her father's income certificate — was getting soaked at the edges. The gates in front of her didn't look like college gates. They looked like the entrance to a palace. Royal Imperial University. Udaipur's most expensive college, where people rarely got in with marks. They got in with money. Donor quota. Business quota. NRI quota. And then, this year, the board had added one — just one — merit scholarship seat. Siya had taken it. She pushed the heavy iron gate and walked in, holding her file close to her chest. The campus was unreal. Green lawns, a huge marble fountain, boys playing basketball in the drizzle, and girls holding iced coffees while taking photos for i********:. Everyone wore brands. White shirts, crisp blazers, pleated skirts, expensive watches. Hair set like they had just walked out of a salon. Siya looked down at her simple flats, wet with mud. She tucked her long, wavy dark brown hair behind her ear, her nose scrunching slightly — a habit whenever she was nervous. With her round, soft face and no makeup beyond natural pink lips, she looked out of place. Like someone had accidentally dropped a high school girl into a playground for billionaires. The notice board near the admin block was swarming with students. "Side, please," she whispered, trying to squeeze in. No one moved. "Excuse me," she tried again, her voice shaking slightly. A girl turned around. Tall, sharp cheekbones, light brown hair falling in glossy waves, red lips. She wore a white crop top, a short tennis skirt, and a blazer draped casually over her shoulder despite the rain. Eisha Singhania. Daughter of the Singhania hotel empire. Eisha looked Siya up and down — at the wet dress, the screeching trolley — and smirked. "Oh. Scholarship?" Siya nodded, clutching her file tighter. Eisha laughed, loud enough for a few people to turn. "So *you* are Siya Verma. The girl who stole a Raichand seat. Cute. You know that seat was reserved for someone else since last year?" Siya's stomach dropped. "I didn't steal anything. I earned it. I got 98.2%." "Earned," Eisha repeated smoothly. "Right. Let me see how long your 'earned' lasts here, scholarship." Before Siya could answer, the crowd behind her parted. Not because anyone asked them to, but because he was walking through. Two boys walked ahead holding a large black umbrella. Underneath it, not bothering to stay fully dry, was a tall boy in a white shirt. Sleeves rolled up to his elbows, veins visible on his forearms, a silver chain around his neck, and the top two buttons undone. His dark hair dripped with rain, framing a sharp jawline and deep brown eyes that looked sleepy and dangerous all at once. Rehansh Raichand. Only son of the Raichand Group. The boy whose father had built the new library. The boy whose reserved seat was gone because of one scholarship. He didn't look at Eisha. He didn't look at the crowd. He looked straight at the notice board, and then straight down at Siya. "You," he said. His voice wasn't loud, but the corridor quieted down immediately. Siya pulled her file tighter against her chest. "Me?" "You're in my spot." "I... I don't understand." He took a step closer, close enough for her to catch the scent of expensive, woody cologne. Water droplets glistened on his jaw and eyelashes. "My seat. Donor quota," he said softly. "My name has been on that list since last year. Then the board suddenly decided to add one merit seat. Yours." Behind him, two of his friends chuckled, though even they seemed careful around him. "I didn't steal anything," Siya said, forcing herself to meet his gaze even as her voice trembled. "I earned it. I studied for two years for this." That word — *earned* — made his smirk fade. He leaned down slightly, so his voice carried only to her. "Earned? Let's see how long you survive here after earning it, Scholarship." He said her title like a curse. Then he brushed past her. Hard. His shoulder knocked right into her file. The folder slipped from her fingers, hit the ground, and burst open. All her papers landed directly into a muddy puddle. "Oops," he said without looking back. A few muffled gasps echoed around them. Eisha immediately raised her phone, filming with a quiet smirk. Siya's eyes stung. She dropped to her knees in the wet dirt, desperately trying to pull her scholarship letter out of the mud as the ink began to bleed across the page. "REHANSH! What is wrong with you!" A boy jogged over from the parking lot — messy curly hair, a broad grin replaced by a deep frown, wearing an oversized white t-shirt and jeans. Kabir Arora. Second year, drama club, Rehansh's childhood best friend. He dropped down beside Siya, ignoring the mud staining his own hands as he helped gather the ruined sheets. "Are you crazy? Her whole file..." Kabir yelled at Rehansh's retreating back. Rehansh didn't pause. He kept walking toward the main building. Eisha caught Kabir's arm. "Eww, Kabir, leave it. You're getting filthy. Advik is waiting for us anyway. Why are you getting dirty for a scholarship girl?" Kabir shook her hand off. "I said I've got it, Eisha. Go ahead." Eisha pouted, turned on her heel, and walked away. Kabir handed Siya the damp, stained papers. "I'm sorry about him. He acts out when he's pissed. Don't cry, okay? I'm Kabir." Siya quickly wiped her cheeks, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Thank you. I... I should have held it tighter." "You shouldn't have had to," Kabir said, standing up and reaching out a hand to help her up. "Come on, the admin block has a paper dryer. We can save the scholarship letter. Don't worry about Rehansh, he'll get bored by lunch." Siya took his hand and pulled herself up, her dress heavy with water. When she glanced up toward the stairs of the main building, she froze. Rehansh was standing under the awning. He was no longer walking away. He was watching her. His eyes were fixed on her hand still resting in Kabir's. His jaw was tight, his dark gaze locked on her face. He pulled out his phone, typed something quickly, and a second later, Siya's phone buzzed in her pocket. An unknown number. She pulled it out with trembling fingers. "You have 24 hours to leave. Or I will make you. - R" Her blood ran cold. "What is it?" Kabir asked, leaning in. "Who texted?" Siya quickly locked her screen, but her hands were shaking so hard the file nearly slipped again. From the top of the stairs, Rehansh Raichand smiled — a slow, quiet threat. The game had just started.