##shattered ##

chapter six

Title: Burned Pride

The dorm lounge buzzed with noise that evening—music humming from someone’s speaker, girls laughing in corners, gossip slipping through lips like secrets waiting to spill. But in the middle of it all, Saira Clanzer sat like a queen on her throne, stretched across a plush couch while Campbell painted her nails a deep, venomous red.

"Careful with that," Saira murmured lazily, watching her fingers. "One smudge and you’re starting over."

Campbell nodded quickly. "Of course. Got it."

The lounge door creaked open. Two first-years stepped in, giggling, their eyes shining like they had stumbled upon treasure.

"Did you guys hear?" one of them whispered not-so-quietly. "That scholarship girl—Daisy—she met Rihan Clatzer today."

The nail polish brush froze mid-air. Campbell looked up, her eyes flicking to Saira.

Saira’s face didn’t move, but her eyes lost their glow.

"What did you say?" she asked, her voice light, but with something sharp underneath.

The girl blinked, suddenly unsure. "Um… Daisy? That new girl? She was seen coming out from the stream path near the old lecture hall. Rihan’s place. They say she talked to him. And he let her go. Just like that."

The other girl added helpfully, "He didn’t yell. Didn’t call security. She just walked back like it was no big deal."

Saira slowly sat up, setting her freshly polished hand down on her lap.

Campbell exchanged a look with irana. The silence was heavier than stone.

Saira's lips curled, not into a smile—but something colder.

"Interesting," she said quietly.

Irana leaned in. "You okay?"

"Of course I’m okay," Saira said. She smoothed her hair back like a model preparing for a photo. "Why wouldn’t I be? It’s just... surprising. That someone like her would even dare go near him."

Campbell gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I mean—she probably didn’t know. Poor thing."

"Poor thing?" Saira repeated, her voice sharp. "She’s not poor. She’s calculating. You think girls like her just wander into the most protected part of this campus?" She scoffed. "Please. That was a move."

"But Rihan didn’t do anything," irana said. "That’s what’s weird. Remember what happened to you?"

Saira remembered. Oh, how she remembered.

Two months ago, she had dressed in her finest—the emerald silk blouse that made her eyes pop, the boots that clicked like power across the stone walkways. She had waited for hours, just for a glimpse. And when she finally stepped foot near Rihan’s garden path, two suited guards emerged like shadows, escorting her away. Humiliation. No explanation. And he hadn't even looked her way.

She had never forgiven him. But she had hidden it.

Until now.

Until this Daisy girl walked out untouched, unfazed, and worse—unaware.

"Maybe he just felt sorry for her," Irana offered. "She’s so quiet. So soft."

"Exactly," Saira snapped. "She’s pretending. All of that innocent nonsense? It’s fake. And it’s working."

The lounge was quiet again. Everyone knew not to argue when Saira was like this.

She stood, stretching gracefully, then turned toward the full-length mirror on the wall. She examined her reflection, tilting her chin just slightly.

"You know what happens to girls who think they can rise above their place," she said softly.

Campbell swallowed. "Saira... you’re not going to—"

"Of course I am." Her voice was sugar and venom. "I’ve been bored lately. I needed something new. And guess what? She just volunteered."

Nina shifted uncomfortably. "But she hasn’t really done anything."

Saira turned, her eyes burning now. "She exists. That’s enough."

Then she smiled, slow and wicked. "Tell the girls. Daisy’s no longer just a quiet little pest. She’s a threat. And threats get handled."

whispers followed Daisy through the halls. Eyes tracked her every move. Girls whispered behind locker doors, boys glanced over their shoulders.

"That’s her. The one who saw him."

"What did she say to him?"

"Maybe he likes quiet girls."

"Isn’t she just some orphan scholarship student?"

By midday, Daisy’s name had become something rare: important.

And Saira? She was watching it all. From the stairwell. From the back of the lecture halls. From every place Daisy didn’t notice.

Her expression never changed.

But deep inside, her pride was bleeding. And the wound was still fresh.

Because Daisy hadn’t just survived Rihan.

She had stolen what Saira never had: his attention.

And that? That was unforgivable.

Later that evening, as the dorm settled down and lights dimmed in the hallway, Saira sat at her desk, flipping through her planner. Her fingers hovered over the pages, tapping thoughtfully. Then she circled one word in red ink: "Daisy."

Campbell peeked into the room. "You’re not still mad, right?"

Saira didn’t answer.

"You’re going to ruin her, aren’t you?"

Saira turned, her eyes calm now. Chillingly calm.

"No," she whispered. "I’m going to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget."

And with that, the war officially began.

Authors note

guys rihan never dated anyone it was just a rumor circulated by Saira .