Chapter 4
886 Words
“The thing about falling for trouble?
You never know if you’re holding the knife… or if it’s already in your back.”
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— The Locker Room Confrontation
The hallway was chaos. Girls whispering, guys laughing, lockers slamming shut — and right in the middle of it stood Rian Kapoor, leaning against his locker like the devil himself, sleeves rolled up, smirk painted perfectly.
I wasn’t supposed to look.
I looked anyway.
“Stop staring, Raha,” Priya whispered next to me, elbowing me lightly. “He’s literally poison wrapped in leather.”
“I’m not staring,” I lied, my voice dripping with the same confidence I didn’t have.
As if on cue, Rian’s gaze snapped to me.
And just like that, the air shifted — heavy, electric, dangerous.
He tilted his head lazily, smirk deepening. “Careful, angel,” he said loudly enough for the hallway to hear, “your eyes are showing.”
Heat burned my face.
Priya muttered, “Ugh, I hate him,” but her voice shook like mine.
I clutched my books tighter. “Ignore him.”
But ignoring Rian Kapoor was like ignoring gravity. Impossible.
---
I walked toward my locker — pretending not to notice him.
Big mistake.
Because the moment I touched the lock, he was right behind me.
“Morning, sweetheart,” his voice came, smooth as silk and sharp as glass.
I spun, frowning. “Don’t call me that.”
“Oh?” He leaned closer, his cologne intoxicatingly illegal. “What should I call you, then? Trouble?”
“You’re projecting,” I shot back, my sarcasm dripping.
His smirk widened. “Maybe. But I saw you at the basketball court yesterday… watching me.”
“I was watching the game,” I hissed.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered, his lips almost brushing my ear, “I am the game.”
I shoved past him, heart racing, pretending he didn’t just set my entire nervous system on fire.
---
The New Bad Boy
The last thing I expected that day was someone worse than Rian Kapoor.
But then Aryan Malhotra walked in.
Tall. Dangerous. The kind of boy who doesn’t enter a room, he claims it.
Piercing grey eyes. A smirk that screamed trouble you can’t survive.
And the way he looked at me?
Like he already knew me.
Rian’s lazy composure cracked for the first time. I saw it — the slight tension in his jaw, the faint narrowing of his eyes.
“Who’s that?” I whispered to Priya.
“The transfer student,” she whispered back. “Rumor says he got expelled from his last school for… well, something bloody.”
Of course.
Because my life wasn’t messy enough already.
Aryan’s gaze flicked to Rian — then to me.
Then he smiled.
Not friendly.
Predatory.
“Rian Kapoor,” he said smoothly, “long time.”
“Didn’t know they let snakes transfer schools,” Rian replied, venom coating his voice.
And just like that, I realized something terrifying:
These two knew each other.
And they hated each other.
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— The Secret Everyone’s Hiding
I thought the universe hated me before.
I was wrong.
Because Aryan didn’t just know Rian.
He knew something about him.
Something Rian didn’t want me — or anyone — to know.
It started in the library.
I was grabbing a book when Aryan appeared, leaning against the shelf like sin itself.
“You should stay away from him,” he said softly.
I laughed without humor. “Wow, thanks, Dad.”
“I’m serious, Raha.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Do you even know who Rian Kapoor really is?”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, let me guess. Bad boy. Dangerous. Everyone says that.”
“No.” His gaze locked onto mine. “Everyone’s wrong. He’s worse.”
I scoffed, but Aryan leaned in, voice like a blade:
“Do you know about the incident?”
I frowned. “What incident?”
His lips curved into a cruel smile. “Ask him about the night under the old bridge.”
And then he walked away, leaving me with a million questions and zero answers.
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— Betrayals & Bloodlines
That night, I confronted Rian.
“Under the old bridge,” I blurted when I found him in the parking lot, leaning against his bike like the universe owed him money.
His smirk vanished instantly.
Eyes cold.
Jaw clenched.
“Who told you?” he demanded, stepping closer.
“So it’s true?” I whispered.
Rian didn’t answer.
Instead, he grabbed my wrist — not hard, but firm enough to make my pulse spike.
“Stay out of it, Raha,” he warned, voice low and dark. “You don’t want to know the kind of devil I am.”
I yanked my hand back. “Maybe I do.”
He stared at me for a long, burning moment. Then he whispered something I’ll never forget:
“If you dig too deep, angel…
you won’t come back the same.”
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Two days later, everything shattered.
I got a message from an unknown number.
Just one video.
I played it.
Rian.
Covered in blood.
Standing under the old bridge.
And right next to him…
Priya.
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To be continued… 😈
- Writer
