charismatic · possessive · arrogant · indian · rich · regret · teasing · male lead · romance · insecure
The sterile hum of the university's fluorescent lights vibrated through the air, illuminating the crowded lecture hall in a harsh, white glow. It was the dawn of a new semester; the atmosphere was thick with the scent of bitter coffee and the crisp pages of unopened textbooks. In the second row, framed by the pale light of the window, a girl sat in a pocket of absolute stillness, her pen hovering over a blank page. She didn't flinch when the heavy doors swung open. Ishaan Malhotra strode in, his shoulders squared, a lazy, confident smirk etched onto his face. His friend leaned in, whispering a joke, but Ishaan's focus had already snapped toward the second row. The girl from last year. The one he had treated like a punchline. The one who had walked away from his cruelty without shedding a…