chapter 36

Pari felt her breath catch painfully in her throat.The smirking guy, the one standing slightly ahead of the others tilted his head, eyes glinting with something dark and cruel." You've changed so much?"Pari swallowed hard, her fingers clenching her fist.Prena shifted beside her protectively, shooting a glare at the trio."Excuse me?" Prena said sharply, standing up.The guy only chuckled, a sound that scraped against Pari's ears." How did that greedy woman even let you go? Oh, wait. Did that... Man brought you?"The words twisted inside her, striking places she thought she had buried.That place. That suffocating world she had clawed her way out of.Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs, a familiar nausea rising in her gut.She forced herself to lift her chin, to meet their gaze, even if her hands were trembling slightly." Hey, you?"Prena snapped her fingers at them and made them look at her." Get the hell out of here."The second guy raised his eyebrows, " ofcourse we will. But let us meet our old friend."Now they grabbed the attention of students sitting around. Pari looked around before standing up and grabbing Prena's hand." Let's go."Prena glared at them but as they walked past, one of them said-" You can never wash the dirt from you, Pari."Pari's body stiffened at the venomous words.Her hand tightened around Prena's, her legs frozen mid-step.Prena, seeing the haunted look flashing across Pari's face, turned on her heel like a storm gathering force.She walked right up to them, chin held high, fire burning in her eyes.The students around had already fallen into a heavy silence, sensing the sharpness of the air.Standing barely inches away, she jabbed a finger at the guy who had spoken."People like you aren't even worth the dust on her feet. Better leave before I personally send you to hell."A few students who were listening gave muffled chuckles, and the trio visibly tensed, uncomfortable under the growing attention." Probably, you don't even know the place she came from," the third guy said.Prena scoffed and crossed her hands around the chest." Has she come from Mars? But she seems like a human to me."The first guy chuckled and walked past. Prena turned around to warn him but stopped when she heard." You had not told your best friend, right Pari?"She blinked. He must be one of them men she paid no attention to, at the brothel but he surely knows her.Pari looked around and sensed curiosity in the students ' gaze." No, she has. Do you want to know?"Prena frowned and stood beside Pari, glaring straight at the guy." From where you have come. Dustbin? Sewer?"The guy gritted his teeth, " just shut up, girl."" You shut up," she pointed her finger at the guy.The other two came for his support and spoke loudly this time."Do you even know where she came from? Why is she studying at her age? Her background? Her family? Her house? Do you know anything about her?"Before Prena could respond, a voice from the crowd cut in."What's so special about her?"The girl's words hung in the air as she turned to face the guys, eyes narrowing."Oh, you'd love to know."Pari's heart skipped a beat. She felt the sudden surge of panic in her chest as her eyes stung with unshed tears. The third guy, sensing his moment, raised his phone with a smirk."She's from a place no respectable man would ever step foot in. A place where girls like her will do anything to earn money.""You're-"Prena's words were swallowed when the guy shoved his phone in her face. She blinked, recognizing the image on the screen. It was her. Pari.The picture was old, taken in a setting that was completely foreign to her current life. A place she'd tried to forget. She could see herself, dressed in a different attire, surrounded by people she no longer wanted to remember. She was serving drinks at a gathering, but the face of the man she was serving was not visible. Yet, the memory burned into her.Pari took a step back, feeling the stares from all sides. Her breath caught in her throat, and she looked around in desperation, but all she could hear were gasps and whispers. Her past, once buried, had now surfaced in the worst way possible.One of the guys looked at the screen again, then back at her, his voice a whisper that carried across the silent group."Is... is that a brothel?"The words hit Pari like a slap, and her hands balled into fists at her sides. She wanted to disappear. She could feel the heat of shame flooding her chest, but she couldn't escape.Prena looked at the guy, confusion and anger mixing in her gaze, but it was too late. The damage was done. One by one, the students glanced at her with a mix of pity, disgust, and judgment.Pari swallowed hard, fighting the tears that threatened to spill. Why, every time she thought she had moved on, did her past come crashing back like this? Why now, when everything seems to be getting better?The whispers grew louder as more students gathered around, drawn by the drama unfolding before them. Pari could feel the weight of their eyes, the judgment, the shame, all pressing down on her like an unbearable weight.The guy with the phone sneered, holding the screen up for everyone to see. "Look at her, just another girl from a place where morals don't exist. And she's here, pretending to be someone she's not. Pathetic."Another student chimed in, his voice mocking. "Oh, come on, don't be shy. You've probably done a lot more than just serve drinks, haven't you? What's it like, being the kind of girl men throw money at?"" I suspected her from the first day."The words hit Pari like daggers. Her chest tightened, and she struggled to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. But no matter how hard she tried to keep her composure, the cruel words kept coming, one after another.The third guy laughed, his tone full of venom. "She's probably just another gold-digger, looking for a way out."More students had gathered now, the crowd swelling as they murmured and pointed. Pari stood frozen, her face flushed with humiliation, her fists trembling at her sides. The stares burned through her, each one more excruciating than the last. She wanted to run, to escape this moment, but her feet felt like they were glued to the ground.Just when it seemed like the taunts would never stop, Prena stepped forward, her voice firm and full of defiance. "Enough."Her words were a sharp contrast to the mocking laughter of the group. Everyone turned to her, and for a moment, the crowd fell silent."What, Prena?" one of the guys sneered. " You really gonna defend her? After everything she's done? Everything we've shown?"Prena raised her eyebrows at him." Did I ask you to talk, asshole?"The guy faltered for a moment, his arrogance flickering, but then he regained his posture, his smirk returning. "Well, she doesn't deserve your defense, does she? Just look at her. Trying hard to fit in when we all know what dirty tricks she must've pulled to lure men out there."Pari flinched, the words slicing through her like a sharp blade. The crowd seemed to feed off the hostility, egging the guys on."Yeah, she's trying to be someone she's not. She probably can't even handle the normal life we all live," another guy added, his voice dripping with mockery.Then, from the crowd, a voice piped up, more brazen than the others. "Hey, what's your number?"The words rang out like a challenge, and Pari's heart skipped a beat. She looked up, only to see a grin spreading across the guy's face as he spoke again, "I'll come by your place tonight. Trust me, I have money. I can make you rich."A few nervous laughs echoed through the crowd, but they were quickly drowned out by others who joined in, emboldened by the cruelty in the air." Then come to us. Trust me, I wouldn't bore you." someone else called out, the crowd starting to join in with crude remarks and laughter.Pari's breath caught in her throat. The words, the mockery, the laughter, it was all too much. The humiliation felt like it was suffocating her. She could feel the hot sting of tears behind her eyes, but she refused to let them fall, not in front of all these people.She instinctively stepped back, wanting to disappear, but there was nowhere to hide. All she could do was retreat behind Prena, her only shield, and her hands clenched tightly around the fabric of Prena's jacket." Oh, and I thought she was a nice girl. God! How can the principal allow such dirt to take admission in our college?"A girl uttered with a pinch of jealousy in her voice.The words felt like a slap in the face, but Prena's eyes narrowed, her jaw clenching. She took a step forward, her gaze hardening as she faced the girl."I wondered the same," Prena shot back, her voice cold. "What exactly do you do all day, besides gossip and tear people down?"The girl's eyes widened in surprise, but Prena wasn't done. She raised her fingers, counting off each point with deliberate precision."You fail tests. You've been suspended more than once. Oh, and I even heard rumors about how you cheated your way through last semester. But I guess it's easier to point fingers at someone else, isn't it?"The girl flushed with anger, her mouth opening and closing in disbelief. The crowd seemed to shift uneasily, as if they hadn't expected Prena to come at them so fiercely.Prena looked at the guys from the crowd." You wanna come to her place tonight? Sure. But trust me, you wouldn't make it out alive."The guy parted his mouth to counter attack but she was quick to look at the other one." And you?" She chuckled. " Have you ever seen your face? Just like a shit."The crowd fell silent for a split second, taken aback by her words. But that silence didn't last long. Anger built like a storm, and voices started to rise as students from the crowd began to hurl insults at Prena."You think you can stand up to us? Who do you think you are?" one of the guys spat, stepping forward, his fists clenching."Shut up, you don't even know what you're talking about!" someone else yelled, their face flushed with fury." Stay out of it, Prena! You're just as bad as she is, defending trash like her!" another voice echoed.The words hit like a barrage of arrows, each one aimed directly at Prena's resolve. The anger from the crowd swelled as the insults came from all sides.Pari could barely keep up with what was being said, her heart pounding in her chest, her breath growing shallow. The jeers, the cruel laughter, the scornful words, they all felt like a suffocating fog closing in around her.Some of the students tried to speak up for Prena, but their voices were drowned out by the increasing volume of the crowd."Leave them alone!" one of the students called out, but the overwhelming tide of hostility pushed their voice aside." It's too late for that now," someone sneered. "She's already ruined it. Look at her!"Pari's vision blurred. She couldn't handle the noise, the chaos, the cruelty any longer. The words, the stares, they were all too much. Her chest tightened with panic as the insults continued to rain down, and her body trembled uncontrollably. She felt the weight of it all crushing her from every direction, and without thinking, she turned.She ran.She didn't care where she went, she just had to get away from all the anger, from all the eyes that were judging her, from the voices that had become too loud to ignore. She pushed through the crowd, barely noticing the bewildered faces as she bolted past them, her heart hammering in her ears.Students stopped and stared, confused by the suddenness of her departure, some even whispering among themselves. But none of that mattered to Pari now. She couldn't stand to hear those voices any longer. She needed to escape, to find a place where she could breathe, where she wouldn't be defined by what they thought of her.As she ran, the campus blurred around her, the noise fading until it was nothing but a distant echo. She kept moving, faster and faster, until her legs burned, until she couldn't hear anything but her own ragged breaths.She didn't know where she was going. She just needed to be far away. Far from them, far from the cruelty, far from everything.Prena grabbed Pari's bag which she had left behind and glared at each and every student before making her way to the way Pari had run.Pari stumbled into an empty classroom, her eyes wild with panic. The door slammed shut behind her, and she fumbled with the lock, twisting it desperately until it clicked. The sound felt like a small victory, a barrier between her and the world that had just tried to crush her.She backed away from the door, her breath shallow and uneven. Her back hit the cold wall, and she slid down to the floor, curling her knees to her chest. Her hands flew to her ears as though she could block out the voices, the laughter, the taunts.But it was no use.The words they'd said, the ones that had cut deeper than any knife played in her mind over and over again. "Trash," they had called her. "Dirt."She could still hear their mocking laughter, the way they made her feel small and insignificant. They had all seen her and they had judged her without mercy.Pari's body shook as the tears came, burning her face as they streamed down her cheeks. She cried without restraint, her sobs echoing through the silence of the locked classroom.The weight of it all, the past she couldn't escape, the pain she thought she had buried, the rejection from people she didn't even know, crushed her all at once.Why? she thought through her tears. Why can't I just move on? Why does this follow me everywhere?She wrapped her arms around her knees tighter, her body rocking with the force of her sobs. Her breath came in jagged bursts, and every cry felt like it was tearing something deeper inside her. The pain she thought she had buried for so long had come rushing back with full force, and there was no way to stop it.Why can't they just let me be? Why can't I be someone else?Prena searched for Pari in the whole campus until she reached the renovated area of the building where no students were allowed to go and workers were probably out for lunch.She stopped on her track when she heard muffle sounds of crying echoing through the hallway." Pari," she whispered and made her way to the classroom. As she went closer, the weeping sound got clear.She touched the door, " Pari?"Pari startled from the voice and covered her ears tightly." Pari, it's me. Open the door. There's no one."Pari shook her head aggressively and tried controlling her sobs but failed miserably. Prena's heart clenched as she found herself useless for not helping her best friend." Pari, please...please open the door!"Prena pleaded but earned only sobbing from her side.Prena's heart raced as the muffled sobs grew louder, cutting through her like a knife. Her hand remained on the door, her fingers trembling, as the sound of Pari's crying hit her like a wave."Pari," she whispered again, her voice softer now, full of concern. "Please... it's me. Open the door. There's no one here. You're not alone."But the sobs didn't stop. Instead, they grew louder, more frantic. Pari's body was shaking on the other side, her distress so overwhelming that Prena could almost feel it through the door. Her heart broke for her friend. She couldn't bear to think of Pari suffering alone."Pari, please," Prena said again, desperation creeping into her voice."Let me in. You don't have to go through this alone. I'm here for you."When Pari did not give in, Prena decided to use only one way. Now, there was only one person who could help her, who could pull her out of the room just by calling out her name.She stepped two steps back and opened Pari's tote bag and found her mobile. She frowned and ruffled her hair." God! What was the password?"She murmured, recalling the password Pari had told her this morning when she wanted to click pictures.Prena's heart pounded as she stared down at Pari's phone. She wasn't sure what she was doing, but the desperation to get through to her best friend pushed her forward. She glanced at the door one last time, hearing the soft sobs still coming from inside. Pari needed someone to pull her out of this dark place. If no one else could do it, Prena was going to find a way.She muttered under her breath, trying to recall the password. "Think, think, Prena..." She closed her eyes briefly, remembering the conversation earlier that morning when Pari had mentioned the password. A date.She entered the password, praying it would work. When the screen unlocked, she let out a relieved breath.Prena quickly dialed the number she knew would make a difference, the one that could reach the only person who had the power to get through to Pari when nothing else worked.Her finger pressed the button, and she held the phone to her ear, her eyes darting back toward the door, hoping for a response from Pari.The phone rang, each second dragging on, feeling like a small eternity. Prena bit her lip anxiously.Finally, after a few rings, her husband's voice came through the line." Pari? What's wrong?"Prena swallowed hard, hearing a deep voice." It's.. Prena, not Pari. Her friend."A pause came from his side for a briefest second before he bombarded her with questions." Where's Pari? Is she okay? Where is she? Give her the phone-"" No, she is not okay," Prena cut him off in the middle.She heard the sounds of her footsteps. Was he already leaving his office?Prena sighed, " can you.. come to the university? Some students has messed up-"The call disconnected.Prena stood frozen for a moment, staring at the blank screen of the phone. Her heart was pounding in her chest, a mixture of hope and anxiety churning in her stomach. She had barely finished her sentence before the call was abruptly disconnected. She had no idea if he was actually coming, or if she had just made a fool of herself.Before she could spiral into another wave of doubt, the phone in her hand buzzed. A message.Her breath hitched as she quickly opened it, hoping to find some clarity.It was from Vikrant."On my way. Stay with her."Relief flooded her system, but it was short-lived as she quickly pocketed the phone and turned to face the classroom door. Pari was still inside, the muffled sobs coming from within, making Prena's chest tighten.She took a few deep breaths, steeling herself for whatever would come next. Prena stood by the door, waiting for Vikrant to arrive, but the minutes stretched on painfully. She glanced at the clock. How long would it take him?Pari sat in the corner of the classroom, her body still shaking from the sobs that had wracked her earlier. The tears had slowed, but her mind was running at full speed, a whirlwind of panic and confusion.She couldn't shake the image of the crowd, the cruel words that had been thrown at her, the sharp looks, the disgust, the shame. I ruined everything, she thought bitterly.Her mind replayed the moment when the guys had flashed that picture of her from the past. The old version of her that she had fought so hard to bury. The version of her that had lived a life she never wanted anyone to see.What if the entire university knew now? The whispers, the stares, it would never stop. Every time she walked into the room, she would see their judging eyes, hear their mocking words. They'd see her as nothing more than the girl from the brothel. The girl who was never supposed to be here, she thought.The thought of leaving the university was so overwhelming, yet so tempting. Just leave. Leave this behind. Maybe she can start fresh somewhere where no one knows her . But that wasn't a simple solution. She had come this far, worked so hard to get to where she was. She had taken a chance on herself, a chance to build a future, to learn, to grow. And now... now, it felt like all of that would be torn apart in front of her eyes.How will she face Vikrant? He tried so hard to shower her with liberty and respect.But just as quickly as the thoughts stormed in, another realization slowly crept in.Tears streamed down from her eyes and she put her hand over her chest. That is why she didn't want to come. She knew it would happen. She knew it.Escape was difficult. Very very difficult.Vikrant's footsteps echoed down the hallway as he neared the area where Prena had directed him. His presence was unmistakable, his stature commanding, his face a portrait of calm intensity. Prena stood at the entrance, her body tense, eyes alert, watching him approach with a mixture of urgency and hesitation.When their eyes met, Prena's breath caught for a split second. But before she could analyze the sensation, her mind was already jumping to conclusions. Vikrant Agnihotri, the name floated to the surface of her memory.Her heart skipped a beat as the realization hit her like a wave. No. It can't be. The name felt like a distant echo, something buried deep within her mind, a name she had once known.Vikrant didn't notice her inner turmoil as he approached, his eyes scanning the hallway with purpose. His gaze fell on the classroom door, where Pari's muffled sobs could still be faintly heard through the thick walls.Without waiting to hear her, he moved to the door. Vikrant paused just before he touched the door, his fingers hovering for a moment. He put his palm over the door." Pari?"He did not knock. He did not bang. Did not scream. Just called her with love coated in his voice.Then a click echoed in the next 10 seconds.The door was now unlocked.Prena stared at them as Pari exposed herself from the room and faced her husband. Her tears flew more than before and she waited no second to throw herself in his arms.Vikrant, ever protective, wrapped his arms around her in a secure grip.⋆༺✷༻⋆To be continued..Read more in scrollstack as early access.