Chapter 1
Chapter 1 — The Boy Next Door
If there was one thing Meher Malhotra prayed for every single morning, it was this:
“Please, just one day without Aarav Kapoor in it.”
But like every other prayer she'd whispered since she was five—it went unanswered.
“Morning, Malhotra,” came the familiar, smug voice behind her.
She didn’t even turn. “I told you to stop calling me by my last name like we’re in a cricket match.”
“And I told you to stop making it so easy to annoy you,” he shot back, strolling past her locker like he owned the damn hallway.
Same old Aarav Kapoor—school heartthrob, walking disaster, and the undisputed king of her nerves. With his unruly hair, lazy smile, and those deep brown eyes that looked like they held a hundred secrets… if only one of them included how to disappear.
Unfortunately, Aarav wasn’t just the boy next door. Their families were practically merged at the hip—shared businesses, joint vacations, Sunday brunches, and enough history to make walking away feel like abandoning a piece of herself.
“Still wearing mismatched socks, I see,” he added casually, glancing down at her feet.
Meher flushed and instinctively crossed one foot over the other. “It’s called fashion, Kapoor. You wouldn’t get it. You still wear hoodies with holes in them.”
He leaned closer, lowering his voice just enough to make her skin prickle.
“I like holes. They keep me... breathable.”
She rolled her eyes, but her lips twitched. And that was the worst part—he knew exactly how to get under her skin and make her smile anyway.
The bell rang, saving her from another round of pointless flirting disguised as war.
As she turned to head to class, his voice followed her like a shadow.
“Save me a seat, wifey.”
She froze. Whipped around.
“What did you just say?”
He winked. “You’ll find out soon.”
And just like that, Aarav Kapoor walked off—leaving behind a girl with racing thoughts, mismatched socks, and absolutely no idea that her life was about to change forever.
