Chapter 1: New Beginnings and Naked Disasters
Saanvi Mehra dragged the last of her seventeen boxes into the elevator of Nexus Towers and slammed the “Close Door” button with dramatic flair. The elevator, of course, took its sweet time, blinking its fancy blue lights like it was judging her life choices.
“Day one of Project Glow-Up-After-That-Cheating-Asshole,” she announced to her phone, which was propped up on a box of kitchen utensils. “We are in a brand-new apartment, besties. Twenty-seventh floor. Smart building. Zero ex-boyfriend energy allowed.”
She flipped the camera to selfie mode and flashed her biggest, most unhinged smile. Her curly hair was tied in a messy bun that was already collapsing, and she was still wearing the same bright yellow kurti she’d driven down in from Mumbai. There was a dal stain on the sleeve. She didn’t care.
“New city. New apartment. New Saanvi. And yes, I cried in the car for exactly twenty minutes, but we don’t talk about that on the main channel. That’s for the Patreon girlies only.”
The elevator dinged. Floor 27.
Saanvi wrestled the final two boxes down the wide, suspiciously clean corridor. The walls smelled like fresh paint and money. Each door had a sleek black panel instead of a normal nameplate. Apartment 2704. Hers.
She pressed her thumb on the scanner. The door unlocked with a soft, futuristic whoosh.
“Welcome home, Saanvi Mehra,” a smooth female AI voice greeted her. “I am NEXA. Your personal building assistant. Temperature set to 24 degrees. Lights adjusted to ‘Fresh Start Vibes’ based on your Spotify playlist history.”
Saanvi laughed. “Okay, that’s creepy but kind of cool.”
She kicked off her sneakers, leaving them in the middle of the living room like landmines, and immediately started unboxing with the energy of someone who had consumed three iced coffees and pure spite.
Within twenty minutes, her apartment looked like a ColorPop explosion had vomited all over minimalist luxury. Bright cushions, fairy lights tangled like spaghetti, a giant poster of Ranbir Kapoor that she definitely didn’t still have a crush on, and her ring light set up in the corner.
She changed into her “moving day comfort uniform”: an oversized white t-shirt that barely reached mid-thigh and black bike shorts. No bra. Zero regrets.
“Time for the victory dance, babies,” she told her phone, starting a new video. “We survived Varun. We survived the viral breakup video where he called me ‘too much.’ Now watch me be TOO MUCH in 4K.”
Saanvi connected her Bluetooth speaker, cranked up her “Unhinged Energy” playlist, and let it rip. Taal se taal mila, then switched to AP Dhillon, then some old-school Honey Singh. She danced like the building was empty and her heart wasn’t still bruised.
She jumped on the couch. She twirled. She did a dramatic hair flip that sent her bun flying. The t-shirt rode up dangerously high as she dropped into a low squat and popped back up, laughing.
What she didn’t know was that her living room camera — one of the twelve mandatory 360° units installed in every apartment — had just glitched.
In Apartment 2703, Reyansh Kapoor was trying to have a peaceful evening.
He sat at his immaculate standing desk in a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants, reviewing code for his latest project. The man valued three things above all: silence, order, and privacy. Nexus Towers had promised all three.
He was bitterly regretting that decision.
The massive 65-inch TV on his wall — which was supposed to display only his security feed when needed — suddenly flickered to life with zero input from him.
And there she was.
A girl in a white t-shirt that had become dangerously see-through under the bright lights, dancing like her apartment owed her rent. The camera angle was merciless. Every spin, every jump, every time she raised her arms… Reyansh got a full, unfiltered view.
“Fuck,” he muttered, eyes widening.
He tried to switch the feed off. Nothing. He tapped his phone. The NEXA app. Still nothing.
On screen, Saanvi was now doing some kind of booty-shake move while singing loudly and off-key. The t-shirt lifted. Reyansh saw smooth thighs, the curve of her waist, and the fact that she was clearly not wearing anything underneath that shirt except confidence.
His ears went hot.
He stood up so fast his ergonomic chair rolled backward and hit the wall.
“ NEXA! Disable feed from 2704!” he barked.
“Unable to comply, Reyansh Kapoor,” the AI replied sweetly. “Camera synchronization error detected. Would you like to file a maintenance ticket?”
Reyansh dragged a hand through his hair, staring at the screen in horrified fascination as Saanvi attempted a split that ended with her falling sideways onto a pile of cushions, laughing hysterically.
This was his worst nightmare. He had co-designed parts of this building’s AI system. He had personally argued against the mandatory always-on cameras. And now he was being punished with a live soft-core performance from his new neighbor.
The worst part? She was… annoyingly captivating.
He watched her get up, adjust her shirt (too little, too late), and blow a kiss to her phone.
“New apartment, new me. The haters can choke,” she declared cheerfully.
Then she bent over to pick up her fallen phone.
Reyansh slammed his laptop shut like that would somehow make it stop.
It didn’t.
The feed stayed on.
Back in 2704, Saanvi was mid-unboxing when the doorbell rang.
Violently.
She paused the music, wiped sweat from her forehead, and padded barefoot to the door. The peephole showed a tall, extremely pissed-off man with sharp jawline and stormy eyes.
She opened the door.
Reyansh Kapoor stood there in all his furious glory. Six feet of lean muscle, messy hair like he’d been running his hands through it, and an expression that suggested he wanted to murder someone. Preferably her.
“Hi?” Saanvi said, still breathing hard from dancing.
His gaze dropped — for half a second — to her legs, then snapped back up.
“Do you have any idea what your cameras are doing right now?” he growled, voice low and dangerous.
Saanvi blinked. “My… cameras? They’re just for security, right? The building guy said—”
“They’re broadcasting you. To my TV. Right now.”
Saanvi’s brain short-circuited. “Broadcasting… what exactly?”
“You. Dancing. In that.” He gestured vaguely at her outfit. “Jumping. Spinning. Everything.”
The color drained from her face, then rushed back in full force.
“Oh my god.”
“Yeah,” Reyansh said, jaw tight. “Oh my god.”
Saanvi’s mouth opened, closed, then opened again. “Wait. You watched me?”
“I didn’t have a choice! It auto-played on my screen!”
“You could’ve turned it off!”
“I tried!”
They stared at each other. Saanvi suddenly became painfully aware that her nipples were probably visible through the thin, slightly damp t-shirt. She crossed her arms quickly.
Reyansh noticed the movement. His eyes darkened.
“Look,” he said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I co-designed the AI in this building. This shouldn’t be happening. I’m going to fix it. But you need to be more careful until then.”
Saanvi’s chaos brain rebooted with righteous anger.
“Excuse me? I was in my apartment. Celebrating my fresh start. I didn’t invite you to be my unsolicited audience, Mr. Tall-and-Judgy.”
“It’s Reyansh Kapoor,” he said tightly. “And I’m not the one giving free shows to the entire floor.”
Her eyes widened. “Entire floor?!”
“No. Just me. So far.”
Saanvi stepped closer, poking a finger into his chest. It was very firm. She ignored that detail.
“Fix it. Tonight. Or I will march into every apartment on this floor and warn them that the hot neighbor is a secret perv who watches girls dance.”
Reyansh’s expression turned thunderous. “I am not—”
The lights in the corridor flickered. NEXA’s voice floated cheerfully from both their apartments.
“Camera synchronization error resolved. Feed from 2704 successfully redirected. Enjoy your evening!”
Saanvi’s phone buzzed. Then Reyansh’s.
They both looked down.
A new notification from the Nexus Resident Group:
NEXA: “2704 and 2703 — high energy detected! New neighbors bonding already? 💕”
Attached was a three-second clip of Saanvi mid-spin, t-shirt flying up.
Saanvi wanted the earth to swallow her.
Reyansh looked like he wanted to throw his phone off the 27th floor.
She slowly looked up at him.
He slowly looked down at her.
For one charged second, neither of them spoke.
Then Saanvi slammed the door in his face.
From the other side, she heard a muffled, frustrated “Unbelievable.”
Saanvi slid down the door, face burning, heart racing.
“Welcome to your fresh start, Saanvi,” she whispered to herself. “Already a disaster.”
But as she sat there on the cold floor, thighs still tingling from embarrassment and something else entirely, she couldn’t stop replaying the way Reyansh Kapoor had looked at her.
Like he hated her.
Like he wanted to devour her.
Like this was only the beginning.
