Chapter 1
Sanchi was twenty-two.
A college student in her last year, pursuing her bachelor's degree.
At first glance, there was nothing aggressively striking about her beauty. No dramatic glamour. No calculated elegance. She usually tied her naturally curly hair into a simple bun, as if she had no idea how rare those curls actually were.
Her almond-shaped brown eyes carried a strange depth to them, while her lips held a quiet kind of attraction that made it difficult to decide where attention should rest. Then there was the tiny nose pin sitting perfectly against her sharp nose, disrupting every attempt to focus on just one feature at a time.
The kind of face that revealed itself slowly.
The first glance might miss her.
The second made people stare longer than they intended,
But what truly made Sanchi unforgettable was not her appearance.
It was her presence.
She carried herself with a sparkling confidence that never crossed into arrogance.She excelled in academics, but that was only one corner of her world.
She could paint.
Sing.
Speak on stage without fear.
Write beautifully.
Manage events effortlessly.
Lead people naturally.
And despite already being exceptional, Sanchi remained obsessed with growth.
She always wanted to become more.
More intelligent.
More skilled.
More kind.
More humble.
More disciplined.
More beautiful, not just outside, but within herself too.
She treated self-improvement like devotion.
It was lunchtime.
Sanchi sat with Adarsh, Labeeb, Rachna, and Marfi at their usual table in the crowded college cafeteria, waiting for the long line at the food counter to finally shrink.
The five of them had become friends during their first year. Since then, they had been almost inseparable.
Labeeb leaned back lazily in his chair, scrolling endlessly through reels instead of checking the queue like everyone else. “One thing about technical college,” he sighed, “either you die from exams or from waiting for food.”
“You’ll survive both,” Marfi said, stealing one of his fries without shame. “Unfortunately.”
Labeeb looked betrayed. “This is harassment,” clearly enjoying what she did.
Beside them, Rachna passed Sanchi her water bottle without even asking. She had noticed, as always, that Sanchi had forgotten to drink water again while studying.
“Thanks,” Sanchi murmured, eyes still fixed on the notes open on her tablet.
Meanwhile, Adarsh was staring at the cafeteria menu board like he was analyzing a research paper.
“I’m telling you,” he said, “the price of cold coffee increases every two weeks. There’s definitely a conspiracy happening here.”
“No,” Marfi replied. “You’re just emotionally attached to caffeine.”
Rachna glanced toward the counter. “The line’s shorter now. Come on before the food disappears.”
As the five of them finally settled down with their food, the conversation dissolved into its usual chaos again.
Sanchi watched them quietly.
And for a moment, the noise around her faded.
A strange softness settled inside her chest as she looked at the four people sitting around the table.
How lucky was she to have found them?
Especially back then.
Back when this college did not know the version of Sanchi everyone admired today.
Back when she had arrived here carrying silence instead of confidence.
Grief instead of ambition.
She had lost her family not long before entering college. Her parents. Her younger brother, everything she has in an accident.
After that, home had stopped feeling like a real place.
The scholarship she earned through her own merit was the only reason she could continue studying Bioinformatics. Otherwise, her aunt and uncle would have married her off long ago to whichever family looked “suitable” enough to benefit them.
At that time, Sanchi had been nothing more than a quiet girl trying to survive one day at a time.
She barely spoke.
Barely smiled.
Barely looked people in the eye.
And yet somehow, these four people had chosen her.
Even though they had already been friends before meeting her.
Rachna had started sitting beside her during lectures without asking permission first. Adarsh kept forcing her into group discussions because, according to him, “silent smart people are suspicious.” Marfi never allowed awkwardness to survive for more than two minutes, while Labeeb had the strange talent of making conversations feel effortless without trying too hard.
Little by little, they had pulled her back into life.
Sanchi’s gaze moved across each of them.
Labeeb and Marfi were arguing again, but there was an undeniable spark hidden beneath their constant teasing. The kind that would probably take years to confess itself properly.
Rachna sat between everyone like the exhausted mother of four irresponsible children, always carrying medicines, tissues, chargers, snacks, and emotional stability no one admitted they depended on.
And Adarsh…
Sanchi almost smiled to herself.
Adarsh complained constantly, panicked before every presentation despite performing well every single time, and needed reassurance more than he would ever openly admit.
A complete crybaby.
“So,” Sanchi said, looking at all four of them, “which topic are we choosing for tomorrow’s oral test? AIDS or cancer?”
The table went silent.
Four exhausted faces stared back at her as if she had personally ruined their happiness.
“Why,” Labeeb asked, “would you remind us of that during lunch?”
“Because unlike you people,” Sanchi replied, taking a sip of water, “I enjoy passing exams.”
Marfi placed hand over her heart. “See? This is exactly why nobody confesses to her.”
“Correction,” Adarsh muttered. “People do confess. They just come back academically motivated instead of emotionally accepted.”
Meanwhile, Sanchi simply opened her tablet again, already prepared for the discussion they had not even started yet.
Labeeb looked at her in disbelief. “You know what? One day you’ll either become a world-famous scientist…”
“Or the final boss of emotional unavailability,” Marfi completed.
Sanchi did not even bother defending herself this time, because that's what she want.
Tonight was the small party for some group of seniors. By 7 PM, most of the youngsters had already started leaving the grand open ground of the university with their own friend groups, planning to enjoy the evening somewhere away from academic talks and formal conversations after weeks of hectic classes and assignments.
Now the ground was occupied mostly by professors, their wives, college authorities, and the invited guests.
Meanwhile, Sanchi was still busy checking the arrangements for probably the fifth time.
“The ice cream stock is fine?” she asked one of the volunteers.
“Yes.”
“And Pepsi?”
“Also fine.”
“The extra plates near the dinner section?”
“Already arranged.”
A few steps away, her friends watched her with exhausted expressions.
“She’s checking Pepsi bottles like the Prime Minister is coming,” Labeeb muttered.
“He probably is,” Marfi replied. “At this point even the ice cream is under national security.”
Adarsh crossed his arms. “I’m just saying if she puts this much dedication into marriage someday, her husband will never survive making mistakes.”
“Bold of you to assume she’ll marry before completing seventeen more achievements,” Marfi shot back instantly.
Rachna sighed. “Can you all stop talking and just call her? We’ve been waiting for twenty minutes.”
Then she looked toward Sanchi and raised her voice.
“Sanchi. Everything is fine. The guests are eating, nobody is dying, and the ice cream isn’t escaping. Can we leave now?”
Sanchi finally walked toward them after one last glance around the ground.
“I was just making sure everything was properly managed.”
“You’ve managed enough for one lifetime,” Labeeb complained. “Other students are enjoying the evening while we’re standing here among intellectual uncles discussing research grants.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s go.”
The moment those words left her mouth, the entire group looked relieved.
Finally.
But just as they were about to leave the ground-
“Sanchi.”
Professor Verma’s voice stopped her.
All four friends froze before turning toward him with identical disappointment on their faces.
Among all professors, Sanchi shared a special bond with professor Verma, one of the most respected faculties in the university. From the beginning, he had noticed her potential and became one of the biggest guides in her academic journey. Whether it was seminars, competitions, difficult books, or new opportunities, Sanchi rarely ignored his advice because somewhere she knew his guidance had played a huge role in shaping the person she was becoming. He really was like a father figure to her.
Labeeb closed his eyes.
“Of course. This evening was going too peacefully.”
Sanchi looked back at her friends helplessly before gesturing.
“Guys, please. Just five more minutes,” she said. “I’ll come back quickly, promise"
Adarsh pointed at her. “That’s exactly what people say before getting trapped in academic discussions for two hours.”
“Go,” Rachna sighed. “Your intellectual people are calling.”
Marfi folded her hands. “If you don’t return in ten minutes, we’re assuming you’ve been adopted by professors permanently.”
Sanchi laughed before quickly walking toward Professor Verma.
“Yes sir, you called me?”
“Yes, dear,” Professor Verma replied. “I wanted you to meet someone.”
Sanchi stood beside him while he continued,
“He is one of my students… and also my nephew, actually. Remember I once told the class about the youngest student of mine? The one who completed multiple degrees at a very young age and earned even more awards than me? A brilliant young scientist.”
Sanchi’s eyes widened.
“Ah yes sir, I remember very well.” Her curiosity appeared almost instantly. “Is he also here today? You invited him? Wait… is he the one who worked on the proteomics and genomics along with RDT?”
Professor Verma smiled at the sudden excitement in her voice.
“I think introducing both of you will answer all these questions better,” he said. “He landed yesterday and will stay here for a few days during the week program. Students like you can learn a lot from him. Honestly…” he chuckled, “you may end up liking his teaching style more than mine.”
While talking, they approached the far edge of the ground.
Someone stood there on a phone call.
Sanchi’s steps slowed.
He was tall.
Not overly muscular, yet there was obvious strength in the way his body carried itself even beneath the formal shirt. One hand rested casually inside his pocket while the other held the phone near his ear. His posture was straight, relaxed, confident without trying too hard.
Because of the dim lights around that side of the ground, Sanchi could not see his face clearly yet.
But his side profile…
That sharp jawline.
That nose.
The calm stillness in the way he stood.
Striking.
Without realizing it, a soft “wow…” escaped her lips.
So quiet that even Professor Verma did not hear it.
Only Sanchi herself realized she had said it.
It was inspiration.
The kind of face and presence that felt worthy of becoming the male lead of the stories she secretly wrote sometimes to earn extra money for unexpected situations.
