The girl everyone feared on campus was Aresha Malik—the “campus belle bully.”

Pretty face, deadly attitude.

Two shadows followed her everywhere—Zara and Myra, her loyal companions in cruelty.

Every day she walked through the college gates like she owned the place, chin high, hair perfect, eyes sharp. Students moved out of her way automatically. She loved the power… or at least, she pretended she did.

Because the moment she crossed the threshold into her house every evening…

her life turned into hell.

Her stepmother, Rina, didn’t wait even a minute.

Aresha’s wrist was grabbed.

A slap—sharp, practiced.

Then the insults.

Then the kicks.

And sometimes… the type of abuse she never spoke about, the kind that made her feel dirty even in her own skin.

Aresha never cried.

She simply swallowed everything and let the anger ferment inside her until it needed to spill somewhere.

College became the place she released it.

And the person she bullied the most?

Rehan, the boy she secretly, pathetically liked.

Rehan, who never liked her back.

Rehan, who always looked at her like she was a monster.

Rehan, who liked someone else—a quiet girl named Naina.

So when Aresha cornered Naina that day with Zara and Myra, mocking her clothes and snatching her notebook, she thought it was just another normal morning.

Until Rehan arrived.

He grabbed Aresha’s wrist and shoved her back so hard she lost balance and crashed into the wall behind her.

A sickening thud.

Her scalp split at the back and blood trickled down her neck.

For a second, no one moved.

Even Aresha didn’t react—not with a scream, not with anger.

She simply blinked, confused at feeling pain on the outside for once.

Then Zara screamed, “Aresha! You’re bleeding!”

Myra grabbed her waist, panic in her voice.

“Come on—nurse’s office, now!”

And Rehan… stepped back, suddenly horrified at what he’d done.

But Aresha didn’t look at him even once.

Her eyes were empty.

The nurse patched her up.

Her companions kept hovering.

Aresha stayed silent.

Because silence was safer than showing weakness.

That Afternoon

A group of five students finally snapped and went to the teacher.

“She bullies everyone! Someone needs to stop her.”

“We’re scared to even walk in the corridor.”

“She hurt Naina today!”

The complaints reached the principal faster than Aresha expected.

During the last period, the classroom door opened.

“Aresha Malik,” the peon announced.

“The principal wants to see you.”

The entire class fell silent.

Aresha stood, dusted her skirt, lifted her chin like she ruled the world…

even though her head was still throbbing.

Zara whispered, “Do you want us to come?”

Aresha did not look at her.

“No.”

The walk to the office felt longer than usual.

When she entered, the principal, vice-principal, counselor, and two teachers were already seated.

Her file was open.

Her name written in red.

The principal folded her hands.

“Aresha… we have received multiple complaints. This isn’t a small issue anymore.”

Aresha smirked lightly, hands in pockets.

“Oh? People are finally brave enough to speak?”

“This is not a joke!” the teacher snapped.

“You’ve been hurting students for months. You even injured Naina today!”

“And Rehan pushed me into a wall,” she replied tonelessly.

“No complaint about that?”

Her voice was steady but her heart was beating too fast.

The counselor leaned forward gently.

“Aresha… why are you doing this? Is something happening at home?”

That sentence…

That gentle tone…

It cracked something she didn’t want touched.

Her jaw tightened.

Her eyes remained cold.

“No. My home is perfect.”

“Aresha—”

“Are you done?” she interrupted. “Because I have a class.”

“Aresha!”

The principal’s voice rose sharply.

“You are suspended for three days. And your guardian must come tomorrow morning.”

Her blood turned to ice.

Guardian?

Her stepmother?

No.

No no no.

Anything but that.

Aresha swallowed hard, hiding the tremble threatening to show on her lips.

“…Fine.”

She turned to leave.

But just before she touched the doorknob, the counselor’s soft voice stopped her.

“Aresha… you don’t have to face things alone.”

She froze.

For half a second.

Then she walked out without looking back.

Outside the office, the corridor was empty.

And for the first time in years…

Aresha felt something she’d sworn never to feel—

fear.

Aresha walked out of the principal’s office like she wasn’t shaken.

Like nothing touched her.

But her steps were uneven.

Her fingers trembled.

Her chest felt too tight.

Suspended.

Guardian meeting.

Her stepmother.

She felt the panic crawling up her throat like a living thing.

Zara and Myra ran toward her in the corridor.

“What happened?”

“What did they say?”

“Tell us!”

Aresha didn’t even blink.

“Suspended,” she said flatly.

“And they want my guardian tomorrow.”

Both girls froze.

Zara whispered, “Your guardian… means…”

“Yes.”

Aresha kept walking.

“My… stepmother.”

The word tasted like poison.

Her companions looked at each other, helpless.

They’d never seen her afraid.

Never seen her voice falter.

Myra whispered, “Aresha, are you sure you don’t want us there—”

“Don’t.”

Her voice hardened instantly.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Because if she showed even a crack—just one—everything inside her would spill.

And Aresha Malik didn’t spill.

At Home

The gate of her house always creaked when she pushed it.

She hated that sound; it felt like the door was announcing her arrival…

to the devil waiting inside.

Her stepmother, Rina, stood at the doorway with crossed arms and a dead smile.

“You’re home early,” Rina said sweetly—too sweetly.

“Did the college finally get tired of your pathetic existence?”

Aresha didn’t reply.

She simply removed her shoes, walked inside, and waited.

The slap came like a ritual.

S M A C K.

Her head jerked to the side.

Her bandaged scalp burned.

Rina’s voice changed from sugary to venomous.

“Speak when I talk to you!”

Aresha’s fists clenched.

She had been pushed into a wall today.

Bled in front of half the class.

Suspended.

And still… this was worse.

Rina grabbed her chin harshly.

“What did you do now? Why is your college calling me tomorrow, huh? Another complaint? Another mess?”

Aresha looked at her with that same dead look she used at college.

“I bullied someone,” she said plainly.

Aresha didn’t admit guilt.

She didn’t apologize.

She simply stated facts.

Rina’s nails dug into her cheek.

“Oh? Still pretending to be tough? You want to act arrogant outside but come home like a dog?”

Aresha didn’t flinch.

She’d learned long ago it only made things worse.

Rina pushed her against the wall—right on the injured spot.

Aresha hissed quietly.

“What will I tell the principal, hm? That my stepdaughter is a failure? A burden? An embarrassment?”

Aresha stayed silent.

Rina hated silence.

So the night went the same way it always did—

hitting, kicking, insults, the kind of touches that made Aresha’s soul feel filthy.

By the time she collapsed on her bed, her back bruised and her hair damp with tears she didn’t want to shed—

she remembered Rehan.

The way he pushed her.

The way he looked shocked afterward.

The way he avoided her eyes.

And for some reason…

that hurt differently.

Morning — At the College Gate

Rina arrived in her expensive saree and fake smile, ready to play the role of “concerned guardian.”

Aresha walked two steps behind her like a shadow.

Students stared, whispering.

“Is that her mom?”

“She looks strict…”

“No wonder Aresha is like that…”

Aresha kept her face blank.

The only person who didn’t whisper was Rehan, standing near the staircase.

He was staring at her bandaged head.

Staring at her bruises.

Staring at the way she limped slightly.

Guilt stabbed him.

When Aresha’s eyes flicked to him for half a second, he felt his chest tighten.

He had never seen her look… small.

In the Principal’s Office

The staff sat in a line.

Rina sat opposite them, Aresha beside her.

The principal began gently, “Mrs. Malik, we want to discuss Aresha’s behavior. She has been bullying students, and yesterday—”

Rina gasped dramatically.

“Bullying? My daughter? Impossible! She is the sweetest girl.”

Aresha stared.

Sweetest…

She nearly laughed.

The vice-principal looked confused.

“But the students say—”

Rina grabbed Aresha’s hand, squeezing painfully.

“Aresha, sweetheart, why would you do such a thing? Why would you hurt others? We raised you with love.”

Aresha’s jaw tightened in disbelief.

Love?

Her fingers trembled.

Her breath shook.

Everyone in the room noticed.

The counselor leaned forward softly.

“Aresha… is there anything you want to say?”

Her vision blurred.

Not from tears—

from the weight of everything pressing on her chest.

The lies.

The pain.

The abuse.

The fact that she couldn’t speak.

Her voice finally broke.

“…No.”

Rina smiled triumphantly.

But the counselor did not look convinced.

Neither did Rehan, who stood outside the half-open door, frozen…

listening.

After the Meeting — Hallway

When Aresha stepped out, students stared.

Some smirked.

Some whispered.

Some pitied.

That pity…

hurt more than hatred.

Rehan stepped forward.

“Aresha, wait—”

She stopped.

Her eyes looked colder than ever before.

He swallowed.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you so badly yesterday. I—I pushed you too hard.”

Her expression didn’t change.

“I know.”

“You… know?”

She looked at him like she was staring through him.

“Rehan,” she said quietly, “what you did yesterday… was nothing compared to what I go through daily.”

Rehan froze.

Aresha took a step closer, voice barely above a whisper.

“Don’t feel guilty. You can’t hurt someone who’s already broken.”

She walked away.

Rehan’s heart dropped.

Because he had finally seen something beneath Aresha Malik’s cruelty—

a girl who was drowning.

Aresha didn’t go home after the meeting.

She walked.

And walked.

And walked.

Past the canteen.

Past the empty ground.

Past the back lawn where no one went during class hours.

Her head throbbed.

Her ribs hurt.

Her scalp ached.

But none of it compared to the storm inside her chest.

Her stepmother had managed to fool the teachers—again.

Everyone believed Rina.

Everyone always did.

Perfect smile.

Perfect voice.

Perfect lie.

Aresha sat under the lone banyan tree.

The one place no one disturbed her.

She didn’t cry.

She couldn’t.

Her tears always stayed stuck in her throat, never reaching her eyes.

But her fingers trembled uncontrollably.

She hugged her knees tightly and pressed her forehead against them.

For a few moments…

she allowed herself to feel the pain.

Just a little.

Footsteps approached.

She didn’t look up.

“Why are you hiding here?”

Rehan’s voice. Soft. Hesitant.

Aresha didn’t respond.

He sat down in front of her, leaving some distance.

For the first time, he didn’t look at her like she was a monster.

More like…

someone he didn’t know how to reach.

“I… came to say sorry properly,” he said.

“I shouldn’t have pushed you like that.”

Still nothing.

Rehan’s eyes dropped to her hands.

Small.

Shaking.

Bruised knuckles.

“Does it hurt?” he asked quietly.

Aresha finally lifted her head.

Her eyes were empty, exhausted.

“Everything hurts,” she whispered.

Rehan’s chest tightened.

She wasn’t talking about the injury.

He knew it.

She knew it.

He swallowed. “That woman… your stepmother—she was pretending inside the office. I could see it. She wasn’t… normal.”

Aresha's jaw locked instantly.

“Don’t,” she snapped.

Her voice sharp, defensive.

But it wasn’t anger.

It was fear.

Rehan raised his hands gently.

“I’m not judging. I’m just saying… you don’t have to hide.”

Aresha looked away sharply.

“I always have to hide.”

“Why?”

Her voice cracked—just slightly.

“If I don’t hide… everything breaks.”

Rehan leaned slightly forward.

“And what if… you break first?”

Aresha stiffened.

No one had ever said that to her.

Not Zara.

Not Myra.

Not a teacher.

Not any friend—because she never had friends.

Rehan noticed her shoulders trembling.

He spoke softly, “Aresha, you’re bleeding again. Your bandage—”

She touched the back of her head.

Her fingers came away red.

The cut had opened.

Rehan stood. “Come with me—I’ll take you to the nurse.”

Aresha shot up instantly, stepping back.

“No.”

“Why not—?”

“No,” she repeated firmly.

“I don’t want anyone to see.”

Rehan looked at her with pained understanding.

She was strong—but also hiding, fragile, terrified of exposure.

“Okay,” he said quietly.

“I won’t force you.”

Aresha blinked, surprised.

People always forced her.

Threatened her.

Shouted at her.

But Rehan… simply accepted her refusal.

It made her chest tighten in a confusing way.

He stepped closer—slowly, giving her space to move away if she wanted.

She didn’t.

“Aresha,” he said gently, “whatever you’re going through… you don’t deserve it.”

Her breath hitched.

Those words alone… almost made her break.

But she masked it instantly.

“You don’t know anything,” she muttered.

“Then tell me.”

“No.”

Rehan looked at her bruised arms, her swollen wrist, her limping steps, her trembling voice…

And he realized—

She wasn’t refusing because she didn’t want help.

She was refusing because she thought she didn’t deserve it.

“Aresha…”

He reached out slowly, giving her time to move away.

She didn’t.

His fingers brushed her bandaged hand—barely a touch.

Her breath shuddered.

His voice lowered.

“You don’t have to be strong right now.”

Aresha laughed weakly—brokenly.

“I have never been anything else.”

There was silence.

Wind rustled the leaves above them.

Rehan finally asked, “What will you do now?”

Aresha looked toward the college gate.

Home.

Hell.

The place she would return to tonight.

The place that would punish her for being suspended.

“I’ll survive.”

Her voice was cold, mechanical.

“I always do.”

Rehan stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

“This time… you won’t survive alone.”

Aresha froze.

For the first time since childhood…

someone had stood between her and her pain.

Her voice dropped to a trembling whisper.

“Why do you care?”

Rehan met her eyes—serious, honest, conflicted.

“Because I think you’re not a bad person, Aresha.”

“Just… a hurt one.”

Aresha’s mask shattered for half a second.

Her lips parted—like she was about to say something real.

Something raw.

Something she hadn’t told anyone.

But then—

Rina’s voice echoed from the gate.

“Aresha!”

Her entire body stiffened.

Fear returned instantly—like a snap of chains around her throat.

Rehan saw the terror flash in her eyes before she hid it.

He whispered urgently, “You don’t have to go—”

“Yes, I do.”

Her voice was barely audible.

She stepped away from him.

Her shoulders stiff.

Her spine trembling.

And she walked toward her stepmother.

Rehan watched, helpless.

Rina grabbed Aresha’s wrist harshly.

The wince Aresha couldn’t hide…

was the moment Rehan decided—

He would find out the truth.

He would not let her suffer alone.

No matter what it took.

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