CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER ONE —

"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞."

...𝘚𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘺 𝘫𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘩𝘩...

...—...

The clock struck four, echoing down the long marble hallways of Université de Médicine d’Orléans, where chandeliers glowed like bottled sunlight and polished shoes clicked on imported stone.

Manali Ingole adjusted her navy blazer for what felt like the hundredth time. The fabric still felt foreign against her skin—too crisp, too stiff, too perfect. She tugged the hem of her plaid skirt down, muttering something about “these godforsaken uniform designs” under her breath.

It had been six months since she’d left India, and Paris still didn’t feel real.

She had built seven patents before she even turned nineteen—seven, each bearing her initials only in hidden coding sequences she’d never told anyone about. The company she’d built them for had begged her not to leave, even offered her a salary that most executives could only dream of. But she’d walked away.

Because no amount of money could unsee the accident.

No number of zeroes could bring back her parents.

And no spotlight could outshine the bloodstain memory of her little sister on that hospital floor—the very reason she had created her first formula. A desperate experiment born from grief that accidentally revolutionized genetic pharmacology.

Now, she was a first-year medical student with a scholarship that shocked everyone who heard it. She should’ve been proud.

But pride had never healed anyone.

She adjusted her tie and muttered in Marathi under her breath, “Skirt pan... kaay garaj aahe ya uniformla?” (Why the hell does this uniform even need a skirt?)

The students around her—all manicured perfection, laughing in French—didn’t even glance her way. It was beetter that way.

Her dorm mate had once teased her for being too serious, but Manali wasn’t built for small talk. She was built for discovery—for microscopes and formulas, for unraveling the bloodstream like it was scripture.

And yet—fate, that sarcastic playwright—was about to change her life with a single “hello.”

The door slammed open at the back of the lecture hall.

A girl stepped in like she owned the place.

Her hair was a mess of gold and sunlight, her stride loud against the hush of students packing their bags. She had the kind of smile that could disarm a warzone and the audacity of someone who’d never heard the word “no” in her life.

She plopped herself down right next to Manali—though there were at least a dozen empty seats elsewhere.

“Hey,” she said in perfect, lazy English. “You’re the Indian prodigy everyone’s whispering about, right?”

Manali blinked, startled. “I—what?”

“You know, the one who built a biochemical patent that’s apparently saving companies from collapsing? That one?”

The girl leaned her cheek on her palm, eyes gleaming with mischief. “You’re sitting like you don’t even know how brilliant you are.”

Manali stiffened. “Who told you that?”

“Everyone. And also Google. And maybe my mother,” she added with a shrug. “Anyway, I’m Evelyn Selene Devereux. Daughter of that Devereux, yes. Before you ask—yes, we’re old money, yes, I hate wearing skirts too, and yes, you’re now my new best friend.”

Manali blinked again. “Excuse me?”

Evelyn grinned like a cat who’d just spotted her favorite toy. “You heard me. You look like you need one. And I like collecting cute things.”

“I’m not—”

“Cute? You are. Adorably serious. Like, textbook definition of adorable. What’s your name, baby?”

Manali nearly choked. “What?”

Evelyn tilted her head, amused. “Don’t worry, I give everyone a nickname. You’re ‘booboo’ now.”

“What—no, I’m Manali.”

“Sure, booboo.”

Manali sighed, collecting her books. “You’re... impossible.”

“And you’re coming to the fresher’s party tonight,” Evelyn declared, standing up and slinging her bag over one shoulder.

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I have work.”

“Lies.” Evelyn crossed her arms, pouting dramatically. “My wife doesn’t ditch me on our first unofficial date.”

“I’m not your—”

“Too late, I’ve already bought you a dress. So be ready in thirty.”

“Evelyn, I don’t even go to parties—”

“Then it’s about time you start. Besides, Rian will be there.”

“Rian?”

Evelyn smirked. “My brother. He’s annoyingly perfect, but you’ll like him. He plays piano and looks like he crawled out of a romance novel. You’re welcome.”

“I’m not going—”

Evelyn suddenly snatched her notebook and dashed for the door. “Then I’ll tell everyone you’re my secret girlfriend!”

“EVELYN!”

Half the class turned. Manali covered her face, groaning. “This is hell.”

Later, as she stood in front of the mirror in their dorm, glaring at the silver-blue dress Evelyn had somehow forced onto her bed, she muttered again to herself,

“I should’ve stayed with chemistry.”

But deep down, in a quiet corner of her heart, she felt something strange.

Something she hadn’t felt in years.

Laughter.

Lightness.

Maybe—hope.

Because somewhere between the lab equations and Evelyn’s chaos, for the first time in a long while—

Manali didn’t feel alone.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***