After that night, things didn't get better. They got worse.
Ananya and Rael weren't speaking, yet somehow they kept finding each other. In the library. In stairwells. In shadows. They didn't touch. Didn't smile. But their eyes always collided — and when they did, it felt like gunpowder brushing fire.
Their affair wasn't a secret anymore. People whispered. Girls stared at Ananya with a mix of jealousy and disgust. Professors kept their distance from Rael. The administration hadn't acted — yet — but the tension was a ticking bomb.
It should've ended. But instead, something new happened.
Someone new.
---
His name was Virat.
He was a new literature TA, a golden boy with sharp wit and easy charm. His eyes were kind. He listened when Ananya spoke, even if she tried to stay cold. And unlike Rael, Virat never made her feel like a sin.
He asked her out casually — over coffee, after a seminar. She said yes.
Not because she liked him. Because Rael was watching.
And she wanted him to burn.
---
Rael saw them together. More than once. Laughing in the cafeteria. Sitting too close in the study room. Virat brushing hair from her face. Ananya smiling.
But Rael knew that smile. It was the smile she used when she was lying.
He broke into her apartment the third night. Waited in the dark, like a demon she forgot to banish. When she walked in, humming, her smile faltered the second the door clicked shut.
"You're wearing his scent," Rael said from the shadows.
She froze. "You broke in?"
He stepped into view. "You let him touch you?"
"I let him treat me like I matter."
Rael's voice dropped to a growl. "You don't get to pretend you've moved on. Not from me."
He reached for her. She slapped his hand away.
"You cheated first."
"And you punished me. Is that not enough?"
"I wanted to ruin you," she hissed. "But now I just want to forget you."
He grabbed her wrists — not cruel, not gentle. Desperate.
"Then why are you shaking?"
She yanked away, breathing hard. "Because every time you're near, I can't think."
He stepped closer. "You don't want to think."
She shoved him back. "You're toxic."
"So are you."
And again, their lips collided. Again, they kissed like punishment. Again, they pulled each other into madness.
They fell onto the couch. Ripped through clothing. His kisses bruised. Her nails tore skin. Nothing was tender. Everything was war.
And when it ended — hours later, breathless and bare — Rael whispered, "I saw him kiss your hand."
Ananya blinked. "So?"
"I wanted to break his fingers."
She smiled. "I let him. Just to see if you'd come back."
He looked at her. "I never left."
And that was the truth. As much as they destroyed each other, they couldn't stay apart. Not truly.
Ananya curled into him, even as her heart screamed warnings.
Because monsters don't fear each other. They recognize each other.
And fall harder.
After that night, things didn't get better. They got worse.
Ananya and Rael weren't speaking, yet somehow they kept finding each other. In the library. In stairwells. In shadows. They didn't touch. Didn't smile. But their eyes always collided — and when they did, it felt like gunpowder brushing fire.
Their affair wasn't a secret anymore. People whispered. Girls stared at Ananya with a mix of jealousy and disgust. Professors kept their distance from Rael. The administration hadn't acted — yet — but the tension was a ticking bomb.
It should've ended. But instead, something new happened.
Someone new.
---
His name was Virat.
He was a new literature TA, a golden boy with sharp wit and easy charm. His eyes were kind. He listened when Ananya spoke, even if she tried to stay cold. And unlike Rael, Virat never made her feel like a sin.
He asked her out casually — over coffee, after a seminar. She said yes.
Not because she liked him. Because Rael was watching.
And she wanted him to burn.
---
Rael saw them together. More than once. Laughing in the cafeteria. Sitting too close in the study room. Virat brushing hair from her face. Ananya smiling.
But Rael knew that smile. It was the smile she used when she was lying.
He broke into her apartment the third night. Waited in the dark, like a demon she forgot to banish. When she walked in, humming, her smile faltered the second the door clicked shut.
"You're wearing his scent," Rael said from the shadows.
She froze. "You broke in?"
He stepped into view. "You let him touch you?"
"I let him treat me like I matter."
Rael's voice dropped to a growl. "You don't get to pretend you've moved on. Not from me."
He reached for her. She slapped his hand away.
"You cheated first."
"And you punished me. Is that not enough?"
"I wanted to ruin you," she hissed. "But now I just want to forget you."
He grabbed her wrists — not cruel, not gentle. Desperate.
"Then why are you shaking?"
She yanked away, breathing hard. "Because every time you're near, I can't think."
He stepped closer. "You don't want to think."
She shoved him back. "You're toxic."
"So are you."
And again, their lips collided. Again, they kissed like punishment. Again, they pulled each other into madness.
They fell onto the couch. Ripped through clothing. His kisses bruised. Her nails tore skin. Nothing was tender. Everything was war.
And when it ended — hours later, breathless and bare — Rael whispered, "I saw him kiss your hand."
Ananya blinked. "So?"
"I wanted to break his fingers."
She smiled. "I let him. Just to see if you'd come back."
He looked at her. "I never left."
And that was the truth. As much as they destroyed each other, they couldn't stay apart. Not truly.
Ananya curled into him, even as her heart screamed warnings.
Because monsters don't fear each other. They recognize each other.
And fall harder.