Chapter 1

Ved slammed the front door shut, the bang echoing through the silent house. His backpack hit the floor with a thud, forgotten. His hands were balled into fists, knuckles white, and his jaw was so tight he thought his teeth might crack.

He stalked into the living room and every nerve ending in his body vibrated with fury as soon as he saw her. There she was - lurking around his house again, like she owned the damn place!

"Did you tell Disha?" He said in fury as he walked towards her.

"Tell Disha what?" Seher asked back, frowning.

"Don't play dumb!" He advanced, stopping just short of looming over her. His voice rose, vibrating with the effort to control it. "My crush on her. Did you tell her I have a crush on her?"

"Yes." She shrugged.

"Why would you do that?" He yelled again.

"Because you do have a crush on her."

"And would you like to see how she reacted to that?" Ved asked in despair as he showed her his wrist.

Seher looked at him in shock for a few seconds then at the Rakhi tied to his hand.

And then, she laughed.

She didn't want to, but it was difficult for a 16-year-old girl of suppress her laughter for long.

For Ved, it was like a physical blow. The humiliation he had felt just moments ago, standing there, enduring Disha's "bro-dom," was nothing compared to this. This was Seher, someone he had disliked for being loud, for being more confident then him, for always winning against him. He disliked her for everything. And she was laughing at his pain.

His face burned, not with more anger. He watched her, watched the way her eyes crinkled at the corners, the way she shook her head, still laughing.

"It's not funny, Seher," he said, his voice flat.

She finally got herself under control, wiping at her eyes.

"N-no, I know, it's just... it's a bit classic, isn't it? The best bro..." She trailed off, then let out another small giggle. "Anyway, Justice served!" Seher smirked.

"What?" Ved asked confused.

"Remember Rahul?" Seher's voice was soft, but it landed like a sharp blow. "Remember how you decided it was your job to tell my mother I was hanging out with him? My private life, Ved. You went behind my back. You blew up my spot with my own mom."

The accusation hit him like a physical punch. He flinched, then his anger flared to life, fueled by injustice.

"Rahul? Seher, he was bad news! He was manipulative, he was skipping classes, he was... he was going to get you into trouble! I was trying to protect you!"

Seher let out a short, hollow laugh.

"Protect me? Or control me? That wasn't your call to make! My friendships are my friendships. My life is my life. You betrayed my trust. You stuck your nose where it didn't belong and made my life hell for weeks!" Her voice rose slightly, a crack appearing in her calm facade. "You think you can just march into my life, blow up my personal business, and expect me to just stand by while you get your happily ever after with Disha?"

Ved stared, aghast.

"You're unbelievable," he managed, the words tasting like ash. "You ruined things for me out of spite? I was helping you."

"Did I ask you to help me? Now suffer! I got my revenge!"

With that, she turned and walked away.

And a switch inside Ved flipped, and the chaotic storm of anger transformed into a hard, cold knot of pure loathing. He didn't want to be angry at her anymore. Anger was too energetic, too transient. This was different.

If she was enjoying this revenge game so much, he wouldn't let her win!

He didn't dislike Seher anymore. He hated her.

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The soft glow of Seher's laptop screen illuminated her face, casting a pale, focused light on her brow. It was pushing midnight, but she was in the zone, lost in the intricate world of her digital portfolio. This wasn't just some school assignment; this was her passion project.

She hummed a little, a sound of quiet satisfaction, as her cursor hovered over the "Save All" button. The animation flowed beautifully, the colors vibrant, the transitions seamless. This was it. The best piece she had ever created. She clicked, a small green bar indicating the save was complete. She leaned back, stretching her arms above her head, a tired but triumphant smile gracing her lips.

"Time for one last review," she murmured to herself, clicking to reopen the main project file.

The application launched, the usual splash screen with its familiar logo. But then, something was wrong. The project dashboard was eerily blank. Her heart did a slight judder. She tried navigating to the specific folder where it was stored. It wasn't there. Not just the file itself, but the entire sub-folder. Gone.

A cold dread seized her. She rechecked the directory. The folder was there, mocking her with its emptiness. Inside, nothing. Not a single file. Not a single backup. Wiped clean.

Her fingers trembled as she clicked through her system's recycle bin. Empty. She checked the cloud backups. Offline. A pit opened in her stomach.

"No," she whispered, the word a raw, painful gasp. "No, no, no!"

She scrolled wildly through her deleted files log. There was a timestamp from earlier that evening, around 8 PM. A mass deletion. And beside it, a system log indicating an external access point. An unauthorized one. Not hers.

Only one name screamed in her mind, echoing in the sudden, ringing silence of her room. Ved.

He took his revenge. But this was malicious. He knew how much this project meant to her. It would cost her masrks in the finalo exams.

He hadn't just destroyed her work. He had tried to destroy her future.

Her eyes, usually sparkling with wit and intelligence, were now filled with a dangerous fire. The tears pricking at her eyelids weren't from sadness; they were from fury.

He thought this was just another prank? He had no idea the monster he had just woken. The past playfulness, the petty acts of revenge – they were child's play. This wasn't about getting even anymore. This was about absolute destruction.

She slammed the laptop shut, the click echoing like a gunshot in the silent room. Ved had just signed his own death warrant.

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I hope that was good :)