8:48 PM - Siya's House

The moment Siya entered the house, her mother looked up from the dining table.

One look at Siya's face.

And immediately knew something was wrong.

Or right.

Which was somehow worse.

Mom: "Why are you smiling at your phone?"

Siya: "I'm not."

Mom: "You are."

Siya: "I'm literally not."

Mom: "Your face disagrees."

Siya immediately shoved her phone into her pocket.

Evidence removed.

Problem solved.

Unfortunately-

Mothers possessed supernatural powers.

Mom: "Who's he?"

Siya: "WHAT?"

Mom: "There's a he."

Siya: "There is no he."

Mom: "Then why are your ears red?"

Siya touched her ears.

They were warm.

Traitors.

Before the interrogation could continue-

Her younger cousin Riya burst into the room.

A tiny gremlin disguised as a human.

Age: 11.

Occupation: Creating problems.

Riya: "DID YOU GET A BOYFRIEND?"

Siya: "NO."

Riya: "Mummy said you're smiling."

Mom: "I did not."

Riya: "Your face said it."

Mom: "..."

Siya: "I hate this family."

Upstairs in her room, Siya immediately locked the door.

Then threw herself onto the bed.

Peace.

Finally.

Just peace.

Her phone buzzed.

Again.

The same unknown number.

Or rather-

Shashwat.

> Shashwat: Reached home?

Siya stared.

Then typed.

> Siya: You already asked that.

The reply came instantly.

> Shashwat: I wasn't convinced.

> Siya: Why?

Three dots appeared.

Disappeared.

Appeared again.

Meanwhile, across the city...

Kabir was witnessing this live.

Because unfortunately for him-

Shashwat had never learned how to hide emotions.

Not from Kabir.

Kabir: "You're smiling again."

Shashwat: "Am I?"

Kabir: "It's disturbing."

Shashwat: "Drive."

Kabir: "I am."

Shashwat: "Then continue."

Kabir: "You text like a grandfather discovering WhatsApp."

Silence.

Kabir: "I wasn't convinced."

Kabir: "Why?"

Kabir: "Sir, what does that even mean?"

Shashwat: "Focus on the road."

Back in her room...

Siya received another message.

> Shashwat: Because you faint twice a day.

She laughed.

Actually laughed.

Then replied.

> Siya: That's happened exactly once.

Reply.

> Shashwat: Today.

> Shashwat: Twice.

> Siya: Details.

> Shashwat: Facts.

Siya shook her head.

Ridiculous man.

Suddenly-

Her Wattpad notification exploded.

Again.

1,000+ New Comments

500+ Votes

300+ Follower.

Siya: "WHAT NOW?!"

She opened Wattpad.

And immediately regretted it.

Because somehow...

Somebody had uploaded the café photo.

Again.

This time with the caption:

> "Siya accidentally manifested her male lead."

The comments were absolutely feral.

> AUTHOR WHAT IS THIS

> IS THIS RESEARCH FOR THE STORY

> HE LOOKS LIKE HE OWNS THREE COMPANIES AND A DARK PAST

> SIYA BLINK TWICE

> WE SHIP IT

Siya buried her face in a pillow.

Death.

She wanted death.

Her phone buzzed again.

Message from Aaru.

> Aaru: GOOD EVENING MRS. MAFIA MAN

Siya immediately called her.

Siya: "I'M GOING TO BLOCK YOU."

Aaru: "YOU CAN'T BLOCK DESTINY."

Siya: "STOP."

Aaru: "The edits have reached Twitter."

Siya: "STOP."

Aaru: "Someone made a wedding moodboard."

Siya: "AARU."

Aaru: "Pinterest too."

The call disconnected.

Because Siya hung up.

For mental health reasons.

A minute later...

Her phone buzzed one final time.

From Shashwat.

> Shashwat: Why did you just yell at someone?

Siya froze.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

She sat up.

And stared at the screen.

Siya: How do you know I yelled?

The typing bubble appeared immediately.

Then disappeared.

Then appeared again.

As if he was choosing his words carefully.

Finally-

A message arrived.

> Shashwat: Lucky guess.

Siya narrowed her eyes.

Suspicious.

Very suspicious.

But before she could question it further-

A new message appeared.

> Shashwat: Sleep.

> Shashwat: You have exams.

For some reason...

That simple reminder made her smile.

What Siya didn't know-

What she couldn't know-

Was that several kilometers away, another phone lit up.

A photograph of Siya entering her house.

Timestamped.

Location tagged.

Sent to an unknown contact.

Along with a single message:

> Target reached home.

And the reply came only seconds later:

> Continue watching.

TO BE CONTINUED.....