Zeeshan’s Pov

I stood there watching her dash out of the training hall, clenching my jaw, restraining the urge to stop her. I admit, whatever I said was quite harsh, but do I care? Absolutely not.

After that night, she was not supposed to be standing in front of me, looking like a scaredy cat along with her friend.

After that night, she was not supposed to retort like the feisty kitten she is.

And after that night, she was not supposed to get flustered by the closeness.

And after that damn night, she was not supposed to affect me like she did a year ago when her hand was in mine.

I should not be affected by it, but God forbid, I wished to make her mine the very instant she stood before me again.

Ayesha Mehra, the girl who makes me lose my mind, my ability to think straight, my ability to focus.

The girl who makes me want to hate her, yet fills me with the urge to make her mine every time she looks at me with those chocolate-brown eyes.

And that is the reason I hate her the most, because she has made me lose my sanity.

No, scratch that.

Ayesha Mehra is the girl I despise the most.

Or do I?

I guess that is a secret better left hidden, just like the secret of Ayesha Mehra being related to me. Well hidden from my family and friends, except Vidit.

"What are you doing standing alone in this huge hall?" came Vidit’s voice, bringing me back from my thoughts.

"She’s here," I replied with a sigh. His eyes widened in recognition.

"She… as in your..." he asked, bewildered. To clarify his doubt, I simply nodded.

"Why don’t you..." he began, but I cut him off because I knew where this was going. "No. Whatever you are thinking, it is a big no. She is nothing but a nuisance, to me and my heart, and I hate her."

He sighed but nonetheless nodded. Later, we shifted our focus to the mission he had gone on.

Our discussion was cut short because of the meeting I had with one of the seniors regarding my previous mission. The meeting dragged on for hours, and it was almost midnight by the time I reached home.

Sighing, I freshened up and lay down on my bed. My thoughts immediately drifted to the girl I had met today after a whole year, and my mind began replaying the first time we met.

That night, when she stood by my side, looking like a goddess in that saree, her eyes filled with unshed tears, those precious pearls, they made me want to destroy every reason behind her pain and keep her safe, close to my heart. Yet, I was helpless and probably the partial reason for her pain.

When she unknowingly took control of me, I was certain of one thing, no one if not her. From that day, my heart and my mind were under her spell. All I could think about, all I wanted to see, was Ayesha Mehra.

The same girl who owns Zeeshan Kapoor in every universe.

The same girl whose heart I crushed badly just a few moments ago.

But it is for the best, because if he gets even a hint of what we had, maybe still have, she would be in danger. And I, for sure, do not want that to happen.

Ayesha’s Pov

It was the next day of the training, and I made sure to reach fifteen minutes early. No one was present in the training hall yet, but I wasn’t going to give him a chance to talk to me personally. Soon, students started coming in. I didn’t see Ritika in the room today when I returned after taking a shower.

My thoughts were interrupted when he entered along with the instructor. His eyes met mine the moment he stood on the podium. Instantly, I averted my gaze.

“Good morning, officers. Yesterday we learnt a few physical training skills; I hope all of you remember them. Let’s start with a warm-up and a recap of yesterday’s training. After that, we will focus on combat skills today. Since you will be attending your criminal law lectures later, your training will end earlier than yesterday,” he instructed.

We shouted “Yes, sir!” in unison.

“Let’s start by taking five laps around the hall,” he added, and as per his orders, line by line, we began running the laps.

After that, we were given a lesson on unarmed combat skills. Since we had a lecture on criminal law, we were dismissed earlier, just like he had mentioned.

I avoided eye contact with him the entire time and didn’t give him the satisfaction of shouting at me.

He is a ruthless trainer; he spent the whole session shouting like a broken loudspeaker and even made two girls cry because of his harshness.

From time to time, I could feel his eyes boring into me, but did I give him the satisfaction of knowing it affected me? Not at all. I ignored him like I would ignore tomato chunks in my food.

The accusations he had spat in my face were still fresh in my mind.

I didn’t expect our meeting to be loving or sweet. Honestly, I hadn’t even expected to meet him again. But the least he could have done was be civil with me.

Never mind. I shouldn’t expect anything from him.

So for the next few days, after the practice sessions and my small victory in ignoring that said asshole, we attended our criminal law lectures, which were quite interesting.

They taught us valuable lessons about crimes and the laws created for them.

He was pissed; I could see it in the way he glared at me, his eyes burning with irritation. But his anger only satisfied me.

Serves you right, you doppelganger of a dustbin.

Today, as usual, just like the last few days, I ignored him as I entered the lecture hall and went to stand in my usual spot for practice. As per our routine training, we started with warm-ups, followed by unarmed combat training.

All of us were made to fight each other and were given insights on how to improve ourselves. Soon, the training was over, and as I waited to exit-

“Miss Ayesha Mehra, a document of yours is missing. Please stay back, we need to talk about it,” came my trainer, Zeeshan Kapoor’s voice.