Kartik had been locked inside his hostel room for the past week. No friends, no classes, no cafeteria—just him and a small, dark world closing in around him. Most of the time, he didn't even turn on the lights. Over a hundred messages and calls from Tanvi... all ignored. His phone lay on silent, screen filled with unread notifications.
Every beep stabbed at his chest, but he forced himself to shut it all out. His mind was focused on just one thing: escape.
It had gone too far.
He needed to leave. Everything.
That night, Kartik made up his mind.
> "I'll submit the college transfer form. Leave by 4 AM... before Tanvi wakes up. She won't even know I'm gone."
He packed a few clothes, some essentials, and her diary—the one that had shown him too much.
Sleep didn't come. Every creak in the corridor made his heartbeat spike.
But his resolve stayed strong.
---
Next Morning — 4:00 AM
Kartik reached the main gate of the hostel.
With every step, his heartbeat got louder.
And just as he set foot near the exit—
he froze.
A cold, spine-chilling laugh echoed behind him.
> "Did you really think it would be that easy?"
He turned around slowly.
Tanvi.
Even in the darkness, her eyes gleamed.
Her face was unreadable—expressionless—but her smile... that smile was twisted. A disturbing blend of pain and madness.
> "I've already hacked your phone, Kartik.
I know everything you've been planning."
Kartik tried to speak, but the words stuck in his throat.
Tanvi stepped closer, grabbed his hand, kissed it—and without another word, pulled him back toward the hostel.
---
Hostel Room – Tanvi's Side
The door shut with a firm lock.
Tanvi handed Kartik a cup of tea and then quietly walked to the corner of the room. She sat down and began to cry.
> "I have no one, Kartik...
Everyone always leaves me.
And now you were leaving too."
> "They all called me a psycho...
Just because I took a stand for myself."
Her voice was broken, each word soaked in pain.
> "There was this guy... first year.
He forced himself on me one night.
When I went to the police, no one listened.
They all said I was overreacting.
That I just wanted attention."
> "So I killed him.
Took him to the forest... dug the grave myself.
Tell me, Kartik, did I really do something wrong?"
Kartik's face turned pale.
He looked at her—tears in her eyes, but none of them felt like regret.
Only echoes of old wounds.
> "People used me because I was pretty.
My own father... exploited me.
When my mother tried to stop him, he beat her.
So she killed him."
> "And in school, when I became stronger,
boys started bullying me.
They pushed me down the stairs—just because I rejected one of their proposals."
> "And now... my mother, my everything...
she died in a car accident.
Four drunk boys thought it was funny to ram her car.
Three months in jail. That's all they got.
But my mother... she never came back."
Tanvi's face twisted. Her voice trembled.
Hate.
Pain.
Insanity.
All dancing in her eyes.
> "And now you, Kartik...
My Kartik...
You were leaving me too?
> "Then go. But kill me first.
I don't want to live anymore."
Kartik's heart shattered.
He pulled her into a tight embrace.
> "No, Tanvi... no.
I'm not going anywhere.
I promise you.
Even if you break me, hurt me...
I'm yours. Only yours."
They both sank to the floor, arms wrapped around each other.
Tanvi's tears soaked through his sweater. Her every breath trembled—but for the first time, there was a faint sense of release in them.
---
Kartik's Inner Monologue
> "This girl... she's no villain.
She's just the sum of every scar this world has given her.
I can't fix her...
But maybe... I can stop her from falling apart."
---
Scene End – Chapter End
Kartik didn't leave that night.
He didn't run away.
Maybe he was breaking too.
But Tanvi's pain... felt deeper than his.
There were only two souls in that room.
One carrying a storm...
The other, an ocean.
And both were trapped in the same prison—
The cage of the past.