Chapter 1: Viral Breakup

The most popular post on the campus forum is about me. My phone vibrates nonstop, every ping making my stomach twist. I scroll, the blue light harsh against my eyes, and each notification feels like a slap.

Title: [Did Rohan and Ananya break up today]

It’s full of candid photos of me, and under each one, people are roasting me.

Chamchi. Shameless. Toad…

Every comment stings, sharper than mirchi powder in my eyes. I keep scrolling, half-hoping someone would defend me, but all I find are the usual taunts. Someone’s even shared a blurry picture of me at the canteen, stuffing a vada pav into my mouth. Instinctively, I glance around the canteen, checking if anyone is staring at me now. My cheeks burn. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, suddenly hyper-aware of the oil stains on my fingers.

Rohan never cared. He always said, don’t bother about what others say.

He’d flick his hair back, then lean back in his plastic canteen chair as if he owned the place. Laughing, he’d say, “Arey, let them bark, Ananya. Apun ko kya farak padta hai?” Sometimes his carefree attitude made it seem like nothing in the world could touch him. I tried to soak up that confidence, but the words still stung.

But later, when news broke online that his first love was a homewrecker, he hacked the entire website.

For all his bravado, that night Rohan’s knuckles were white on the keyboard, jaw tight. I saw the look in his eyes—the kind that said he’d burn the world for some things. It made me realise he did care. Just not about me.

That day, the campus post was updated. For the first time, I replied.

[Did Rohan and Ananya break up today]

[Yeah, we broke up.]

My hands shook as I typed, but my heart felt strangely light. As if I’d finally let go of a heavy bucket I’d been carrying for months.