It started with a whisper in the girl’s washroom.
By lunch break, the entire corridor knew.
“Nancy Khan?”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv5BhHGdi6Z
“Sir Haider?”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPayUjzA8op
“No. No way.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJfAfNOJfVj
“She was in his office for two hours yesterday. Alone.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPmIUSXT7O7
“They say she cried when she came out. Guess why?”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLWgNLe3ZM
“She’s been acting all sweet—ugh, two-faced.”
Nancy didn’t notice the shift at first. Not until the glances grew colder and the silence around her, louder. When even her favorite professor looked at her with guarded eyes. When her lab partner awkwardly requested to be shifted.
When she opened her locker and found a note stuffed inside:16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQum36vTrRo
“Sl*t in scrubs. Stay away from engaged men.”
Her hand trembled. Her heart pounded. She clutched the metal edges to steady herself.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRBfnScVy4T
What the hell was happening?
She found Rosy near the canteen, mid-gossip as usual.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8Txx5ubVW
“Rosy,” Nancy snapped, eyes wild. “Did you hear—what they’re saying about me? About Sir Haider?”
Rosy’s brows rose in feigned shock. “Wait... you haven’t heard?”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTcsGyNV89
“What?”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc977uemw4l
“Well... someone shared screenshots. Messages. From your number. It’s going around.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLv6V03BlW4
Nancy’s breath caught. “That’s impossible. I never—”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEhEN6MWgey
“I’m sure it’s fake,” Rosy said quickly, placing a hand on her arm, “but, Nancy... they look real. And there’s audio too.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhScXk7L54W
Nancy felt her knees weaken. “Audio?”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUlMxSX42c
Rosy nodded solemnly. “You need to talk to admin. Like now. Before they take action.”
But it was too late. That evening, a disciplinary email landed in her inbox.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMldefW71xW
Pending investigation. Temporary suspension from labs. A formal hearing scheduled.
She cried that night like she hadn’t in years. Cried so hard her ribs hurt.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ79GuMEZeYg
Her parents didn’t yell — which was worse. Her father just stared at the floor. Her mother sobbed quietly in the kitchen.
But Nancy wasn’t stupid. Or weak.
She knew she had never sent a single inappropriate message. Never met Sir Haider outside campus, never called him late, never crossed a line. She dug through her phone — and found messages she didn’t remember sending. Late night texts. Flirtatious. Disturbingly real. All with Sir Haider’s contact.
But the tone wasn’t hers. The words felt... borrowed. Forced.
And that’s when a flicker of doubt lit up.
She remembered — two weeks ago — she’d left her phone charging in the hostel room. Unlocked. And Rosy was there. Alone.
The betrayal bloomed like poison.
Nancy didn’t confront her right away. Instead, she played along. She acted broken. Confused. Isolated.
She let Rosy get comfortable. Let her feel untouchable.
Until one evening, Nancy asked Rosy to “help her write an apology letter to Sir Haider to end the drama.” She said it innocently — like someone desperate, someone naïve.
Rosy smirked. “Sure, babe. I’ll help you. You’re not good with words, anyway.”
She dictated it like she was writing her own victory speech. Arrogant. Careless.
What she didn’t know? Nancy had placed her old cracked phone — the one she said was “dead” — right there on the desk. Camera rolling. Audio crisp.
The next day, Nancy walked into the hearing with trembling hands but fire in her chest.
“I have something to show the panel,” she said. Her voice cracked. Then rose.
Rosy’s face, when the audio played? Priceless.
The panel heard Rosy’s voice:16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJVxkPt1ymM
“Don’t worry, Nancy. Everyone’s already convinced. I made sure of it.”16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzT5Xn8JtO
“I used your phone. Changed the contact name. Even timed the messages to look real. Brilliant, right?”
The silence in the room was louder than thunder.
Three Days Later
Nancy was cleared. Her record wiped clean. Sir Haider stepped down temporarily — not guilty, but for propriety.
Rosy? Expelled. Quietly. No ceremony, no friends left to defend her.
But Nancy didn’t smile.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1dzfDdBPrH
Because the wound wasn’t on paper — it was in her trust. Her heart.
She stood by the hostel window that night, watching the rain trace patterns on the glass.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBmM2OPZIB7
Her mother called.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnG6qQut97
“Beta, are you okay now?”
Nancy looked at her reflection. Bruised, but breathing.16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7u0B1SQqbO
“No, Amma,” she said softly. “But I will be.
