Page 3 of Reckless Hate

The man smiled. “Oh, that’s great. Do you go to India often?”

“No.”

Ever since her mother got divorced and took her away from India to live in Paris, they hadn’t visited their birth country even once.

Until a month ago, she never thought she would go to India, let alone to Simha University.

Reputed to be the dream university for students worldwide, she had known about it since her childhood. She was shocked when she had received the offer letter a month ago, requesting her to join as a third-year transfer student.

She hadn’t even applied to the university. But later, she found out that her father had applied on her behalf.

She was beyond angry that the man who abandoned her and hadn’t seen her form the time of divorce had decided to meddle in her future. She was about to reject the application when her mother and stepfather saw the offer letter and coerced her to accept it.

It’s only for one and a half years.

She sucked in a deep breath reminding herself of that fact.

Until her parents’ divorce, it had been her dream to study at Simha University. She used to hero-worship her father and wanted to study where he did. She and her best friend had spent several hours poring through the university pictures, laughing and having long conversations about going there together as students. Even if they couldn’t be roommates, they planned to explore every inch of the campus together.

But now, she no longer hero-worshiped her father. And her best friend had left her too.

Simha University would only remind her of her broken dreams.

I’m going to hate it there.

CHAPTER 2

“Welcome to Simha University.”

Samantha frowned at the feeling of butterflies fluttering inside her stomach.

She wasn’t the kind to allow anything to make her nervous, but setting foot in a place she had heard stories about from her father and had dreamed about going to for years made her feel somewhat nostalgic.

But she didn’t allow it to show on her face. “Thanks,” she said to the woman who greeted her at the Simha airport.

The airport was busy with students flying in after a mid-year break. She was joining as a transfer student in the middle of her third year.

There was palpable excitement from the students around her as they caught up after the break. Zoning them and their conversations out, she chose not to go to the refreshments area and instead went out and boarded one of the buses that would take her to the university campus.

She sat in the front seat, knowing the students usually preferred the seats at the back where they could create a ruckus and walk around.

It took a while before students began entering the buses.

“You must be new here.”

Samantha turned and looked up to see a guy grinning flirtatiously at her. His eyes swept over her appreciatively and lingered on her chest and bare legs. She was wearing a knee-length red dress. Although the dress was short and body-hugging, the soft material stretched comfortably and even kept her warm during travel.

“I haven’t seen you before,” he said. “I would have definitely remembered if I did.”

She didn’t respond, but he continued to grin.

“Do you mind if I sit next to you?” he asked. “I will do a better job giving you the overview of the campus than a video guide.”

The guy was referring to the video guide available on every seat of the bus. It was meant for the new students to familiarize with the campus and the for the old students to get university updates.

“Not interested,” she replied to the guy. “And I do mind if you sit next to me.”

There was shock in the guy’s eyes at her rude reply. He was good-looking enough to think she would be flattered by his offer.