Page 31 of Reckless Hate

She lost her cool. “It’s not a game,” she snapped. “And you started it.”

His eyes continued to flash darkly. “Yes, I did start it. Until you do what I want, I won’t stop.”

He wanted her to leave Simha University, which she never would. “You won’t win,” she told him coldly.

“Oh, I always play to win.”

They stared at each other. His eyes dark and intense and hers locked in a glare. She looked away first, not wanting to attract attention, which she already did in spades, thanks to her enemy.

He stared at her for a moment before turning and joining his group at the table. He sat facing her. Briefly his eyes fell on Rishab before returning to hers, and there was something dark in them.

Dragging her eyes away from her enemy’s, she focused on the guy in front of her. “Tell me about your proposal.”

Rishab Mathur barely looked affected by the charged drama. There was a slow smile on the guy’s ridiculously handsome face before he began to speak about their possible partnering at the workshop.

All the while, even though she was listening and replying to the guy in front of her, she could feel the burning eyes of her enemy on her.

CHAPTER 16

Days passed by as she attended classes, went for tennis practice and came back to her housing unit. She spent time with Rishab Mathur in the workshop and caught up with Sohan and Maria during late evenings. Normally, she would have been content with a routine, but she was always aware of Ved Simha.

She felt her enemy’s gaze at the cafeteria, but he didn’t approach her again. When she was done with the day and returned to her room, the first thing she did was look towards the balcony to see if he broke into her room again to threaten and warn her. But he didn’t come.

Her enemy was tormenting her by keeping her hanging at the edge.

Asshole.

Samantha was at the library, finishing up an assignment. Rishab Mathur, whom she began calling as Rishi on his insistence, was sitting next to her. She had only been there for an hour, but she had looked around her at least a dozen times to see if her enemy would appear suddenly.

“Hello,” a guy’s voice spoke.

She looked up when someone greeted her and saw a guy in an Eagles rugby jersey.

“Samantha Roy, right?” the guy asked with a smile.

She nodded.

“Hi. I’m Neeraj Batra, Eagles rugby captain.”

Something about the guy gave her the creeps. He reminded her of her stepfather. He was good-looking and seemed charming, but the vibes he was throwing screamed sexual predator.

She didn’t say anything.

The guy’s smile wavered, and he looked uncomfortable when she didn’t say anything polite or otherwise.

“It’s uh… my birthday today, and I’m throwing a party for my friends. Since you are a new student and from the Eagles team, I would like to invite you to my party.”

She was hardly interested in attending a party. She was about to brush the guy off when Rishi answered.

“We’d love to come,” Rishi said in a fake excited voice.

The birthday guy frowned, probably since he hadn’t extended the invitation to Rishi, but he didn’t say anything. He nodded. “Great. See you two in the evening. I’ll send you the location.”

As soon as the guy left, Samantha turned to Rishi. “Who the hell is that guy? And why would you want to go to his party?”

“That’s Neeraj Batra.”

Samantha rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I heard when he told me his name. So?”

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