Chahat stood there, absolutely done with life.
The cafeteria was still buzzing—people were either whispering, glancing at her like she was the lead in a campus soap opera, or straight-up texting at lightning speed.
She turned to Tiya, her voice dangerously calm. "I swear to god, if I get one more confused message asking if Kiya and I are secretly dating, I'm going to—"
Her phone buzzed.
She closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, and checked the message.
Jay: …Chahat. What the hell is going on?
She wanted to die.
Tiya peeked at her screen and lost it. "OH MY GOD. JAY TEXTED. THIS IS SO GOOD."
"NO, IT IS NOT!" Chahat whisper-yelled, shoving her phone into her pocket. "This is a disaster! Kiya is out here acting like she's starring in a damn period drama, and now people think I'm cheating on Jay with her—except Jay and I aren't even a thing!"
Tiya wiped away fake tears. "It's beautiful. A love triangle with zero real romance. The depth."
Chahat's phone buzzed again.
She checked it.
Aman: Hey… are you and Kiya??
"I CAN'T DO THIS."
Tiya laughed so hard she nearly choked.
Before Chahat could throw herself out a window, Kiya reappeared, looking very pleased with herself. She sat down across from Chahat and smirked. "So… how's Phase Three treating you?"
Chahat glared. "Phase what now?!"
Kiya stole a fry from her plate. "Oh, you thought we were done?"
Tiya snorted. "Oh babe, we're just getting started."
Chahat dropped her head onto the table.
This. Was. Hell.
Chahat lay there, forehead pressed against the cafeteria table, silently questioning every life choice that had led her to this moment.
Tiya and Kiya, meanwhile, were thriving.
Kiya stretched like a cat, completely at ease. "So, babe—"
Chahat shot up. "Stop calling me that."
Kiya ignored her. "Anyway, we need to escalate."
Chahat blinked. "I—what?"
Tiya gasped dramatically. "Of course! This is the moment in the story where the stakes get higher!"
"There are no stakes! There is no story!" Chahat practically screeched. "This is just a mess that you two started for entertainment!"
Kiya tilted her head, looking genuinely surprised. "Oh, honey. You still think you have control over this?"
Chahat's eye twitched.
Kiya leaned forward, voice silky smooth. "Let me explain, sweetheart. Right now? Half the campus is on their toes, dying to know what's real and what's not. If we stop now, the rumors will fade. That's fine, if you want things to go back to normal."
Chahat perked up. "Yes. That. Let's do that."
Kiya smirked. "Or… we take control."
Tiya gasped again, clutching her heart like this was the greatest plot twist of all time.
Chahat groaned. "I don't want control! I want peace! I want to walk through campus without people staring at me like I'm in a live-action Bollywood love saga!"
Kiya simply shrugged. "Then you shouldn't have teamed up with me, babe."
Chahat banged her head against the table.
Tiya, wiping fake tears, said, "Okay, but hear me out—what if we really give them something?"
Chahat slowly lifted her head. "Tiya, I swear, if you—"
"—A GRAND GESTURE," Tiya finished, ignoring her.
Kiya lit up. "Oh, I love that."
"No."
Tiya turned to Kiya. "Like, imagine this. Middle of campus. Big speech. Chahat either 'confesses her love' or dramatically 'denies' everything, but in a way that leaves even more questions!"
Kiya beamed. "We stage a whole scene."
"NO." Chahat was this close to flipping the table.
Kiya rested her chin on her hand. "You know, if you weren't so against it, I'd think you actually have feelings for someone in this mess."
Chahat choked. "I—WHAT—NO!"
Tiya gasped. "OH MY GOD, SHE HESITATED."
Kiya smirked. "Oh, this is gold."
Chahat grabbed her bag, stood up, and pointed a shaky finger at both of them. "I hate you both."
Kiya winked. "You love us."
Tiya blew her a kiss. "Good luck out there, superstar."
As Chahat stormed out of the cafeteria, she knew one thing for sure—
This was far from over.