Supriya sat on her balcony, knees pulled to her chest, phone glowing softly in her hand.Her contact list stared back at her.
Nishanth [feather emoji]
The name hadn't changed.The feather emoji still sat there ,something she added when he gifted her a handmade greeting card during their first month together. It had a single sentence written on the cover:
"Like Krishna's feather — gentle, but never forgotten."
At the time, she smiled.Now, it tore her apart.Her thumb hovered over the "Call" button.She hadn't heard his voice in over a year.Not since the day she left him.
The day she chose Karan's money, confidence, and connections.
"Nishanth," she had said back then, "You're kind.... but I don't want to live guessing where rent will come from."
And he had said nothing.Not a word.He just nodded and walked away.
Now she wanted to speak.But what would she even say?
"Are you the Spend King?""I think I made a mistake.""Can we talk?"
The phone remained untouched.She put it face-down.Tears stung her eyes.
"I'm not ready to hear his silence again."
Meanwhile, Nishanth sat across from a 67-year-old man named Sharmaji, a retired professor who once taught him business law for free after hours because he couldn't afford an extra tutor.
Today, Nishanth was funding the man's dream.
A rural coaching center that would take in 50 poor children each year and train them for entrance exams for free of cost.
Sharmaji had tears in his eyes:"Beta… I don't know how to thank you."
"Don't," Nishanth replied gently."Just teach them like you taught me."
He stood up. Adjusted his sleeves. Left quietly.No photo. No handshake selfie.Only the deed in Sharmaji's hand....and a bank alert that said:
"₹4,00,000 credited — from Xylon Trust Grant"
Back at Shekhawat HQ, Karan slammed a file on the table.
"Dad, he's not just taking land. He's buying influence."
"So?"
"So we don't know his face! How do we attack a ghost?"
Minister Shekhawat exhaled."Start with the roots. What was the first property he bought?"
"2.3 acres in Kothawada."
"Trace the deal."
"Already did. But it's masked under shell companies."
The minister leaned forward."Then follow the people. Architects, brokers, delivery guys. Somewhere, someone slipped. Everyone leaves a fingerprint."
Karan nodded slowly.But inside, he wasn't feeling victorious.
He was shaking.Because no matter how hard he tried, the Spend King was always ten moves ahead.
Later that evening, Supriya met Riya again.They sat at a rooftop café overlooking the Warangal skyline , a skyline now dotted with buildings funded by Xylon.
Riya stirred her cold coffee."You're thinking about him again, aren't you?"
Supriya didn't answer.
"You know, if you ever find out it is him… you might never forgive yourself."
Supriya blinked slowly."That's the problem, Riya.... I already haven't."
At the same hour, Nishanth walked through the nearly completed Xylon Youth HQ tower , a sleek glass building with seven floors, each one dedicated to a sector: education, fintech, design, real estate, health, logistics, and clean tech.
"No logos outside," he told the architect."Let the work speak. Not the brand."
He paused in the central atrium.Looked up at the sculpture being installed a metallic structure shaped like a single, stylized peacock feather wrapped around a globe.
"That's perfect," he whispered.
[SYSTEM INTERFACE – CORE MILESTONE NEAR]
Spend Total: ₹92,00,00,000
Milestone Unlocks at: ₹100 Crore
Rewards Preview:– Anonymous Policy Influence Access– National Bid Power– Private Investment Circle Entry– Identity Reveal Timer [OPTIONAL]
Do you wish to activate public phase?
Nishanth tapped "NO."
Not yet.
"They'll know when it matters most."
Somewhere in a college girls' hostel, Supriya stared out her window at the glowing skyline.She clutched the one thing she still had from Nishanth:A tiny pressed card. Old. Slightly bent.
Inside was a feather taped to the page.And three handwritten words:
"We rise quietly."
Her eyes shut and for the first time.... she wept.
The following morning, the city of Warangal woke up to something new , not a scandal, not a death, not a politician's speech.
But a billboard.A clean white one.No brand.No colors.Just bold black letters printed across the largest screen on Hanamkonda Flyover visible to nearly everyone in morning traffic.
"YOUR SCHOOL EXISTS BECAUSE I SPENT."
— SPEND KING
A second billboard two kilometers away:
"YOU SLEEP SAFELY BECAUSE I BOUGHT THE LAND THEY IGNORED."
— SPEND KING
By noon, five more had gone up.
One in front of Shekhawat Group's headquarters read:
"WHILE THEY TALKED, I BOUGHT."
The reactions?
Immediate.
"Is this a hacker?""No, these are real paid spots!""Spend King is real. And he's calling out the whole city.""WHO IS THIS GUY!?"
People gathered in crowds, taking selfies with the screens.Influencers posted reels.Reporters sent drones to track who installed the ads.Nobody found anything , just QR codes at the bottom that linked to:
xylontrust.org
A clean site. No founder bio.Only proof of spending , grant records, photos of transformed villages, documents showing crores spent across 11 sectors.
The press called it:
"The Loudest Flex in Indian Business History — Done Without a Face."
At the exact moment the seventh billboard lit up, Nishanth stood calmly inside an empty classroom in a rural school.The headmistress cried as she hugged him.
He gently stepped back, handed her a pen--"Sign here, please. You now own this school."
"Sir…..who are you?"
"Just someone who was once ignored."
She didn't understand.But her heart did.
By 4 p.m., news vans camped outside Royal Mall, Xylon Tech Center, Kothawada Housing Site, and even Supriya's college.
Reporters shouted questions.
"Are you the Spend King?""Did you date him in college?""Sources say he studied here , is that true!?"
Supriya was cornered in the canteen by two junior students.
"Didi.. you knew him right? That boy... the one who left after second year?"
She nodded slowly.
One girl whispered:"Do you think it's him?"
Supriya swallowed her pride and said quietly:"I don't think it's him."
She looked out the window."I know it is."
At 6:33 p.m., a government official from Delhi issued a press statement:
"Whoever the Spend King is ,the Centre acknowledges his efforts. His projects are outperforming state efforts in some areas. We are open to dialogue, if he ever chooses to show himself."
Back at Xylon HQ, Nishanth stood before a private monitor.It displayed a massive map.Every dot was a project Xylon had touched.
Red = active.Blue = funded.Green = completed.
Telangana was nearly glowing and the next phase would cover five states.
"Let the noise rise," he said.
"I'll walk through it when the time is right."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION – PUBLIC PRESSURE THRESHOLD BREACHED]
Identity Speculation: ViralSupriya: Confirmed suspicionKaran: Active panicGovernment: Passive respect
Optional Reveal Window Opens At ₹100 CR Milestone
Countdown: 1.4 CR Left to Spend
Would you like to set a reveal location?
Nishanth typed:
"Not yet."
He stood, stretched his arms, and walked to the rooftop of his building.City lights flickered below and for the first time in his life, the sky felt like it was listening.
TO BE CONTINUED................................