The campus had settled into its usual post-picnic calm. The laughter and snapshots had faded, but not the restlessness inside Haseena. Every time she glanced at Anubhav from across the corridor or in the psychology lab, her heart whispered louder. She wasn’t just admiring anymore—she was feeling something she couldn’t name without trembling.
Riya nudged her that morning as they sat in the cafeteria. “Kab tak chup baithegi? Bata de usse. Warna tu regret karegi.”
“Woh mera professor hai, Riya. Main usse... main aise kaise keh doon?” Haseena whispered, her fingers nervously tracing the rim of her teacup.
Riya raised her brow. “Woh sirf paanch saal bada hai. Aur tum dono ke beech kuch toh hai. Usne kabhi distance maintain nahi kiya.”
Shazia chimed in, “Aaj shaam ko jab uski class khatam ho jaaye... ruk jaana. Akele. Aur keh dena. Kya pata, woh bhi...”
Haseena just nodded.
---
The psychology lab had emptied out, leaving behind only the soft echo of chair scrapes and shuffled papers. Anubhav stood near the whiteboard, writing something with his sleeves rolled up, sleeves stained faintly with marker ink.
Haseena stepped in silently, her palms clammy, her voice hiding behind nerves.
“Sir?”
He turned. “Haseena? Tumhe kuch chahiye tha?”
She hesitated. “Aap busy hain?”
“Nahi, bilkul nahi. Bolo.”
Her gaze dropped to the floor. “Mujhe aapse... kuch zaroori baat karni hai.”
He nodded slowly. “Baitho.”
But she didn’t sit. “Main soch rahi thi ki agar main na bolun... toh baad mein regret hoga.”
Anubhav tilted his head, suddenly serious.
“Mujhe aapse kuch mehsoos hota hai, sir. Pata nahi kab hua... shayad aapke lectures ke beech, ya jab aap bina dekhe muskurate ho... mujhe nahi pata. Par main aapse pyaar karti hoon.”
There. She’d said it. Her heart pounded like a ticking bomb.
Anubhav didn’t blink for a moment. He stepped back, leaning against the desk behind him, silent.
“Main janti hoon ke yeh sahi nahi lagta... aap professor hain, main student... par—”
He raised his hand gently. “Haseena…”
Silence.
“Main tumhari baat samajh raha hoon. Aur main... impressed hoon ke tum itna honest rahi. Lekin mujhe thoda waqt chahiye. Tumhari feelings ka jawab dene se pehle, main sure hona chahta hoon ke main bhi wahi mehsoos karta hoon jo tum.”
Haseena slowly nodded, tears brimming but unshed.
“Main intezaar kar lungi,” she whispered.
He gave a soft smile. “Tumhari honesty ke liye thank you.”
---
That night, as she lay in bed staring at the ceiling fan spinning above her, she wasn’t heartbroken. She wasn’t rejected. She was suspended—in a place between hope and hesitation. And somewhere, deep inside, she knew Anubhav would come around.
Because sometimes, the longest journeys start with the softest confessions.
---
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༺ 𒆜Ishq Ka Pehla Saya 𒆜 ༻
Fanfiction✧ Phase One: A childhood full of mischief, secrets, and survival. ✧ Phase Two: A college girl's battle between forbidden love and family duty. Haseena was born into rejection. But she was also born to fight. With two brothers who love her, a grandmo...
