Riya explained everything to them.
"So you're saying that guy gave your manager a lakh rupees just to use the place for an hour, and because you helped him out, your manager promoted you? Do you think we're idiots or something?" Kavya said, clearly irritated. The whole story sounded like a fairy tale to her. Maya had a similar expression. She didn't say anything, but her disbelief was written all over her face.
"But I'm telling the truth! I—"
"Enough, all of you!" Meera, who had been silently listening till now, finally snapped. "I trust Riya. She would never lie to me. If she says it happened, then it did." Then turning to Riya, she added, "And you don't need to explain yourself to anyone. Now, tell me—who was that guy? Do you know anything about him?"
Riya squinted and gave Meera a suspicious look. "Wait a second. I just gave a description… don't tell me you like him too?"
"Stop with the nonsense and just answer what I asked." Meera ignored the teasing.
"Um… didn't you say there's no place for any guy in your life? So why this sudden curiosity? Huuuh?" Riya said with a smirk, poking fun.
"I don't know why… I just… need to know. There's this strange feeling I have. So please, tell me how he looked." Meera's voice had a hint of tension, but her eyes held something else—hope. Hope for something only she understood.
"Okay, okay... I'll tell you."
Riya began describing, "Umm… he was really handsome."
"Ugh, you've been saying that from the start! We get it, he's hot. But for god's sake, move on from that part," Kavya snapped, growing impatient. She had already dismissed Riya's story as nonsense. But honestly, it wasn't just that. She was angry because Riya had made Meera worry on such an important day. Whatever the reason—promotion or not—Kavya couldn't stand seeing Meera upset. She was still here only because of her.
"Hold on, Kavya! I'm getting there…" Riya turned back to Meera. "He had long black hair, piercing blue eyes, and he wore black pants and a long black hoodie."
As soon as Riya finished, Meera's eyes widened in shock. Her trembling hands reached for her phone. She unlocked it and tapped on the gallery icon. Even that had a password.
The other three girls stared in disbelief. Meera was extremely secretive. She never let anyone touch her phone—not even Riya. Almost all her apps were password protected. But here she was, entering her password in front of everyone without hesitation. She opened a photo and showed it to Riya.
"Is this him?"
Riya stared at the photo, then back at Meera. 'Wait a second… this guy looks just like the one I met. Could he be… Meera's secret boyfriend?' she thought. But instead of keeping that to herself, she blurted out loud:
"So, he really is your boyfriend?"
"Are they… are they the same person?" Meera asked again, needing confirmation more than anything else. She didn't care about the comment. She just needed to silence the storm inside her.
"Yes… that's him."
The moment those words reached her ears, tears welled up in Meera's eyes.
"Hey… hey, Meera, why are you crying? I was just joking," Riya said, alarmed.
"Wh… where is he now?" Meera ignored her and asked about Rudra.
"I don't know. It's been more than an hour—he must have left by now," Riya answered. Seeing the sadness on Meera's face made her feel terrible. Trying to comfort her, she said,
"Don't worry. If he really cares about you, he'll definitely come find you. Today's a huge day for you. But—" Riya paused, and then continued with a colder tone, "If he doesn't, then he doesn't deserve your tears."
But Meera stood silent, head lowered, not responding. That scared Riya. It was like she'd already fallen too hard for this guy. She wrapped an arm around Meera's shoulders and tried to lighten the mood.
"Anyway, it's not like the world's running out of handsome guys. And come on—our Meera's so beautiful, she'd have a line of guys chasing her in no time. Am I right or what?" she said, turning to Maya and Kavya for backup.
"Of course! I mean, take Rahul, for example—he's constantly trying to impress her with new tricks every day!" Kavya said. She might've been mad at Riya earlier, but her concern for Meera never wavered.
Maya remained silent, just watching them all.
"Can you two stop talking nonsense?" Meera scowled at them.
"Whoa, whoa—so now we're getting scolded because of your boyfriend?" Riya teased.
"Shut up… he's my brother," Meera snapped.
What?
The three of them said in unison, eyes wide with shock. None of them had seen that coming. Riya, especially—her face was a picture of disbelief. 'Her brother?? Ugh! And I've been spouting all this nonsense!' she thought, suddenly looking away in embarrassment.
But then—'Wait a second… if he's her brother, then that means… I still have a chance. Ha! I thought I'd have to give him up for my best friend. But now? Everything's back on track.'
Her grin slowly returned.
Thanks! Here's the polished English version of your chapter, preserving tone, dialogue, and style while enhancing clarity and flow:
Attention, Everyone...
The four of them were deep in conversation when a voice echoed across the university grounds. They turned toward the stage, where a man in his mid-forties stood holding a microphone, issuing instructions.
Kavya squinted at him and muttered, "Who gave this old man the job of anchoring? Doesn't our university have any young guys or girls? They could've picked one of them."
Tap.
Maya flicked her on the forehead.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"That's what I should be asking you. Have you lost your mind? Take a closer look. He's our English professor," Maya said firmly.
Startled, Kavya fished a glasses case from her jeans pocket, put on her specs, and said sheepishly, "Oops. Sorry. I've been trying to avoid wearing these lately. My bad."
"No worries. At least now you know," Maya replied just as another announcement blared:
"Students, please have your seats. The program will begin shortly..."
Students who had been wandering around started finding their seats.
"We need to grab ours too. There aren't many left. Hurry or we won't get any," Maya urged the others. But Meera didn't budge.
"You guys go ahead. I'll come in a bit," Meera said, her gaze fixed on the main gate where people were still trickling in. She barely blinked, afraid that if she did, she might miss seeing her brother arrive.
"No way. Have you forgotten who this entire program is for?" Maya grabbed Meera's hand and tried to pull her, but Meera jerked free.
Maya wasn't angry. She took a deep breath and turned to Kavya and Riya. "Let's go."
"But Maya, Meera…" Kavya hesitated, reluctant to leave Meera alone.
"Just look at her. Do you think she'll move a single step before her brother arrives?" Maya asked. Kavya shook her head, resigned.
"You two go. I'll stay with Meera for a bit," Kavya decided.
"And you?" Maya asked Riya.
"Of course I'm going. Someone has to save seats for you two!" Riya said and left with Maya.
Now only Kavya and Meera remained.
"Attention students! As you all know, today's event has been organized for a special reason. I won't bore you with a long-winded speech—because let's be honest, none of you want to hear that. But sadly, our principal insists on inspiring you with his booming voice and motivational words. Yes, yes, I know you don't need it, but he's the boss. So we request that you all stay quiet for a few moments and listen to Principal Sir attentively."
Ha... ha... ha...
Instead of silence, laughter erupted across the campus.
In the middle row, where the last two seats were vacant, Maya and Riya sat nearby.
"Rathi Sir's quite the comedian! He roasted the principal right on stage!" Riya said between giggles. But when she saw Maya glaring, she covered her mouth quickly.
"If you don't stop laughing right now, I swear I'll knock your front teeth out," Maya said coldly.
"Sorry! It's just... Rathi Sir is too much today. I couldn't hold it in," Riya apologized.
"Want me to help you hold it in?"
"No, no, I'm good!" Riya panicked.
Moments later, a balding man in his fifties walked onto the stage. He took the mic but said nothing, simply glaring at Mr. Rathi.
"Just wait until this program's over, Rathi. Then we'll see who runs this university," he thought. This man was none other than Principal Vinay Chaudhary.
He launched into a monotonous speech that lasted ten minutes. Then he began calling up the chief guests. One by one, they arrived and took their seats—ten in total: three elderly, five middle-aged, and two in their late twenties.
After the introductions, the mic was handed back to Mr. Rathi, who stepped forward and announced:
"Students, the moment you've all been waiting for is finally here. As you know, two months ago several national and international competitions were held among various universities. Our students performed remarkably well, winning numerous prizes. Today's program is to honor those achievements. So, first, I'd like to call the third-year Team Alpha, who secured the silver cup in the National Football Championship. I request our university alumni—Mr. Vihaan Khanna, Mr. Suraj Tripathi, and Mr. Vipin Roy—to do the honors."
The team received a large check for two lakh rupees. Photos were taken, and they exited the stage.
"Next, I'd like to invite Avni from second year, who secured third place in the National Chess Competition…"
Meanwhile, trillions of light-years away from Earth,
A spaceship hurtled through the void at near-light speed. It wasn't a typical spacecraft—it had the shape of a pyramid with long, sharp edges and spanned nearly a kilometer in length.
Inside, red and blue lights flickered across metallic walls. Around 200 beings stood silently. Each wore a full-body red armor that covered them from neck to toe. Their faces were unlike humans—golden scales covered their cheeks, they had golden hair, and two golden horns protruded from their foreheads. Both males and females were present, their bodies humanoid but their features alien.
Yet among them, one figure stood apart. Clad in black armor, he lounged in a luxurious red chair, sipping red wine. His face was uncovered—dusky-skinned, humanlike. If he weren't surrounded by these beings, anyone would have mistaken him for a human.
"Any news?" he asked, swirling his wine lazily.
No one responded. Heads bowed. Fear hung in the air.
"What's the matter? Do I need to toss each of you out like trash to get an answer?" His voice was calm but carried a terrifying edge.
He fixed them with a glare. "Do you even realize how long we've been searching for that? Nineteen years. We launched millions of ships, and not one has found a trace. Do you know what happened to the ones who returned empty-handed?"
He paused, then uttered one chilling word:
"Purgatory."
"Do you want to join them?" he asked.
"Commander..." one female officer spoke up hesitantly.
"Yes? Speak clearly."
"I... I detected an unusual frequency two days ago. I think... I think you should see it. I believe it came from that thing."
Gasps filled the chamber. Even the commander stood.
"Show me," he ordered.
She tapped her wrist device, which turned into a holographic screen. She typed rapidly. A glowing graph appeared in mid-air.
"Commander, this is the frequency data," she explained.
His eyes gleamed. He burst out laughing—loud, dark, bone-chilling laughter that sent golden sweat dripping from everyone's brows.
He suddenly stopped. "Why didn't you report this three days ago?"
"I was afraid I might be wrong…"
The commander stared at her, then asked, "Have you identified the source?"
"Yes, Commander. Location: Galaxy V225, Blue Planet 8862."
"Galaxy V225…" he mused. "The Lower Plane. Hah."
He laughed again. "Unbelievable. Those old fools hid him in the Lower Planes. How long until we reach there?"
"Two years at current speed."
"Then increase the speed. We need to get there sooner."
"But Commander, we won't have enough fuel to return—"
"If we request fuel now, the clan won't send it. But if we find him, we can call reinforcements. So go. Increase the speed."
"And if we don't find it?" the officer asked quietly.
The commander grinned darkly. "If we don't... I'll start by severing your head—and then everyone else's one by one."
Note:
Galaxy V225 = Milky Way
Blue Planet 8862 = Earth