The college corridors buzzed with post-Diwali chatter, fairy lights still tangled in the banyan trees outside, but Ishani's world felt smaller, sharper—framed by stolen glances at her phone, waiting for Virat's check-in texts like a lifeline. Her friends, a gaggle of giggling arts majors in ripped jeans and oversized hoodies, cornered her during lunch in the canteen, their eyes sparkling with mischief as they prodded at her flushed cheeks and the way she doodled hearts absentmindedly on her notebook. "Spill, Ishu! That glow? You've got a boyfriend, don't you? Some hot senior finally snagged you?"