Author's POV
By the second day of Ethan Moretti attending class, the entire campus had noticed him.
Not quietly.
Not subtly.
Very loudly.
Girls noticed first.
Then they noticed again.
Then they made sure everyone else noticed too.
It started in the hallway outside the engineering building.
A group of girls from another department stood whispering near the vending machines.
"Who is he?"
"I don't know but he's in engineering."
"He transferred this semester."
"He looks like he walked out of a movie."
Another voice whispered,
"Did you see his eyes?"
"He's definitely not nineteen."
"Maybe he's a senior."
"No way."
"Maybe he repeated a year."
"Maybe I should repeat a year too."
Their giggles echoed down the corridor.
Ethan walked past them without slowing down.
Years of growing up in a world where people either feared him or admired him had taught him one simple skill.
Ignore the noise.
Attention meant nothing.
Interest meant nothing.
Desire meant nothing.
Except when it came from one person.
And that person was currently sitting in the classroom ahead of him.
Meera Narayanan.
She had arrived early as usual.
Her notebooks were already open.
Her pen moved quickly across the page while she revised something from the previous lecture.
Focused.
Serious.
Completely uninterested in the chaos forming around Ethan's existence.
Girls kept glancing at him.
Some smiled.
Some tried to start conversations.
One even dropped her pen near him intentionally.
Ethan picked it up politely and handed it back.
Then sat down behind Meera like nothing had happened.
Marcus leaned across the desk.
"You're famous already."
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
"For what?"
"For existing."
Marcus gestured behind him.
"Half the girls in this building are staring at you."
Ethan didn't even turn.
"That seems inefficient."
Marcus laughed.
"Man, you are weird."
After the lecture ended, the professor reminded Meera again about her responsibility.
"Make sure Ethan catches up on the missed coursework."
"Yes, professor."
The professor nodded.
"You can show him around the academic buildings too."
Meera blinked.
"Sir—"
"It will help him settle in."
And just like that, her responsibilities expanded.
Marcus whispered dramatically,
"Congratulations. You adopted a new student."
Meera ignored him.
She turned toward Ethan.
"Fine."
Her voice carried the seriousness of someone accepting a task, not an invitation.
"I'll show you the main buildings."
Ethan stood.
"I appreciate it."
Several girls nearby immediately looked jealous.
One whispered,
"Why does she get to walk with him?"
Marcus muttered,
"Because she looks like she wants to murder him."
They stepped outside the engineering building together.
The afternoon sun warmed the campus pathways.
Students moved between classes.
The air carried the smell of coffee and food trucks parked near the central quad.
Meera walked ahead confidently.
Ethan followed beside her.
For him, the world moved slower.
Because now that he was near her—
He could observe everything.
Her skin.
It carried the deep warmth of honey under sunlight.
Not pale like most of the students around them.
Not fragile.
It looked strong.
Alive.
Her hair moved gently with every step.
Soft waves falling along her shoulders.
And when the wind shifted slightly—
He noticed the faint scent of her shampoo.
Something floral.
Subtle.
Clean.
But underneath that was something far more dangerous.
Her natural scent.
Warm skin after a long day.
Something real.
Something human.
Ethan's jaw tightened slightly.
He had been around beautiful women his entire life.
Models.
Actresses.
Socialites.
None of them had ever affected him like this.
Because none of them had been real.
Meera was.
And that made everything infinitely worse.
They reached the central courtyard.
"This is the engineering complex," Meera said.
"You'll have most of your classes here."
Ethan nodded.
She pointed toward another building.
"That's the lab block."
"And that one is the library."
Ethan listened.
But more than her words, he listened to her voice.
The rhythm.
The soft accent that came from years of speaking two languages.
It had a musical quality.
One he found dangerously addictive.
Then suddenly her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen and immediately answered.
"Amma!"
Her entire tone changed.
Warmer.
Faster.
She switched languages instantly.
Tamil flowed out of her mouth in quick sentences.
Ethan understood nothing.
Not a single word.
But he watched her closely.
Her expressions softened.
She smiled.
Then she laughed lightly.
The sound was quiet but bright.
For several minutes she continued speaking rapidly.
He caught only fragments.
"Wedding."
"Next week."
"Cousin sister."
"Permission."
Finally she ended the call.
She turned back toward Ethan.
"Sorry."
"No problem."
"That was my mother."
"I guessed."
"She wants me to come home for my cousin's wedding."
"That sounds important."
"It is."
She sighed slightly.
"But I have to ask permission from the department first."
Ethan frowned slightly.
"You need permission to attend a family wedding?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Attendance rules."
Ethan shook his head slowly.
"The system seems inefficient."
She laughed unexpectedly.
For a brief second, her guard dropped.
Then she remembered who she was talking to.
Her expression returned to neutral.
"Anyway."
She gestured toward another building.
"That's the cafeteria."
"And over there is the student center."
Ethan glanced around.
"Where do students usually go to relax?"
Meera blinked.
"Relax?"
"Yes."
"Food places. Coffee shops. Fun areas."
She shrugged.
"I don't know."
"You don't?"
"No."
"You've been here for months."
"Yes."
"And you never explored the campus?"
"I know the store mart."
"The what?"
"The small convenience store near the dorms."
"You go nowhere else?"
"No."
Ethan stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because I'm here to study."
He almost smiled.
Of course she was.
She continued walking.
"And before you ask, it's not my responsibility to show you entertainment places."
"Only academics?"
"Yes."
She stopped walking and turned toward him.
Her expression was serious again.
"Also."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"Don't cross boundaries."
Ethan tilted his head.
"Boundaries?"
"You're my assigned student."
"That sounds unfortunate."
She ignored the comment.
"I'm helping you with coursework."
"That's it."
"Nothing else."
Ethan studied her quietly.
Her fingers held the strap of her bag tightly.
Defensive posture.
Protective.
Interesting.
Then she added one more thing.
"And stop staring at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you're studying something."
Ethan almost laughed.
Because that was exactly what he was doing.
Studying her.
Every detail.
The curve of her wrist.
The way her fingers moved when she talked.
The faint line near her eyebrow that appeared when she frowned.
Even now, he noticed something else.
When she spoke firmly, she unconsciously stepped half a step closer.
Challenging.
Not retreating.
He liked that.
Dangerously.
Then Marcus appeared from the other side of the courtyard.
"Hey Meera!"
She turned immediately.
"Marcus!"
Her voice softened again.
They began talking about something from class.
Ethan watched silently.
And he didn't like the feeling that appeared in his chest.
Jealousy.
Marcus leaned casually beside her.
They laughed about something.
Too easily.
Too comfortably.
Ethan stepped slightly closer.
Not enough to interrupt.
But enough to enter her personal space.
Meera noticed immediately.
She turned.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You're standing too close."
"Am I?"
"Yes."
She moved half a step away.
Ethan felt the shift instantly.
The distance.
Too far again.
Marcus glanced between them.
"Am I interrupting something?"
"Yes," Meera said immediately.
"No," Ethan said calmly.
Marcus grinned.
"This is fun."
Eventually Marcus left.
Classes were ending.
Students were moving across campus again.
Meera checked the time.
"I have to go."
"Library?"
"Yes."
"For your assignment."
Ethan nodded slowly.
"I'll be there."
She started walking away.
But after a few steps she turned again.
"And Ethan?"
"Yes?"
"Don't follow me everywhere."
He smiled faintly.
"I won't."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Good."
Then she left.
Ethan remained standing in the courtyard.
Watching her disappear into the crowd.
The warmth of the afternoon sun faded slightly.
But the memory of standing close to her remained.
Her scent.
Her voice.
The brief moment when her fingers had brushed his wrist while pointing toward the library earlier.
It had been accidental.
Barely a second.
But he had felt it.
Every nerve in his body had noticed.
Ethan slowly exhaled.
This was becoming more difficult than he expected.
Because the closer he stood to her—
The more he wanted.
And that was dangerous.
For her.
For him.
For everyone involved.
But one thing was certain.
He wasn't walking away.
Not now.
Not ever.
Because somewhere deep inside his dark world—
The innocent girl with honey-brown skin had already become his.