Chapter 92– "Back to the Mansion"
The hospital discharge process took almost three times longer than it should have.
Not because of paperwork.
Because of people.
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Too many people.
Too many opinions.
Too many protectors.
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Mostly Aries.
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"She's not walking."
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JJ blinked.
"I literally can."
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"No."
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"Aries."
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"No."
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"Horoscope."
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"Definitely no."
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The nickname made half the corridor laugh.
Aries looked offended immediately.
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"I survive one year thinking you're gone and THIS is what I get?"
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JJ grinned.
"Yep."
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And before she could argue again—
Keifer simply picked her up.
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The entire hallway went silent.
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"Keifer."
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"No."
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"Put me down."
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"No."
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"I have functioning legs."
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"You crashed a car yesterday."
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"That feels unrelated."
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"It isn't."
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And with that, he kept walking.
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Percy pointed dramatically.
"That's my baby sistah."
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Honey smacked his arm.
"You say that every five minutes."
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"Because it's true."
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The Convoy Home
The journey back to the mansion looked less like hospital discharge and more like a small migration.
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Cars filled quickly.
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Car One
Keifer.
JJ.
Aries.
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Which immediately became a problem.
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"Why are you here?" Keifer asked.
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"To protect her."
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"From what?"
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"You."
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JJ laughed so hard she nearly started coughing.
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Aries looked proud.
Keifer looked deeply unimpressed.
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Car Two
Percy and Honey.
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Percy spent the entire drive talking.
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Honey spent the entire drive telling him to stop talking.
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Neither succeeded.
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Car Three
Cin and Rakhi.
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"She's really back."
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Rakhi smiled softly.
"Yeah."
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Cin looked out the window.
Still emotional.
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"…ate is really back."
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Car Four
Freya and Edrix.
Mica and Calix.
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Half conversation.
Half staring out windows.
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Mostly happiness.
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Car Five
The singles.
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David.
Felix.
Rory.
Eman.
Rhys.
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And somehow the silence became more chaotic than the couples.
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Final Car
Cole.
Care.
Alex.
Lyra.
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The most dangerous car.
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Because nobody was speaking.
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Alex was working.
Lyra was reading.
Cole was driving.
Care was pretending she wasn't occasionally looking at him.
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And everyone knew Alex and Lyra were still in full denial mode.
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Even though literally nobody believed them anymore.
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Arrival
The mansion gates opened.
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And immediately—
everyone felt it.
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Home.
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JJ looked outside the window.
Smiled softly.
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Because this place held two versions of her life now.
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The one she built after losing her memories.
And the one she remembered now.
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The Bedroom War
The second Keifer carried her upstairs—
the chaos began.
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"Okay put me down."
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"No."
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"Keifer."
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"No."
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"Hubby."
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Pause.
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He froze.
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JJ immediately smirked.
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"Thought so."
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From downstairs Percy screamed:
"THAT'S CHEATING."
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Nobody knew how he heard it.
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Then—
everyone witnessed something terrifying.
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Keifer opened JJ's bedroom door.
Walked inside.
Looked around.
Thought for exactly three seconds.
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And then said:
"I'm moving in."
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Silence.
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Complete silence.
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JJ blinked.
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"…what?"
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Meanwhile downstairs—
Keifer was already texting.
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Three minutes later—
half his wardrobe arrived.
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Aries nearly had a heart attack.
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"ABSOLUTELY NOT."
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Keifer ignored him.
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"She's still recovering."
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Keifer continued folding shirts.
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"You can't just move into her room."
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Another shirt folded.
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"Keifer!"
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Another shirt.
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JJ was laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.
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Percy appeared somehow.
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"Honestly?"
Pause.
"Respect."
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Honey dragged him away.
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Evening Chaos
By dinner—
the mansion was alive again.
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Couples occupied their usual spaces.
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Percy and Honey together.
Cin and Rakhi together.
Edrix and Freya together.
Mica and Calix together.
Aries and Ella quietly talking.
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Then—
Alex and Lyra.
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Both sitting suspiciously close.
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Both pretending nothing existed.
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Rhys looked at them once.
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"…you two are exhausting."
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Lyra threw a napkin at him.
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The Real Problem
After dinner—
Alex checked something on his tablet.
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Then froze.
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"Oh."
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Everyone looked up.
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"What's wrong?"
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Alex looked around the table.
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Then delivered the worst possible news.
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"University resumes in two days."
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Silence.
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Collective suffering.
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Then he added:
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"And exams begin next week."
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The mansion erupted.
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"NO."
"ABSOLUTELY NOT."
"I ALMOST DIED EMOTIONALLY."
"THAT SHOULD EXEMPT US."
"THIS IS OPPRESSION."
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JJ buried her face in Keifer's shoulder.
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"Take me back to the hospital."
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Keifer nodded seriously.
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"Understandable."
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Care nearly choked laughing.
Yuri looked personally offended by education.
Felix looked betrayed by existence.
David stared into the void.
Rory questioned his life choices.
Eman closed his eyes.
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And for the first time in over a year—
the mansion sounded exactly the way it was supposed to.
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Loud.
Chaotic.
Alive.
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Because JJ was home.
And unfortunately for everyone...
the exams were too. 😔📚💀
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The Real Villains Were the Teachers That were practicaly their own friends now.
For exactly one night—
everyone forgot about exams.
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One.
Single.
Night.
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The next morning reality arrived like a truck.
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At 7:00 AM sharp.
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Alex Rivera walked into the dining hall carrying a tablet.
Cole walked in behind him carrying a file.
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And immediately—
every student in the mansion felt danger.
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The same danger animals feel before natural disasters.
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Alex smiled.
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Which somehow made it worse.
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"Good morning."
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Nobody answered.
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"Why do I feel threatened?" Percy whispered.
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"Survival instincts," Felix replied.
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Cole opened the file.
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"Exams begin in six days."
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The entire table collectively died.
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Emergency Academic Meeting
Five minutes later—
everyone was trapped in the mansion's library.
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The same library that once hosted romance.
Now hosted suffering.
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Alex stood in front.
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Corporate strategy slides projected behind him.
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"Today we begin revision."
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"Today we begin crying," Felix corrected.
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Alex ignored him professionally.
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The IIM Bangalore Victims
Present:
Keifer
JJ
Percy
Aries
Yuri
Felix
Calix
David
Edrix
Rory
Eman
Honey
Ella
Freya
Mica
Rakhi
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All seated.
All suffering.
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Alex taught management.
Cole taught corporate leadership and strategy.
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Which should have been amazing.
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Except both of them were geniuses.
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And geniuses make terrible teachers sometimes.
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"Any questions?" Alex asked.
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Twenty minutes later—
everyone had questions.
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"Many questions."
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"Too many questions."
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"Where am I?"
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Percy looked spiritually disconnected.
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JJ actually understood most concepts.
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Unfortunately—
that gave Alex confidence.
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"JJ explain this model."
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JJ explained it perfectly.
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Everyone hated her immediately.
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"Traitor."
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"Academic weapon."
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"Hospital patients recover faster than this syllabus."
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JJ laughed.
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Then immediately got assigned more questions by Cole.
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"Never laugh in class," Keifer whispered.
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"Noted."
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Keifer's Problem
The problem was—
Keifer was also smart.
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Very smart.
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Which meant Alex kept calling on him.
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"Mr. Watson?"
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Entire room:
"No."
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Keifer sighed.
Answered correctly anyway.
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Alex nodded.
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"Good."
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The class groaned.
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Cole's Session
Then came Cole.
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Somehow worse.
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Because nobody could understand how he knew everything.
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Finance.
Leadership.
Business crises.
Negotiations.
Risk management.
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Everything.
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Percy finally raised his hand.
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"Sir."
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Cole looked up.
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"Are you secretly running the planet?"
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The room exploded laughing.
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Cole actually considered the question.
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"…no."
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"THAT WASN'T A FAST ENOUGH ANSWER."
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Meanwhile...
Poor Cin.
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Poor.
Poor.
Cin.
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Because he wasn't in IIM.
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He was an AIIMS medical student.
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Meaning he got something worse.
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Three doctors.
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Three.
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Different.
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Doctors.
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At the same time.
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Cin's Personal Hell
Location:
Living room in Mansion.
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Present:
Care.
Lyra.
Rhys.
Cin.
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One terrified medical student.
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Care opened cardiology notes.
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"Let's begin."
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Cin already looked tired.
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Then Lyra opened neuroscience.
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"After that we'll revise neural pathways."
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Cin looked more tired.
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Then Rhys opened anesthesiology.
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"Then pharmacology."
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Cin stopped blinking.
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"...all today?"
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"Yes."
All three answered together.
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Cin saw his ancestors.
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One Hour Later
Care:
"Cardiac cycle?"
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Cin answered.
Correct.
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Lyra immediately attacked.
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"Functions of the thalamus?"
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Cin answered.
Mostly correct.
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Rhys appeared like a final boss.
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"Complications of general anesthesia?"
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Cin:
"Please."
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"No."
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Lunch Break
Cin escaped.
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Actually escaped.
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Ran into the library.
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Collapsed beside JJ.
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"They are trying to kill me."
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JJ nodded sympathetically.
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"Us too."
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Across the room—
Alex continued explaining economics.
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Cole was drawing corporate structures.
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Percy was slowly losing sanity.
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David stared into space.
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Felix questioned higher education.
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Aries was somehow still taking notes.
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"Horoscope," JJ whispered.
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"Don't."
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"Horoscope."
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"Don't."
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Keifer laughed.
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Aries looked betrayed.
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By evening—
everyone was exhausted.
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Books everywhere.
Notes everywhere.
Coffee everywhere.
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Brains nowhere.
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Alex finally closed his laptop.
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"Enough."
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Instant celebration.
---
Cheers erupted.
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People nearly cried.
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Cin looked ready to kiss freedom itself.
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Care finally released him.
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"Tomorrow again."
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The celebration died instantly.
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"No."
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"Yes."
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"No."
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"Yes."
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JJ looked around the mansion.
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Chaos.
Complaints.
Books.
Friends.
Family.
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And smiled.
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Because one year ago—
she thought she'd lose all of this forever.
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Now?
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The biggest threat in her life was apparently...
exams. 📚💀😂