Raneya Qureshi isn't chasing fame. Not yet. Right now, she's just trying to survive. A quiet, brilliant college student tucked away in the corner of the campus library, Raneya buries herself in books, letting academic chaos drown out the storm of memories she carries from a home that never felt like one. Her days are long, her nights longer-filled with whispered trauma and sleepless dreams where betrayal has a familiar face. But when final results are posted on the bulletin board-and her name tops the list-everything shifts. Whispers begin to follow her, not as gossip, but as opportunity. The girl who thought she was invisible is about to be seen by the wrong people... and the right one. Enter Aahil Shah-CEO, power-broker, and the man who moves empires with a single command. When their paths cross in the most unexpected way, Raneya finds herself pulled into a world she never believed was meant for her. A world of ruthless ambition, dazzling lights... and terrifying shadows. She thought she'd left the worst behind. She thought staying hidden was enough. She was wrong. Because fate doesn't wait for permission. And stars don't ask before they burn. She was just a girl in the library. Now she's chasing stardust.
Chapter 1 The Fading Applause
The city sparkled just beyond the tinted glass-skyscrapers kissed gold by the dying sun, streets below pulsing with a rhythm that once used to drown her. But not anymore.
Inside the campus library, it was a different world. The scent of coffee lingered in the air, pages rustled like whispers, and stress hung over students like storm clouds. Some crammed for exams, others argued softly over presentations. And tucked away in the farthest corner, invisible to the world, sat Raneya Qureshi.
Not hiding.
Surviving.
Her hoodie shadowed her eyes, curls spilling out like rebellion. Ink-stained fingers gripped a cracked pen, her notebook filled with a chaos of footnotes, formulas, and fight. This corner-dusty, dim-had become her sanctuary. A small, silent battlefield where no one asked questions, and no one cared about the ghosts that clung to her.
But they were always there.
A slamming door.
Her mother's voice like a whip: "Dreams don't feed a family, Raneya."
Her sister's laugh, cruel and careless: "Trying to be someone you're not again?"
Home had never felt like home.
In the Qureshi household, tradition wasn't a value-it was a verdict. Her mother, Fazeela, ruled with a smile sharp enough to cut. A woman built from sacrifice, polished by obedience, who believed a daughter's destiny ended at the altar-not at the edge of a degree.
"A woman's worth lies in silence, service, and sacrifice-not in scholarships," she'd say, with eyes that never softened.
And Aanya-her mirror in face, her opposite in every other way-wore privilege like perfume. While Raneya burned through midnight oil, Aanya danced through life, light and unbothered. And when Raneya tried to share her dreams, her wins, her hope-Aanya would simply laugh and shrug: "You're always trying so hard. It's exhausting."
But the deepest wound came from the gentlest voice-her father.
"I'm proud of you, beta. But remember, no medal shines brighter than a good husband."
His love was warm. But chained to tradition.
Raneya had learned to live with that ache. She didn't rebel loudly. She studied. Quietly. Desperately. Every grade was a small act of defiance. Every sleepless night, a protest. Every "A" was a whispered scream: I exist. I matter.
And now-today-it was time to see if the world had finally heard her.
Around her, phones buzzed. Murmurs spread. "The results are in."
Her breath caught. Her fingers trembled as she opened the portal. A second of hesitation. A flick of her thumb.
Raneya Qureshi - Top 1%. Dean's List. Scholarship Renewed.
She blinked. Once. Twice.
Still there.
Her chest rose, then fell, slower than before. For one perfect moment, the world outside that corner paused-like it, too, acknowledged her victory.
She had done it.
The girl they'd tried to silence. The dreamer they'd tried to break.
She had made it.
The noise of the library returned, faint in her ears. Someone dropped a book. Someone else groaned about GPA.
But in her little corner, Raneya Qureshi let one tear fall-soft, invisible, victorious.
That evening, she walked into her house like someone returning from war. The trophy clutched to her chest, a certificate tucked under her arm. She took the stairs two at a time, her heart racing-not with fear this time, but hope.
Maybe today, they would see her.
Aanya lay across the bed, scrolling through her phone, giggling at something Raneya couldn't see. She didn't look up.
Raneya cleared her throat. "Aanya," she said quietly, offering the certificate. "I topped. Full scholarship. They gave me a trophy too."
Aanya glanced up. Her eyes widened-for a beat.
Then came the smile. Crooked. Cold.
"Well, congratulations madam," she said, voice laced with sugar and spite. "Guess someone really wants to feel superior."
Raneya froze.
Just like that, the warmth evaporated. The applause in her head faded. The light in her chest dimmed.
She turned away, her grip tightening on the trophy.
The world outside had finally opened its arms to her.
But home...
Home still had its back turned.
As she turned to leave the room, the trophy still clutched to her chest, her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
She hesitated, thumb hovering. Then tapped.
A voice crackled on the other end-deep, calm, unfamiliar.
"Miss Qureshi," it said. "Your future just changed. Check your email."
The call ended.
Her inbox flashed with a single new subject line:
"Confidential Offer"
Raneya stared at it, her breath caught in her throat. She hadn't even applied for anything.
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