***6 Years Ago***

  By the sea... in the evening...

  An 18-year-old boy, standing by the sea, kneels before his first love in front of a crowd of strangers and confesses his feelings.

  The joy on his face said it all-how happy he was to do this. That day, he laid his heart bare before the girl he loved. Meanwhile, his friend stood nearby, capturing the whole moment on video.

  Everyone around cheered for him and urged the girl to say yes, but her expression told a different story.

  Avoiding eye contact and stepping back, the girl responded in a firm voice,

  "You should put this much effort into someone who hasn't already given their heart away. I can't accept your love because I already love someone else. You should find someone else too!"

  And just like that, she ran off.

  ***********

  Expressing love is never easy-and it's even harder when you do it in front of everyone.

  It takes a lot of courage, and when you finally gather the strength to open your heart to someone, only to be rejected-it breaks you.

  About six years ago, something like this happened to my friend-who's more like a brother to me. That day was like a nightmare for him. In the morning, he barely passed his 12th board exams, crushing his hopes for a bright future. Then in the evening, his love rejected him-shattering his heart.

  From that day till now, I've always felt bad for him.

  But today... maybe not anymore.

  Why? Because we finally found out the real reason why his first-and last-love rejected him.

  And after knowing that reason, I doubt even he'll ever shed another tear over that heartbreak!

  Oh, wait! I should introduce myself first.

  I'm Aniket Rajput. I'm a hacker-yeah, seriously! But I work legally, for Indian Cyber Security.

  Right now, I'm sitting in a café-one that's become famous worldwide! It has multiple branches and franchises.

  We've all heard that classic fatherly line: "If you don't do anything in 12th grade, I'll make you open a tea stall."

  Well, something like that happened to my friend... except this time, it wasn't his dad, but he himself who insisted on starting that tea stall-I mean café.

  His fate changed overnight. Within six months, his café became a nationwide hit. In just two years, he started expanding it globally. Today, he's a billionaire.

  But what's the point of being a billionaire if the girl you loved rejected you for a fictional character? One that doesn't even exist in real life!

  Just then, a sharp-looking man in a suit walks up from behind and digs his fingers into my neck, saying,

  Stolen story; please report.

  "I heard everything, you jerk! I know exactly what you were saying!"

  I flinched. "You... heard all of it?!"

  He looked at me with cold eyes, then sat across from me and said,

  "Yeah... I heard everything. How dare you tell my audience all this about me!"

  I turned my face away. "So what? I didn't lie, did I?

  Anyway, the writer was going to reveal all of this in the flashback, so I just saved her the trouble!

  But hey-you told me your side. Who told you all this?!"

  Before we jump into the flashback, let's find out who this guy actually is.

  Like I said before-this is Aditya Jain, India's most famous tea café franchise owner, and one of the top names in the global tea industry.

  He recently entered the frozen food market too.

  Besides being a heartbroken 24-year-old, he's an amazing friend and a very loving brother.

  His only remaining family is a younger sister.

  Now, let's get to that flashback.

  ***********

  2 Hours Ago

  Aditya was sitting in his office going through some files when someone knocked on the door.

  A stunning woman walked in.

  It was Sania Khan, his school-time classmate.

  Age: 25. Profession: Doctor.

  Surprised to see her, Aditya stood up and said,

  "Didn't think anyone from school would come visit me!"

  Sania smiled, "Well, you were my sworn enemy back then!

  Anyway, I only heard about you from Aniket a few days ago.

  In school, you had one name, outside, another.

  Maybe that's why we never met again."

  They continued chatting and shared old school memories-including one about Aditya's heartbreak.

  As soon as that topic came up, Aditya said,

  "Stop. I don't want to talk about that anymore."

  Sania smirked and said,

  "Oh really? I thought you'd want to know who she actually liked-and who she rejected you for."

  Flashback ends

  ************

  Aniket, shocked, said,

  "Sania!? The same Sania we used to joke about-how she'd sell someone out just to protect her image?! I can't believe she's the one who told you! But why?"

  Aditya looked away and replied,

  "I want to know that too. She's the most superficial person I've ever met.

  But she's not the kind who helps someone just for show."

  Aniket sipped his tea and said,

  "Anyway, forget it. What good will it do to know why that girl rejected you?

  It's not like she's coming back into your life."

  Aditya's eyes dropped, and his expression changed.

  Noticing it, Aniket hurriedly set down his cup and said,

  "No... no... no! You... you can't be serious!

  She's not right for you, man! She dumped you for a fictional character!

  Even if she becomes your girlfriend now because of your money-what guarantee do you have she'll stay?

  No way. Absolutely not."

  Aditya stood up and said,

  "Tomorrow, Sania is bringing her to my office. She wants to start a manga, and I'm going to support her financially.

  I'm sure she's forgotten all about me, and Sania won't tell her anything about our past.

  But I really want to know-did she actually reject me for a fictional character?"

  So now what?

  Did Aditya's love really turn him down just because of her obsession with a fictional character?

  Or... was it something more?

  A conspiracy, perhaps?

  Comment your thoughts below and take a guess-what do you think happens next?