Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty Seven

Since it was a Sunday morning Naina had planned to sleep in, but her plans were interrupted as she felt a kiss being planted on her cheek. Not quite ready to wake up, she sighed happily, turning towards the source of the kiss, holding her arms out to indicate to him to hug her, still with her eyes closed. She smiled, feeling him move closer and then suddenly shrieked, her eyes opening quickly when she realised he was damp, having just come from the shower and not dried himself properly yet.

Raj grinned at her, his wet hair hanging loosely, droplets of it falling on her skin.

"Raj, you're wetting me!" Naina protested, struggling to move away from him now, but not allowing her to, he just pulled her closer playfully, shaking his head slightly so that more droplets fell on her skin. Naina shrieked again, but this time she couldn't help giggling as well, raising her hands to ruffle his wet hair, running her fingers through it. "Do you know how cute you look like this?" she asked him, and he leant down to kiss her, his wet hair brushing against her cheeks.

"I was hoping that would be your reaction." Raj told her, grinning once again as he nuzzled her cheek gently. Lowering his head he began to kiss the water droplets off her skin as Naina shivered slightly. His kisses became more heated as he continued, and as she pressed him closer, she forgot all about the dampness of his skin, or the fact that her clothes were also becoming damper by the minute.

"If only you would wake me up like this every morning," she murmured against his shoulder as he continued to kiss her neck.

"If you didn't have college and I didn't have drills every morning then I definitely would." Raj told her humourously, and she hit his shoulder playfully, giggling along with him. "Well my lovely wife, for now we're just going to have to make do with Sundays if that's alright for you."

Naina sighed and hugged him closer, it wasn't ideal, but for now she would make do with Sundays.

**

Sherry's Sunday was not turning out as nicely as Raj and Naina's. She had woken up early unable to sleep, while Pooja was dreaming happily, murmuring Ali's name. Sherry sighed slightly, sitting up in bed, and then smiled at her new friend's happiness. Finally it felt right to say that… friend. She hadn't had anybody that she was willing to call friend for such a long time that it felt almost strange to say it.

She hoped that Pooja and Ali would always be this happy, and at the same time this happiness… sobering she got up and began preparing for the day, because Pooja's happiness reminded her of how desperately she wished that she could have the same happiness. But Sherry had realised a long time ago that it was best if that dream didn't come true.

Putting on a tracksuit, she headed for the field and began to do laps, hoping that it would clear her head. Lately she had been so torn between what it was that she should be thinking and feeling, constantly pulled from one direction to the next. She knew what it was that she should not be feeling and yet…

She hopes that jogging might help to clear her head, that the simple exercise might give her some well needed peace of mind. It's a new year but nothing has changed for her, she's still struggling between what she wants to be and have in life and what she knows she's destined for, and it's difficult to keep denying her feelings.

"Hey Sherry!" A familiar voice called out and Sherry realized that peace was the last thing she was going to get this morning. She sped up, hoping to outrun him but his legs were longer than hers and he caught up easily.

"Didn't you hear me calling out?" Huda asked her, now jogging alongside her.

"So sorry about that, I've actually meant to go to the doctor about my selective deafness." Sherry told him, rolling her eyes, "You see there are moments when I just can't seem to hear certain people, whereas I can hear others perfectly well. It's the strangest thing." She sped up again, hoping that he'd take a hint and go away.
     
"Oy Sherry, can't you stop for a minute?" Huda asked her, completely ignoring her previous comment. She wondered whether he had caught her selective deafness too, because he never seemed to hear when she told him she wasn't interested. "I hardly ever get the chance to talk to you with either Qaidi or that Jhabreela always around." He continued.

Sherry had to stop herself from replying angrily to this, determined not to give away her feelings.

"So?" Sherry asked him, "What stops you from talking then? I thought that you weren't scared of anyone…" she adds, a bit mockingly as she's fed up of his behaviour.

"Oh no Sheru, Huda is never scared of anyone." He replied proudly, "You know our Qaidi… I don't want to get him in trouble if he loses his temper. But this Jhabreela… why is he always around you? Doesn't he have anything better to do than hang around female cadets?"

The last sentence was said angrily and Sherry stared at Huda, finally stopping her laps around the ground.

"You had better not be saying what I think you're saying." She told him warningly, "Because if you are…"

"Then what?" Huda asked her, his tone now almost mocking. "Right now it's only me saying it, soon everybody will be. Just wait until they all find out… I know exactly what's going on, I saw him hug you at the New Year's Party, I can't believe he would fall in love with one of his students."

"You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Sherry told him, jabbing her finger in his chest. "There's nothing going on between he and I and there never will be. Abhimanyu Sir isn't in love with me, if he's with me often then it's because he's been trying to look after me… probably for Bhaiyya's sake."

Huda snorted at this. "Huda is not a food, Sherry." He told her, "If you don't want to admit it then don't, once I tell everybody what I've seen they can make up their own minds about exactly how shameless he is."

There is a moment of deathly silence as Sherry just stared at him and then before he even saw her move she punched him hard with her right fist, hitting him squarely in the eye.

Huda reeled backwards clutching his face and just stared at her, he had never expected this.

"You listen to me now, Huda." Sherry told him, her voice shaking with anger or perhaps with fear. "Before you start gossiping and ruin someone's reputation, think first. Because if I hear you say this ever again I'll break your damn nose and spoil those good looks you're so proud of."

Huda was both angry and upset, but mainly he was too shocked to be able to react properly, instead he said the first thing that came into his head. "I never knew you cared so much about your reputation." He told her, his tone half mocking and half hurt.

Sherry gave a short, bitter laugh. "I don't give a damn about my reputation, Huda, I'm worried about Abhimanyu Sir's. Don't you have any shame ruin your teacher's career for your stupid jealousy? Don't ever link his name with mine again, you don't know what the consequences are."

Angrily she ran off, struggling not to cry, because really, she was the only one who knew what the consequences were.

And what Huda had just suggested was never possible… even if…

Even if she wished it could be.

**

Naina and Raj walked hand in hand into the caf, Naina still confused about exactly what it was that they were doing. All she knew was that they were meeting Abhimanyu here, but not about the purpose. Raj had told her that everything would be revealed once they arrived and she trusted him.

Spotting Abhi at a secluded table at the back, they crossed the caf quickly to join him, ordering drinks and waiting until they were delivered to begin speaking. Naina stirred her coffee nervously, sensing trouble but clueless as to what it might be.

Once the waitress had left, Raj voiced his concerns, wanting to solve the mystery as soon as possible. "Whoever called to tell you about Navin… did you recognize the voice or did they give you any other clues, especially about how they found out?" Raj asks Abhi, it's been bothering him ever since the incident.

"No clues," Abhi replies regretfully, "And I didn't recognize the voice either. How do you think they found out? Besides you and Naina, who else knew the truth."

"Besides us, only my mother knows and she would never have told anyone. Neither Raj nor I have told anyone either…" Naina tells him quietly, trailing off at the end of the sentence.

Raj and Abhi reach the same conclusion at the same time and Raj sighs as he remembers the conversation that Naina and he had had recently about Navin's death.

"You think your quarters might be bugged." Abhi states and Raj nods. "Then there's only one way to find out." He tells Raj, and draining their coffees and quickly paying for the bill, they head back to the academy and Raj and Naina's quarters.

Naina sits in the mess while the search the entire quarters, nervously waiting to hear the results. The idea that somebody could have invaded hers and Raj's privacy like that, that they might have...

When Raj and Abhi are finished, they gesture to her to join them outside in the grounds, and Naina follows quietly. Raj can tell that she's shaken by what has happened and he wraps an arm around her shoulder comfortingly, rubbing her arm as she leans into his touch.

When they are far enough from the buildings and any other people, they stop, Raj glancing around before they start to speak. They haven't checked Abhi's quarters for bugs yet, so they're not prepared to take any chances.

"There's a bug in the outer room of our quarters," he tells Naina, "None in the bedroom."

She can't stop herself from breathing a sigh of relief, because for a spy to have heard anything personal... the idea is too much to bear.

"So have you removed it?"she asked, "Is it gone?"

They both glance at each other, before Raj turns back to her.

"Actually Naina... it might be better to leave it there." he tells her, "Now that we know it's there, we'll be careful with what we say and we might be able to use it to our advantage to catch this spy."

Naina is silent, struggling with her feelings. On one hand she can't stand the thought of anyone listening to them, and on the other hand, she knows how important Raj's mission is and wants to do everything to make it a success.

Finally she nods once, "I'll do my best."she tells them both, "I'll try to behave as normal as possible."

Raj wraps his arms around her, kissing her on the top of the head, because it's times like these that he's truly proud of his wife.

**

So far every plan of Ritu's had failed, but that didn't mean she was going to give up easily. She still had many options left, it was a new year and today... today she wasn't taking no for an answer.

She planned her movements well, ensuring that she would casually run into him while he was between classes, at a time when the first year cadets and one in particular would be in Major Nair's drill. This time there would be no interference from anybody.

Ritu had dressed carefully, ensuring that she was as dazzlingly beautiful as always. Adjusting her pallu over her shoulder one more time to ensure that there was just enough skin revealed, she set out. It was easier than she could've imagined, he was distracted, looking down at some notes he was carrying and she waited until he was about to turn the corner before she did he same, banging purposefully into him.

"I'm so sorry, Dr Mishra!"Abhimanyu exclaimed, "I wasn't looking where I was going."

Ritu sighed with just the right amount of annoyance. "Are we back to Dr Mishra again, Abhimanyu?"she asked him, "I thought I had asked you to call me Ritu."

"Sorry Ritu,"he told her with a cautious smile, "I had forgotten for a moment."

"I think you've also forgotten something else," she told him pointedly, "You were going to take me to a movie. Now that Captain Rajveer and his wife are back in the academy, you have no excuse."

Abhi's face turned blank for a moment as he experienced a feeling of panic. He truly did have no excuse, and there was nobody around to provide him with one. He really had no choice except to say yes. He was trapped.

"Of course... why not?" he asked, trying to hide his growing feeling of unease.

"Good, tonight then."she told him with a smile, not wanting there to be any possibility of the plan falling through. "I'll pick you up from your quarters at seven."

"Seven then..."Abhimanyu repeated blankly as she disappeared down the hall.

It had happened so fast he had been unable to do anything to stop it, and now there was only one thought in his mind... a thought he couldn't shake, no matter how hard he tried.

What on earth was he going to tell Sherry?

**

By the time the cadets returned to the academy after Major Nair's drill the news had already spread, so that within a few minutes of arriving, everybody knew. Aalekh watched Sherry carefully but her face remained blank, expressionless. By contrast, Huda was overjoyed.

"I was wrong!" he had exclaimed, coming over to where Sherry stood with Aalekh by her side. "Oy Sheru, sorry about all that!" and then he had bounced happily away to hear some more gossip.

Sherry had shaken her head and sighed slightly but didn't say anything. Aalekh decided it was better not to ask, because she would never tell him the truth about how she was feeling anyway. All he could do was wait, and hope that his friend would be alright.

**

Abhi was surprised by how excited the rest of KMA appeared to be about his date, especially since he wasn't excited at all.

Pooja hadn't stopped grinning at him since class started and for the first time ever, Huda was actually smiling at him instead of scowling, despite the black eye on his face that had mysteriously appeared the previous day.

Only two faces remained impassive. Aalekh never showed much expression anyway, but today his face was particularly closed off and Sherry... she hadn't looked at him once since the class had begun.

He couldn't shake the feeling that he had betrayed her, broken her trust. He had promised her that he would stay away from Dr Mishra and now... he didn't think he could cope with it if she started avoiding him again, last time had been hard enough.

He had planned to call out to her once the class ended, but to his surprise she stayed back anyway, waiting until everybody left before approaching him.

"I couldn't find any excuse," Abhi blurted out before Sherry could speak, "When she asked I couldn't find any believable reason to say no."

"It's alright," Sherry replies quietly and he's stunned to realise that she doesn't seem upset with him. "It's probably for the best that you said yes."

"But all this time you've been telling me..." Abhi starts, confused and Sherry shakes her head once as if to clarify.

"You still need to be careful of the shrink." she warns, "I don't trust her at all... be on your guard, but it might be better if people think you are interested in Dr Mishra."

"Why?"he asks her, stunned. How could that possibly be a good thing?

"Because Huda is an idiot."Sherry tells him bluntly. "He thinks you're in love with me. I managed to persuade him with great difficulty that you're not and he should shut up about it."

Suddenly something clicked into place. "Huda has a black eye." Abhi stated, looking at her expectantly.

"Exactly," Sherry replies with a hint of humour glinting in her eyes, "I managed to persuade him with great difficulty. So maybe Dr Mishra asking you out right now is a good thing because it's best if people like Huda don't think things like that, or the consequences..." she stops abruptly and then smiles at him a bit sadly. "I hope you enjoy the movie," she tells him, "Just watch your popcorn and drink. I don't trust her not to drug them."and she leaves before he can respond.

Abhi stares after her, one sentence echoing in his mind.

Huda thought that....

But he was wrong of course.

Wasn't he?

**

Naina smiled as she heard the knock on the door, pausing as she laid out plates on the bench.

Raj opened the door and finding his little sister there, hugged her lightly and kissed the top of her head.

"I'm glad you could join us." he told her, "Naina thought it would be nice if we had a family dinner tonight."

Naina had had other reasons as well, and not just wanting whoever might be listening to think everything was normal. With the news she had heard today and what it was that she suspected, Naina had guessed that Sherry might need some distraction tonight.

"It's almost ready," Naina had announced, and Sherry had wandered into the kitchen area, peering into the pans before she crossed to Naina's side, hugging her sister-in-law.

"You're the best, Bhabhie." Sherry tells her, "Bhaiyya is going to get fat eating food like this, in fact I think both of you have put some weight on already."

"Well we'd better feed you too then," Naina tells her with a laugh, "Because you're as thin as ever."

They sit down to dinner and make light conversation although Sherry is quieter than usual. Finally Raj brings up the topic he's been waiting to begin, knowing that he should do it sooner rather than later.

"The preparations for the Republic Day celebrations have already begun," he informed them both, "It'll be a large celebration this year and Sherry, I thought you should know that your father will be coming."

He had expected an angry outburst and yelling but she's silent for a moment instead.

"I suppose I should have expected it." she finally says, "It'll be a good photo opportunity for him."

"All parents come on Republic Day to see their children in the parade." Raj tells her, "It's a tradition."

"Exactly, a perfect photo opportunity. Patriotic Minister Gehlot and his daughter training for the Indian Army." Sherry roles her eyes at the idea, "Whatever, I just hope he doesn't expect me to play along."

She gets up and clears the plates a Naina makes a sign to Raj to let her handle it. He nods, trusting her to know what it will be best to do.

"When was the last time you oiled your hair?" Naina asks Sherry, who looks at her in disbelief.

"Bhabhie, do I look like the type of girl who bothers to oil my hair?" she asks, and Naina laughs.

"Come into the bedroom." she tells her, knowing that they'll be able to talk there without anyone listening in. "I'll do it for you."

Sherry shoots Raj a helpless look but follows Naina anyway, who closes the door behind them.

As Sherry sits in front of her, Naina begins the process, working the oil in gently.

"I haven't done this since my mother died," Sherry admits, "There was no one..."

She doesn't need to continue, Naina understands.

"You've been quieter lately," Naina tells her, "Are you upset about something?"

Sherry is silent and Naina continues, "Whatever it is, you can tell me if you want to. I won't tell anyone, not even Raj. I know there are some things that a sister can't tell her brother."

"There are some things... that are difficult right now." Sherry admits, "But I'm trying to handle it, I just need to remember what I should and shouldn't do."

Naina hesitates to say the next sentence, unsure of what the response will be, but she wants to tell her anyway, to reassure her. "You know... there's nothing wrong with falling in love." she finally says.

Sherry freezes under Naina's hands, as still as a statue. "Bhabhie, I'm not..." she finally says, trailing off uncertainly, almost as if she wishes she could admit that she is.

"You don't have to say anything." Naina tells he gently, "All I want you to know is that we don't always have control over our emotions or who we fall in love with. Sherry, I know that now might not be the time, that there might be... obstacles, but eventually I want to see you happy, settled with somebody you love."

Sherry is silent, and when Naina turns her gently around to face her, there are tears in her eyes.

"I love you Bhabhie,"is all Sherry can say, hugging Naina.

Because she can't tell her sister-in-law that however much she wants the same things, some obstacles are too large to overcome.

**

Ritu thought that the evening was going fairly well so far. She and Abhimanyu had made polite conversation, and she had made sure to laugh at all the right moments and behave just flirtatiously enough. He could have no doubts now about her liking him. He seemed a little distracted but she just hoped that was due to how beautiful she was looking that night.

She had chosen a romantic, sad film to watch, using the opportunity to cry onto his shoulder, and slightly disappointed when he didn't put his arm around her to comfort her.

Still, not everything could happen in one night.

Ritu was prepared to wait.

**

Abhimanyu barely noticed the movie. He barely noticed Dr Mishra either.

Because there was one thought that kept going through his head, that he just couldn't get rid of.

Huda had said that....

No, the idea was ridiculous. She was his best friend's sister, his student, all he had ever wanted was to see her happy, look after her. He had never had any such intentions or thoughts....

Then why couldn't he stop thinking of her right now, of the searching looks she gave him sometimes as if she wanted to say more, of her laughter as she joked with Pooja, of the way he had felt when she avoided him, as if he had lost something precious.

Huda thought that Abhi was in love with her.

It was ridiculous, it couldn't be true.

But what if it was?

Because as he imagines the sad smile that she gives him so often, the dull ache in his chest tells him exactly what the truth is.


**

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