LRL: ’The Ties That Bind’ Upd pg 41 - Page 10

hey too good

pl continue soon

When their bus arrives back in Ambala, Raj is already waiting for them, and as soon as Naina has crossed over to where he waits, he envelops her in a hug. Aalekh wanders off a short distance to give them some privacy and slightly surprised at his reaction, Naina hugs Raj back.

"Has it really been that bad?" she asks him sympathetically when he finally lets go of her.

"It's been even worse than that," Raj tells her, "I don't think I'm ever letting you go away by yourself ever again."

And Naina suddenly feels warm at this comment, at his possessiveness of her, his need of her.

"But what's been going on?" she asked him, "It wasn't a good Diwali?"

"Well Lala Saheb and Sherry didn't stop fighting practically the whole time they were here, and when they weren't fighting they weren't talking to each other." Raj tells her, "And most of the time Sherry wasn't talking to me either."

Aalekh wanders back over, having decided that he's given them enough time alone together.

"Did you have a good Diwali, Aalekh?" Raj asks him, "And thanks for looking after Naina. I really did feel better about sending her all that way."

"It was my best Diwali ever." Aalekh tells him, "And no problems."

Because looking after Naina is definitely not a problem for him. Before leaving, while Naina had gone to get her bag, he had made a promise to her mother. A promise that he would protect Naina, and from now on he considers it his responsibility to do so.

**

When they get back to the academy, Aalekh says goodbye to them and goes to put his bag in his room and find his friends.

Raj carries Naina's bag and they walk to their room, he notices that she looks tired, in fact almost exhausted. Worried about her, he puts his arm around her shoulders comfortingly and she smiles up at him, but there is a worry in her smile, a question.

It's after they've gone into their room and closed the door, putting her bag in the bedroom and sitting on the bed, that Naina starts to speak.

"Aalekh knows everything," she tells Raj, "I told him the truth… all of it. Ma accidentally mentioned Navin and at the time…"

She looks so worried about what he'll think that Raj reaches out and takes one of her hands, squeezing it.

"You don't have to explain yourself, Naina." He tells her, "I know you would've made the decision carefully before telling Aalekh and I believe that he's trustworthy. He'll never tell anybody's secrets."

Naina nods, relieved. She had worried that Raj might disapprove of her telling Aalekh, after all, if the truth is discovered then it will affect him as well.

"Why don't you go take a shower and I'll make us something hot to drink." He suggests, "Then we can sit down and you can tell me about it properly."

Raj is just preparing to make some chai when the door opens and Sherry wanders into the room, not having bothered to knock.

"So where is she?" Sherry asks, looking around the living room. "I heard that you went to go pick her up."

"She has a name you know," Raj tells Sherry gently, a little bit amused. Because for the first time since she arrived Sherry is showing some emotion other than hostility. She seems curious, finally wanting to meet Naina.

"Fine, where's your wife, Naina?" Sherry asks, crossing her arms over her chest. "If I don't meet her this time then I'm really not going to believe that she exists."

"You can definitely meet her this time," Raj promises gently, "You'll just have to wait until she's finished freshening up. Why don't you take a seat and I'll make you some chai."

And almost hesitantly, Sherry sits down, as if reluctant to appear as if she's too interested or commit herself too much.

Raj is glad when Naina comes out of the bedroom dressed in a simple salwar kurta and towelling her hair dry, because honestly, before that he wasn't sure how he should be handling Sherry.

The two of them notice each other and Naina smiles at Sherry, friendly but not over friendly. "Hi, you must be Sherry." Naina says, "It's good to finally meet you."

"Hi," Sherry tells her, almost smiling back but not quite and then she looks Naina up and down before turning back to Raj.

"So what's wrong with her?" Sherry asks him.

"Excuse me?" Raj asks, not quite sure what it is that Sherry's trying to ask.

"Well considering you hid your marriage for two years I assumed there must be something wrong with your wife… but she looks perfectly fine to me." Sherry tells him with a shrug.

Raj glances at Naina, hoping that she's not offended, but she seems as if she's amused instead, a slight smile on her face.

"Well perhaps it's not obvious from the outside," she tells Sherry, sounding perfectly serious and saving Raj from answering, "Maybe I'm actually crazy."

And Sherry looks at Naina in surprise, unable to believe that she hasn't offended her.

But Naina has already turned to Raj. "Is the chai ready?" she asks him, and crosses to the kitchen to take one of the mugs while he takes the other two.

Naina hands the mug that she's holding to Sherry and the girl takes it hesitatingly, almost suspiciously.

Naina determinedly pretends not to notice, taking a cup off Raj and sitting down to sip it. In the few minutes since she has met Sherry, she thinks she understands perfectly well what's going on.

Whatever hostility Sherry shows is a defense to keep people away from her, to ensure that they dislike her. The only thing that Naina doesn't understand yet is the real reason behind it.

"You'll have a lot to catch up on," Raj tells Sherry as he sips his chai, "But if you need any help then Naina and I here, and I'm sure the other cadets would be happy to lend a hand too."

"I don't need any help," Sherry tells him, "I can succeed or fail perfectly fine on my own."

Raj doesn't comment on this, he wants to, but the look that Naina gives him convinces him to keep quiet.

"So you're studying medicine?" Sherry asks Naina suddenly, and Naina tries to hide her surprise, happy that the girl is actually making an effort. "That must be hard."

"It is," Naina replies, "I spend most of my time studying, trying to keep up with it."

"So when you're going to be a doctor, couldn't you find yourself a better husband than someone in the army?" Sherry asks her. But while there is a slight tone of hostility in her voice, Raj can sense curiosity there too. She's still trying to figure out how it is that they got married.

"No," Naina replies simply, her eyes fixed upon Raj, "I don't think that I could've found a better husband."

And it is the tone of her voice which melts Raj's heart all over again.

"Well I'm going to bed," Sherry announces, "I heard you have to get up at 5am in this damn academy, so we've all got to sleep at ridiculous times too."

"I'll see you tomorrow then," Raj tells her gently, "We've got communications and strategy class in the morning."

"Great," Sherry comments sarcastically, "I can't wait… just how I always imagined spending my time."

And without bothering to say goodnight, she leaves the room.

"I think that went well…" Raj comments, "Trust me, I think she likes you."

"I think she just needs some time to settle in." Naina reassures him, "Just let her adjust at her own pace, eventually she'll be ready to open up to you."

"I certainly hope so… I worry about her, you know." Raj tells Naina, "I mean I know she's not a baby, she's the same age as you, but still…"

"She's your sister." Naina finishes for him, understanding perfectly, "It's natural for you to worry."

She tries to stay awake, wanting to tell him about the holiday, but her eyes keep closing as she's tired from the trip.

"Why don't we go to bed now?" Raj suggests, "It's been an exhausting three days."

Naina nods, and after washing the cups, they head to the bedroom.

She's asleep almost as soon as her head hits the pillow, and Raj considers her for a moment, the way her face relaxes when she's like this, the way her fist curls slightly in her sleep.

And for the first time, consciously, he reaches out and puts his arm around her, drawing her closer.

Because he's missed her terribly for the past three days, and because right now, he does need the comfort that she can offer him, even while sleeping.

And somehow Raj knows that Naina wouldn't mind.

**

The next morning when Sherry enters the mess, already dressed in her uniform with her hair neatly tied back, everybody turns to look at her.

After all, she is new.

"Wow, who's this?" Huda remarks, "We needed some more good looking girls around here, I think I should go and welcome her to KMA."

"I don't know if I would do that if I were you Hudabhai," Ali told him warningly, "Do you remember what happened the last time you tried to welcome a girl to KMA?"

Huda suddenly looked worried, "Arre, this one isn't Major Nair's wife is she?" he asked, and Pooja started laughing.

"Oy blank caller," she tells him, "She's Captain Rajveer's sister Sherry, she's joining our batch."

"That's almost as bad…" Huda remarks with a frown, "And how do you know?"

"I heard it in the girls' hostel this morning, she's Sonali's new room mate," Pooja told him. "So don't even think about it."

"But we should definitely be polite…"

"Huda, don't do it."

And as Sherry walked past with a tray of food in her hands he suddenly lazily put a leg out, blocking her way.

"Hey girl… why don't you have your breakfast with us?" he asked her.

Sherry looked him up and down before looking at his leg stuck out in front of her.

"Because I don't eat breakfast with arrogant idiots who think too much of themselves." She told him, and then she kicked his leg away and went to sit at a table by herself on the other side of the room.

Huda stared at her in shock while Ali, Yudi and Pooja all burst out laughing and Aalekh smirked.

"Just accept it Hudabhai, not every girl in the world finds you as attractive as you think you are." Ali tells him, and Yudi high fives Ali as they continue laughing.

Having come into the mess in time to witness the exchange, Naina grabs some food and goes to sit with Sherry at her table.

"Don't mind Huda," she tells her, "He's just like that. In fact he even tried to flirt with me on the day I arrived."

Sherry looks a bit amused at this, "He even tried to flirt with his teacher's wife? Now that really is shameless." She comments.

"Well I don't think he realised I was married when he did it," Naina explains, "But still, don't allow yourself to be bothered by it, they're a good group of cadets."

"I'm not interested in making friends." Sherry replies, even as she glances towards the table where everybody except Huda is now laughing.

"That's okay," Naina replies, "But even if you don't become friends, you will all be training together."

"Then I'll meet them properly then." Sherry replies, sounding uninterested.

Naina just nods, not wanting to push the girl too much at one point.

And watching from a distance, Aalekh catches Naina's slight nod in his direction.

**

Entering the classroom for Captain Rajveer's class, Sherry chooses a seat close to the wall and towards the back. It's not too long before she finds the seat next to her occupied and she turns to see who it is.

"Hi," the occupant tells her, "Apun Aalekh hain."

For a moment she instinctively wants to tell him to go away, but hearing his way of speaking, she's curious about him.

"I know you already know who I am," she tells him, "What are you doing in this place?"

"The remand home sent me. To make me a better person." Aalekh replies simply, shrugging.

"Even I've been sent here to become a better person." Sherry remarks sarcastically, "Has it worked in your case?"

And Aalekh looks at her very seriously before replying, as if he's seeing past all her defenses. "I don't know," he replies, "But I've found people who realised that I was never that bad."

And uncomfortable with what he's saying, Sherry turns away only to find another face looming in front of her.

"So you've met our Qaidi," he remarks, "Meet me too, Amardeep Huda."

"I met you before," Sherry tells him, "That was more than enough for me."

"Well since everybody else is making their introductory calls, I might as well make mine too!" Pooja announces cheerfully, "I'm Pooja Ghai."

Sherry nods at her in greeting.

"And this is Ali, Ali Baig!" Pooja continues enthusiastically, "You know he's the third generation of his family to join the army!"

"Doesn't he talk for himself?" Sherry asks, and Pooja flushes.

"Of course I do, and I'm happy to meet you." Ali tells her politely.

"And I'm Yudi," the young man tells her, coming over to join them. "And that's basically our whole gang."

It's then that Captain Rajveer walks in and the cadets scramble to get back to their places.

"Well everyone, I'm sure you've all noticed that we have a new arrival." He tells them, "From today Sherry Gehlot is going to be a member of your batch and I'm sure she'll prove her capabilities very soon."

He doesn't ask them to help her out… he knows that Sherry wouldn't appreciate it.

Turning back to the blackboard, Raj begins his lesson for the day.

He's done all he can for now.

**

Meanwhile in her room, Ritu Mishra dials a number, drumming her fingers impatiently on the table until the person on the other end picks up.

"So what have you found?" she asks them, "You'd better have something good for me."

"We're having trouble tracking down any information on her," the man replies, "But I think we're getting close, we've just managed to access her transfer records from her college before this one, she only joined there after her marriage."

"Interesting…" Ritu comments, "So after her marriage she moved but didn't go to live with her husband…"

"We're trying to find out more, ma'am." The man tells her, "We'll have some information as soon as possible."

"You'd better," Ritu tells him threateningly, "You know what depends upon this, and you know who'll be angry if you fail."

"Of course ma'am," the man replies nervously, "It will be done as soon as possible."

Ritu hangs up the phone and crosses to the window, looking out of it.

She knew that Naina Singh Shekawat was hiding a secret, now all she had to figure out was exactly what it was.

And when she did… nobody would be able to save Naina from her.

And this was Ritu's promise.

very nice part..too damn interesting..super coolll... me liking the way the story is progressing damn too too tooo muchh... simply fantastic... 👏 do post the next part soon..me waiting for it eagerly.. 😊 😛 😃

hello there.. i jus caught up with ur fic after a long long time.. finished reading operation marriage as well.. but i forgot to comment there.. so posting it here together.. i absolutely luv the way this story is developing.. i think so far this is the most interesting one u;ve written.. hats off to u for such brilliant writing and such an amazing storyline 👏 .. plz do continue soon..

i read all your fanfics my cadet, operation marriage and now i just caught up with this one and i have to say you are really talented, 👏 the way you write the fics are truly amazing i really love the way you show raj and naina's emotion,and the romantic parts in your fics leave me blushing for hours 😳 and the comedy in operation marriage i was in stitches of laughter,operation marriage, operation marriage and operation golmaal there were hilarious 😆 i have no idea where you get these from.i really love reading your fics please continue soon i am eagerly waiting for the next part and i hope you write more fan fics because there are brilliant 😊

Thanks for the lovely comments guys, it really does inspire me to keep going! And now here's your next part!

**


On Sherry's third official day as a KMA cadet, Ritu decides that it's time she finally met the girl properly. After all, she is Captain Rajveer's sister, and from the hostility that she's currently showing, she could definitely be useful.

And so while Sherry sits outside studying some notes she's gotten from Yudi, Ritu approaches her.

"Hi," she says in her best friendly tone, "I don't think that we've met yet."

"No, we haven't." Sherry replies, making no effort to actually introduce herself.

"Well I'm Dr Ritu Mishra," Ritu continues, refusing to give up.

"Well I'm sure you already know who I am." Sherry tells her, an uninterested expression on her face, looking the woman up and down, she seems very unimpressed by her sari and makeup. "What are you doing a military academy?" she asks her.

"I'm the academy's psychiatrist," Ritu tells her, "Basically if any of the cadets…"

"So you're a shrink," Sherry cuts her off, "And as far as I've had experience with shrinks, they're more likely to mess with your head than fix it, so stay away from mine."

"It's nothing like that," Ritu tries to reassure her in a friendly manner, really wanting to slap the girl for being so rude. "I'm here so that if you need a friend to talk to…."

"If I need a friend to talk to then I'll go find someone who's actually a friend." Sherry tells her, and without waiting for an answer, picks up her books and walks towards the hostel.

Ritu's friendly expression turned to a hard glare. For now, she would stay away from the young woman. She had other ways to accomplish what she wanted.

**

"You know I was thinking, why don't we take Sherry and show her around town today?" Raj suggested to Naina on Sunday as they were getting ready for the day.

Naina nodded, her back was turned to him as she combed her hair and so she didn't see the way that his eyes followed the movement of her hand, the way that his gaze fell upon her hair where it rested upon her shoulders. Finally pulling it back in a loose pony tail, she turned around to face him.

"It's a good idea, but are you sure you don't want to take her by yourself?" Naina asks him, "I think you two need time to get used to each other again and I would hate to intrude on that."

"Oh you definitely won't be intruding," Raj reassured her, "In fact I think it would help if you came along, Sherry has been responding much more positively to you than she has to me."

Naina looked at Raj sympathetically, knowing that it was difficult for him to deal with so much hostility and avoidance from a sister he loved.

"She just needs some time." Naina told him, "Sooner or later things will improve between the two of you."

"I hope so," Raj remarked worriedly, "I worry about her, you know. I have no idea what her life has been like in the time I haven't been there, but I know that Lala Saheb hasn't been around much. In many ways she has a right to be angry with me…"

"It wasn't your fault," Naina says, coming over to sit beside Raj and putting her hand on his shoulder, "I know you would've like to have seen her more often, it was because of your duties that you couldn't."

"Still…" Raj says, "Anyway, today will go someway towards bridging the distance between us."

**

When they find Sherry she's sitting at breakfast with the other cadets, surrounded by the five friends. Just as she had told Naina, she hasn't made any effort to make friends, and yet almost by default she has ended up becoming a part of their group. A mostly silent, quite sarcastic part of it but a part nonetheless.

And if Sherry tells the truth, then although she's gotten used to being alone, she really doesn't mind their company.

It almost does make her feel like she has friends.

Raj and Naina walk over to the group's table and everybody smiles and greets them. Sherry just sort of nods but neither Raj nor Naina is offended, they know it's the most they can expect from her at the moment.

"We thought we could take you to go and see around Ambala today, Sherry." Raj tells her, "That's if you would like to go with us." He leaves it up to her, knowing that way the answer is more likely to be positive.

"Why not?" Sherry asks him with a shrug, "At least I'll get to get out of this academy for awhile."

"Then we'll go at ten." Raj tells her, "Enjoy your time off cadets, because this week the academy's annual appraisal will begin and you'll have to work twice as hard as normal." He warns them, and then smiling at his success, and he and Naina walk off again, leaving the cadets alone.

"Arre wah, why couldn't they invite me to come along too?" Huda asks, "I wouldn't mind getting out of this academy for awhile, especially in the company of such a pretty janani." And he winks at Sherry who makes no response at all, just continues to sit there stony faced.

"Huda, are you Captain Rajveer's sister?" Yudi asks him sarcastically, "No, right? And until you are, you're not going to get invited anywhere."

Despite trying hard not to, Sherry smirked at this comment.

"Aalekh got invited home for Diwali," Huda protests, "How come he gets special treatment? That's favouritism!"

"Stop your drama, nautanki." Aalekh tells him, "If I have any sister in the world… then it's her." And he nodded in Naina's direction, his expression serious. "Besides, why do you need someone to take you out? I'm going out today."

"Oh really, where are you off to Qaidi?" Huda asked him, suddenly interested, "Mind if I come along with you?"

"Yes." Aalekh told him, "I do mind."

"Why?" Yudi asked him, "Do you have some secret girlfriend you don't want us to know about?"

And the silent glare that Aalekh gave him was enough to make him decide he wouldn't ask again.

**

Shortly before 10am, the cadets had all separated in different directions in order to spend their Sunday. As Sherry walks towards the entrance where she'll be meeting Raj and Naina, she finds Aalekh headed in the same direction.

They exit the academy at the same time, and as Aalekh goes to walk away, Raj calls him over.

"Where are you headed, Aalekh?" he asks him, "Would you like to join us?"

"No Sir… I've got plans." Aalekh told him, "Actually I said I'd meet Ne…" and he suddenly stops saying the name, as if not sure whether he should be revealing it to his teacher or not.

Naina smiles, knowing perfectly well who he's talking about. "Have fun," she tells him, "And try to be back in time for our lesson tonight."

Aalekh nods, giving her a small smile in return, and sets off towards the exit of the academy.

"Do you think he needs a lift?" Raj asks Naina, "We could drop him somewhere."

"Trust me, Aalekh will go by himself." Naina tells him, "Shall we go now?" and they pile into the jeep, Raj and Naina sitting in the front seats and Sherry in the back.

They show her around the city area first to see the main shopping areas and then move on to see some of the more famous sights such as the Bhawani Amba temple and the Badshahi Bag Gurudwara.

Right before lunch they stop off at City Park, strolling around the gardens. Sherry seems more relaxed for once, almost as if she's let her guard down, and Raj and Naina have been careful to keep the conversation light, avoiding any serious topics.

He's just pointing something out to her, when he turns around to find Sherry smirking at him, looking amused.

"What is it?" he asks her.

"I never realised that you were so shy Bhaiyya," she tells him, "I can't believe you're too embarrassed to hold your wife's hand in front of me."

Raj starts to protest that he's not, and then starts laughing. He supposes that Sherry is right, because more and more these days whenever he and Naina are out walking anywhere he will either take her hand or put his arm around her shoulders. He likes the fact that they're now comfortable with each other for him to be able to do so, that he doesn't have to ask or be awkward before he does.

He notices that Naina is now trying not to blush, and reaching over, he takes her hand firmly in his.

"There, happy now?" he asks Sherry.

She just shrugs, but there's a small amused smile on her face.

And as he turns to walk further up the path, Raj intertwines his fingers with Naina's, reveling in the warmth and softness of her hand. Her fingers feel impossibly small and delicate against his, and while she's not looking up at him, he can see that she's smiling shyly.

**

Sitting in her room at the academy Ritu fumed, no matter what she did, every single one of her plans ended up ruined. Captain Rajveer hadn't fallen for her, Naina hadn't become jealous, Sherry had refused to even speak to her properly. If things continued like this then she would fail in her mission, and she knew what the consequences would be if that happened.

She picked up a glass, wanting to throw it against the wall when her phone began to ring.

Picking it up, Ritu listened to what the man on the other end had to say, her expressions changing slowly. When he had finished she gave him some instructions before hanging up.

Now this… was interesting.

Far better than she could've imagined.

And for the first time in many days, Ritu found herself in a good mood.

**

Sitting in a caf for lunch, Raj watched as Sherry picked at her sandwich disinterestedly. He did feel that they had made some progress today, but she was still far too silent and sullen for his liking.

"So how are you finding the academy so far?" he asks her, "Do you feel like you're settling in well?"

"It doesn't matter where I am," Sherry tells him, "Everywhere is the same and people are the same everywhere. Whether college or here, it's still been chosen for me by Dad."

"You know that he just wants what's best for you," Raj tells her, "He sent you here because he was worried about you."

And Sherry gives a short, bitter laugh. "Oh really? I was under the impression that he wants the best for him and that he sent me here because he was worried about me embarrassing him."

"Whatever the reason was, I'm glad that you're here with us now." Naina tells her, "I've been waiting to meet you for a long time."

"Well I would've been waiting to meet you too if Bhaiyya had ever bothered to tell me about you." Sherry responds, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at Raj accusingly. "I'm still waiting to hear an explanation for why you never did tell me."

"It was the circumstances at the time." Raj tells her, realising that he and Naina have never thought of a good cover story for why they hadn't informed anyone about their marriage.

"Which means that you're not going to tell me, doesn't it?" Sherry asks him, and then she sighs, "Whatever… you don't owe me any explanation anyway." And she pushes the remains of her sandwich away.

Naina and Raj glance at each other, and not for the first time he wishes that things could have been different. He wishes that their marriage had happened in happier circumstances and that he'd actually told his friends and family about it.

"I'm sorry Sherry, I really am." He told her, "I know I haven't been around much the past few years and I know I should've told you I got married… I don't have any excuses to give, but I'll try to be a good brother from now on."

And for a moment he sees an emotion in her eyes that looks like a combination of deep hurt and longing, and he can't know how right he is. Because Sherry does long to tell him that everything is forgiven and that from now on she'll be the sister that she used to be, the one that could never wait for him to come visit, that would hug him as soon as he entered the house.

But so many things have happened since then.

And she's been so alone that she's gotten used to not wanting to rely on anyone.

So instead she just shrugs.

"Well at least you made a good choice of who to get married to." She tells him, "I really never would've forgiven you if you ended up with one of those society airheads that Dad probably would've liked you to marry."

And Raj knows that for now, that's as much of a statement of forgiveness as he's going to get from her.

They pay the bill and get up to leave and as they walk towards the car, Sherry in front of them, Naina reaches out and takes Raj's hand, squeezing it encouragingly.

And no matter how difficult the current situation is, he can't help but feel that in the end it really will all work out


**

It's the middle of the night and they're sound asleep when the academy's assembly alarm goes off, startling them both awake. Raj tries to get up to switch on the light but it takes him a minute as still emerging from sleep, he can't quite work out how to disentangle his legs from Naina's or how they became so entangled in the first place.

Eventually he manages to reach the lamp and finds his wife staring at him, her face white.

"What's going on?" she asks him, clearly scared by the sound of an alarm going off in the middle of the night.

"It's the assembly alarm," Raj tells her, "Usually it's only used in emergencies, but we need to make our way to the main assembly point."

He knows there's no time for either of them to get properly dressed, and so they head out the door in their night clothes, Raj thankful that at least he's wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt.

Guiding Naina with a hand on her back, they make their way to the main assembly area where bleary eyed cadets are now standing around, rubbing their eyes and trying to work out what's going on.

"Why is my sleep mode being disrupted like this?" Pooja asks nobody in particular, yawning widely. "We only get a few hours to recharge and now even that has been put on hold."

"It must be something important, Pooja." Ali tells her, "Wait and see what they say."

And everybody waits, but the person who steps up to make the announcement is not BC, it's somebody entirely different that they've never seen before.

"KMA Cadets, do you call this standing to attention?" the man asks them, "Get into formation properly and try to look like soldiers."

The cadets scramble into their lines, attempting to straighten up. Pooja stifles another yawn.

"Much better," the man tells them, "But still not up to military standards… You're all going to have to do something to impress me during the next week because otherwise you'll find yourselves out on the streets. My name is Major Bhargav and I'm here to conduct the annual appraisal of your academy."

And as Naina glances at Raj she sees that his face has tightened and that his right hand is clenched into a fist.

"And I can see that we have a lot of work to do," Major Bhargav tells them, "So for now why don't you all go for a jog around the mountain… and keep jogging until I tell you to stop. So off you go, right now!"

The cadets stand stunned for a moment, and then as if realising what he's just told him, start to move out, jogging in the direction of the mountain.

And looking at those still assembled, Major Bhargav's gaze finally comes to rest on Raj and a smile comes to his face, not a happy smile but a mocking one.

"Ah, Captain Rajveer, what a pleasure to see you again after such a very long time." He tells Raj, "It's been four years, hasn't it?"

And seeing the man standing there in front of him, Raj can't help thinking that it hasn't been nearly long enough because he can already feel the hatred rising in him, threatening to overtake him.

"Yes Sir," he tells him, his fist still clenched. "Four years."

"In fact I believe the last time I saw you was the day that your friend, that Gaddar Navin Singh Ahluwalia was convicted of being a traitor." Bhargav tells him with a smirk, checking to see the reaction.

And staring at the man in front of her, his words ringing in her ears, Naina feels her world beginning to fall down around her.

Because after years of trying to forget, a part of her past has once again caught up with her.

hey too good

excellent

pl continue

it is amazing

tooo coolllll...very good going... just superb.... amazing... me liking it very much.... keep up the good work going... 👏 do post the next part soon..me waiting for the next part eagerly... i have a request raj-naina ko kareeb lao aur ritu ko jealous karo..mazaa aayega.. 😉

andrea...u r just awesome...plz...update soon..!!

awesome part.. i hope bhargav wont be as horrid as he is on the show.. he's jsut too mean there.. n plz get rid of him soon.. i hope ritu doesnt do smthn horrid.. poor RN they've just started to get close to each other.. btw.. really liked the way sherry told off ritu.. haha.. good one.. keep the updates comin.. ur doin gr8.. i luv the story..