LRL: ’The Ties That Bind’ Upd pg 41 - Page 5

Their lives quickly fall into a routine. Every morning while Rajveer goes for a jog, she will get ready for her day at college, when he comes back he'll shower and dress and then they'll have their breakfast together. On the days when his classes don't clash, he makes sure that he drops her off and picks her off from college. Otherwise an orderly takes her and brings her back.

Naina's afternoons are spent studying and completing assignments, or else in the infirmary with Shalini and then it would be time for Alekh's English lesson. Naina didn't have to worry about avoiding Ritu, she barely even saw her, she was so busy.

Meanwhile Raj was facing his own challenges. Almost two months had passed since he had been sent to the academy and he still hadn't been able to find out the identity of the spy. His only consolation was that at least the triggers were safe and well protected.

Naina entered their room after her latest English lesson with Aalekh to find Raj just hanging up the phone, a grimace on his face.

"What's wrong?" she asked, setting down the grammar books that she had been trying to use in the lesson with little success. She had decided today that she was going to go back to teaching him basic reading and writing, anything else was far too soon.

Raj put his mobile down on the chair and rubbed his temple tiredly. "That was my godfather," he announced, "He's just returned from overseas and found out that I got married secretly without telling him. He was a bit annoyed."

Naina winced in sympathy. "Did you tell him the truth?" she asks, "I'm sure he would understand then."

Raj shook his head, "I thought it was best not to," he tells her, "For now the less people that know the better, even if we do trust them."

Naina completely agreed with him, you never knew when somebody would accidentally say something that they shouldn't. It was better that it remained just between the two of them.

"I didn't even know you had a godfather," she tells him, "Are you close to him?"

"Gehlot Saheb is so busy with work that I don't get the chance to see him very often," Raj admitted to her, "But whatever I am today is because of him. He raised me after my parents' death, and taught me how to be a good officer. His daughter Sherry is like my sister but I worry about her. She has no mother and when her father is away from home so often… I try to visit when I have time off work but…"

Naina nodded, understanding perfectly. It was hard enough to lose one parent, but then to hardly see the remaining one… she didn't know what she would've done if her mother hadn't been there to support her.

"So will I meeting them soon then?" Naina asked, feeling nervous at the idea. She supposed that this man was the closest thing she actually had to a father-in-law and he had only just found out that she existed.

"Not yet," Raj reassured her, noticing the look on her face. "He'll be busy in Delhi for another few weeks. And don't worry, it was me that he was annoyed at, not you."

Naina nods, feeling relieved. At least that's something that she doesn't have to worry about for now.

"So how are the lessons going?" Raj asks her, "Do you think he's improving?"

"Well yes," Naina said, "But very slowly. I think I'm going to have to forget about grammar for now."

Raj just grinned, "Let alone English, we could probably work on his hindi too. It's a huge task but I know it's really going to help him."

Naina smiled, even if teaching Alekh could occasionally be frustrating to teach, she did enjoy their lessons. As quiet as he was, he had begun to open up to her and tell her about his past and his family. Naina wished that she could've been honest with him as well, there were times when she had almost told him about Navin or about her family, but she knew exactly how dangerous that would be for her.

As Rajveer had said, sometimes it was best not to tell people the truth, even if you did trust them. Because you never knew how they'd react, and Naina had found out one too many times how quickly people could change once they learnt the truth.

"So Independence Day is in a tomorrow," she remarked, "I'm looking forward to it."

"Navin must have told you how it's celebrated in the academy," Raj says with a smile, "It's one of the best days of the year here, especially for those who are in the army. So you can expect the whole place to be decorated, a grand flag raising ceremony and special food and a party in the evening."

"It does sound like fun," Naina tells him, "I know that all the cadets are excited about the preparations." In fact it was almost the only thing that Pooja had talked about for the last three days ever since she had found out she was jointly in charge of decorations along with Yudi.

"I'm sure they could use some help," Raj tells her. "They'll still be preparing until late tonight, do you want to go and see how they're going?"

"That would be good," Naina replies, and is surprised when Raj also stands up, intending to come with her.

"Let's go then," he tells her, and she walks ahead of him. When the reach the main courtyard, Naina can't help but pause and stare in delight to see it transformed this way. She hasn't seen it since a few hours ago when she came back from college and there were nowhere near as many decorations up then. Raj places a hand on her shoulder, and she smiles up at him. They're far less awkward with each other after living together for a month but there are still distances and silences that need to be overcome. Raj knows that it will take time for his and Naina's relationship to grow and he's prepared to wait. He's just glad that she seems happy here and that she has settled in so well, it's gone better than he ever could've imagined.

They walk into the courtyard, both admiring the decorations, when Ali spots them. He's been helping Pooja to hang up the strings of coloured paper, and he smiles when he sees them.

"Hi Sir, Hi Ma'am," he tells them politely, "How are the decorations looking?"

"They're fantastic Cadet Begh," Raj tells him warmly, "But I thought that you were in charge of the food preparations?"

"Well yes," Ali says a bit shyly, "But that's all under control so I thought why not help here as well."

Naina thinks that she knows exactly who asked him to come and help and exactly why it was that he gave in, and by the smile on Rajveer's face she thinks that he might as well.

"So you like them, Sir?" Pooja asks, climbing down off the stool she was standing on. "I'm so glad, we've put a lot of our talktime into making it right"

"Well it was definitely worth it, Pooja." Naina tells her.

"I'm so happy that you're here with us for Independence Day, Naina!" Pooja declares, "Just think, if BC hadn't made Rajveer Sir bring you here, then we might never have met you!"

"So it was Brigadier Chandook who made Rajveer bring me here?" Naina asks curiously, she's been so busy since she arrived, that she completely forgot to ask why it was that it had been necessary to come. And in the end it hadn't really mattered, since she was happy that she had come.

Raj begins to look a bit uncomfortable at this, "Yes, it was Brigadier Chandook, I'll tell you the story another time, Naina."

"Oh no, Captain Rajveer, I think you should tell her now." A smooth voice interrupts, "After all, it's such a funny story."

Naina turns around to find that Ritu has joined them. Once again she begins to feel uncomfortable, not sure why this woman's presence affects her so much.

"It's really not that funny," Raj protests, "And does it really matter why Naina came here? The important thing is that she's here now."

"Oh I disagree completely," Ritu tells him, "How about I tell Naina why it is that Brigadier Chandook wanted to call her here?"

Naina does want to hear the story, but she's not sure if she wants to hear it from Ritu, especially when Rajveer is currently looking so uncomfortable.

"Actually it's alright," Naina tells her, "I can wait until Rajveer wants to tell me."

"No I insist," Ritu argues, "Otherwise he might try and cover it up, and it really is very funny."

"Go ahead then, Dr Mishra." Raj tells her resignedly, "I've got nothing to hide."

"Well Naina, you see your husband is incredibly popular here," Ritu confides, as if she's telling a huge secret, "Among both cadets and faculty members."

Naina just nods, thinking that she knows exactly what it is that Ritu is trying to hint at.

"And I should tell you that he's especially popular among the female cadets," Ritu adds with a week, "Shalini and I used to keep a tally of the amount of cards and proposals he would receive every week. Anyway, finally Brigadier Chandook was upset with the lack of discipline and ordered Captain Rajveer to find a way to put a stop to it. It was then that he realized he couldn't hide he was married anymore and admitted that he had a wife. And then here you are with us!"

"I never tried to hide that I was married," Raj broke in, wanting to defend himself. "But nobody ever asked me. If they had, I would've told them the truth."

Naina decides that it's time for her to say something, especially since Pooja is looking on somewhat nervously, realizing the tension that's in the air. "Well I think it was a very funny story." She says, allowing a smile to come to her face. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're not feeling jealous then?" Ritu asks her, sounding surprised, "After all…"

"Why would I be jealous?" Naina replies calmly, the last thing that she's going to do is give this woman the satisfaction of seeing her lose her temper. "In fact I should be proud if other women admire my husband, after all, they're the ones that need to be jealous, not me."

And with a fake sweet smile, she turns away to Ritu and towards Pooja.

"So Pooja, did you ever send Rajveer any cards?" Naina asks jokingly, "You know you can tell me, I won't be angry."

Pooja laughs, relieved that Naina isn't upset. "No, I thought he was getting enough sms's in his inbox already, and besides, I was trying to find my out of range caller."

"Well how about we go and see how the rest of the preparations are going?" Naina asked Raj, and he nodded quite eagerly, relieved that she'd managed to handle the situation so well. Naina constantly surprised him, and he was glad to see that some of the spark Navin had told him about had come back. They leave there for the mess, intending to see how Suriji and Alekh are coping with their preparations.

Pooja goes back to the decorations and Ritu is left staring after them, more annoyed than ever. Every single plan she makes seems to backfire. She doesn't know how it's possible that Naina could not become jealous or succumb to any misunderstandings. It's unnatural.

Either they have a very strong bond…

Or….

It's that or, which Ritu intends to find out more about. It may just help her with the rest of her mission.

**

After checking out the rest of the preparations, Naina and Raj return to their room, intending to go to sleep early. After all, the next day will be a busy one and they'll have to wake up early.

Raj is preparing his bed on the floor when Naina emerges from the bathroom, dressed in one of the salwar kurta outfits that she usually wears to bed.

"I'm glad that you didn't misunderstand," Raj tells her, "Really I never encouraged any of those girls to send me cards or love letters, I'm not sure why they all did it, but…"

Naina interrupts him, "It's alright, you don't need to explain." She says, "After all, who else are they going to send love letters to in the academy, Major Nair?"

Raj stares at her for a minute and then starts laughing. Naina thinks it's quite funny that he seems to have absolutely no idea how attractive he is, or why girls would want to send him love letters. Because he is attractive, that is for certain.

However there's been a doubt at the back of her mind for quite some time now, a doubt that she feels she needs to clear.

"Rajveer…" she says, and hearing his name in such a serious tone, he turns towards her. Naina is sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed and he comes and sits on the edge of it.

"What is it, Naina?" he asks her.

"I'm not sure if I should ask or not… it's fine if you don't wish to tell me. But I do want to know…" she knows that she's not expressing herself so well, but it's still difficult to talk about things like this. "When we got married… there wasn't any girl at that time that you loved was there? Anybody that you had to give up?"

Raj smiles, and shakes his head. "No, there wasn't." he reassures her, "I've always been quite unlucky in love, and so there were no girls that you have to worry about. There was one that I liked during my academy days, but it didn't work out."

Happy that he's told the truth, Naina decides that she should be honest too. "There was a boy I liked during high school." She tells him, "I thought that he liked me too… but then Navin Bhaiyya was accused, and just like everybody else…"

"It's okay, Naina." Raj tells her, knowing that it must be difficult for her to talk about. He reaches out and takes her hand briefly, squeezing it but just as quickly lets it go. He's never sure about which boundaries it's alright for him to cross especially with things like showing affection.

Getting up from the bed, he goes to his mattress on the floor and lies down. "But I do want to thank you for being so mature about it," he tells her, "It would've been understandable for you to be angry at me for not telling you the truth."

"No," Naina tells him, "It wouldn't."

She has begun to realize now that Dr Mishra is definitely trying to create trouble between them. She doesn't know whether it's because the psychiatrist is in love with her husband or for some other reason, but she's sure that she's right.

However Naina isn't going to let her succeed.

She can never misunderstand Rajveer or blame him for anything, because only she knows how much she owes him, how much she has to be thankful for.

What he has done for her, she can never repay in this lifetime.

But she can certainly try.

hey another brilliant part....................
👏

hi jus read ur entire FF.. its fantastic.. its s different thing ur dealing with here.. n u write really well.. describing thought s emotions people and situations perfectly.. so nicely that the readers can imagine it goin on in their head.. i enjoyed reading it alot.. plz do update soon..

hey friend i just love your fanfic.Its simply superb,sweet,extraordinary,brilliant,awesome,lovely.... 👏 👏 👏 have a request though can you please keep updating more often,i just cant wait to read whts next.please please do update as soon as possible

awesome 😊 😊 Naina trusts raj 😃 😃 hope they come closer continue soon 😊

Nisha: thanks!

khnk_rox: Thank you! I'm glad you've caught up on the fic and I hope you enjoy the rest too!

Sherlock_holmes: Thanks!! I'm really sorry about not being able to update more often, I work full time five days a week and have so little time to do so! But updates will usually come on Tues, Thurs and Sat!

Aishwarya: The trust and understanding between them will continue to grow and they will come closer!

They woke early the next morning, as Raj knew that he would have to check over the preparations before the flag raising ceremony. He had received a worrying note the previous day warning him that something was going to happen today during the ceremony and he wanted to inspect everything fully. He couldn't take a risk that they spy wouldn't carry out their threat, he knew that they were serious.

He hadn't told Naina about it as he didn't want her to worry, but now he was wishing that he had. At least that way she would be on alert, and far less likely to become injured or harmed in any way.

However seeing her so happy about the day that lay ahead, he didn't have the heart to tell her and spoil her mood. He would just have to make sure that he averted disaster before it was too late.

The spy had announced their intention to create a hungama in the academy, warning him that he should leave before it was too late. Raj had no intention of leaving or of allowing the spy to win.

"I'll go and inspect the preparations now, Naina." He tells her, putting the finishing touches on his formal uniform as he stands in front of the mirror.

"Alright, I'll go and see Shalini in the infirmary," Naina informed him, "She said that we could go to the flag raising ceremony together, so I will see you there."

Giving her a smile, Raj left, intending to inspect the academy from top to bottom in order to find a clue of what the spy planned to do.

Naina made her way to the infirmary, knocking lightly on the door before opening it.

"Happy Independence Day," She told Shalini with a smile.

"Happy Independence Day to you too!" Shalini told her brightly, "I hope you're ready to see how us military people celebrate the most important holiday of the year."

"I certainly am," Naina told her, "I've heard so much about it before now that I can't wait to see it for myself."

"Rajveer must have told you, right?" Shalini says, guessing. Naina just nods, unable to admit that it had actually been her brother who had told her the most.

"He's quite excited to be celebrating Independence Day in his old academy again," Naina tells Shalini, "All week he's been telling me about how they used to prepare for it when he was here along with…" she stops suddenly, realizing that she'd been about to say too much, "Along with all of his friends."

Shalini smiles at the slightly lost look on Naina's face, assuming something else entirely.

"You know Naina, you're lucky to have a husband who adores you so much," she tells her, "I don't know how he ever coped without having you here."

"It's not…" Naina begins to say, a bit embarrassed, "I mean to say…"

"There's no need to deny it," Shalini tells her, "I've seen the way he looks at you, it's clear to everybody."

And Naina blushes, because even she's noticed the way that Rajveer looks at her sometimes, although she has pretended that she hasn't. It gives her a feeling low in her stomach that she can't quite describe.

"You're right, I am lucky." Naina tells her, "But I'm sure that you'll find a good husband too."

"Actually I'm already married," Shalini admits, "But we're currently separated."

"Oh," Naina suddenly feels terrible for her earlier comment. "I'm really sorry, I didn't know."

"It's okay, nobody here does." Shalini tells her, "Rajveer wasn't the only one that decided to keep his marriage a secret."

"I hope that everything will work out," Naina tells her, "You really do deserve somebody who loves you."

"We don't always get what we deserve in life." Shalini remarks sadly, and Naina can't help but think about how true this is. She thinks about all the people in this academy who have been hurt for various reasons, who has received too much pain in life. Now it's been revealed that Shalini is also a member of that list.

"So tell me about the first time you and Rajveer ever met," Shalini says, the smile having returned to her face. "I know you had an arranged marriage, but you must have had some type of reaction when you first saw him."

Naina thinks back to that day. She had barely looked at him, she hadn't had the courage, and she had spent most of the time crying while he told them the truth.

"I liked his honesty," she tells Shalini, "He was very sincere, very kind, and he was genuinely worried about my Baba, about our situation…"

"Your Baba?" Shalini asks, and Naina realizes that she has revealed more than she should have.

"Baba was dying of cancer when we first met." She admits, "He wanted me to be settled properly before he went, to fulfill his last duty. That's why I got married so young."

A look of understanding comes onto Shalini's face, suddenly a lot more things are starting to make sense. Naina's quietness, Rajveer's reluctance to answer too many questions about their marriage.

"Well I'm glad that your father made such a good choice for you," she tells Naina, "Otherwise we never would have met."

Naina smiles too, agreeing with her. She is slowly becoming comfortable with Raj, and the more she gets to know him, the happier she is.

But so many things could still spoil that happiness… and Naina worries about this too.

"Well shall we go to the courtyard?" Shalini asks her, "It's almost time for the flag raising ceremony to begin."

**

Ritu smiles.

It is the perfect plan, it really is.

She knows that he will figure it out in time, and she knows that he will stop it, but that's not the point.

He will know that the spy is serious, and in his panic, he may slip up and reveal something important about the location of the triggers.

And besides that, her plan has another intended benefit…

Yes, it will work quite nicely.

**

It is only ten minutes before the ceremony when Raj receives the next note, and he immediately begins to panic. The spy was definitely planning on carrying their attack out, and he still hadn't been able to figure out exactly what their plan was.

He stands in the main courtyard, knowing that they're most likely to strike here, and stays alert and on the lookout for anything suspicious. The cadets have already assembled and are standing in formation, and now the faculty members are entering. He sees Naina enter with Shalini and then go to stand with Suriji and Lolita. He's beginning to think that he should've warned her, warned somebody, but nobody is supposed to know that a spy has infiltrated the academy.

Raj takes his position, alert for any changes or sudden movements. It's only when Brigadier Chandook begins to speak that he realizes there's only place he hadn't thought to inspect, one place where an explosive device could be hidden. And Brigadier Chandook would be a very good target for any spy wanting to make a statement.

However when BC calls upon Dr Mishra instead, Raj decides that the spy couldn't have known about this plan. He's sure that his suspicion is right, and he's not worried that he'll be making a mistake. As Dr Mishra steps forward, preparing to unfurl the flag, Raj rushes towards her.

"Dr Mishra, don't do it!" he calls out, and she looks up, an expression like surprise on her face then unfurls the flag anyway. Quickly he launches himself forward, pushing her out of the way as the flag rises and there is an explosion.

The cadets begin screaming, and scatter towards the exits, Raj is vaguely aware of somebody calling out his name as the smoke settles and he finds himself on the ground with Ritu. Quickly getting off her, he offers her a hand up, noticing that she has a nasty scrape on her arm.

"Cadets calm down!" Brigadier Chandook calls out, "Stand to attention right now!" Reluctantly, and a bit fearfully they do so, looking around as if to make sure that there's not going to be another explosion.

Naina and Shalini both hurry over, wanting to check that they're both okay. As Naina comes up to him and touches his face, Raj realizes that he has a small cut on one cheek. She takes a hold of his arm then, and looking at it for the first time he winces, realizing that a small piece of shrapnel from the exploding stand has lodged itself in his arm.

"Rajveer…" she says, and the look on her face is of such terror that he has no idea how to comfort her.

"It's fine, Naina." He tells her, "It's not a major injury, I'll be perfectly okay." But she's still clutching his arm as if to reassure herself that he is alright, he's not going to die, he's not going to leave her…

"We need to get you both to the infirmary," Shalini tells them, "Especially you, Captain Rajveer. We need to remove that shred of shrapnel from your arm as soon as possible."

"Just one second, Shalini." Raj tells her, and taking a moment he stands and salutes the flag with his right hand, Naina, Shalini and Ritu all join him, and when it has been enough time they head towards the infirmary, Naina still holding Raj's arm, trying to stem the flow of the blood without touching the scrap imbedded in his arm.

When they reach the room Shalini sits Ritu down on the couch and then turns to Raj, making him her first priority. "We'll remove the scrap first," she tells him, "It doesn't seem as if it's imbedded too deeply, so hopefully it won't cause you too much pain."

Naina doesn't leave his side, in fact she holds the hand of his other arm as Shalini digs the metal out of his arm.

Overwhelmed by the pain for a moment, Raj clutches her hand even tighter, then realizes that he might be hurting her and relaxes his grip. Finally Shalini is done and she turns to him with a grim look on her face. "You're very lucky, Captain." She tells him, "And so are you, Rituji. If Captain Rajveer hadn't realized in time then…"

Ritu nods, looking thankful. None of them could possibly have guessed that she had expected it to turn out exactly this way. If Captain Rajveer hadn't realized in time then she would've gotten herself out of the way, her training had been good of course.

"Alright Naina, why don't you bandage your husband's arm and fix up his cheek and I'll attend to Ritu." Shalini told her, and Naina nodded, still looking a little white and unable to speak.

Taking the bandaging material, she wrapped it carefully around Raj's arm, being careful to apply exactly enough pressure to stop the bleeding as soon as possible. That done, she begins to clean the scratch on his cheek before applying a bandaid to it, knowing that it isn't too deep. After she's done she brushes his cheek with her fingers almost tenderly, and then stands beside him, one of her hands resting on his arm lightly.

Shalini has been cleaning the scrape on Ritu's arm and bandaging it, but she can't miss seeing Naina's reactions or the care that she gives to Raj. And while Naina may not have seen it, she certainly noticed the look that Raj had given his wife while she was bandaging his arm. She's just glad that he's perfectly alright, otherwise she doesn't know how Naina ever would've coped.

If Shalini had been less involved in watching them then she may have noticed the look of annoyance on Ritu's face instead. This hadn't been how it was supposed to work out. Now she has to watch the Captain romance with his wife in the infirmary when he was supposed to be worried about her instead.

"I'd better go and report to Brigadier Chandook." Raj tells them, "He will need a full report now about the incident."

"Are you sure that you shouldn't be resting?" Naina asks him worriedly, "I mean, your arm…"

"Naina, I've had worse injuries than this before." He tells her, "And right now I think it's best to reassure the cadets that Dr Mishra and I are both fine and that everything is under control."

Naina nods, realizing that he's right, she had seen the way they had panicked when the bomb exploded. If she's honest then even she had panicked, but instead of running she had stood frozen to the spot. She knows that she had screamed his name, for a moment fearing the worst.

"Alright," she tells him, "I'll go and see how the cadets are doing, will you come there after seeing Brigadier Chandook?"

"I will," Raj promises her, "Try to keep their spirits up for me."

Naina heads off to find the cadets, and Raj leaves to report to Brigadier Chandook, knowing that he'll have to explain how he knew about the bomb. He thinks it may be best to tell him about the anonymous note he received without revealing anything more.

As soon as they've left the room, Shalini turns to Ritu and smiles.

"Well at least everybody is alright," she announces cheerfully, although she is honestly worried about the fact that somebody managed to plant a bomb within the academy without their knowledge. "What a sweet pair they make."

"Of course." Ritu says, resisting the urge to glare after them. Her plan had only half worked, while it had been a good challenge to Captain Rajveer in order to let him know of her presence, it had failed to bring him any closer to her. In fact if anything, it had just helped to prove how close he was to his wife."

Ritu had had enough, she would have to come up with a new plan, and soon.

**

Naina had been trying to calm down the cadets when Raj finally arrived, having finished his meeting with Brigadier Chandook. He spent a further few minutes with them, impressing upon them the importance of not allowing terrorist attacks to scare you, as this was exactly what the terrorists wanted. After his brief speech he noticed that at the very least, they appeared a little bit more calmer and more determined. He knew that they would become good soldiers, all they needed was a bit of encouragement and a chance to prove themselves.

"How did you know?" Naina asked him quietly as they left, "How did you figure out that it was going to happen?"

"Somebody sent me a note," he admits to her, "It was lucky that I guessed in time, it was only when Brigadier Chandook started talking about the flag raising that I realized where they may have hidden the bomb."

Naina nods, and they head for the mess where Suriji is preparing to serve a special lunch, not wanting the earlier attack to disrupt the rest of the plans for the day.

Naina remains by his side whenever possible for the rest of the day, and Raj can't help but notice the way she keeps glancing at him as if to reassure herself that he really is okay.

Luckily the rest of the day passes exactly to plan, and the cadets are allowed some time off to relax and play games. Raj is tired after the long day and his injury and he decides to go to bed early after dinner, realizing that he will need sleep in order for his body to recover.

Naina follows him inside the room, still watching him carefully. When he begins to unfold his bedding in order to make his bed on the floor, she stops him.

"I really don't think you should be sleeping on the floor with your arm like that," she tells him, "Sleep on the bed tonight."

Raj looks at her, surprised. "But I…" he begins to say, "I mean, are you sure?"

"As a doctor in training, I'm very sure." She tells him, and then seeing his continued uncertain expression she smiles slightly as if to reassure him. "Really it's fine," she tells him, and picking up his pillow, Raj lies down on the bed for the first time in a month.

Naina also climbs into the bed, adjusting the covers over herself and then checking that he's comfortable. "Just try not to roll onto your arm in the night," she tells him, "And if you're feeling any pain then wake me up immediately."

"I will," Raj tells her, even though he would prefer not to, "Hopefully these painkillers that Shalini has given me will last until morning."

They lie a short distance apart from each other, and yet each is very aware of the other's presence, of their proximity. Naina switches off the light, and Raj can hear her breathing in the dark, he can tell from the speed of her breaths that she's not exactly calm.

"I was really scared today," she says quietly, "I thought that you…"

He wishes that he could see her face, but it's far too dark.

"That's what the life of a soldier is like, Naina." He tells her, "Sometimes things like this happens."

"It's alright, you're fine." She says, almost as if to reassure herself.

"Nothing will happen to me, Naina." Raj promises her, "Don't worry too much."

There is silence for a minute, and then….

"Happy Independence Day," she whispers to him quietly.

"Happy Independence Day." He tells her, and then allows his eyes to close and sleep to overcome him.

Despite everything, it had turned out quite well.

Excellent dear both your part are fantastic

good FF

pl continue soon

wonderful,brilliant,mind blowing,fantastic,extraordinary,too cool,awesome 👏 Please Please update soon

fantastic and mind blowing just too gud loved it completely do cont. soon 😊 😊