Posted:
O madam...you said you would post one chap today...come on now...i know you can do it...besides, i need some inspiration for my upcoming chapters of marriage, SR and honeymoon...
O madam...you said you would post one chap today...come on now...i know you can do it...besides, i need some inspiration for my upcoming chapters of marriage, SR and honeymoon...
Originally posted by: Sujatha.rao
Suja...so sorry...but by evening for sure...I haven't even started writing yet...rahi inspiration ki baat...woh show waali Ashu ki aansoo mei beh gaye 😭
🤣 i thought we decided on something last night regarding this issue...😉
Originally posted by: Sujatha.rao
Chapter 11
Very well scripted a big wow👏Ashutosh rotated his shoulders wearily. It has been a long and arduous but, thankfully, successful surgery. The patient had been a young man, possibly in his late twenties and newly married. He had been diagnosed with an intracranial solid neoplasm and required immediate surgical intervention. It had been a surgery sponsored by local Rotary club. Ashutosh had waived off his fee on account of the patient's family circumstances. The man held a clerical post with a private firm and his wife was a sales assistant. They had married against the wishes of their respective families.
The wife had fallen at Ashutosh's feet in gratitude on being told that the surgery was successful. Her words still rang in Ashutosh's ears.
"Thank you for saving my life, Doctor saab...without him, I would have died too!"
It was not a dramatic statement but whispered with such sincerity and conviction that Ashutosh had been shaken. He had sent a prayer up to God, thanking him for making his hands skilled enough to save a life. It was times like this when he felt good about himself and what he did. His life was worth living after all!
He switched on his mobile to inform Nidhi that he was delayed and would see her tomorrow. There were three missed calls from an unknown number. There was a message from the same number asking him to call back. It indicated that the sender was Anjie.
Ashutosh was confused. Wasn't Anjie Nidhi's flatmate? Why was she messaging him? Was Nidhi unwell or something?
A sense of foreboding overtook him and his palms became clammy with sweat.
'God, please let my Nidhi be fine. I can't take it if something were to happen to her.'
Ashutosh hurriedly dialled the number and waited for the caller to pick up.
"Hello...?"
"Hello Anji...this is Ashutosh...what hap..?"
She cut in before he could even complete.
"Why the bloody hell did you take so long to call?"
He was taken aback by the vehemence of her tone.
"Am sorry...I was in surgery!"
"Wow...you go around saving lives after personally destroying one yourself!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Nidhi 's been taken to the Lucknow Chowk police station for interrogation...!"
"What?...what happened...was she in an accident or something...?"
"Let me complete...the good news is yet to come...a complaint has been filed against her under the immoral trafficking act!"
Ashutosh felt like somebody had punched him hard in the gut. He stumbled for a second before stabilizing himself with a hand against the wall.
"Anji...what are you saying...is Nidhi okay...where are you...what...?"
"I am with her...and I always will be,...the question is where are you, Dr Ashutosh?"
The line went dead.
Ashutosh could not believe what he had heard. How could this have happened? What had his Nidhi done to deserve such humiliation?
The answer was not too hard to figure. There was no time to introspect or dither now though.
He called Armaan right away.
"Armaan...listen...come to the Lucknow Chowk police station now!"
"What happened, Ashu...is this some kind of a practical joke...or have you murdered Mallika or something?"
"Not yet, Armaan...not yet...Armaan, just come...Nidhi's been taken there!"
"Who ?"
"Nidhi, Armaan...the woman I love...they have picked her up for soliciting...!"
"What...?"
"Armaan, I am just rushing there...please come...!"
Ashutosh did not wait for his reply.
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"So, your name is Dr Nidhi Verma?"
"Yes!"
"So, you are a doctor?"
"Yes!"
"So where do you work...or only private practice for special clients?"
Nidhi told herself that the dirty insinuation did not matter. Nor did the leering gleam in his eye! It did not matter that he was mentally stripping her even as he supposedly interrogated her. Her self-esteem and strength came from within her. Nobody could strip her of that!
"I am not working anywhere at the moment!"
"So where were you working before?"
"At KGH!"
"So, why you don't work there anymore?"
"Because my internship is over!"
"So they did not give you job?"
"No!"
"So, why did they not give you a job?"
Nidhi remained silent.
"So, why you are not answering...did you have affair shaffair with someone there also?"
"Officer, what does KGH have to do with all of this...what is my crime that you have brought me here for?"
"So we have reports that many men visit you at your flat!"
"Who told you that?"
"So all the residents of the apartment have called the house owner...!"
"Who are these people...tell me...?"
"So, you do not ask questions...only we ask...and you must answer!"
"So yes, please ask?"
"So, do many men visit you at your flat?"
"So, does men visiting my flat imply that I am a wh**e!"
"So, please speak with respect!"
"So, why should i when you are treating me like a common criminal..when I have committed no crime...!"
"So that is for us to decide...you have to answer every question we ask!"
"Not really, officer...she does have the right to remain silent...and ask for the presence of her lawyer...!"
Both Nidhi and the police officer turned at the sound of the voice.
"So who are you?"
"Her lawyer!"
Nidhi looked at him in surprise. A portly man with a kind face, he seemed to exude confidence.
"Nidhi, you need not answer any of his questions...I'll take it from here...and Officer, can I have a copy of the complaint that you have received against Nidhi...and a copy of the FIR if you have filed one...?"
The inspector was taken aback at the frontal attack and seemed to lose some of his bluster.
"So we have brought her in for questioning...!"
"Did you not know that it is against the law for a woman to be forcibly brought in for questioning after 6 pm even if there is a warrant against her...and more importantly, a woman police officer has to be present at the time of the arrest?"
He turned to Nidhi.
"Nidhi, was there a lady officer present when you were picked up?"
She shook her head in the negative.
"So Officer, there has been a gross procedural violation...anyway, i want a copy of the complaint please!"
The cop swallowed before answering.
"It is with the superintendent...he has gone on rounds...you will have to wait till he is back...!"
"Fair enough...we will wait!"
Armaan nodded to Nidhi and she followed him silently.
As they moved towards the reception area, she saw Ashutosh standing with Anji.
Suddenly everything made sense!
"Are you Armaan?"
Armaan turned to her in surprise.
"You know me?"
She nodded her head enthusiastically.
"Even about the time Ashutosh and you smuggled stink bombs into the remand home...that was so funny!"
Her eyes were filled with suppressed mirth as she said this.
Armaan was stunned. The girl knew all about his and Ashu's exploits at the remand home?
Anji came forward and hugged Nidhi tight.
"You're okay...they did not do anything to you?"
"Anji...come on now...I am fine...what can they do to me?"
Armaan could not believe what he was seeing.
The girl was so strong and composed. She was actually consoling her friend after all of this. There was a new respect in his eyes as he viewed her, before turning to Ashutosh.
Ashutosh was oblivious to the world. His eyes were fixed on Nidhi and Nidhi alone.
His hands were clenched at his side, as if he was preventing himself from reaching out to her. The guilt on his face and in his eyes indicated that he was dying a thousand deaths within.
Nidhi and he could have been the only ones in that room, for all he seemed aware of anything else.
Nidhi extricated herself from Anjie's arms as she turned to him.
As she gazed into his eyes, the intensity of her feelings seemed to seep through in the form of the tears that gathered in her eyes. She stepped up to him, simply put her head on his shoulder and an arm around his waist. That seemed to shake Ashutosh out of his stupor. His arms went around her and he hugged her tight to himself. Both shed tears that cleansed them of pain, humiliation and hurt until all that remained was the love they shared.
Armaan could feel the prick of tears. He was a cynic, for he had been witness to too many ugly spectacles in his life. And yet, even while he felt he was intruding into an incredibly private moment, he was glad for it. It gave him comfort that there was still love as pure and intense as this, despite the stigma of illegitimacy that the world might attach to this relationship. He was glad that his friend had found love so rare, the kind of the love that people spent lifetimes looking for.
He cleared his throat. Ashutosh looked up as he gestured around them.
"I don't think this is a good idea!"
"You think I bloody care?"
Armaan was taken aback at the vehemence in Ashutosh's voice. It was like the layers of sophistication had been stripped away and Ashutosh was back to being the impulsive young man that he had been!
Ashutosh still had his arm around Nidhi even as he tried to effect formal introductions.
"Armaan, this is Anjie, Nidhi's friend..and this of course is Nidhi...and Nidhi...this is...!"
"Armaan...your partner in crime!"
She spoke up with a bright smile.
"Arre yaar...couldn't you have spared me my blushes...did you have to tell her about the stink bomb kaand too...I mean how will she trust me with her case now?"
His words had a sobering effect. The harshness of their circumstances came back to them in a hurry.
"Armaan...what do the bas***ds want!"
Nidhi was the one who laid a calming hand on his arm.
"Ashu...they don't have a leg to stand on...and there have been huge procedural violations...the idea is to harass Nidhi...!"
"So now that you are here, you can sort it out na...I will take Nidhi and Anji...!"
"Ashu...Nidhi can't leave like that...they are stalling for time...they just want to make it as unpleasant as possible and humiliate her as much as they can...that is it...we'll have to wait for the superintendent to come...they claim he is on rounds...!"
Ashutosh was furious.
"Shall I call one of the higher-ups...I mean...!"
"Ashu...you and I know that this has been done at the behest of one of the higher-ups...and you know on whose behalf they are acting...!"
Ashu's eyes reddened with rage.
"What should we do now?"
"Ashu...can we take conciliatory approach here...let's get damage control in place...and then we can take it from there?"
Ashu looked at him thoughtfully. Then he turned to Nidhi.
"What do you think?"
"I think Armaan is probably right...!"
Nidhi ignored the murderous glare that Anji threw at her.
"So, you guys think I have to smoke the peace pipe for now?"
Nidhi did not meet his eyes and yet nodded.
"So be it!"
Ashu turned on his heel and walked away.
Nidhi stared at his retreating back until he went out of sight!
🤣 i thought we decided on something last night regarding this issue...😉
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