Page 39
Story: Substitute Bride
As soon as Raghunath hears Jhankar's name, he forgets to say anything and smiles instantly. He immediately comes insidequickly. Vikrant is also behind him. As they come inside, Jhankar is sitting quietly on the sofa, and her eyes are on the door. As soon as she sees Raghunath, she instantly becomes frustrated with him and utters the following words.
"When you know very well that you are not well, then what was the need to go to the office? Why don't you sit at home and take some rest?"
Raghunath feels a sense of joy upon seeing his daughter after a prolonged absence. Raghunath says this while trying to control his emotions.
"My health is not that bad."
As soon as Jhankar hears him, she immediately stands up and comes to him, touches his head and neck, and then stares at him and shouts even louder.
"Your health is not too bad; your whole body is burning, and you are saying that you are not feeling well. I don't understand whether you are a small child or we are your children who are explaining this to you. You say that there should never be any problem, and I say that both your legs should be fractured so that you can take a rest, and even if one leg gets fractured, you will be able to walk on one leg and go to your office.”
Hearing Jhankar's words, everyone there is laughing while suppressing their laughter; only Vikrant is looking at Jhankar cautiously. Jhankar forcibly makes Raghunath sit on the sofa and turns to look at Chitrali, who is just looking at her husband and daughter while holding back tears in her eyes. Upon catching sight of Chitrali, Jhankar addresses her.
"You have prepared something for him; he will have to take medicine; the doctor is also standing here; let's give him all the injections so that he gets rid of all the urge to go to the office."
"Hotchpotch..."
"Then the hotchpotch will fly into his mouth on its own… Bring it to me; I will feed him."
"I will not eat hotchpotch. I find it very tasteless."
"So should I get a pizza delivered for you from Domino's? You will sit here and eat it comfortably, then go to the office, right? First, get well."
As soon as Raghunath complains to her about the tasteless hotchpotch, she immediately replies to him, due to which Vikrant sits quietly on the single sofa with a slight smile. The doctor begins administering his injection while simultaneously examining Raghunath. Chitrali quickly brings hotchpotch, then Jhankar takes the plate from her and sits in front of Raghunath; with an angry expression, she puts a spoonful of hotchpotch in front of him. Raghunath is staring at the hotchpotch, but he doesn't feel like eating at all. Suddenly, Jhankar places the plate on the table, holds his jaw, and forcibly begins feeding him hotchpotch. Vikrant, observing the scene with his palm pressed to his lips to conceal his smile, finds the beauty of it all so captivating that he can't help but smile. Raghunath even eats something forcefully from Jhankar, and the doctor has also given him an injection, resulting in him sleeping effortlessly and feeling sleepy, so the doctor helps him and takes him to his bedroom, and Chitrali also goes with him and asks a few questions of the doctor who was treating him. Jhankar turned to Vikrant.
"They told me his blood pressure is low and he's under stress, but he had a very high fever... I am totally unaware of this."
The doctor quickly looked towards Jhankar and informed her about Raghunath's condition.
“His blood pressure was causing several problems. The stress lead to fatigue and chest pain, for which we were treating him. But due to a change in weather, he also developed a fever. You can see how careless he is with his health. I clearly asked him not to go to the office and to rest instead, but this morning when I came, he had already left. That’s when I informed Sir.”
The doctor tells her while looking at Vikrant, and Jhankar starts looking at him again. He says.
“I call him in the office, and he says that he is fine. I also recently learned that he has a fever. Starting tomorrow, I will let my man know that he won't be able to come to the office until he fully recovers."
“Stay here tonight; Papa is also unwell.”
Vikrant and Jhankar both turn around upon hearing Chitrali's voice, and although Jhankar immediately wants to hug her mother to comfort her, she is unable to express this desire. She quickly turns towards Vikrant to inform him that she wants to stay here tonight, but he swiftly responds with denial by shaking his head. Chitrali is unable to say anything more; Jhankar quickly walked over to her father, while Chitrali quietly walked away, head lowered. Vikrant watched her closely. He saw a helpless mother and wife — and he felt a strange ache inside. Emotions kept washing over him, but he was determined not to give in. He knew that allowing himself to feel too deeply would be a kind of defeat — one he could not afford. Since his arrival, he had seen how close-knit this family was — how far they would go for one another. He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt to ease the discomfort, but it wasn’t just the heat — it was something within him, something emotional, that made him uneasy.
~~~~
Jhankar is talking to Sharda very happily, but Sharda can clearly see on her face that she is only pretending to be happy; she is not happy at all. As a result, she holds her hand very lovingly and tells her so.
“Jhankar, what’s wrong? I can tell you’re not okay. If something is bothering you, talk to me.”
"Aunty, I don't know whether there is a problem or not. I only know that I have given interviews at so many places. It has been 20 days now, but I have not received a response from anywhere. I have not even received a single call. I have applied for even the smallest vacancy. Either I am in a hurry, or this happens to everyone. I was selected for campus placement, so I was very sure that I did not need to do anything. I never imagined that I would have to conduct interviews with companies after placement. However, there's no need to be concerned. I am slightly concerned. Not much. Not all vacancies have been filled yet. Even now, I have compiled a list of numerous companies, many of which are actively conducting interviews. I am confident that I will find a suitable position somewhere. The companies may be seeking the best candidate for their positions. That is why it is taking so long."
Sharda smiles lightly after listening to Jhankar because she is thrilled to see how strong this girl can be. Due to an important meeting, Vikrant has not yet arrived. Both of them sit and talk for a long time at night. After conversing with her for several hours, she finally says,
“You should go to sleep because I also want to rest too. Anyway, if Vikrant comes, he will definitely come to my room and disturb me. I should take some rest before that.”
Jhankar laughs lightly after listening to Sharda, and she says to her,.
"It seems you have never allowed this child to grow up."
“He grew up the day his mother left him so cruelly,” Sharda said quietly. “He loved her dearly. And ever since she abandoned him, he’s had no respect for women. He sees every woman as selfish, a betrayer, or a gold-digger. But appearances can be deceiving. Vikrant is like that—scarred on the inside. In time, you’ll understand him.”
Jhankar carefully listens to Sharda, but in the next moment, she stands in front of her and speaks to her.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132