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“No, I am not so tired that I can’t sit and talk to you.”

Sharda smiles lightly after listening to her, because Jhankar often spends time with her, and she likes this very much. In the meantime, Jhankar wants to tell her a little about Vikrant, but she is not getting a chance to do so. After some time, Vikrant comes there, and upon realizing his presence, Jhankar doesn’t look at him at all and says to Sharda:

“Talk with him; now I will take some rest.”

Sharda smiles, and Jhankar starts leaving from there without looking at Vikrant, but Vikrant’s eyes are only on Jhankar. She comes to her room and checks her mobile first. On seeing it, a smile appears on her face.

“I have got a job at V International, and I have to join from tomorrow…”

Jhankar immediately stands up and starts going back to Sharda, but remembering that Vikrant is there, she right away sits back down on the sofa, his blood-soaked appearance haunting her.

“I should neither have too much affection for these people nor should I think too much about what they do and why they do it. I just have to think about my family and protect them from all these things. I have got a job, and now I just have to work hard, do everything for my parents, and think only about them. Apart from this, I don’t have to do anything else… As soon as Aunty’s health improves, I will have to talk about divorce as soon as possible and take the first step to get out of here.”

Jhankar looks at the mail again and smiles lightly. She immediately calls her mother and shares her happiness about getting a job. She soon realizes that Vikrant is probably coming to his room, so she lies down on the sofa, covers herself with a duvet, and hides her face toward the sofa because she would rather not face him. The scene that she witnessed yesterday was truly frightening.

Vikrant enters the room, and his eyes first go to the sofa where Jhankar is lying. He stands there for a moment and looks at her but soon goes to change his clothes because it’s very late, and he does not like being late at all. As soon as he comes back to the room, he sees Jhankar in the same position, the way he has been observing her since yesterday. Looking at her, he lies down on his bed, switches off the light, and tries to sleep. But sleep is far from his eyes, and again and again, his entire attention goes toward Jhankar, because she has been avoiding him like a disease since yesterday. He knows what the reason is, but since yesterday, a strange restlessness has been bothering him that he cannot avoid at all. He turns to one side, his entire attention still on Jhankar, and he just keeps looking at her continuously because he doesn’t know what else he should do at this time.

CHAPTER 24

VIKRANT'S CALM REVELATION

Jhankar no longer engages in much conversation with Vikrant on any topic and makes a concerted effort to keep herself excessively occupied. She has only interacted with Sharda for the past 3 days. These behaviors disturb Vikrant in a peculiar way, and he genuinely cannot fathom why they trouble him so deeply. His sole desire is to keep Jhankar near him, hoping to dispel the fear she harbors toward him. He believes that if this fear persists, it might eventually come to Sharda’s notice, which he desperately wishes to prevent. Therefore, he has worked with the doctor and used various strategies to ensure Raghunath is readmitted to the hospital for two days, solely to have a positive interaction with her, as she is not providing him any opportunities at home. As Vikrant slowly makes his way to Raghunath’s ward, he notices that Jhankar is still engrossed in her online work. Then, Jhankar closes her eyes and speaks to him.

“I told you that you should stay at home, as there’s no need for you here anyway; there are plenty of people here.”

Vikrant remains silent and quietly settles onto the single sofa in front of Raghunath’s bed, removes his shoes, and lies down carefully. Jhankar closes her laptop and begins to gaze at him. Fully aware of her stare, Vikrant lies quietly with his eyes closed and his hands resting on his chest. Jhankar continues to watch him silently, and after setting her laptop aside, she reclinescomfortably on the large sofa, her usual sleeping spot in the hospital when they are together. Vikrant adjusts the single sofa properly and falls asleep on it. Jhankar’s eyelids grow heavy, but as long as her eyes remain open, she only looks at Vikrant. She knows well that he must be asleep by now, exhausted from the day, so she suddenly rises and retrieves a duvet from the small bag she brought from home. She is aware that Vikrant refuses to use hospital blankets or coverlets, no matter how much he might need them. She approaches him quietly, covers him with the duvet, and turns to return to her place. Then Vikrant speaks.

“Thank you…”

She turns around and looks at him. Vikrant opens his eyes, meets her gaze, and notices the second duvet clearly visible in her bag. He closes his eyes again and lies back quietly. Jhankar turns away, closes her eyes tightly, lightly bites her tongue, and quickly returns to the sofa, lying down with her back to him and pulling the duvet over her head. She had assumed he was asleep, which is why she went to cover him. Vikrant slowly opens his eyes and smiles at her. He closes his eyes again and begins to recall an incident from two nights ago.

PAST INCIDENT

Jhankar is sleeping deeply, while Vikrant is working. He is surprised that Jhankar fell asleep so early today and glances at her two or three times; he knows her reasons to avoid him. He is in the hospital to talk to her. However, the situation is such that he has many opportunities to talk to her, but he is unable to seize even a single one of those chances to have a conversation. The way she sleeps, curled up with her legs tucked in, makes him a bit uneasy. He approaches her and gently touches her forehead, but Jhankar immediately grabs his hand.

“Mom, please cover me.”

Seeing Jhankar in this state, he grows concerned. He is about to call the staff to request a duvet when Jhankar tightly grips his hand.

"It’s cold…” she says in a sleepy voice.

He first adjusts the air conditioning to raise the room’s temperature, suspecting that Jhankar, unaccustomed to prolonged exposure to AC, often feels cold. Without delay, he removes his jacket and covers her with it, which she clutches tightly in her sleep. He steps out to instruct his guards to arrange a duvet as quickly as possible. They also bring hospital blankets, which he glares at angrily, but given the urgency, he has no choice. When he returns and begins covering Jhankar with the duvet, he tries to retrieve his jacket, but she holds it tightly in her sleep. Instead of taking it, he carefully covers her legs with the duvet to ensure her comfort. Returning to his spot, he observes Jhankar, now sleeping peacefully, her face reflecting deep relaxation. After finishing his work, he tries to rest, knowing that sleeping here is nearly impossible for him. Still hoping to relax his eyes, he lies down with them closed. He doesn’t know how long he stayed like that, but in the morning, with the sound of chirping birds, he realizes Jhankar is about to wake. He opens his eyes and watches her as she comfortably wraps herself in his jacket, smiling as if seeing something delightful in her dreams. Vikrant cannot take his eyes off her when he sees her smile like this. Jhankar slowly opens her eyes, takes a deep breath, rubs her palms together, and presses them to her eyes twice. On the third time, she examines her palms closely. Vikrant observes her intently for the first time. She then holds his jacket tightly, as if hugging a comforter, and realizes it belongs to someone else. She lifts it, inspecting the collar closely, her eyes widening as she tries to recognize whose jacket it is. This makes Vikrant smile. Just as Jhankar is about to look at him, he closes his eyes,knowing she is watching him but pretending to sleep. Jhankar approaches him quietly, examines him closely, and then covers him with his jacket, saying softly.

“You’re not that bad… But you’re not good either.”

She sticks out her tongue, makes a slight sound, and heads to the washroom. When Vikrant hears the door close, he opens his eyes, glances at the washroom door, smiles faintly, and then closes his eyes again, lying back quietly.

PAST INCIDENT ENDS

Jhankar is hastily preparing for her first day at the office, determined to avoid any delays. At the same time, she is aware that Vikrant is in the room, someone she wants to avoid at all costs. Vikrant, who can sense her avoidance very well, keeps looking at her repeatedly while continuing his work. Knowing that Jhankar will never tell him anything, he speaks up.

“Looks like you’ve finally got a job. Would you like to tell me where you’re going?”

Jhankar, not wanting to argue with him and knowing this isn't something she needs to hide, responds while continuing her work without looking at him.

“I’ve got a job at V International, and from there, I’ll go straight to my father’s place. I’m staying there tonight…. Already asked Sharda Maa.”

Vikrant continues looking at her, knowing full well that she hasn’t looked at him even once. Still, he slightly nods. Meanwhile, Jhankar checks the time—before leaving, she wants to spend some time with Sharda, who is ill and appreciates having someone around. Without delay, she leaves the room.Vikrant, watching her closely, murmurs while resting his arm on his knee,