Page 66

Story: Substitute Bride

The doctor explains everything to Vikrant thoroughly. Vikrant takes the injection and replies:

“Make arrangements for a female doctor as soon as possible. From now on, whenever Jhankar needs medical attention, only a female doctor should attend to her.”

The doctor nods, understanding the intensity of Vikrant’s gaze. He can feel that if he touches Vikrant’s wife again, Vikrant might kill him with just a look. So he quickly gets up and extends his hand for the injection. Sitting beside Jhankar, Vikrant says,

“I asked for five transmitter capsules because I don’t want a single failure. I must always know where Jhankar is. You all can leave now. You’ve already told me where to insert them—I’ll do it myself.”

Everyone starts watching Vikrant closely. They know he’s capable of injecting transmitters, but the tone in his voice today reveals a new, terrifying side of him. They lower their eyes and leave. Vikrant takes a small capsule in liquid form that can be injected easily, approaches Jhankar, and inspects the area near her neck. He speaks:

“In the mafia, there is no room for forgiveness. Today’s event has made it clear to me that I must take care of you more carefully to prevent any danger.”

He holds her hand and suddenly kisses her palm. The act brings him a strange sense of peace. He examines her arm and places another transmitter there. Gazing at her, he says,

“Whenever one mafia captures a member of another and tortures them, the first thing they do is check for transmitters.”

He injects the capsule into her other arm, gently wipes the blood, and says with a smile:

“These transmitters are very hard to find. But I can’t fully trust technology—anything can happen. They might find one or two, but not all. That’s why I’m installing more than necessary.”

He then turns toward her leg. Jhankar is wearing shorts, which he lifts slightly to check her thigh. He locates a proper spot and injects another capsule, saying,

“No matter how brave you try to act, you’re too innocent for the mafia world. You may have achieved a lot in your normal life, but here, you won’t adjust. As long as you’re with me and unaware of everything, I’ll try my best to protect you from it all.”

After doing the same on the sole of her foot, he adjusts her clothes, sits beside her, and looks at her face.

“I’ve realized we have no control over our emotions. And now, I know I won’t let you leave me. Until now, I was listening to you saying you’d leave once Maa's health improves. But now I know how to keep you close.”

After completing everything, he opens the door again. A nurse and the doctor enter. Vikrant watches everyone carefully, and the doctor, with his eyes downcast, says:

“As per your instruction, from now on, a female doctor will be present for Madam. It’s important to monitor the effect the transmitters are having on her body. Right now, the nurse who was attending to Sharda Madam will perform the checkup.”

No one dares look directly into Vikrant’s room—everyone’s eyes remain lowered. After thoroughly inspecting Jhankar, the nurse reports to the doctor, who then turns to Vikrant:

“Sir, this needle is slightly thicker than usual. Even if there’s no swelling now, she will definitely feel pain tomorrow in the injection areas. It will take two days for the transmitters to adjust. It’s best for her to rest at home. After that, you can operate the transmitters via your mobile.”

Vikrant closes the door and returns to the bed. He re-ties the scarf around his wrist, lies down beside Jhankar, caresses her face, and says,

“I don’t know what’s right or wrong, but after the accident, I only know one thing—you are very special.”

He keeps watching her until sleep finally embraces him.

CHAPTER 27

FEW CHANGES

Jhankar slowly opens her eyes and sees Vikrant in front of her, feeling a tremendous sense of relief that he is sleeping on this side alone. She slept on the same side because she doesn't understand why she didn’t wake up at night. Observing her hand closely, still entwined with Vikrant’s, she comes to the realization that perhaps he didn’t turn in his sleep, which explains her lack of awakening. Anyway, she was very upset after seeing all this, and she felt that she was not going to sleep at all the whole night, but she felt very strange thinking about how she fell asleep.

Looking at Vikrant cautiously, she wants to check by touching his head whether he has a fever or not, because usually, a person gets a fever after getting hurt. But she is a little scared of touching him and is unable to stop herself, so she checks him by putting the tips of her fingers on his head very lightly, and immediately a smile appears on her face because Vikrant does not have a high temperature at all. She sits quietly and begins to remove her scarf from her hands, but her eyes are constantly drawn to Vikrant due to the bandages on his back, which are bothering and frightening her. Seeing him in this state constantly reminds her of yesterday’s accident.

Jhankar rises from the bed and directs her gaze towards Vikrant. However, as she abruptly places her foot on the ground, she screams loudly and falls, causing Vikrant to wake up instantly.

“Ahhhh….”

“Jhankar….”

Jhankar is lying on the ground and crying while holding her foot. Vikrant, who had woken up as soon as she touched him but was only feeling her touch with his eyes closed, suddenly hears her scream and opens his eyes to see her lying on the ground. He quickly runs towards her after getting down from the bed, takes her in his arms, and makes her sit on the bed, but Jhankar is crying, still holding her foot. So he holds her face and says to her,

“What happened? Did you fall suddenly, or was it something else?”