Page 33 of Substitute Bride

Vikrant immediately turns his attention to Jhankar, who is shivering due to the cold.

Previously, in such situations, he didn’t let anyone come near her.

If an employee gets a cold, he doesn’t allow them in the office for 7 days.

He even forbids household workers from touching anything for a period of 15 days.

However, despite being aware of all this, he quietly lies down on his bed and checks on her again.

He doesn’t feel like getting up. Suddenly, Jhankar turns, and her hand lands on his lips.

He instantly lies straight. Her hand still rests on his lips as she continues sleeping.

He feels her fingers on his lips as if they were touching them gently.

He does not remove her hand and tries to sleep with his eyes closed.

However, Jhankar’s hand on his lips stirs a strange feeling within him, preventing him from closing his eyes and causing him to remain focused on her.

Slowly, sleep begins to embrace him. Not wanting her hand to leave his lips, he gently holds it before falling asleep and moving to the sofa.

Vikrant suddenly wakes up in the middle of the night and notices Jhankar is feeling extremely cold.

He quickly comes close to her, but mistaking him for her mother, she clings to him in her sleep.

Vikrant looks at her carefully and touches her forehead.

She doesn’t have a high fever, but her body is shivering.

He had already turned off the AC, but she still felt cold.

So he gently pulls her closer to him. In her sleep, she touches his chest. Unknowingly, he puts his hand under her head, bringing her even closer.

Jhankar tries to gain warmth by gently rubbing her face on his chest. He wraps her snugly in the duvet and holds her close.

She finally begins to feel warm and drifts into a deeper sleep.

Vikrant smiles slightly as he watches her and closes his eyes.

In the morning, Jhankar wakes up with a heavy head.

Her nose is completely blocked, and her head aches terribly.

She opens her eyes with difficulty and moves her hands to rub them—only to find she is holding someone.

She opens her eyes fully and sees Vikrant's chest. Very slowly, she lifts her head and looks at his sleeping face.

She shuts her eyes tightly and whispers,

"I must’ve felt cold at night and clung to him. Now he’s sleeping while holding me… What must he think of me… And when he came here—maybe last night—I was so unwell I didn’t know anything… Maybe he’s unaware… Go away, Jhankar, quietly.”

Jhankar carefully starts to move away from him. Vikrant stirs but does not open his eyes, allowing her to continue. She gently moves his wrist and shifts away, keeping her eyes on him. As soon as she’s free, she sighs in relief.

“Thank God he’s sleeping; otherwise, he might’ve thought I tried to take advantage of him while he was asleep.”

Jhankar immediately leaves, holding her head. As soon as Vikrant realizes she’s gone, he pulls the duvet over his head and bursts into laughter. Meanwhile, Jhankar, with severe pain in her head, goes to the bathroom. As she brushes her teeth, she holds her head.

“I’ll shampoo properly once. Definitely, I’ll feel better. I have to go to the office; I can’t take leave right now.”

After finishing everything, she stands under the shower.

The water isn’t too cold, which brings her relief.

Shampooing while lightly massaging her head makes her feel even better.

She enjoys a moment of relaxation, opens her eyes, and gently brushes her hair back.

After bathing, she ties her hair in a towel and begins searching for clothes.

However, she had forgotten to bring any due to her headache.

“Shit… Where’s his bathrobe?”

She looks for Vikrant’s bathrobe but can’t find it.

“He’s been using the other bathroom lately; that’s why his bathrobe isn’t here… What should I do now? I guess I’ll wrap myself in a towel and go out, he’s sleeping anyway….. Nooo…”

As she starts to panic, she suddenly looks up and screams loudly,

“Ahh…..”

Vikrant, lying in the room and laughing, remembers Jhankar’s words and immediately rushes to the closet, banging on the bathroom door.

“Jhankar…”

“Ahhh… Help…”

Her fear is clear in her voice, prompting Vikrant to bang louder and shout,

“Jhankar, open the door…”

Jhankar, knowing Vikrant is outside, screams for help while looking around. She spots the shirt he wore last night in the laundry basket. She quickly puts it on, opens the door, and runs out to Vikrant.

“Take him out of the bathroom, or else I won’t go back there!”

Vikrant rushes into the bathroom and looks around but sees no one.

Then he turns back to Jhankar, who is wearing his shirt, which only reaches mid-thigh.

Her wet hair cascades down her cheeks, and she’s holding the shirt tightly at the front, her focus entirely on the bathroom.

Vikrant, however, is completely fixated on her. She yells at him.

“What are you doing? Take him out of the bathroom!”

“Who…?”

Vikrant, still staring, asks with surprise. She shouts again,

“Can’t you see the cockroach sitting on the shower tap?!”

Vikrant immediately looks at the tap. A small cockroach is sitting there. But his attention quickly shifts back to Jhankar, who’s also looking at him. He begins checking her out; her exposed legs catch his attention. But Jhankar, still terrified of the cockroach, screams,

“Take him out of the bathroom… He was watching me while I was bathing!”

Vikrant grabs the cockroach by its long antenna. Meanwhile, Jhankar yells louder, sprints to the bedroom, hides under the duvet, and shouts again,

“Take him out…”

Vikrant enters the room and throws the cockroach out the window. Then, looking at Jhankar, he says,

“When I clean the bathroom, there’s not a single cockroach. You leave the bathroom wet; that’s why they come.”

Jhankar peeks slightly from under the duvet and looks at him carefully. There’s no cockroach in his hand. Vikrant looks at her and says,

“The shirt you’re wearing is wet, you’re getting colder. So take it off…”

Jhankar’s eyes widen as she looks at Vikrant, who puts his hands in his pockets, knowing she’s scared and not thinking about her appearance. Calmly, he says,

“I’m heading out. Please change your clothes. We’re going to the doctor. You were very cold last night. Instead of ignoring it, we should talk to the doctor. Change quickly and come out, otherwise, the doctor will come in and give you an injection.”

Vikrant finishes his sentence and leaves, while Jhankar hides her face behind her hands.

“What is happening to me? Last night, I clung to him and might’ve taken advantage. And now, wearing his shirt, I appeared in front of him like I’m inviting him to do the same. Damn, what must he be thinking?”

Jhankar, regretting her foolishness, quickly goes to change her clothes.

In the night, Jhankar is sleeping very quietly with her head on Sharda's lap, and Sharda is lovingly caressing her head. After taking her medicine, she worked well at the office, but despite that, she is feeling very tired and has a severe headache. Today she was going to meet her father at his house, but her condition wasn’t good enough for her to go.

Therefore, she thought it better to come directly to the mansion, as it wouldn’t be right to appear in front of her father in such a state—especially since he is already in very weak health and could be at risk of catching an infection from her cold.

Vikrant suddenly enters the room and sees Jhankar resting near Sharda. He says,

“She has a very severe cold, and the doctor said it’s contagious. You should especially stay away from her, because the doctor also told you that these next three months are crucial for you.”

When Vikrant speaks sharply, Jhankar covers her ears in her sleep, causing Sharda to glare at him. Concerned for Sharda, Vikrant approaches her and begins speaking more softly.

“You don’t understand what I’m saying—that you should not be near her.”

“Look, she’s already under a lot of stress, so there’s no need for you to cause her more trouble.

Minor things like a cold keep happening; it’s not a big deal.

And if I do get infected, I’ll be fine. She didn’t even want to come near me.

She only came here because I called her repeatedly.

I massaged her head, and only then was she able to sleep comfortably.

And now you’ve come here and started saying all this nonsense.

She currently has a headache because of the cold.

I gave her medicine forcibly, and now she’s feeling a little sleepy.

So please go to your room and don’t disturb her. ”

“But Maa…”

“Stop… Now go to your room. Anyway, she’s not going to sleep much longer. She’ll wake up soon, and then we’ll have dinner together.”

He comes back to his room, and Vikrant’s attention suddenly goes to the shirt that Jhankar was wearing in the morning.

He instinctively moves toward it, picks it up, and looks at it.

In his imagination, he envisions Jhankar donning the shirt.

A strange smile crosses his face, but the very next moment, he folds the shirt and places it back in the laundry basket, muttering to himself,

“I don’t know whether you did all this intentionally or if it was a mistake, but it’s not easy to seduce me. And why would you even want to? I know you well enough to understand it’s for your brother’s sake—that he shouldn't face any trouble.”

Vikrant’s phone starts beeping continuously with incoming messages, so he picks it up and begins checking them.

Just then, Jhankar enters the room. As soon as he sees her, he extends his phone toward her.

Jhankar is confused for a moment, but the next moment, as she starts checking the phone, she sees some photos of her brother Vyom with Sonakshi.

In those pictures, she notices the sadness on her brother’s face.

Seeing him after so long, her eyes begin to well up.

Vikrant observes her closely, then leans against the wall, saying,

“I can’t tell if you’re strong or just pretending to be strong in front of me. And if you are, why do you do that?”

Jhankar looks him in the eyes and returns his phone, saying,

“Neither am I strong nor weak. I don’t need to prove who I am—at least not in front of you or anyone else.

Just because I feel emotional after seeing my brother doesn’t mean I’m not strong.

All I know is that I don’t know how to hide my emotions like men do.

If I feel scared, I show it. If I’m happy, I smile.

And if something saddens me, I don’t hold back from crying.

Dinner is ready—Maa called you downstairs. ”

Without waiting, Jhankar leaves. Vikrant remains standing there, lost in thought over her words. Later, he joins everyone for dinner, but his attention is entirely on Jhankar, who is eating very little and visibly carries a heavy sadness in her eyes.

She returns to her room soon after. After a long conversation with Sharda, Vikrant comes into the room and finds her lying on the sofa. He knows from her posture that she’s been crying.

“Jhankar, sleeping on that sofa is really uncomfortable. Come and sleep on the bed. You know I won’t harm you in any way, and there’s no point in using the sofa when the bed is so big.”

Jhankar is already experiencing body pain.

She knows it will worsen if she sleeps on the sofa, which will cause problems for her at work.

With her health and her brother’s situation weighing heavily on her, she is already exhausted.

So, she quietly brings her duvet and lies down on the bed.

Vikrant also lies down, maintaining a respectful distance.

He turns his back toward her, aware that she is still crying.

“You don’t need to worry about Vyom. He’s absolutely fine.”

Jhankar says nothing, but as soon as she hears this, her sobbing intensifies. Vikrant feels deeply uneasy hearing her cry, so he continues lying with his back to her, unable to sleep.