Page 46 of Substitute Bride

BIG FIGHT

Vikrant is continuously busy with work, and at the moment, while managing his work, he is also discussing a very crucial gun deal.

Akhil, who is sitting beside him, is stunned just by the softness in Vikrant’s voice. Surprised, he stops everything he’s doing and stares at Vikrant’s face, trying to understand what’s going on.

“I’m giving you two more days. I want all the guns ready, no excuses.”

Akhil blinks repeatedly, unable to believe what he just heard.

Vikrant has actually given someone extra time to complete a task, which is completely unprecedented.

Still puzzled and trying to make sense of it, he places a finger in his ear.

Although Vikrant hasn’t looked directly at Akhil, he is fully aware of Akhil’s reactions. He suddenly shouts loudly.

“Akhil…”

“Yes, sir…?”

“What’s the problem? Your mind clearly isn’t at work. You keep staring at my face, or who knows what else you’re doing. If you’re not feeling well, perhaps you should consider heading home."

Akhil widens his eyes in disbelief and stares at Vikrant, who begins to glare at him. Trying to lighten the moment, Akhil quickly smiles and says,

“Sir, if you’re not feeling okay, we can book an appointment with a doctor right now. I’ll come with you. But honestly, you’re giving me one shock after another. If this keeps up, I might just have a heart attack.”

“Shut up! What is your problem…?”

“Sir, I’ve been working with you for the past 10 years, and never once have I seen you give someone extra time to complete a task.

Usually, you just cancel the entire project or fire the person.

And now, you’re telling me to take leave and rest?

As far as I remember, I’m not even sure Sundays exist—because even on Sundays, you never let me off. ”

Vikrant keeps staring at him, silently listening. Akhil chuckles and adds:

“Sir, I think I’m starting to feel that maybe I should consider getting married. Marriage really does change people for the better.”

Without any delay, Vikrant grabs a paperweight and throws it at him, but Akhil quickly catches it and runs out of the room, laughing—because he knows he intentionally provoked Vikrant.

After he leaves, Vikrant quietly sits down.

A moment later, a smile spreads across his face as he looks at Jhankar’s photos on his phone.

“I don’t know what’s happening… But whatever it is, it might actually be something good.”

Vikrant was lost in his own thoughts when there was a sudden knock on the door. The next moment, Akhil peeked inside and said,

“Sir, today you had invited Ma’am for lunch. She has arrived and is waiting downstairs. Are you going to get her, or should I bring her up?”

Vikrant stood up immediately but then looked at the documents in front of him and said to Akhil,

“You go and bring her. I’ll finish this work quickly so that nothing remains once she arrives.”

“Okay, sir…”

Vikrant immediately starts signing the documents and tries to call his secretary through the intercom.

But she doesn’t answer, which makes Vikrant furious.

Without delay, he grabs the file and storms out.

The secretary’s desk is right outside. He slams the file onto her desk and begins looking around.

That’s when he hears voices and starts walking toward the sound.

“You can’t back out now! I’m about to divorce my husband because of you, and now you’re stepping away from this relationship? I won’t let you do this to me!”

Hearing the girl’s words, Vikrant’s eyes fill with rage.

Without wasting a second, he storms in front of the two people.

The secretary and the young man beside her both start trembling with fear.

Vikrant’s eyes coldly scan the secretary, who’s standing there in a short skirt and tight shirt, clearly too close to the man.

Looking at the person, Vikrant says coldly,

“Married women seem to have a certain charm, don’t they?

Some men, like bees to honey, get drawn in.

And these women? They start enjoying the attention as if it’s a game.

(Vikrant’s eyes quickly scan her appearance again.) Shameful.

What did you even see in her? Girls like her have a habit of throwing themselves at other men.

But what was your excuse? I don’t want to see either of you in this office again. You’re both fired.”

Vikrant falls silent as he sees Jhankar standing right there, and Akhil is almost holding his breath. Vikrant quickly walks toward her, grabs her hand, and takes her into his cabin. Jhankar is still trying to look at his face. Once they’re inside, Vikrant says,

“I know it’s your lunch break, but give me five to ten minutes. Then we’ll go have lunch.”

Jhankar had arrived on the floor just when Vikrant turned toward the couple. She speaks up.

“You didn’t even listen to the full conversation before judging her as the one at fault.”

“Jhankar, I don’t need to understand what’s right or wrong. I don’t care whether she was wrong or not. I know the situation well enough, and I’m telling you that girl was at fault.”

Jhankar keeps looking at him, but Vikrant is unable to bear her gaze.

He storms into the washroom. Without wasting a second, Jhankar steps out of the cabin.

The girl is packing her things, crying. Jhankar stands in front of her.

The girl has seen her with Vikrant two or three times before but doesn’t know she’s his wife.

Embarrassed, she lowers her eyes. Jhankar asks her gently,

“Why did you betray your husband?”

“Ma’am, I would have been betraying him if there had been a marriage worth keeping.

My husband is gay. He has nothing to do with me.

For three years, I tried to hold together a pointless marriage.

That’s when I met this man. The way he loved me made me forget everything.

I had no idea he was just playing with my emotions.

I feel so broken right now I can’t even explain it to you.

And now, sir has fired me too. My struggles have only increased. ”

Hearing her story, Jhankar becomes deeply disturbed. Just then, Vikrant walks out. As soon as he sees the girl still standing there, he shouts at her,

“What are you still doing here? Get out…”

Seeing Vikrant’s unnecessary anger, Jhankar says,

“Vikrant, at least listen to the whole story once.”

“Jhankar…”

Vikrant turns to her, and the look in his eyes is terrifying.

Jhankar instantly falls silent, and the girl quickly walks away.

Jhankar looks after her, watching a helpless woman leave, wanting to speak up for her.

But deep down, she knows that right now, she can’t say anything to Vikrant, because she’s in a situation where making Vikrant realize his mistake will be extremely difficult.

~~~~~

Jhankar is sitting in her seat, smiling, and during the last two days of her vacation, she feels very happy with herself, which makes the smile on her face particularly worth seeing.

As soon as she starts working at her desk, her phone starts ringing—it’s an office call, so she picks it up immediately without any delay.

“Hello…”

“This is your CEO…”

Jhankar’s eyes widen suddenly, and she starts looking around.

She knows very well that the CEO of the office where she works has never physically appeared, but he talks to all his employees at any time so that he can manage his office and staff very well.

He has a fantastic team, yet he still likes to manage everything himself.

“Hello, Ms. Dixit…”

“Yes, sir…”

“Talk to me in a low voice so that people around you don’t know that you are talking to the CEO, because whatever I have to say should be completely confidential. I don’t believe in sharing any kind of information with anyone else.”

“Okay…”

“You were on leave for the last two days; was there any special reason?”

Vikrant, who is on the other side of the phone, has an already-installed voice changer device, due to which Jhankar cannot recognize his voice under any circumstances, and he is enjoying talking to her in a secret way.

As a CEO, he often talks to his employees, but talking to Jhankar is giving him a different kind of excitement.

“Sir, I had a small accident in which my husband and I got injured...”

(When Vikrant was driving angrily, his car suddenly collided with the vehicle. Fortunately, they weren't seriously injured, but Vikrant became extremely protective after that. As a result, he didn’t allow her to come to the office for two days, insisting she rest.)

“Husband? Your resume has a single status.” Vikrant teases her.

“Sir, I got married 4 months ago, and probably soon we will get divorced, and I was in dire need of a job. My resume was already prepared, and it mentioned ‘single’ on it, and I didn’t notice it at all at that time.

I am sorry; I didn’t intend to cheat the company, but I assure you that your work will not be affected by whether I am married or not. ”

Vikrant, who was listening to her very calmly, gets very shocked on hearing about the divorce and gets furious. He starts grinding his teeth, but he does not want to make any mistakes that he might regret later, as he has already made a significant error and is currently facing the consequences.

“Okay, I would rather not get into this. I want to ask you, do you have any problem with anyone in your office, or do you feel that someone is not loyal to the company? Are you facing any difficulty in your work?”

“Sir, I don’t have any difficulty in my work, but I want to tell you something very important that no one here would dare to tell you, because I think everyone is afraid of him.”

“Who?” He inquired.

“Manager Patil…”

"Manager Patil is known to be an excellent worker, and to date, no one has complained about him. If you are facing any problem because of him, then you can tell me."