Page 58 of Substitute Bride

As soon as Vikrant enters the house with Jhankar in his arms, Sharda, who was sitting and talking to Ravindra—who had just returned from his foreign trip—immediately stands up upon seeing them in that state.

Ravindra, too, looks on in utter shock at the sight of Vikrant carrying Jhankar.

But Vikrant says nothing to either of them and walks straight toward his room with Jhankar still in his arms. Sharda rushes after him, but Ravindra keeps his eyes focused intently on Vikrant, his worried face still showing only concern for Jhankar.

He then turns to his men, who stand with their heads bowed, and one of them quickly says,

“Viren Chandel tried to kidnap Madam...”

“Then Viren Chandel’s corpse should be lying before us this very moment.”

Sharda, who was following Vikrant, stops in her tracks and turns to look at Ravindra. But all the men continue to stand silently with their heads down. Ravindra, furious, grabs the collar of the bodyguard standing in front and yells,

“How did anyone even dare to lay a finger on that girl? Cut off the fingers of the man who tried to touch her! And bring Viren Chandel to me—dead or alive!”

“Sir, he knew very well that something like this could happen. That’s why, an hour before the kidnapping attempt, he boarded a flight to Australia. We weren’t able to catch him, and you know that in Australia, we can’t touch him.”

Enraged, Ravindra slaps the man across the face, grabs his collar again, and says,

“Despite such tight security, was the girl kidnapped? That’s your failure.

I don’t want any of you handling her security from now on.

Only the best members of our team will protect her.

And as for the bodyguards assigned to my own protection—I’ll handpick the finest among them to guard her from now on. ”

Letting go of the guard, he immediately turns and walks toward the stairs. Sharda is still standing near the staircase. As Ravindra approaches her, he sees many questions in her eyes. He says,

“I have only one thing in this world—my son Vikrant. Nothing else. And I can clearly see now that Vikrant has fallen in love with Jhankar. How can I stay angry with the girl my son loves? Anything that is dear to Vikrant is more precious to me than my own life.”

Sharda smiles softly because she knows just how deeply Ravindra loves Vikrant. She gently places her hand on his head and says,

“Jhankar is not like other girls. You’ll have to understand this. She’s a free-spirited woman. Your ideas and restrictions—she’s not going to like them at all. But she is very simple and beautiful in and out; I can assure you.”

“Aunty, she can do whatever she wants. If she wants to party—let her party. If she wants to work, let her do so. If she wants to throw out all the things in this house, let her. If she wants to take all my money, she can do so. I won’t say a word.

However, if she ever inflicts even the slightest pain on my son, if she even shatters his heart once, I will be the first to take her life.

That’s all I know. I have no problem with her freedom, no issue with her working.

All I want is that—being Vikrant’s wife—she should care for him, love him, and try to fill the voids life has left in him. I’m not asking for too much, am I?”

“Then why don’t you just say all this to her in your own words? Try explaining it to her. She’s very understanding. She might just understand.”

“I don’t know whether she’ll understand or not.

But ever since Sonia... I’ve stopped expecting anyone to understand anything.

I just follow my instincts and do what feels right.

I’ll talk to you later. First, I need to go check on the girl.

If anything happens to her, Vikrant will lose control in his rage. Has anyone called the doctor or not?”

He starts climbing the stairs quickly, his last sentence trailing behind him, and Sharda, still smiling, begins following him toward Vikrant’s room.

Just then, an entire medical team enters the house, reassuring everyone that Vikrant hasn’t left any stone unturned in ensuring her care.

Everyone walks into the room together. The doctors begin checking Jhankar thoroughly.

After completing the checkup, one of them turns to Vikrant and says,

“Sir, there’s nothing serious to worry about.

She was exposed to a sleeping gas, which is why she’s unconscious.

Once its effect wears off, she will regain consciousness.

She didn’t suffer any significant injury due to the fall—only a few minor scratches, which we’ve already treated with ointment.

Madam is absolutely fine. You can be assured of that. ”

Vikrant gently nods in response, and the doctors and others begin to leave. Ravindra walks up to him, places a hand on his shoulder, and Vikrant immediately embraces his father tightly, whispering,

“I love her...”

“Love is a beautiful thing, and you should absolutely embrace it. I’m genuinely happy that you’ve fallen in love.

You don’t need to be so afraid—she’s perfectly fine now.

And look—she’s with you now. Don’t ever let her go.

Never give her a reason to walk away from you.

Give her everything she needs. Fulfill all her wishes so that she never has a reason to leave your side. ”

Both Vikrant and Sharda look at Ravindra, who continues to smile warmly as he gazes at Jhankar. Turning to Vikrant again with affection, he adds,

“She’ll stay with you. Always. I’ll assign the best team for her protection.

No one will be able to harm her. And as for Viren—he may have escaped to Australia, but I will drag him back from there, no matter what it takes.

I’ll bring him to you—and then you can decide what punishment he deserves.

We cannot let the man who laid hands on your love walk away so easily. ”

Vikrant only smiles and hugs him again.

Late at night, when Jhankar regains consciousness, she is shocked to find herself in Vikrant’s room.

She can’t remember at all how she got there.

What she does notice clearly is the sound of Vikrant’s heartbeat—so close that she realizes her head is resting on his chest. As she slowly becomes more conscious, she notices she's wearing one of his loose t-shirts.

Still, her memory is a blank. She last recalls being at the cottage together, where they planned to meet her parents. Thereafter, everything is hazy.

Vikrant, however, was well aware of what had happened.

The doctor had already informed him that due to the effects of the gas, she might forget everything that occurred a few hours prior.

So, he had no intention of telling her about the kidnapping.

He even lied to Raghunath and Chitrali, saying that Jhankar had suddenly fainted in the washroom due to exhaustion as she enjoyed their trip and didn't rest at all, and that’s why he had to rush her home, without having time to meet them.

Although her parents were worried, they had developed such strong trust in Vikrant's ability to protect their daughter that they didn’t ask many questions.

The moment Vikrant sees her waking up, he knows she'll have questions. He gently runs his fingers through her hair and says softly:

“What happened…”

Jhankar immediately lifts her head and looks at him. Noticing a few scratches on his face, she grabs him gently and starts checking his wounds with concern.

“What happened? We had left the cottage to go home.”

“It was nothing serious,” Vikrant replies calmly.

“On our way, a herd of sheep suddenly crossed the road. The driver didn’t want to hurt any of them, so he swerved quickly.

The car crashed into the side of a nearby hill.

The driver is perfectly fine, and I’m right here in front of you.

In the accident, you just passed out and gave me quite a scare. ”

Jhankar listens carefully, trying hard to recall anything from the incident, but nothing comes to her.

She doesn’t even remember where it might have happened.

Squinting slightly, as if trying to force the memories back, she looks at Vikrant.

Sensing her struggle, Vikrant gently lays her back down on the bed, caresses her hair, and speaks in a soothing tone.

“Jhankar, you hit your head. That’s why you can’t remember anything. The doctor said sometimes memory gets affected. You don’t need to worry so much.”

“Vikrant, you’re not lying to me, right? Did something happen related to your mafia connections, and you’re hiding it from me?”

“None of those sheep were part of any mafia,” Vikrant jokes dryly.

Jhankar gives him a bewildered look at his strange humor. He kisses her forehead and says,

“If you don’t believe me, you can ask the driver yourself.

And think about it—if there was going to be a mafia attack, wouldn’t it have happened at the cottage, where we were alone?

Who stages an attack in the middle of a road like that?

And okay, even if there was an attack, imagine me as the hero saving you.

Wow, I am the villain of many lives but the hero of your life. ”

Jhankar chuckles lightly at his words, then gently pushes him back by placing her hand on his chest and says,

“When you joke like this, I honestly have no idea what’s going on with you. Sometimes I feel like that non-expressive look of yours suits you better. I’ve mostly seen you like that—it just fits your face more.”

Vikrant just smiles quietly. He has absolutely no intention of telling her about Chandel.

He knows that if Jhankar finds out, she will be deeply worried about her brother too.

At this moment, his primary goal is to protect her from everything happening around them.

He’s already ensuring Vyom and Sonakshi’s safety and is confident that if necessary, he can relocate them somewhere else.

However, Viren Chandel is targeting Jhankar because he cannot reach Sonakshi.

Vikrant is determined; he will not let Chandel succeed, and he will not let him reach Sonakshi.

More importantly, he won’t let Jhankar suffer because of any of it.

Laying her head back on his chest, Jhankar speaks softly:

“So that means… we didn’t get to meet my parents at all. Then tomorrow, we’ll go meet them.”

“Please, not tomorrow,” Vikrant says immediately.

“I have to go with Dad; I’ve told you that before.

And after the accident, you really need rest. I’ll call Uncle and Aunty here instead.

You can complain to them about me all you want.

Call Sharda Ma in too, make it a full house, do whatever you like. ”

She smiles and nods. Vikrant knows that he must somehow trap Jhankar in the web of his lies and keep her away from everything, because he is aware that, somewhere deep inside, she is scared about certain things—and he cannot allow that fear to overpower her.

He has already made a huge mistake, and now he would rather not make any kind of mistake again, especially when it comes to anyone’s safety.

He has prioritized the safety of Vyom and Sonakshi above all else and has already placed people around them who could act as friends and help them in every possible way.

He is completely sure now that no one can even touch Raghunath and Chitrali.

And yet, despite Jhankar being with him—right beside him—she was still being kidnapped.

This thought is deeply disturbing him. He cannot leave Jhankar alone even for a moment, which is why he is slowly beginning to think about torturing those people.

However, one thing he knows for sure is that whenever he gets to them, their condition is going to be truly terrible.