24th July 2018

             
Arjun was working in his office when he had an unexpected visitor in the form of his bade papa.  From the looks of it he was angry .
         
" You promised your wouldn't interfere with projects the Maheshwari were bidding on. Yet without your help Adarsh would have never stolen the Contract of Golden Publishing from us. You used your connection with the firm to help him along. " his Bade papa accusation stung, and yet Arjun was surprised by the irony of the situation .

    
His bade papa was blaming him for not helping him with Golden publishing when  in the past not a day passed without him blamed them before for giving Arjun a chance to publish his works.

       
" How can I help them as Arjun, when they only know me by my other name "Arjun asked his bade papa,  the truth of it was he had once again kept himself from working against the Maheshwari,  yet he didn't want to let him aware of it either. 

         
" It would have all been simple, if you just listened to me instead of going against me at every instance " with those words his Bade papa left as his purpose of having someone shoulder the blame fell into place .

         
And yet Arjun worried about Laksh who will take the brunt of his left over anger,  nor a day passed when his Bade papa found a reason to chastise them.  He was so different from his parents and yet he owed it to his Bade papa for raising him after his parents death.

           
It has been over a month since he visited her but as he drove his car towards the hospital, he realized she was fighter who held on to life for three months in coma. He always hoped she would wake up one day and yet each passing day left him bit disappointed. 

           
He walked upto her room and found she was keep missing from her bed, and he worried that the worst had befallen her and yet was relived when the nurse told him, she woke an hour ago and so they took her for more tests.

             
He waited till he met with her doctor who told him, while she regained consciousness she had lost her memory. They claimed it may recover soon but as always it wasn't given. He waited till the doctors and the police argued over her fate as if she isnt capable of deciding for herself .

          
" Did you ask her what she wanted to do ?" Arjun found himself speaking up for her. Which turned their attention towards him .

       
" We can't catch who harmed her and there hasn't been a single missing report filed matching her description . Without going through proper channels we can't place her under protection and the doctor's claim that she need to  continue treatment as well, so tell me what you want us to do " the inspector in change spoke up and Arjun was aware of the truth yet he didn't like that she was discussed as if she was a burden .

     
" We already kept her in the hospital for three months and we can't continue to do so when the only way she can get better is to try to live a normal life  " the doctor told him and it was then Arjun found himself volunteering for the task of taking care of her .

       
" We can't accept that , frankly you may have saved her life but she is a young girl. How can we let her stay with you alone. Even If your intention were noble for all we know she may be married by now " the inspector spoke up and Arjun realized the folly in his plans. Yet he persisted .

      
" I live with my three year old daughter and dida, surely my intention can't be to harm her " Arjun answered back and the doctors assured the police they will have weekly visits with the patient and they can keep in touch with her, so they will know if she was safe with him.

So it was decided the girl he rescued would be living with them ,yet the task of facing her when she was awake was bit daunting but Arjun desperately wanted to help her.

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Pari Singhania turned towards the door as she heard footsteps,  she didnt know who she was, she had no memory of herself and it has been just less than two hours since she woke up in the hospital room. 

            
Their had been brief flashes of memories, she almost had a  glimpse a face of a woman and yet it was gone before she could hold on to it. It was frustrating to say the least and then her eyes landed on him .

        
" Please tell me, you know who i am?" She asked the stranger as she wanted answers about her identity desperately.

       
"  I am sorry, I don't have those answers for you " the stranger spoke up and she noticed he had a rich voice that somehow soothed her confused heart .

         
" Pari, this is Mr Arjun the one who rescued you " the doctor made the introduction, they had taken to call her by the name they had given her when she had been in Coma.
    
" Oh thanks, I am forever indebted to you . " She spoke to the stranger after the introductions were made and indeed she felt thankful to the person before her for rescuing her .

     
" Without your memories we can't know who tried to harm you, until then Arjun had offered to let you live with his family " the doctor spoke to her and yet her eyes  remained focused on him .

         
" How can I trust you ?" Pari found herself asking not because she didn't trust him, but became it seemed a prudent thing to ask him .

        
" I have a three year old daughter, her name is Asha and I am over protective of her and yet I choose to invite you in to my home because I trust you and I only want you to do the same " the stranger named Arjun answered back and he didn't promise or reassure her but his words made her trust him .

    
Because behind his words stood the truth, and she found herself agreeing to the mad scheme in the end .
 

                    --------------------------------------------------------

           
Arjun drove Pari home and wondered how dida will react to his change of plans.  It was not like him to risk Asha and yet he can't seem to let go of her either .

        
When they stepped inside the house, his little daughter ran towards him and briefly halted at the sight of their guest, he lifted his daughter in his arms and made the introduction between the two of then. 

        
" You do like an angel " Asha spoke up when she learnt of Pari name . It was only then dida walked up to greet her. Arjun only told her, he will explain everything later as he walked Pari to their guest room .

             
Only later in the confines of his room did he wonder the error of his ways, he let a stranger into his home and if she found out about it . Pari's life will be in danger and he would be the cause of it. 

        
He decided, he gave into a stupid impulse and will find some other living option for Pari the very next day. As his fingers opened his email, he was already worried she must have found it out by now .

        
He spend most of his savings building up a home with security that can't be hacked easily, he had only one phone and one laptop in his home which were installed with several layers of protection to keep from getting hacked. And he would never use them to store any thing she can use against him either .

               
Even against his judgement, he let the email account active . He should have deleted the account but he wanted to find her, he believed she will slip and spill a secret someday . As he opened his email today, there was a message from her yet again. 

          Dear Sanskar ,

                           It has been 58 hours since I saw you , I hate the fact I am away from town . And it may take another 72 hours before I see you.  I am very angry that I want to hurt someone but I will endure in silence because I am striving to control my anger .

                          Sanskar, Do you remember the time when Mr X saves Maya from getting harmed by the ruffians, I saved a girl  as well it just that I can't tell you sooner because you may try to use it to find me  . Unlike Mr X who delivered the guys to the police, I killed them all .Wasn't my punishment more fitting  .

                     Won't you write again.  How can you not understand how much it means to me .

                               Yours ,
                               Miss X (Counting minutes before I meet you again )

         
Arjun closed the mail and tried to breath, this was the first time she admitted to have killed more than his wife . And from the casual reference to murder, he realized she isn't afraid to kill . And it scared him a lot more because he couldn't contemplate risking Pari life as well .

        
Tomorrow he will find a way and then send her away. He promised himself as he got up from his chair and walked towards his room .

         
A Scream got his attention as he rushed to his guest room and found her thrashing in with a nightmare . He gently tried to wake her up ,but before he could touch her, her eyes opened up and the fear in her eyes made him realize whatever her nightmare had been it was not just a dream but her past . 

 Sanskar didn't understand the protective insists that rushed forth at the sight of her and he wondered if their was a way to keep her with him .
    
" Are you fine now? " he asked a moment later as he handed a glass of water towards her .

   
" It's just a dream, my mind must have conjured up something because I had been contemplating who could have tried to harm me   " Pari spoke up and yet her voice held the tension of the dreams .

          
" Do you want to talk about it ?" Arjun asked her but she only shook her head in answer . Only when Arjun left the room did Pari frantically tried to rationalize her thoughts. 

             
" I am not a murderer , I can't be a murderer " She murmured to herself as she recalled the nightmare where she stabbed someone to death. It was no wonder she gotten herself stabbed in return.

P.S : " That it for now .Let me know your thoughts and feedback .Hit the votes if you liked it "

Love

Juanita