•••Surprise•••
(KittyXCreations_)

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The new visitors were very annoying and I was feeling uncomfortable in their company. Mahira was insulting or rather accusing me for my rumoured marriage with Mr. Luthra, going to the extent of even slapping me. It seemed as if getting married to Mr. Luthra was kind of a huge crime for any girl like me.

I couldn't reveal the truth to them that I wasn't married to Mr. Luthra at all. Mr. Karthik had taught me to use my intelligence before revealing anything to anyone and suspect every individual whom we meet during our process of investigation. Mr Luthra was meeting many people personally and publicly, they could either be his friends or foes. He owned money and fame, including the captivities of many criminals under his name. It was possible for anyone to plot and try getting him killed.

When Mr. Luthra didn't react to Mahira's actions, the other kind young man wearing blue spectacles came to my rescue. He caught hold of Mahira's hands before shaking her. "What are you doing? Why are you blaming her unnecessarily? It's Karan who has married her and he seems to be comfortable and happy with her. Why are you losing your patience for no big deal?"

"You don't know anything, Prithvi. Karan wouldn't have married her if she hadn't spent the night with him at the hospital." She yelled, hatching the newly cooked tale of the media.

Everything was so ridiculously occurring with me, be it
Mr. Luthra's chiding or the accusations of the public. I was willing to help him out for a good cause but things were drifting towards unfavorable situations. The issues were becoming more complicated for me than my simple professional life.

I was unable to bear my patience anymore. My self-esteem was getting marred every now and then, my dignified image in the verge of ruining to remnants. I had to be strong on my own standpoint before they could point fingers at me again. Mahira's rude comments infuriated me- I was not bound to be anyone's slave or tolerate their rants without a word.

Mahira attempted to move forward to hit me again but I was faster than her, shackling her hands against her stomach immediately. Catching hold of her arms tightly, I twisted them together. She struggled to get free from my clutches but I wouldn't let her go. Everyone including Mr. Luthra was flabbergasted with my violent step and I knew I could turn worse than that. I wasn't much introvert when it came to dignifying my own morales.

"You better be in your limits before blaming anyone unnecessarily, Miss Mahira. You can't even imagine in what condition I had found him last night." I gasped closer to her earlobe, gritting my teeth in rage. I was not liking my behavior with her in such a rude manner, but it was she who had compelled me to do so.

"Karan! She is just being so spiteful bitch... Tell her to get out of our way..." Mahira was struggling hard to get out of my strong grip on her.

"Preeta! Get back to the room now." Mr. Luthra yelled, pronouncing my name in a fit of temper. I had never expected him to be siding with Mahira, with someone who was openly insulting my relationship with him.

"But Mr. Luth... Karan, it was Mahira who had slapped me in the first place and..." I tried to deny but trailed off when I observed the rarest anger in his brilliant brown eyes.

"Didn't you hear what I said? Preeta? Just move away now." He concluded his statement, not meeting my painful eyes again.

I released Mahira from my tight grip and quietly ran to his bedroom. Tears had already cornered my eyes when I took a last glance at him before moving away. I wish he had noticed me crying or felt something sympathetic for the emotions in me... Or WHATEVER!

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Rushing to his room, I changed into my own clothes which I had already washed after the shower. I had now decided to give up on the case because these things were perturbing me to a greater extent, hindering the smooth pace of my duty. It would be better that I discussed with Mr. Luthra before withdrawing from the case.

Thus, I gave a call to Mr. Luthra and he received it quite early. I breathed hard before mumbling, "Mr. Karthik.. I... I am..."

"Ms. Verma, is everything alright there? Have you found anything suspicious? I am already on my way to Karan's bungalow," he spoke with concerns over the phone call, the sound of traffic in the background piercing my ears.

"Nothing is alright, Mr. Karthik. If I waste even a single minute here, you will be responsible for the disaster caused to my life." I blurted out in an angry tone.

"You are losing your patience! Has Karan done anything again?" He asked and I narrated the whole incident. I could hear him laughing over the speaker, his sense of humour annoying me most of the time.

"I didn't crack a joke, right!" I groaned loudly, letting out a brief sigh from my mouth.

"You didn't but Karan did joke with you. Don't you dare to leave his house without meeting me. I'll be there very soon." He disconnected the call after warning me in his high pitched voice. He sometimes seemed like my foster father, always imposing impossible orders for me and binding me to follow them at any cost.

I strolled along the length of his room quite a number of times before turning impatient again. Pondering over everything, I was now determined to leave the case after meeting Mr. Karthik.

Something clicked my mind in the next minute when I recalled every incident from the past couple of days. Mr. Luthra's responsibility was still vested upon me and I was now at fault again for having left him all alone amidst the annoying visitors.

Though Mr. Luthra had himself ordered me to move away, was it right on my part for having obeyed him? Was it a great decision for leaving him in their hands when I knew his life was in grave danger from some mysterious killer? Was it necessary to bring forth my humiliations and ignore the danger lurking around him?

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When I reached the living room, I was already running short of breath. Mr. Luthra and his visitors were chatting and giggling together, and I heaved a sigh upon finding him safe. My eyes travelled to a depressed corner behind a pillar next to the large hall, generally a suitable place to keep an eye on them without letting them know my presence.

Mr. Luthra was sitting on his wheelchair while Mahira was seated on an another chair next to him. She was clutching his arm sideways and Prithvi sat on a chair adjacent to her, his hand resting on the armrest of Mahira's chair. The other two visitors who had joined them were also encircling Mr Luthra's chair. I wondered if something was really brewing between Mahira and Mr. Luthra, tormenting my innocent heart due to her insults.

I waited impatiently for Mr. Karthik's arrival and the pendulum of the wall clock stroke five times. It was already evening but the visitors weren't ready to leave at all. Mahira was now clasping Mr. Luthra's palms and Prithvi was holding him by his shoulders to help him stand on his limbs. He limped at first while Prithvi gave him a strong support with Mahira by his side. They were trying to move him to the sofa and I could hear Mr. Luthra moaning in pain.

I felt my heart aching for him but I couldn't go near him to ease his pain. He had strictly forbidden me and I was present there like a mere audience. It was already time for
Mr. Luthra's next set of medicines but the group of intruders weren't going to leave anytime soon.

Before the group could make it to the sofa, there was a loud bang on the table and somebody was making a dramatic entry. My shocking lips curved into a relieved smile when I saw Mr. Karthik entering through the main door, carrying his age old suitcase in one hand and an another luggage in the other. I wondered if the other luggage seemed similar to mine.

He banged his suitcase loudly on the tea table next to the sofa and held Mr. Luthra by his shoulders, separating the visitors from him. They were taken aback with the sudden development while my heart rejoiced, feeling better with the entrance of my rescuer.

"Preeta, my child! Where are you? Can you come here?" Mr. Karthik began to summon for me in an unusually louder voice, impatience taking a toll on his mouth.

I was taking time to analyse the matter while he kept uttering my name consistently. Dislodging myself from the hidden shelter, I walked towards them, wearing only my tank top and pair of trousers this time. I had done away with my stole due to some unknown and instigating instincts, leaving my shoulders exposed in public most probably for the first time.

As I neared them, my eyes caught a glimpse of Mr. Luthra and it was so surprising to find out that he was equally gazing at me. His brown eyes didn't contain the usual temper or disappointment, no sign of angered glare. Rather, it had a compassion of some sort and I didn't know what it was!

"Where were you, my girl? Don't you see these people were trying to shift him in a wrong way? This could have hurt his wounds. Don't these trials go against medical precautions?"
Mr. Karthik asked me while helping Mr. Luthra to carefully sit on the wheelchair again.

I did not know how to react but he was true. A normal person could not shift a terribly disabled patient without the consent of doctors or therapists. I had fetched Mr. Luthra home before his discharge date only to my own discretion. A little mistake could be life threatening and risky, going against the ethics of doctors like mine.

I nodded my head to agree to what Mr. Karthik had said and visitors were already staring at us. Mr. Luthra was gazing at his foot blankly, trying to avoid meeting my eyes. He was gazing at me all this time but when I went near him, he managed to turn his face away. I did not know what mistake I had committed again to displease him to such an extent.

"Who are you all?" Mr. Karthik sternly asked the four individuals, widening his eyes.

An irritated Mahira was about to intervene when I saw Prithvi preventing her by squeezing her wrist. Instead, he himself chose to respond. "Sorry Sir, we are very sorry for it. We should not have done that, try and move Karan like that."

"Just answer me whatever has been asked." Mr. Karthik was always stringent during his enquiries.

"We are his college friends and we used to often hang out together even before his accident," Prithvi genuinely replied, clearing his throat.

"So what are you doing here? He must be in the condition to hang out today, am I right?" Mr. Karthik and his sarcastic remarks were always fun to listen to and I adored him every time he did it.

Mr. Luthra and I were used to Mr. Karthik's humorous attitude but the new visitors weren't. Mahira stepped in front of Mr. Karthik and spoke in such a harsh and raging voice which we had never tried with him, I mean we lacked such a rude courage in us. Mr. Karthik was someone who must be respected and not misbehaved with.

"Who are you and why are you trying to get Karan on your side by accusing us?" Mahira gritted her teeth in anger while I pressed myself closer to Mr. Luthra's wheelchair, my arm touching his hand sideways and the warmth of his skin immediately started percolating into my body.

Mr. Karthik inhaled deeply as he replied, "I'm the senior security head of the crime branch, Karthik Ghoshal. I hope it clears your misconception now and I take you people under the benefit of doubts till his case is solved."

I loved how Mr. Karthik used his tactics to handle such tough situations in a calmer but intelligent way. I had never seen him losing his cool in any difficult and compliance case. I was wanting to learn the art from him because I was always a volatile person. My mood used to fluctuate every now and then, I used to take decisions quite hastily and I kept losing my calm in petty little things without pondering enough over it.

"What did we do?" The other second young man spoke this time.

"Uday is right, Sir. What did we do? We were here to only look after our ailing friend." The second girl standing next to Mahira spoke this time.

The other male present in their group was Uday but the other girl's name was still unknown to me. It was possible for Mr. Luthra to have such friends because he was also completely rude like them.

"Are you people the spokespersons to one another?" Mr. Karthik interrogated, continuing with his smart tactics.

Mr. Karthik was in fact a stringent and smart observer. It was true that Prithvi was speaking for Mahira, Mahira spoke for Prithvi and again the other boy and the other girl intervened for each other.

"Sir, we already asked for an apology." Prithvi was trying to be humble and he seemed to be a little more well behaved than the test.

"You are better that way if you leave the house immediately." Mr. Karthik ordered vehemently and they were taken aback.

They were yet trying to protest but Mr. Luthra interrupted at last, surprising everyone in the room. "I think you have heard what Sir just said. We will meet later once I'm up on my limbs. Adieu."

What a nice way to bid close friends a temporary farewell but I was loving the murderous look on Mahira's face. Mr. Luthra had finally spoken in our favour or rather in Mr. Karthik's favour. He didn't speak for me or in my favour earlier and I was already despising him for the kind of behavior he had imparted to me.

The four of them walked away without an another word of protest while Mahira gave me a tempestuous glare before leaving the place. The three of us were left behind and a casual silence prevailed in the room for some time.

Mr. Karthik was the first one to break the quietness of the room as he spoke, "Ms. Arora what were you saying? You wanted to drop this case!"

"No, I mean...." I fumbled with a slight bite of my tongue when I sensed Mr. Luthra's stare on me, making it difficult for me to dictate my decision.

"But you can't leave us in the middle of everything, Ms. Arora. I have already forwarded the letter of request to your department." Mr. Karthik was too quick to play the trick on me and I was now bound to work for him.

"But..." I looked at Mr. Luthra in quick succession and then scratched my head to contemplate on my decision again.

I saw Mr. Luthra tilting his face towards Mr. Karthik as he interrupted, "Sir, can I speak to her personally once?"

What was the need for Mr. Luthra to speak to me personally? What was running in his mind after all that had happened between us? He didn't like me and even I was not comfortable to work with him. It was better for me to leave the case instead of stretching it like a chewing gum.

But...

Mr. Karthik had already forwarded the request letter and he was an oracle in hastily turning things in his favour. He would anyhow compel me to solve this particular case and I was unaware of his reasons for keeping me bound to it.

What should I decide now?
What should be my choice of adrenaline?

To 'fight' or to 'flight'?

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To be continued...