A Friend
A man in his 50s walked up the corridor and reached a nurse. The nurse eyed him suspiciously.
"Is she fine?" he asked.
"Yes, but she looks pale. The doctor said that she's suffering from malnutrition." the nurse said.
"Ok. Is she awake?"
"No, she is still sleeping and can wake up anytime."
"Can I see her?" he added.
The nurse guided the man to the patient's room and fetched the door for him.
"Please don't touch anything and don't disturb the patient." the nurse requested.
"Thank you.It will just take a few minutes."
The nurse walked away leaving the man in the room where a lady slept peacefully in the bed.
***************
Dhruv's Mansion
Dhruv ordered Iqbaal to search all the places and hideouts of the mansion.
"She is not here." Iqbaal said.
Dhruv contemplated for a moment and spoke.
"Where did she go? Is she so irresponsible of herself that she didn't care to inform at least?"
Fine!
She moved out on her own risk, she will come back at her own risk too.
There is nothing to be concerned about, I have more things to deal with." Dhruv shouted. But the past memories rushed again
"Take care of her! She's your soulmate!"
The words of the past reverberated back to him. Dhruv squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.
"Get out of my head!"
He said internally.
"Iqbaal! Order the security to search for her! She must be near."
"Ok." Iqbaal nodded his head.
Dhruv flounced out of the room leaving Iqbaal and Veronica completely confused
Iqbaal noticed Veronica standing behind like a scared cat. She looked all bathed in sweat
"Veronica! Why are you sweating profusely?"
Veronica didn't utter a word and ran away from the room.
************
Meenakshi squeezed her eyes shut, trying to adjust her eyes with the flash of light. She couldn't recollect the incidents that happened after she passed out in the middle of the road. She only remembered that she moved out of the mansion to run away from the people or just run away from her freaking mind when her head started feeling heavy and she felt a deep sleep cover her eyes until she passed out.
A lady in white entered the room with a tray.
"Are you feeling alright?"
"H-how did I get in here?" her voice was hoarse.
"Your friend brought you here."
"A friend? But who?"
Meenakshi looked questioningly at the nurse. The nurse was bewildered at her expression.
"That only you can tell, dear. He told me that he is a friend of yours."
"But. I don't have any friends."
The nurse turned a deaf ear at Meenakshi's words and handed her a glass of water.
"Well, he said he is a friend. I can't say more than that. But my dear, you must eat properly. Your body is slowly giving up due to lack of nutrition."
Meenakshi grabbed the glass and chugged the water. Her throat was extremely dry.
The nurse handed her clothes back and told her to eat the food that was kept for her.
Meenakshi stared at the nurse perplexed. She had no idea about her secret friend. Why would someone help her?
The thought of Ryan crossed her mind. But then, why would he leave her alone here? Being all mysterious wasn't his style.
The nurse lady placed the tray of food in front of her. The delicious smell of fried rice and gravy waffled her nose. Putting her etiquettes aside, she indulged herself like a hungry beast.
"I forgot to tell you that your friend paid for the hospital charges and left a package for you, its there."
She pointed towards the couch beside the bed. There was a brown package lying on it.
"The doctor said to discharge you as you're completely fine now. Eat the meal, get ready, and take the package with you. I will escort you to the door."
***************
Meenakshi walked out of the hospital door with the nurse helping her. A black Mercedes Benz stopped in front of her tracks. She recognized the car and witnessed Iqbaal and Vijay stepping out of it. She was quite surprised to find them here. The very thought of Dhruv sending them for her erupted butterflies in her stomach.
Iqbaal approached Meenakshi with a stoic face.
"Get in the car, Meenakshi."
Meenakshi stared at him for a couple of minutes trying to decipher the situation but then resigned because it her mind was no longer prepared to do any calculations. She reached the car and moved into the backseat hiding something under her dupatta (a long piece of cloth that women wear with Salwar piece).
At 7 pm, the car entered the gates of the mansion.
Meenakshi walked in the entrance with Iqbaal and Vijay quietly. The trio was scared of the storm that was standing in front of them. Especially Meenakshi.
She lowered her eyes, not daring to look at the furious Dhruv glaring at her. He looked ferocious, even with just his eyes. Meenakshi wished for the floor to split and consume her.
"Why did you leave the mansion without informing me?" Dhruv questioned.
Meenakshi gulped in nothing, keeping her eyes downcast. She internally prayed for this to get over without any drama.
Dhruv waited for an answer but he was gifted with utter silence.
"Fine! I've other ways. Get out!"
Meenakshi looked back at Dhruv with wide eyes. Even Iqbaal and Vijay looked at him horrified.
Dhruv approached her closer, leaning in, his black eyes locking with hers. Meenakshi felt entrapped within that black hole.
"Are you mute as well as deaf?"
She recognized what he said, but all she could do was stand in front of him. She clutched her dupatta tightly.
Dhruv didn't waste another moment. He grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the door. Within a second, Meenakshi was thrown out of the mansion, her body colliding with the hard ground.
Everyone present in the place witnessed the scene. But no one cared to lend a hand. It started raining outside, drenching Meenakshi wet. Her tears mixed away with the raindrops. She looked back at Vijay who was standing behind Dhruv. Vijay looked sad, but he didn't make any move.
"You're so keen to run out of the mansion, huh? Now stay outside!"
Dhruv ordered the guards to close the door and walked inside. After he was gone, Vijay ran towards Meenakshi. He bent down to help her stand in the rain.
"I'm sorry, Meenakshi. This is all because of me! I shouldn't have said you like that."
Flashback
"Meenakshi?" Vijay called.
"Hmm?"
"I won't be able to give you food every day! How will you survive?"
"I've some emergency money. I'll use them. And I've Ph.D. in starving for weeks. So don't worry about me!"Meenakshi chuckled, though it didn't reach her eyes.
"It's not funny, Meenakshi. You should get a job." he added in a serious tone.
"Yeah. And who'll give me one?"
"Why don't you try some houses?"
"Houses? Why houses?"
"You know they're many houses that ask for maids."
Meenakshi felt his words tugging at her heart. Was her worth leveled to a maid now?
"Oh. There's another option too." he added.
Meenakshi looked at him, perplexed and a bit hurt by his words.
"Sorry. Leave it. It's a bad idea."
"What is it?" Meenakshi asked.
"Uh-umm...I know one of my friends working in an escort club. Yo-"
A hand reached his cheek and Vijay felt a slap on his face. It was from Meenakshi. Her eyes teary, her nose snarled with fury.
"D-do you consider me as a prostitute? What did you mean by this???!!!"
"Hey! How dare you slap me?"
He stood from the bed, throwing glares at Meenakshi. His hand touched his right cheek which was burning.
"Did I say anything wrong? No, I didn't! Who do you think will give you work? No one cares about anyone in this cruel world! Learn this the hard way!" He flounced out of the room, closing the door loudly.
Meenakshi felt her legs going weak and she collapsed on the floor.
"Why?" she whispered.
Flashback off
"But. ... Why did you run away? Don't you know Dhruv? You can't show tantrums in front of him. He won't bear all this."
Meenakshi didn't respond and stood at her ground, her drenched hair covering her face.
Vijay shook Meenakshi's arm to get some response, but she was all quiet. After trying for the umpteenth time, Vijay gave up. He was drenched in the rain too.
Meenakshi removed his hand from her arm and without sparing a second glance, she walked away from the place. All the shouts from Vijay went unanswered.