The Army Love

Chapter 3

Edited

Author 

2 days later

Viren was on his way to Delhi. His Colonel asked for a full report of the incident and then, decided that his team should head back.  Viren didn't want to leave as he wanted to spend some more time with Jeevika because he knew that after this, they were never going to see each other, even if they both lived in the same city. He never liked someone so quick. It seemed to him that he may have fallen in love with her. After all, love at first sight was a thing.

All the way back Viren was just thinking about Jeevika. He wanted to exchange numbers with her so they could at least chat on phone but he couldn't make the time for it.

On the other page, Jeevika was given discharge on the day Viren left as she was stable and was recovering fast. Jeevika also left for Delhi on the next day. She wanted to meet one last time but her destiny stated otherwise. They both thought that they would never meet each other again.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was almost 3 months after that incident took place. Jeevika had recovered fully. She now had resumed her job. Her day would always start with a rush as she had to prepare breakfast for her family.

A few weeks back, Asha, Jeevika's mother faced a terrible accident which caused her, her life. The injuries on her head were too much and she also suffered  internal bleeding. 

For days, no one talked in the house. It became a house not a home. An eerie silence engulfed the whole house. While Jeevika's siblings and her dad put on a brave face and carried on with their life, Jeevika couldn't. She was more close to her mother than her father unlike her siblings who were close to their father. But Jeevika didn't allowed herself to be submerged in depression. She went to work daily and started small talks with her family. She didn't want to loose her family.

After her mother's expiry, all the household work came on Jeevika's plate. She had to take care of her brother, sister and father. Her brother, Sameer was in college while her sister, Anya was in 12 standard.

They both were immature and fought with each other, sometimes pranked too.

Jeevika as usual woke up at 6 in morning. She first prepared breakfast everyone and then lunch for her brother and sister as she didn't came home at afternoons. She, then, carried on with cleaning her house.

Her father woke up, sometime later, followed by her sister and brother. At around 8:30, she finished all her household chores and till then her family had left for their respective destinations after finishing their breakfast.

Quarter to 9, Jeevika started collecting her belongings which she needed for work. It took her half an hour to reach her office, so she didn't had to worry about getting late. Locking the door behind her, she opened her Nissan Datsun Go and placed her things on the passenger seat before getting in herself. The aqua coloured car was a gift to her by her parents when she secured her job as an interior designer in a leading design company.

Jeevika entered her office with a smile and greeted the receptionist, who greeted her back. She took the files which needed her attention, to her cabin. Her cabin was a small room which had a white desk with a chair, with shelves to keep the files and a couch along with a coffee table. It was a bare room to which Jeevika added life. She added many colours to the room making it modern and colourful.

After all, I'm an interior designer!

She had said to herself when she checked out what her cabin turned out to be.

~~~~~~~~~

It was afternoon when Jeevika heard her stomach growl. She chuckled and stood up. Closing her laptop and switching off the lights, she made her way out of the cabin. Locking it, she saw that almost everybody had left for lunch.

The office canteen was closed due to some reason so she decided to walk to the restaurant across the road. Opening the door, a bell jingled above her as she noticed that the restaurant was quite full.

Making her way towards the counter, she greeted the lady before ordering her meal. It hardly took ten minutes before her order was placed in front of her. Thanking the lady, Jeevika turned around and looked for an empty table when someone bumped into her. The collision resulted in falling of both the trays of Jeevika and the other person making the food spread all over the floor.

"I'm so sorry." The person said. Jeevika looked up and was about to say it's okay when she was left dumbfounded. 

Viren was standing in front of her, with the same surprised look on his face. They both couldn’t believe they were actually standing in front of each other.

“Hey.” Viren breathed out still not believing that Jeevika stood in front of him. He noticed the small blush coating her cheeks. She looked more prettier than he remembered.

“Hi.” She replied with a small wave and smiled.

The sat down together on a table and ordered their meal. They filled in each other about what happened in their lives in the past months. Viren got to know that Jeevika lost her mother in a car accident and was quite sad to hear this. He had met her mother. She was a nice person.

After finishing their food, they both went to eat ice cream, enjoying their time together. About one hour later, they both parted their ways in hope to see each other again. Both forgetting to take each other’s number. 

As Jeevika entered the office, her smile faded. It was her boss, Aditya Bhardwaj. She aversed him. He always flirt with her. He had a child for God's sake! When she was new in the company, she couldn't stand his behavior but now she learned to avoid him. She was lost in her thoughts when he strolled across and stood near her. Too close for her liking.

"It would be better if you could come on time after your lunch break Miss Malhotra." Mr. Bhardwaj spoke in an authoritative voice.

"Okay sir." Jeevika apologized curtly as she left from the lobby. She could feel Mr. Bhardwaj's penetrating gaze on her until she entered her cabin.

Banging the door after her, Jeevika plopped down on her cushioned chair.

What does he think of himself? Jerk!

Her mood turned sour just by  thinking of that p*****t. She started going through her files when she remembered today's lunch.

Viren

Jeevika couldn't believe that she met him. She knew that he was in Delhi but their chances of crossing paths were very low. But destiny said a different story. It wanted her and Viren to meet. The way he helped her and their eye lock. Just thinking about Viren brought a smile on her face and she continued to do her work in a good mood.

~~~~~~~~~

Viren's day was really worst until he met Jeevika. He didn't knew that he could meet her again but destiny wanted them to come face to face yet again. She was still the same. Those large eyes, of verdant colour with flecks of brown. Her cute nose and full lips just adding to her perfection. Her long chocolate tresses doing nothing to hinder this perfection.

Viren took a deep breath with only one thought lingering in his mind.

What did you do to me Jeevika..

~~~~~~~~~

The next day Jeevika woke late. She had an off day. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she saw letter resting on the side where her sister should be sleeping. Jeevika already knew what would have been written inside but still gave it a glance.

Morning di! I'm missing school. Going out with friends. Will come late.....going to you know where ;)

Make up for me.

Bye!

It was the third time now that Anya was doing this. She thought that Jeevika didn't knew but Jeevika knew all about it.

Let her come home today. Throwing the covers off of her, Jeevika got up from the bed and went to take a shower.

After showering, She went  downstairs to find her dad and Sam sitting on the dining table, waiting for their breakfast. Greeting them both, she hurriedly made their breakfast.

"Dad." Jeevika said as she placed his toast in front of him. "And Sam for you." Lowering his plate down in front of him which contained a salami sandwich. She  ruffled his hair to which he got irritated and again gelled up his hair with his hands."i***t" Jeevika chuckled as she took her seat and began eating.

"Anya, where is she?" Kabir, Jeevika's father, asked while reading his newspaper.

"She went to school early....was saying something about completing her assignments." Jeevika lied hoping her Dad would take it. Surprisingly, he didn't interrogated more.

Finishing their breakfast, they both went to their separate destinations, leaving her alone at home.

As Jeevika had an off today, she thought that she should clean up the house.

She started by cleaning the rooms upstairs and then began cleaning the rooms on the ground floor . She entered her dad's room to see a family picture hanging on the wall behind the bed. The photo was a family photo in which Anya, Sam and Jeevika were standing behind their mom and dad, who were sitting in front of them. Everyone in the photo seemed genuinely happy unaware of the looming time before them. 

Everything is changed now Mom left us.

Thinking about her mother, a lone tear made its way down her cheek. She quickly wiped it as she  smiled looking at her mother.

The cleaning took more hours than imagined. It was evening and Jeevika had just gotten out of shower when the doorbell rang. 

Unlocking the door, she found her father and Sam. They entered inside and immediately went to their rooms to freshen up as Jeevika went to kitchen to make evening tea and some snacks. It was a very rare thing because most of time, in evenings, Jeevika would still be in the office. She served them tea as they sat in the dining room and whe was about to leave when she heard her name being called.

"Jeevika, where is Anya?" Kabir asked as he dipped a biscuit in his tea.

I have to lie. Only this one time.

"Dad, she will come home late as she is visiting her friend in hospital who suffering from high fever." Jeevika lied, giving a fake worry expression.

"Oh, I see. Dear send her our regards too." Kabir told Jeevika as stood up and went to his room.

I'm sorry dad.

"Its 11 pm! Where the hell is this girl?" Jeevika asked aloud as she kept pacing back and forth. The tension was eating her. The three had already done their dinner and her father and brother had called it a night while she was here, waiting for her immature sister to come home.

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Kaur D