Page 25 of Forbidden

It’s been an hour since I came back to my mansion with my wife, Jhanvi Raichand, on my bed, still unconscious. Before my car reached home, I had the doctor ready here to diagnose my wife and help her regain consciousness. Now, after checking her thoroughly, Doctor Ruby turns to me.

“She’s been under a lot of stress lately?”

I swallow nervously before responding.

“Yes, she has. A lot probably.”

And it’s all my fault. I gave her that stress. Ever since she has returned to India, I have harassed her mentally with the thought that she was going to be my wife and not Mohit’s. And whatever happened since the day I married her till now, can’t be ignored either.

“I see,” Ruby sighs, keeping the stethoscope back in her kit. “Looks like she is hardly eating well. Please take care of this, Mr. Raichand. Your wife needs enough food, rest and some mental peace.”

I blankly nod as she scribbles some medicines on paper.

“Give her these after she has her meals. Call me if you need me again.”

I take the prescription from her, without moving my gaze from Jhanvi who looks so fragile on my giant bed it sickens me.What have I done to her?As soon as the doctor leaves, Aman knocks on the bedroom door.

“We have a visitor.” He gets inside at my gesture. “And trust me, she’s not very calm right now.”

I turn off the lights and quietly exit the room with Aman, leaving Jhanvi to rest. Aman is about to tell me who that visitor is when I hear her instead.

“Aarav Raichand. Where the hell are you hiding my friend?”

It’s a woman and the moment I see her as I get down the stairs, I recognize it’s Jaya Parekh, Jhanvi’s best friend from London. I knew she was coming to India today and that Jhanvi had sent her a car to pick her up from the airport. But in all this drama that happened tonight at the party, I literally forgot to take care of this situation.

Aman and I keep getting down the stairs.

“Jaya had been to the event where the hotel manager told her Jhanvi fell unconscious and you got her here. That’s why Miss Parekh is here. To get her friend back,” Aman mentions.

“In her dreams.” I give him a mockery laugh and face the challenge named Jaya Parekh, who doesn’t miss a single second to stride to me as soon as I am down in the living room.

“Where is she? What have you done to her? I need to see Jhanvi now,” she roars.

I watch the spirit of this woman whom I hadn’t missed doing some background check before. Jaya Parekh runs a small modelling institute in London which trains rising models and helps them bag contracts with good clients, thus making them popular. She was quite young when her parents died and she never complained as life threw the biggest challenge in the form of her school boyfriend with whom she broke up a few years ago and ever since then she has dated no one at all. Now she hates men!! And I can see how well she does that.

“Are you deaf? I am talking to you,” Jaya shouts again.

“Hey.. Relax.” Aman intervenes. “Your friend Jhanvi is fine and Aarav is just ensuring she gets enough rest.”

“Shut up,” she snaps at Aman. “I am not speaking to you.”

“Watch your tone Jaya,” Aman scolds.

“It’s Miss Parekh for you and your boss.”

I am impressed, and glad that Jhanvi has such a strong and loyal friend.

“And you.!!” She turns to me again. “I am going to make sure Jhanvi puts you behind bars for marrying her. How dare you blackmail her? And you hacked my phone?”

I still don’t respond to her queries because it seems like Aman is more interested in doing that.

“I hacked your phone. You speak to me. And for heaven’s sake, lower your volume if you want your friend to rest. Jhanvi is resting in the room upstairs, so please-”

The moment she hears it, Jaya storms towards the stairs. Aman is about to stop her when I pull him back.

“Let her go. Jhanvi will be happy to see her friend close once she wakes up.”

Aman sighs in disappointment.

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