Page 27 of Forbidden

She points out some medicines placed on the bedside table. I am even more confused, but thankfully Jaya sorts it out.

“Aarav had called a doctor to check on you.”

He did? Wow!! He first gives me pain and then treats me. How very nonsensical!! Though I am extremely hungry and thirsty too, I don’t want to touch anything here.

“I don’t want to eat.”

“Then I will have to feed you.”

That’s Aarav’s voice. He is in the room, at the door, watching me with an unreadable expression. I don’t recall how he got me here. Did he carry me in his arms? Was my head on his shoulder or lap during the car drive? What else did he speak to the doctor? And Jaya? He met Jaya and faced her wrath already? And what about Daadi and Mohit? They left me alone there at the event. That hurts me the most.

Jaya stands up as my shield. “Why are you here?”

“Shut up,” Aarav scowls back, returning his gaze on me. “I am talking to my wife. If you can’t handle it, kindly leave us alone.”

Wife!! My heart beats faster again. Jaya is about to argue when I grab hold of her hand. She understands I want her to be quiet.

“I am not going anywhere.” She makes that clear and sits on the bed again.

Aarav doesn’t care. He strides inside and stands at the edge of the bed, serving some food on the plate.

“Eat.”

He’s not insisting, but commanding me. I don’t take the plate from his hand.

“Don’t do this, Jaan.”

“Stop calling me that,” I retort. “My name is Jhanvi Sikand. I am not your Jaan.”

Jaya is quiet, though I know she is highly uncomfortable to face our verbal argument. Aarav keeps the plate on the bed, rubbing his palms. There’s something in that gesture that tells me he is controlling his anger again. When I advance my gaze from Aarav’s palms to his face, he is already glaring at me.

“Your name is Mrs. Jhanvi Aarav Raichand now and you are my Jaan no matter how much you hate that.”

He takes a turn to leave, but not without talking to Jaya.

“Make sure she eats.”

That command is enough for both Jaya and me to drop our jaws. Does he think we will abide by his orders all the time? As soon as he leaves the room, Jaya turns to me again.

“What is he?” she asks. “I mean, I know Aarav Raichand is not an easy man to handle, but this guy is so bossy that I doubt he has ever bowed down to anyone before?”

I am too lost and confused to think about such silly things. My mind is more focused on Daadi and Mohit. I don’t think bearing this truth is easy for them.

“I don’t agree with anything he said,” Jaya continues. “Except making sure you eat. Come on.”

Despite my denial, she takes the plate and starts feeding me. Tears gushed in my eyes after a few morsels.

“Stop being a crybaby, Jhanvi. You can’t be so weak.”

“Daadi didn’t believe me and Mohit was so angry…” my throat constricts, recalling how Mohit and Daadi walked away leaving me there.

“That’s what I didn’t like,” Jaya replies. “They did not even care to hear your side. How can they do so when they have known you for so many years? I understand they are shocked and hurt but don’t they see you did this to save us?”

Jaya keeps judging their actions, but I don’t. This will not solve with me sitting here.

“I have to meet them. Let’s just go back to Raichand Mansion.”

I get down from the bed and in the next instance, I lose my balance. The lack of sleep from the past few nights and lost appetite has made me weak which I didn’t realize until now. Jaya quickly grabs my arms and helps me sit on the bed again.

---