It was afternoon. 1:30 pm. Thabal lay curled up on her bed, wearing a spaghetti top, hair tied in a messy bun. She had her phone in her hand, scrolling through random reels. Life was currently boring now, except the phase called 'Vikram'. No friends and classes bored the hell out of her.
She sighed and took a glance at the black umbrella, casually standing, leaning against her table. She smiled at it.
"You know I miss you" she muttered under her breath. And just then her phone buzzed.
It was a group voice call. From her two mentally unstable friends. She smiled at it and picked up.
"HELLO dosto!! Mere bina tum dono mar toh nahi gaye na?" Shreya sighed dramatically.
"Nahi nahi. Tu nahi hai so perfectly fine hai" Thabal laughed, teasing her.
"Haan aur nahi toh kya. Tu saath hoti toh bachi kuchi mental peace bhi udd jati" Meera added with a dramatic tched.
"Yaarrr. Itne bure ho tum dono. I don't wanna talk to you both. Tum dono itne bully karte ho mujhe" Shreya pouted in annoyance, accusing them. Thabal giggled at it.
"Abe nautanki chup kar. Waise Thabal. I am coming tommorow. Subah 10 ko nikal jawungi" Meera informed. Shreya jumped up at it, yelling in between.
"OH MYYY. SERIOUSLY? Tu bhi? Bhai!! The coincidence. I am coming tomorrow too. Meri subah ki flight hai. 8 ko" Shreya squeaked happily.
"God! Tum dono aa rahe ho kal? Ek saath?" Thabal widened her eyes at the information.
"Oi Meera. Bus stop pe wait karna mera. Udhar milenge and saath chalenge" Shreya quickly commanded.
"Haan haan pata hai" Meera rolled her eyes.
"Oh Thabal. Yeh sab chor. Tu yeh bata. Uss din kidhar gayi thi tu?" Meera asked, suddenly remembering the photos she sent once. Few days ago.
"Oh haannnn. Woh bhi Mr officer ke saath, hm?" Shreya teased. Thabal blushed listening to her.
"Woh kuch nahi. Date pe gaye the-" she couldn't even complete her sentence before they interrupted.
"KYAAA?? DATE?? Bhai!! Yeh kab huwa?" Shreya yelled in surprise.
"Usne pucha?" Meera asked.
"Haan" Thabal murmured in return.
"By the way girl. The dress was fire. Kya choice hai teri. You were looking so damn good. Banda toh dekhte hi hosh kho betha hoga" Meera chuckled. Thabal felt her cheeks warming up, remembering the incident of that day.
"Kab kharidi waise? Tereko kya pata tha ki he was gonna ask you for a date?" Shreya asked in amusement. Thabal paused for a moment before revealing.
"Umm woh actually. He gifted it" she said slowly, in a meek voice. Knowing well the reaction.
"WHAT THE HELL!" They both yelled together, stunned by the fact.
"Thabal, behen. Konsa wrat rakhti hai tu. Please tell me. Mereko asa banda mil jaye jo mujhe asa spoil kare toh aur kya chahiye life pe" Shreya made a crying sound as she said it.
"No bhai seriously. I am sure now. Iski jarur 3 4 girlfriends hongi. It have to be! Warna how could he know about female choice so damn accurately?" Meera pondered over. Thabal chuckled and shook her head to herself.
"Aare nahi. He doesn't have. Bhramachari tha banda" she said. Shreya hooted at it.
"Oh hoooo. Defensive haan?" She teased. Thabal couldn't help but blush at it.
"Waise kuch huwa kya? Date pe gaye the, samne itni hot ladki bethi thi, mood bhi full on romantic. Asa ho hi nahi sakta woh kuch try na kare unless he is gay" Meera stood on her ground, sure of her words. Thabal paused for a second. Not knowing where to start from.
She already knew where this was going. She opened her mouth hesitantly but Shreya beat her in it.
"Bhai chup kyu hai. Listen listen. Please mujhe thoda warn kardo before you reveal anything. Mereko asa feel ho raha hai ki jo tu bolne wali hai usse meri maut bhi ho sakti hai" She ranted rapidly. Meera in annoyance snapped.
"Chup kar sali. Itna bolti hai. Bolne toh de usko. Tu bol Thabal" Meera urged. Thabal took a breath, fingers nervously twisting the bedsheet.
"Woh.... actually. Mein aur Vikram. We- we are in a relationship" she whispered, her cheeks warming instantly. The scream that followed was chaos.
"WHAT THE FUCK!"
"ARE YOU SERIOUS?"
"Oh my! Seriously? Matlab abhi tum dono girlfriend boyfriend?"
Thabal pulled the phone slightly away, laughing helplessly. She assumed this reaction already.
"Shant ho jao! Warden ajayegi warna, tum logo ko sunke" she warned playfully.
"Behen, aur kitne heartattack degi tu mujhe? Marwayegi mereko? Pehle yeh date, fhir dress and THIS!?" Shreya shrieked in disbelief. Thabal chuckled but didn't said anything. They didn't know something more, which she kept it to herself. It was only for Vikram and her to know about. Their personal secret.
"Bhai usne propose kiya ki tune?" Meera asked baffled.
"Usne kiya tha" Thabal informed, a small smile playing on her lips as she remembered it.
"With roses and rings?" Shreya giggled in excitement. Thabal chuckled and shook her head.
"Naa. Kuch asa waisa nahi huwa tha yaar, simple and unexpected tha. Actually the thing is, after we ate hum log walk ke liye nikle the. Toh umm i kind of confessed him about my feelings. And tab he asked me to be his girlfriend. Meine ase hi tease kiya tha ki i want a better proposal. Toh he went to a nearby tree, kuch flowers tore and proposed me with that" Thabal giggled as she finished narrating. Her heart warming up at the memory.
"Bhai tum dono. Mujhe cuteness se hi mar doge" Meera sighed dramatically.
"Meera baby. Us when? When???" Shreya made a crying sound. Thabal laughed at it. A soft, heartfelt laugh.
🦋🦋🦋----------
The police station was a chaos like usual. The fan in Vikram's cabin whirred lazily, pushing warm air around the room. Files lay neatly stacked on his table. He sat back in his chair, signing forms, reading and studying cases coming up.
Shinde knocked on the door just then.
"Sir, Rakesh aaya hai. Aapne bulwaya tha" he informed.
"Bhej do" Vikram said flatly, not looking up from his files. Moments later, a man came in. The same fellow from the street. Head lowered, face pale, body stiff with fear. His shirt was crumpled, sweat visible near his temples.
Rakesh Apte. Vikram's spy. A thief, a local goon. He was shitting in his pants right now. He didn't said anything, he didn't even have the courage to.
"Idhar aa" he said calmly, too calm. Rakesh gulped. Oh, Bappa. He is gone now. No one could save him from Vikram's wrath.
He slowly walked towards the table and stood in front of him. Vikram finally looked up to him. His eyes threatening to kill him already. He leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on the table. His fixed gaze never left the man's face.
"Kaafi bakwaas baatein boli thi tune uss din. Mujhe aacha nahi laga" Vikram said , his voice cold and unforgiving. Rakesh swallowed hard.
"Sir, i swear mujhe nahi pata tha aap ho. Warna mein mar jata par asa nahi karta. Mujhe nahi pata tha woh madam hai-" Rakesh stopped himself in fear when Vikram stood up. He instinctively took a step back. Vikram walked around the table, boots heavy against the floor. He stopped right in front of him.
Before Rakesh could even assume his next action. SLAP.
The sound was sharp. Loud. Rakesh's head snapped to the side as he stumbled back, barely keeping his balance. He stumbled in his own legs and fell down. His cheek burned, eyes watering instantly. He palmed the slapped cheek in pain.
The police station quietened on it's own. Everyone gulped. There goes Vikram's temper. They started working more carefully now, not wanting his temper to be directed towards them. One mistake and they will have to face the raging lion.
"Uth" Vikram commanded. And Rakesh looked up, terrified. But nevertheless slowly stood up. Eyes lowered on the ground.
"Meri bandi hai woh. Samjha? Tu mera aadmi hai isliye jinda khara hai. Aagli baar jaban sambhal ke. Woh toh dur, koi aur ladki ka news mere kan tak nahi pohochna chahiye" he warned in a low dangerous tone.
"Sir. Maa kasam. Mein koi cher khani nahi karne ja raha tha. Sir aapko bhi pata hai asa waisa nahi karta mein. Mein bas thoda majak urake jane wala tha-"
"Mujhe farak nahi padta" Vikram snapped. His eyes were lethal now. He grabbed Rakesh by the collar and pulled him close, voice dropping to a whisper that was far scarier than a shout.
"Agli baar agar kisi bhi ladki ke baare mein, chahe mazaak mein, aisa ek shabd bhi nikla na tumhare muh se" He released him with a shove.
"Toh tumhari iss jeeb ko katke fhek dunga" he warned, his voice seething in anger. Rakesh nodded frantically, tears slipping out.
"Samajh gaya sir. Kasam se. Dobara nahi hoga" Vikram turned away, running a hand through his hair, trying to calm the storm inside him.
"Nikal yaha se" Rakesh didn't wait a second longer. He practically ran out of the cabin. The door shut.
As soon as he went out of the cabin, all the staff's attention went to him. The big red mark on his slap was the result of the sound they heard. Shinde watched him and tsked in pity.
"Aye, Apte. Idhar aa" he called, signalling with his finger to come. Rakesh timidly walked towards Shinde.
"Kya kand kardiya tune?" He asked the point. Rakesh hesitantly looked up.
"Sir w-woh majak tha. Mujhe nahi pata tha-" Shinde interrupted him in between.
"Tu bol sidhe sidhe" Rakesh gulped before splurting everything.
"Sir woh uss din. 2 3 din pehle tha. Raat ke 8 baje the. Mein apne ghar ki taraf ja raha tha. Raaste pe dekha ek dukan pe, ek aadmi aur uske chaye mein ladki thoda sa personal ho rahe the. Meine socha thoda chirake chor dunga. Meine ladki ka shakal dikhane ko bola tha. Baad pe pata chala Vikram sir the woh toh. Toh wahi" he muttered slowly. Shinde looked at him with a pity face before dismissing him off.
"Ja" he signalled him to go. As Rakesh went, the sub inspector sitting near Shinde leaned towards him.
"Yeh sir ne ase lucche ko kyu khabri banaya hai" he scowled.
"Sir ka intention pe doubt mat kar beta. He is 20 times ahead of any of us. Unka soch dur ka hai, tu aur mein nahi samjhenge. Toh process ko doubt mat kar, result ka maja le" Shinde said casually.
"Haan woh toh hai" the other inspector mumbled to himself. Shinde just smirked and didn't say anything.
"Waise yeh ladki ka kya chakkar hai?" The female inspector tilted her and asked, hearing their conversation.
"Haan mein bhi wahi soch raha tha. Yeh sir married hai kya? I thought he was unmarried" the sub inspector asked amused.
"No. She is his girlfriend" Shinde shook his head and denied. The sub inspector looked at Shinde in disbelief.
"Sir, aap toh Vikram sir se close hai. I mean he takes you in most of his important works. So you must have seen the girl. Kaisi hai? Aachi hai kya?" The female SI asked, curious and amused. Shinde paused for a moment, as if searching for correct words to use for his Sir's lady.
"Aachi ka toh pata nahi. Like i don't know her, have never talked to her. She is from Manipur, tribal hai. Student hai currently. MBBS kar rahi hai" Shinde answered in short.
"Tribal. Manipur" the lady SI muttered under her breath as if trying to remember something. And then she widened her eyes in surprise.
"Wait a minute. Matlab that one gori chitti ladki jo aayi thi uss din scooty ka complain karane. Wahi thi kya? That student, if I am not wrong. Woh bhi medical hi kar rahi thi" she asked with a slight gasp.
"Haan wahi thi" Shinde confirmed.
"But sir itne strict hai. And itne cold and arrogant bhi. Woh ladki se bhi ase hi hai kya? I pity her life if sir behaves the same with her" the male SI muttered but was pushed harshly by the female.
"Aare asa kaise bol rahe ho. Ussdin dekha nahi jab woh station aayi thi, sir bas usko hi dekhe ja rahe the. I doubted then on but socha utna bhi kuch hoga nahi. And tune dekha nahi, he slightly smiled too. Just slightly. Can you imagine, the great SP. Vikram Sharma. Smiling?" The lady SI exclaimed.
Shinde shook his head and turned away from their gossips. They don't know the soft side of Vikram. No one knows, the only side which Thabal brought. They don't even know the fact that three random boys are in the lockup. For more than three months. Just because they dared to eve-tease Thabal.
And he have no plan to reveal all those. It's his personal life, so let it be like this.
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Hope you enjoyed it
Stay safe sweeties🦫🎀✨
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