chapter 5

 

They reached the hospital…receptionist asked do you have an appointment sir,arjun said we were asked to meet dr ridhima gupta we have an appointment with her….receptionist checked her register and said may I know the patients name sir,yes it 

is riya mukherjee…thankyou sir dr.gupta’s cabin is on the 3^rd floor to the right the second door…arjun said thankyou…riya was quiet from the time they entered the hospital,arjun really felt odd cause he never thought that she could keep quiet for more than 5 minutes.he turned towards her and said riya don’t worry I am there with you…riya just meekly smiled at that.

They reached ridhima’s cabin and knocked…come in came a voice…ridhima looked up to see who it was and said I’ve been waiting for you riyu. riya said sorry lot of traffic…ridhima thought riyu you could have come up wit a better excuse,a lot of traffic is such a lame excuse…she came out of her thoughts and said riyu we would have to do your blood tests first to see if any kind of toxin is found or not..riya just nodded and held her hand and squeezed it gently letting her know that he is there for her.riya relaxed a bit after that.arjun requested ridhima that can he be there with her during the tests…ridhima understood him and said yes you can mr.raute.

It had been 4hours since the blood,urine  and other tests they were waiting for the reports.ridhima came in with the reports…she said that not to worry everything is normal I think you gained your consciousness right on time otherwise that doctor would have been successful in performing his experiments and the effect of tetrodetoxin have worne off completely so there is no need to worry riya you just have to take rest for 2 weeks because you have just got out of coma and you are still very weak okay.

Arjun said don’t worry I will make sure that she takes rest for two weeks.riya was annoyed at that and said sir I have to take rest she did not advice bed rest so I hope you wont lock me up in the confines of your guest bedroom…arjun glared at her but was amused as well and thought how did she know I was thinking of keeping her on bed rest for the next 2 weeks….he came out of the trance when ridhima prescribed some medicine that she was suppose to take for gaining her energy and strength back.arjun took the prescription and said thankyou dr gupta…ridhima said it was my duty and when it comes to riyu I can do anything…he smied at that and thought they must be really good friends..riya hugged her and told her to visit her when her shift gets over…arjun said yes ofcource please do come I don’t think my company would be enough to get her out of her boredom…ridhima laughed at that and said yea sure…when riya and arjun were about to go ridhima stopped riya and said that even angella will come to meet her this evening…riya smiled at that and asked she’s back in Mumbai I thought she had that Egyptian exhibit to take care of…..ridhima said yea she did but as soon as she came to know that you are alive she took the next flight…riya nodded at that and said I’ll be waiting for the two of you…

Arjun was curious to know who angella was so he asked riya who she was riya smiled and answered ridhima and angella are her best friends,arjun nodded and said you and ridhima look like if you’ll have known each other from a long time…riya smiled and said that I angella and ridhima are friends from preschool

Arjun just stared at her for a few seconds  and then said that in today’s world its really rare to find such long lasting friendship…riya smiled and said that we three were and still are inseperable when together but as life goes on we do drift apart from our friends we knew that that’s why we made a pact in college that no matter how bussy we become in life,no matter if we are in different corners of the world we would always keep in touch….and till now no one has broken this pact yet and as far as I know none of us will ever break it.arjun smiled and said its rare to have such a bond with someone…riya said I know sir.

Relationships of any kind are very fragile it is up to us to cherish it forever and ridzee and angi are all I have as a family I would never let this bond break sir I mean arjun…arjun thought about asking her about her family but chose not to it seemed like a sensitive topic so he thought to give her time so she could tell him about her past when she is comfortable sharing it with him.

The car stopped in front of a shopping mall,riya asked do you need to buy something sir arjun said no but you do…I know you are not comfortable wearing some one else’s clothes even though they are your best friends…riya looked at him shocked and said sir but how did you know,he just smiled and said chale riya I cant let you exert yourself so you have to make it quick…riya wanted to know how does he know her so well but she thought to let it go for now.she said sir but all my bank accounts are frozen I mean I would have to go and talk to them to reopen my account and I don’t have my cards as well…arjun said that he is gonna pay for everything riya was gonna protest but arjun cut her off telling her that she can pay him later when the bank issues are sorted out…arjun thought he was never going to take it back from her but he knew he had to lie other wise she would never agree to shop using his credit cards…riya thought for a while and said ok..

2 hours later they reached home…arjun said I am ordering food from outside cause both of us are damn tired…she did not argue…her legs were killing her she just wanted to go to sleep….she texted ridhima to come next morning as she was very tired…ridhima answered no probs…the food arrived and they ate in silence…riya thought for how long would she have to have this mareezo wala khana but did not dare to voice her thoughts cause she knew arjun would blow up a fuse listning to that.

Riya said good night sir…arjun looked at her and raised his eyebrows she smiled sheepishly and said good night arjun…he smiled and said night riya if you need anything don’t hesitate to wake me up..she nodded and went to her room.

Next morning arjun went to wake up riya but she was not in her room,she searched everywhere but could not find her he panicked and was about to call her when the door bell rang arjun opeaned the door…riya said good morning arjun…arjun lost his cool and said what the hell riya if you were going out you should have informed did you know how worried I was…riya sid calm down sir I just went for a walk in the park and I did not want to disturb you while you were sleeping.

Arjun calmed down a bit and said riya next time please inform or leave a note…I am sorry for yelling at you I just lost my cool cause I was worried…riya said its alright sir I mean arjun..it happens…riya did not know why but she felt good seeing arjun worrying for her.

Ridhima and angella came at around 11 am.arjun welcomed them and asked them to sit he informed them that riya is in the bathroom she’ll join us in a while…angella was a very direct person and asked,and you are?? And what is she doing staying here is she fine…riyu does not give her consent and agrre to stay with someone she barely knows…arjun did not feel bad at her questioning cause he knew she was worried for riya so he answered her patiently and said I am her senior at work and a friend…don’t worry I would never hurt her I’ll make sure she has been taken care off and you can address me as arjun or as mr. raute…angella calmed down a little bit after knowing his name…riya had spoken to her about him and the way she spoke she could easily say that riya was very fond of this person and her agreeing to stay with him she must really trust this guy…and she did not mind cause whatever the reason this guy is decent plus red hawt…in todays world finding a man with such a combination is very rare…. Angella said I am sorry mr.raute its just that riyu is a very close friend of mine arjun smiled and said that he understands.

Riya came out and before she could say anything angella literally jumped from her seat and hugger riya tightly….riya smiled and joked angi I cant breath.angella left her and said dare you pull such a stunt again…I know what you did was to save many more lives but if such a situation occurs next time to think of a solution that would save the public as well as it will not kill her…riya smiled and nodded…she reassured her saying that she is fine now and next time she would take extra care of her self.

Angella was going to say something else when the door bell rang…arjun said he would get it…at the door stood,rathod,shee and chotu he welcomed them in…everybody was seated in the living area…rathod asked now how are you feeling riya she said I am perfectly alright sir.

Sir I wanted to talk to you about my rejoining…ridzee said I have to take two weeks rest but after that can I join back at the team…rathod said yes infact I was waiting to tell you about this…I got a letter from the comissioner and he said that you would be rejoining the etf as you get better…riya was very happy listing to this.

She slapped her forehead and said I am so sorry I for got to introduce you all sir this is angella montenegro and ridhima gupta my bestfriends/family and angi and ridzee this is rathod sir,arjun sir,shreekant sen andchotu they are my colegues/mentors/friends…everybody said hello to each other….

Rathod again could not take his eyes of ridhima….arjun again noticed this and smiled to him self…he coughed loudly rathod came out ofmthe trance…riya passed a glass of water to arjun…he smiled and took it….angella could see something fishy bet arjun and riya…she knew she would have to make riya realize that what she feels for arjun is not mere friendship or respect as she states…but it would be a hard task…cause of riya’s past she does not let anyone in on  her life that easily…she would have to be very carefull when she broached this topic…

Rathod asked ridhima what does she do to break the uncomfortable silence bet them…ridhima says that she a pathologist…rathod looked on impressed and thought at such a young age she is so accomplished.rathod thought of something he would have to speak to the commissioner soon about this.

Rathod asked angella what she did cause he did not want to make it obvious to ridhima that he was smitten by her…angella answered she Is an artist she specializes in recreation…if something is damaged she can easily recreate the scenario or the damaged thing.

Shree looked on impressed…he had an idea and he made a note to talk to rathod sir about it asap.

Every body chatted merrily…and yhen decided to order lunch…arjun really liked the environment in his house after a long time his house wa filled with so many people.arjun and riya kept steaing glances at each oother cause they could not talk openly in front of others…but riya was happy and so was arjun that they would get to spend the next two weeks together…riya also was waiting for these two weeks to end so she can get back to work…where she really belongs.