Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 21: Finally Awake

Sandeep watched the numbers on the monitors for a while, then confidently said to Sidharth, who was still listening on the other end of the phone, "She'll wake up tomorrow morning, I'm sure of it."

Sidharth let out a long sigh of relief. He switched his phone to his other hand and said, in a low voice, "In that
case, take her back to her apartment. I'll send over double the number of men. Have them stand guard and watch over her-in secret." He paused, then reminded him, "do not breathe a word about me. Tell her I wasn't able to get back in time, and haven't seen her this whole week."

Sandeep laughed and said, "What's wrong? The Bossman wants to be modest, doesn't want anyone to know of his noble deeds? Tsk tsk! Well, to be honest, I wouldn't know how to bring it up anyway, so it never even crossed my mind."

Besides, Sandeep thought, Sidharth still has my signed military order. Why risk it?

"You'd better not. Don't forget, you signed a military order."

Just as Sandeep had expected, Sidharth was threatening him with the military order again.

Sandeep rolled his eyes as he groaned. "You don't have to remind me every single day! My memory's just as good as yours!" With that, he got up and summoned two orderlies to come in and pack up all the equipment. At the same time, he asked Naina to help change Shehnaaz's clothes before taking her to the car.

That very night, Shehnaaz was whisked back to her Andheri precinct penthouse in her sleep.

Her apartment building had two units to each floor, but on the top floor there was only the one penthouse, with the elevator leading directly to it. It was not only extremely safe but also hidden from prying eyes.

...

The next day was a Sunday. Shehnaaz opened her eyes to a pale, lavender-tinted morning. Her large eyes, not yet accustomed to the morning light, shut again as soon as they were open.

She promptly draped an arm over her eyes. All she wanted was to lie quietly for a little longer.

A pleasant baritone voice spoke up just then. It was the familiar voice of her class representative, Parth Patel.
"You're awake?"

Shehnaaz finally opened her eyes. She took a good look around. She was in her apartment, lying on her bed...
"Class Rep? What are you doing here?" Shehnaaz stared at Parth Patel, who was standing beside the bed.

Parth was wearing a soft blue shirt and black trousers. His clothes were neat and straight, with not a wrinkle in
sight. Over his shirt was a dark gray V-neck cardigan made of thin
cashmere. On his intelligent face were a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. His lips were curved into a joyful smile. He was the very picture of sophistication as he stood before her bed, his hands in his pockets.

Parth returned her observant gaze and took note of her unique appearance, a stark contrast to how she normally
looked when in public. In particular, Shehnaaz's naturally large and dark pupils caught his attention. Her small and exquisite face was smooth and unblemished, and the faint rosy hue in her cheeks made her wide, doe-like
eyes sparkle. She looked very much like she had just walked out of a Japanese manga. He scoffed inwardly at the jealous girls at their university, who frequently spread spiteful
rumours about Shehnaaz's beauty, accusing her of applying makeup with a heavy hand, or of wearing circle lenses.

Parth was forced to look away. He then laughed. "You've been sick for a week. I'm here to check on you, on
behalf of the entire class."

"Oh!" said Shehnaaz. She said, in a tone of utter disbelief, "I was sick for a whole week? Really? How could I have been out for so long?" Having said that, she immediately remembered the birthday banquet at the Sinhas, and the embarrassing, highly awkward situation that had followed after someone had tried to sabotage her during the party. She recalled that the
last person she had seen before passing out was Sandeep.

She glanced about and asked, "Class Rep, who let you in?" This was her private bedroom, after all.

Parth seated himself next to the bed. He looked at her rosy cheeks, and smiled as he said, "An uncle of yours, I
think."

"Was it Sidharth Shukla?" asked Shehnaaz anxiously. She gestured as she described him. "Tall, very handsome, has a really solemn look on his face?"
"Um..." Parth hesitated as he looked at Shehnaaz, trying to guess at the look in her eyes.

The man who had let him in had had a round face, a round nose, and a round mouth. He wasn't exactly short, but no
one would ever describe him as "tall." As for "handsome," well, that was entirely out of the question. And anyway, the man had given his surname and it wasn't "Shukla."
"He gave his surname, it was 'Agarwal.' Do you know him?" replied Parth cautiously as he tucked the blanket over Shehnaaz.

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I hope you enjoy reading it.
Love you all.