Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 163 - With You (2)

Mrs. Tandon looked after her. It was clear that Shehnaaz did not
want anyone to follow her, and it seemed perfectly safe to let her wander the place alone: it was still early, the sun was still out, and Vidyut, who owned the place, would never let anything happen to Sidharth's family.

Satisfied that Shehnaaz would be fine on her own, Mrs. Tandon let her go without following her, and began to look through the karaoke song catalog with Diksha and Richa.

Just then, Sidharth stood from his chair and said to his four companions: "Take your time drinking. I'm going out for a smoke." He went out.

Vidyut and the rest of the men were light-headed from all the drinking; Sidharth had drunk them all under the table. They saw Sidharth get up to leave, and could only wave vaguely in his general direction in reply. They were already seeing double, but they were too happily intoxicated to stop from pouring themselves another round.

...

Shehnaaz walked out of the private room, alone, and found
the ladies' bathroom. She went in and adjusted her hair and clothes in front of the mirror. When she was done, she exited the bathroom and made her way to the terrace to get some fresh air.
The private room had been too warm for her. She was wearing a high-neck cashmere sweater and sheer black tights; she could practically feel the sweat waiting to break out from under her skin.

She arrived at a terrace, and saw that it was an open-air terrace that was protected from the elements by a retractable glass ceiling in the winter. When the glass ceiling was down, the terrace was transformed into a greenhouse, warm enough for the large and verdant plants inside to flourish. There was an artificial stream somewhere; there was a soft, persistent sound of running water in the background. The winter sun shone through the transparent ceiling, warming the air to a comfortable temperature.

Shehnaaz looked around. She spotted a stone bench beneath a banana tree, and walked over to it. She sat down, got out her phone, and unlocked it as she wondered who she should call.

Mrs. Tandon and her companions had stoked Shehnaaz's desire to confide in someone, and she was now feeling restless and frustrated. She was dying to ask someone whether her feelings were appropriate.

Shehnaaz opened her list of contacts on her phone, and scrolled down the long list. She found Little Temptress's profile picture, and tapped on it. It was noon. Shehnaaz was pretty sure Little Temptress was either having lunch or taking a nap. The phone had only begun to ring when Little Temptress answered it. She had been just about to take a nap.

"Sana, is that you? Where are you now?" Little Temptress asked anxiously. "Are you all right?"

Shehnaaz's former roommates had received a Christmas greeting from her on Christmas night, but they had not heard from her since. Little Temptress, Lady Singh, and Green Tea Sharma had all been worried about her.

Shehnaaz smiled. "I'm fine. I'm eating out with a few friends right now."

"Oh, I'm just glad you're okay." Little Temptress let out a sigh of relief. "Please don't run off without telling us again- you really gave the three of us a fright the other day."

"I won't do that again." Shehnaaz was sure she would never react that way again-she was a lot stronger now, mentally. She switched her phone to her other hand as she asked in a hushed voice, "Is this a good time to talk?"

Little Temptress nodded. "I'm in my bedroom, all alone. I was going to take a nap, but if you want to chat, I'm up for it. I've been sleeping most of the holidays away, and it shows-I've gotten fat."

Shehnaaz imagined Little Temptress letting herself go, and
could not resist laughing out loud. "I wanted to talk to you. I'm feeling really annoyed and frustrated right now-"