Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 184 - Confrontation

“Oh, I remember that, all right. I also remember how you used me as an excuse to get close to Ashok Shukla and seduce him. You made him fall head over heels for you…”

Kirat’s face contorted into a vicious smile. “My dear Madam Rita, did you know? Your brother-in-law, your husband’s older brother, was so in love with you he called your name in his sleep!”

Rita was thoroughly disgusted. She said sharply, “You have no shame! How dare you lie through your teeth and drag Ashok Shukla’s name through the mud, just because he’s dead and can no longer speak for himself!”

Shehnaaz sighed inwardly: Kirat was already baring her fangs and claws, but Rita was just too much of a lady to get into a proper catfight. She gave Rita’s
arm a gentle, reassuring squeeze, before turning to say calmly to Kirat: “Physicist Reddy, please refrain from presenting your opinions as fact. You have zero factual evidence to back up your claims, which means they are,
legally, nothing more than mere speculation. To put it in psychological terms, you are confusing your deepest fantasies with reality. Your obsession with Ashok Shukla has severely impaired your ability to think rationally—you take your fanciful imagination to be objective reality, and are now trying to impose your assumptions on everyone else…”

Before Shehnaaz could finish her speech, Sourav suddenly walked over and said, “I see, so my poor sister is actually suffering from a mental disorder. Oh, how terrible! I didn’t know… Kirat, I shouldn’t have blamed you…”

Shehnaaz arched an eyebrow. She knew what Sourav was up to: he was trying to use the “mentally ill” card to absolve Kirat of her crimes!

Shehnaaz would sooner eat her hat than let Sourav use such a flimsy excuse to take Kirat away. She was training to be a future lawyer—if she couldn’t stop him now, when all he had was a lame 'she didn’t know what she was doing” excuse, she was obviously unsuited for a career in law.

She shook her head. “Mr. Reddy, I don’t believe she’s mentally ill. Please don’t try to change the subject and bail Physicist Reddy out of this.”

“Weren’t you the one who said my sister is mentally ill? How I am trying to change the subject?” Sourav turned to look at Shehnaaz with cool, impassive eyes.

“I didn’t say she was mentally ill. I find it shocking that you, Mr. Reddy, the deputy secretary-general of the Secretariat, could have misinterpreted my words in such an egregious manner. Your concern for your sister must have addled your brain—it’s entirely understandable.” Shehnaaz had actually wanted to say that Sourav was an incompetent,
unqualified fool who had only gotten his job because of his
family’s connections, but changed her mind just in time.

Sourav was not the type to take offense at petty insults. He simply nodded, and said: “Well, you seem to be very knowledgeable about mental disorders, Miss Gill.”

“We should leave the definition and diagnostic criteria for mental disorders to the professionals,” Shehnaaz replied
without missing a beat. “But I don’t believe Physicist Reddy is
mentally ill. Her symptoms point to another disease.”

“What disease?”

“Incurable stupidity. Or maybe she’s just a thirsty flirt.”

Pfffft—!

The room burst into raucous laughter. Even General Rawat and Chairman Bhatt, who had walked over to join the crowd,
could not help quirking their lips into a smile.

“How dare you!” Sourav fumed, purple with rage. “I’ll sue you for defamation, see if I don’t!”

“You want to sue me for defamation? Take a number, I’m
afraid you’ll have to wait your turn. Madam Rita and Ashok Shukla’s family should be suing Physicist Reddy for defamation a hundred times over, after what she said just now!” Shehnaaz spread her hands in an exaggerated display of resignation, before adding: “You say that Physicist Reddy is mentally ill, but she was able to destroy Madam Rita’s marriage and steal her husband, General Shukla, culminating in the engagement ceremony today. If this is supposed to be a mental disorder, I’ve never heard of
anything like it.” She turned to look at the guests. “Have any of you ever seen such a high-functioning mentally ill
patient?”