When I Met Him | fin.

Thirteen

Hiya was standing behind the bars with a look of dread on her face. Karan was sitting before the inspector and filing a complaint against her.

“Inspector Sir, don't listen to him. I wasn't stalking him.” Hiya pleaded to the officer.

“Sir, I have footage to prove she was keeping an eye on me.” Karan told the officer.

“Arrey, but I made sure no camera catches me.” And she instantly regretted uttering those words.

The inspector looked at her suspiciously while Karan had a victorious smirk on his face.

“Well, there are hidden cameras too. For stalkers like you.”

“I'm not a stalker! I was... I was trying to find Billo.” Hiya quickly made up a lie.

“Who is Billo?” The inspector asked her.

“My cute little cat.” She pouted.

“So you were trying to find your cat in front of my house?” Karan frowned.

“Yes, I lost her around your residential area. Someone told me they saw her near your house. So I was just looking for her.” Hiya lied smoothly.

“But you could have told him about the cat.” The inspector argued.

“Inspector Sir, I thought I will sound stupid if I told him about my cat.” Hiya maintained the look of innocence on her face.

“You are still sounding stupid.” 

“I'm sorry.” Hiya lowered her head. She was proud of her acting skills.

“Mr Karan, it's better if we leave her with a warning.” The inspector advised Karan.

“Wait, tell me the breed of your cat.” Karan was not ready to let her go so easily.

“Umm... she is a white cat?”

“I asked the breed, not color. Like Bombay cat, American shorthair, Persian cat, etc.”

“Oh, yeah, Bombay cat.”

“But you said your cat is white. And Bombay cats are always black.” He arched his eyebrow at her.

“Umm...” Now Hiya had no idea how to cover up her lies. This guy was way too sharp.

“Sir, she is lying. She has no cat. She was stalking me.”

“See, Mr Karan, stalking is not a big offense. You should leave her with a warning.”

“Yeah, stalking is not a big offense unless it's a girl who gets stalked.” His words shut the officer's mouth for good.

But the very moment Arjun entered the police station.

“Inspector, I'm her lawyer. Arjun Goenka.” He introduced himself with a tight lipped smile. He didn't want to come but he was forced to by Rishika to save her troublemaker of a friend.

“Look, Inspector, Hiya... is a mental patient.”

“What!?” Hiya shouted at him.

Arjun ignored her and continued doing the damage control, “She is suffering from a disorder where she gets hallucinations. So the entire situation was basically a result of her delusions.”

The inspector was fed up with the drama by then. He just wanted to send these people away so without any hesitation he agreed to Arjun's words.

“Mr. Karan, please try to understand the situation. The offense is not big. And now that it is revealed she is mentally sick, we can't take any actions against her.” He requested to Karan.

Karan understood Hiya will get away with it. He huffed in annoyance and walked out of the police station. Hiya was freed from behind the bars. She walked out of the station with Arjun. Arjun was expecting to hear a thank you from her but what he received was...

“Seriously, you made me a mental patient.” She threw a tantrum.

“I said that to get you out.” He reasoned.

“You could have said something else. But a mental patient? I'm a psychology student. I'm learning to treat mental patients for God's sake.” Hiya was very angry at him.

“See, it was the most believable lie I could come up with.”

“So you mean I look like a mental patient?” She asked while flaring her nose like a dragon.

“Umm... it may sound disrespectful... but yes.” He shrugged.

“You know what, I hope you lose your next ten cases.” She yelled at him.

“What's the word for ungrateful girl in Punjabi?” Arjun asked her.

“Nashukri.” She replied instantly without even wondering why he was asking this question.

“Nashukri kahin ki!” He yelled at her and walked away.

Hiya gaped at him, “Jhootha kahin ka!” She yelled at his dissappearing figure.

In her anger, she didn't realise Karan was approaching her.

“What are you trying to do?” He asked her sternly.

Hiya stared at him for a few moments before replying, “You will know that soon.” And she began walking away.

“You will regret messing up with me.” He warned her.

She turned around, “I regret nothing.” And then left from there.

•••

Let's ignore the loopholes 🙈