Here's the 60th chapter.
Enjoy reading.
It was the following day at college. Shaurya had driven straight to SIEST from Shaan's apartment.
He had just finished his work in his cabin and was on his way to his class for his usual lecture when he was startled to see the person approaching from the front. He was taken aback when he saw him.
But what exactly was he doing there ?
He wasn't supposed to be there.
He rushed up to him, and the person smiled at him.
"Dad ?..."
"Aap yaha ?..."
Shaan grinned and said, "Kyu ?..."
"Main yaha nhi aa sakta ?..."
"Yeh mera college nhi hai ?..."
"Lekin Dad..."
"Aap yaha... Matlab kis...liye ?...", he was perplexed.
"Shaurya tum bhool gye kya... Maine professor ke post se resign kiya lekin abhi bhi board member hoon SIEST ka..."
"Haan vo toh ho lekin aap-...", Shaurya paused as soon as his words made him realize something.
He was taken aback and exclaimed, "Dad ???... "
"Board Member ??..."
"Matlab aap... aap vaapas ?..."
Shaan smiled back saying, "Haan Shaurya..."
"Main SIEST re - join kar rha hoon..."
Shaurya's ears rang with the words. His father, who had left college, was returning willingly.
"Dad sach mein ?..."
"Aap re – join kar rhe ho ?..."
"Lekin aaj subah jab main college aa rha tha tab toh aapne mujhe kuch nhi btaaya is baare mein..."
"Vo toh bas aise hi nhi btaaya...", Shaan sheepishly smiled.
Shaurya was exuding excessive joy. He was now relieved that he can see his father, albeit not in Sabharwal House, but in college.
"Tum jaao Shaurya..."
"Mere abhi kuch paperwork hai... Vhi karne jaa rha tha..."
"Lekin Dad... Abhi bhi aap poori tarah se recover nhi hue hai..."
"Aapko kuch din rest karna chaahiye..."
"Shau-..."
"No Dad..."
"Main kuch nhi sunoonga..."
"Aap aaj paperwork jaldi khatam karke ghar vaapas chale jaaiye... Aur kuch dino baad apna kaam shuru karna..."
Shaan shook his head in disbelief, knowing he would never be able to defy his obstinate son.
"Aur haan Dad..."
"Apni medicines time se lena..."
"Okay... Okay...", surrendered Shaan.
"Main samajh gaya tumhaari baat Shaurya... Ab tum jaao... Lecture ke liye late ho rha hai..."
"Jee...", he said as he walked away, smiling.
Shaurya entered the class, and the first person he saw was her. He didn't know why his orbs always ended up landing on her unconsciously.
As he walked in, he closed the door behind him, and everyone greeted him. He began his lecture, and it continued.
The class was soon over, and it was time to move on to the next one.
A test with a high weightage for the end-of-semester exams was scheduled for today.
Mrs. Jaya Sehgal entered because she was in charge of invigilation, and the test began.
Anokhi had prepared for it as usual and was engrossed in writing her exam. But, unbeknownst to her, someone was plotting something nefarious behind her back.
It was Nyasha. She was so envious of Anokhi's academic achievements that she devised a cunning plan to tarnish Anokhi's reputation.
She carefully slid her hand into her pocket, looking around to make sure no one was watching her, and then she tossed that white paper chit towards Anokhi's bench, which landed just beside where she was sitting. She smirked as she completed her task.
Swaying her hair strands elegantly, she stood up and called out, "Excuse me Mam..."
"Yes Nyasha... Any problem ?...", Jaya said.
"Yes Mam... Bohot badi problem...", she said dramatically.
Anokhi, who was writing at the time, heard it but shrugged it off, not wanting to be distracted from her work.
"Kya baat hai ?...", Jaya asked.
"Vo darasal Mam... Hum sab yaha itni mehnat se paper de rhe hai... Lekin ek student aisa hai jo cheating karke humesha top kar jaata hai aur humaari mehnat waste ho jaati hai...", she fabricated a story.
Everyone's gaze was drawn to her now, and Anokhi, too, came to a halt when the word "topper" was mentioned.
"Saaf – saaf bolo Nyasha... Hum sabka time waste mat karo...", Jaya said.
"Okay to suniye Mam..."
"Yeh dekhiye...", she bowed slightly towards Anokhi's bench, which was directly in front of her, and picked up the folded chit that she had thrown there.
All of the students, as well as Mrs. Jaya and Anokhi, looked at it.
"Yeh dekhiye Mam..." Nyasha said as she opened the chit.
"Anokhi kaise cheating kar rhi hai... Usne yeh chit bnaakar rakhi hui thi apne pocket mein... Aur maine dekh liya..."
Anokhi's eyes widened as she processed the accusation levelled at her, while Jaya approached Nyasha. She held the chit in her hands and examined it. She noticed it was related to the syllabus of their test.
Anokhi stood up, but before she could say a word, Jaya turned towards her angrily, saying, "Anokhi Bhalla !..."
"You are debarred from taking this test..."
Anokhi looked on shocked while Nyasha smirked from behind.
"Mam..."
"Yeh aap kya keh rhi hain ?..."
"Maine yeh nhi kiya... Yeh chit maine nhi bnaayi..."
"Ohh achcha ??...", Jaya narrowed her eyes.
"Toh yeh tumhaare bench pe kaise aayi ?... Hum sabhi ne dekha ki Nyasha ne tumhaare bench se hi uthaaya ye..."
Reema and Betty who were also present there were fuming. They knew exactly who was the culprit.
"Lekin Mam main sach keh rhi hoon..."
"Main toh bas apna test de rhi thi... Mujhe nhi pta sach mein ki yeh kaha se aaya..."
"Anokhi don't waste time..."
"Apna bag lo aur niklo..."
"Test ke baad you can return...", Jaya ordered.
Anokhi's eyes had started to tear up.
"Mam aap aisa kaise kar sakte ho mere saath..."
"Sirf yeh mere bench par mila iska matlab yeh toh nhi hua ki yeh mera hai... Aisa bhi toh ho sakta hai ki kisine meri taraf yeh phenka ho..."
Nyasah immediately interrupted, "Dekha naa Mam... Kaise khudko bachaane ke liye doosro par ilzaam lga rhi hai... Ek toh chori oopar se seenazori..."
Paying no heed to her, Anokhi continued to Jaya, "Mam please..."
"Aapko yakeen nhi hai toh main dobaara shuru se test de deti hoon Mam... Par please mera exam cancel mat keejiye..."
Jaya was about to deny her again when she saw someone in the corridor through the window.
"Meri baat toh tum maanogi nhi Anokhi..."
"Tumhaare mentor se hi complaint karti hoon main ruko...", she said as she walked out of the door to call that person.
After a while, she reappeared, and everyone was taken aback as Shaurya followed behind her.
"Kya baat hai Mrs. Sehgal ?..."
"Dekhiya Shaurya Sir..."
"Aapke batch ki yeh student Anokhi Bhalla kitni adhiyal hai..."
"Vo yaha test mein cheating kar rhi thi aur jab pakdi gayi to mujhse behas karne lag gayi..."
Listening to it took Shaurya by surprise. He didn't believe it a bit.
"Miss Bhalla ne cheating ki ??... Aapko kaise pta chala ?...", he inquired.
"Yeh dekhiye naa Shaurya Sir... Yeh chit uske bench se mila... Sabhi formulae or short notes hai isme...", she stated.
Shaurya reached out his hand, puzzled, to take the chit and brought it close to his eyes.
Anokhi's eyes were welling up with tears as a result of the false accusation, and she had no idea what he was thinking about her.
"Dekh liya naa Shaurya Sir..."
"Mujhe toh lagta hai yeh ladki aise hi cheating karke top karti aa rhi thi ab tak..."
"Agar Nyasha ne nhi btaaya hota toh to pta hi nhi chalta..."
Shaurya, who had been quietly listening to everything up to this point, looked up, enraged. He was well-aware of what he needed to do.
"Miss Bhalla..."
"Apni sheet lekar yaha aaiye...", he said sternly.
Anokhi got taken aback and she said, "Sir yeh jhooth hai Sir..."
"Maine kuch nhi kiya..."
"Meri baat ka yakeen keejiye...", she pleaded.
"Tch tch tch... Kitni dheet hai ye ladki Shaurya Sir..."
"Sab kuch prove hone ke baad bhi ek hi baat repeat kiye jaa rhi hai..."
"Main agar iss batch ki mentor hoti naa toh tumhe kab ka class se baahar nikaal chuki hoti...", Jaya spewed her vile words.
Shaurya's patience had finally worn thin, and he began walking through the rows of benches.
Nyasha's grin widened even more when she saw it. She was pleased to see Shaurya walking over to Anokhi's bench with an angry expression on his face to take the paper and cancel it, but her joy was short-lived because, rather than stopping at Anokhi's bench, he walked up to her bench and stopped there.
She was taken aback, and Anokhi turned to see what he was up to.
"Miss Nyasha..."
"Kya aap apna paper dikha sakti hai mujhe...", he said.
"Main... main ?...", Nyasha got nervous.
"Jee aap...", Shauyra replied.
"Kyu Sir ?... Maine kya kiya ?...", she was puzzled.
"Vhi dekhna hai ki aapne kya kiya hai... Kuch likha hai aapne paper mein ?..."
"Haanji Sir... Yeh dekhiye naa... Maine kitne questions solve bhi kar liye...", she said as she picked up the paper and handed it to him.
He took it in his hands and flipped through the pages, observing it. Everything was now crystal clear to him. Everyone except him, however, was perplexed by his actions.
"Miss Bhalla...", he said as he turned to face her, who was standing there with her misty eyes.
She knew what was going to happen and had prepared for it. After all, how could he possibly believe her ?
"Miss Bhalla aap baith jaaiye aur apna paper continue keejiye..."
Anokhi looked on shocked.
She was least expecting this from him.
Shaurya then turned to Nyasha, saying "Aur aap !..."
"Aap jaa sakti hain... After what you did, I cannot allow you to write this test...."
"Shaurya Sir ??...", Jaya exclaimed, surprised.
"Aap yeh kya keh rhe hain ??..."
"Bilkul sahi keh rha hoon main Mrs. Sehgal..."
"Aapko kisi par blame karne se pehle ek baar verify karna chaahiye...", he said.
He approached her and said, "Yeh dekhiye...", as he handed Nyasha's paper and chit to her.
"Dono writing ko match karke dekhiye... Same hai..."
Everyone was taken aback when they realized the truth.
Nyasha was completely taken aback. Her entire strategy backfired. She was caught in her own web.
Jaya double-checked it and realized she had made a mistake. She couldn't find the words to say as she looked up at him with a repentant expression on her face.
Shaurya was staring at Jaya in a questioning way because of the way she saying pointless crap about Anokhi. Jaya's remark to her that she had risen to the top because she had been cheating didn't sit well with him.
He knew the chit wasn't hers the moment he saw it. That was why he asked Anokhi to bring her paper to them to prove that the accusation was false, as the chit was not written in her handwriting. Furthermore, when Jaya stated that Nyasha had informed her of this, his first suspicion was her only, as he had witnessed her jealousy from Anokhi before too.
Nyasha got up from her bench and walked up to the two teachers, saying, "I'm so sorry Sir..."
Jaya was enraged because she had to deal with an embarrassing situation because of her.
"Aapko sorry mujhse nhi balki usse bolna chaahiye jiske against aap conspire kar rhi thi Miss Nyasha... ", he remarked.
Nyasha fell silent and bowed her head. She was outraged and embarrassed at the same time.
"Kya hua Miss Nyasha?..."
"Aap mujhe bta sakti hain aapke is harkat ke peeche kya reason tha ?...", he mocked.
"Vo main..."
"Main sorry bol deti hoon Sir..."
"Dobaara aisi galti nhi hogi...", she turned to face Anokhi who had an expressionless face.
Though Nyasha was furious that her plan had failed, but she couldn't afford to lose her image to be in good books of teachers, so she agreed to apologize.
"I am... I am sor...ry Anokhi...", she said, glaring angrily at her.
Anokhi had a feeling the chit thing had something to do with her from the start, and also that the apology wasn't genuine.
"Good Miss Nyasha... Ab aap jaa sakti hain...", he reprimanded from behind.
Nyasha turned around shocked and said, "Lekin Sir maine toh sorry maang li... Ab kya problem hai..."
"Aapne jo aaj kiya uske vajah se hum sabko problem aayi... Aur jiski koi galti nhi thi uska bhi bevajha exam miss hone vaala tha..."
"That's why I'm sorry to say Nyasha... It's your punishment..."
"Lekin Sir... Main... main...", Nyasha couldn't find words to defend herself.
"Mrs. Sehgal... Look into the matter..."
"I've an important meeting to attend...", he said as he walked away.
Nyasha began pleading with Jaya after he had left.
"Mam... Mam please mujhe paper dene deejiye..."
"Enough Nyasha !..."
"Tumhaari vajah se kitna time waste ho gaya..."
"This is the last warning... Dobaara aisi behuda harkat mat karna..."
"Take this and go to your seat !...", she said harshly as she handed her the paper.
Nyasha took it and proceeded to her seat, but not before casting a glare at Anokhi, who appeared unaffected.
"Tumhe to main baad mein dekh loongi...", mumbled Nyasha under her breath.
The class quickly returned to normal, and everyone began writing their tests.
Anokhi returned to her strategy of finishing the paper, but one thing that lingered in her mind was him. She didn't expect him to believe her.
The way he dismissed the false accusations against her keeping aside the differences between them made her feel "sincerely grateful" to him...
The break was nearing its ending and Alok was in a hurry to reach Shaurya's cabin. The conversation he witnessed just a moments ago was something he couldn't digest.
"Shaurya puttar !...", he barged into his cabin.
"Chachu ?...", he said as he closed the file and stood up, a puzzled expression on his face as he saw Alok.
"Shaurya puttar... Tune... tune dekha... Shaan Bhaisahab vaapas aa gaye...", he approached Shaurya.
"Haan Chachu... Mujhe toh subah hi pta chal gaya tha... Lekin aapko kya hua ?..."
"Arre yeh bhi vo jo ladki haina... Anokhi..."
"Usi ka kiyadhara hai yeh sab...", Alok spewed as usual.
"Miss Bhalla ka ?..."
"Matlab ?..."
"Asal mein main us raaste se jaa rha tha jab maine dekha ki vo ladki Anokhi kuch serve karne ke liye Shaan Bhaisahab ke cabin ki taraf jaa rhi hai..."
"Pehle to main confuse ho gaya ki vo unke cabin ke taraf kyu jaa rhi thi... Vha toh koi nhi hoga... Lekin main jab gaya toh dekha Shaan Bhaisahab vha baithe hue hai... Main to hairaan hi reh gaya tha..."
"Vo Anokhi se baat kar rhe the... aur use thank you bol rhe the..."
"Fir jab maine thoda gaur se suna to pta chala ki Anokhi ke kehne par unhone SIEST re-join kiya hai..."
"Tu dekh rha hai Shaurya puttar... Vo ladki aur uski Aastha Mam abhi bhi kaise tere Dad ko ungliyo pe nacha rhe hai..."
Hearing this, Shaurya himself was taken aback.
This time, rather than being angry, he was completely baffled.
He had learned from the recent events that his impulsiveness only actually made things worse. He wanted to clarify things, so he decided to directly ask Shaan about it.
Furthermore, he didn't want to make another misjudgment against her...
How was it ?
Do tell me in comments 😊