Part 62 Punishment
"Be careful, Mr. Bose, in the process of revenging her, don't spoil your life" I said.
"I don't care if my life spoilt. I will revenge her. Nothing can stop me" he said furiously.
"I have no opposite thought in making her punished but we can send her to prison"
"Prison? For what Arnav? To give her another chance to play? No way"
"What did you do to her?" I asked.
"Do you want to see what she is doing?"
I looked at him and said nothing. Taking his phone, Bose gave it to me. Taking it from him, I saw a video in it.
"Run it," Bose said.
I ran the video and saw Mithra sitting at the corner of the demolished room fearfully. There was no bright light in the building. The place looked directly.
"She looks fearful... why?" I asked and Bose smirked.
"Wait for a few seconds..." he said.
I continued watching the video. The camera moved to the left side. I saw a DOG being tied with a long rope. The dog didn't seem a high breed. It was a normal street dog... that too RABID dog. I looked at Bose shockingly.
"The dog will pounce on her even if she moves a little. The dog doesn't even need to bite her. Its saliva or a slight scratch is enough to infect her with a deadly virus. There is no specific treatment for Rabies you know? The disease usually causes death. Once the symptoms appear, it's nearly always fatal. A minimal number of people survived Rabies, those who got immediate and severe treatment. In Mithra's matter, it will not happen..." he laughed.
I gazed at him gulping down. I didn't know that he would have such a deep-rooted anger towards her.
"It's been two days... still, she hasn't even touched the food or water. Do you know why? She is scared... scared of the Rabid Dog..."
"Why are you so angry with her, Bose? You could have killed her instead of doing this. Don't you think this is too much for a woman? I agree she made you wrong in Shashi uncle's eyes..."
Cutting her,
"Do you think I'm revenging her only because she accused me?"
"Is something more than that?"
"Yes...When Garima fell taking her last breath, Mithra kicked her addressing her DOG... that day I decided that her death should be caused by DOG. That's what I'm doing now. How cheap she is... she addressed the one as DOG who gave shelter to her. A woman like her doesn't deserve sympathy, Arnav..."
"How long will you keep her under the dog's control?"
"For one more week. After that..."
"After that?"
"I will cut off the chain of the dog" he laughed.
I sighed.
"Until then, she must remain afraid of getting Rabies"
"Where are you keeping her?" I asked.
"You don't have to know that Arnav. Don't try to know it. Hereafter, I won't meet you."
"But why?"
"I mean we will meet in the Palace but not like this"
I nodded ok.
"You go... I will go afterward"
I nodded ok and left the restaurant. For the first time, I felt bad for Mithra. It was torture to know we were going to get a worse death. Though Mithra like a woman won't deserve sympathy a man like me could not ignore it. It was different if she got affected by Rabies unexpectedly but knowing about her death was something horrible. She could not even sleep... could not even eat and drink. My mother always says that 'Karma is a Bi***. I never believed that before but now, I could not be. No matter how safe the person would be, he/she could not escape from the karma.
I went to AR thinking about Mithra's fate. How haughty she had been...! How life had changed upside down! She underestimated Bose. He planned well and implemented it too. Mithra thought she could escape from the Palace easily by making us laugh with the help of Nitrous Oxide. Bose intentionally let her go out of the Palace. So that, the security would see her leaving the Palace. So, everyone would think she escaped. When she came a little aloof, Bose put her at the gunpoint and brought her to his place. Yes, Bose was in her car waiting for her. He booked a ticket to Mumbai using her Aadhar card number that he got from her phone and made the police believe that she had gone to Mumbai.
I reached AR and concentrated on my work. I wanted to go to RM in the evening.
Evening
I went to pick up Khushi and Payal. I saw them having a gala time with my cousin. I went to them and sat next to Khushi who smiled at me.
"Arnav, is it true that Khushi bhabi is going to London?" Dhruv asked.
I nodded yes.
"Oh, wow... congratulations..."
"Why are you congratulating me?" I asked.
"You are going to get Five-star quality food. That's why"
I rolled my eyes. Raizadas didn't react to it much as Lavanya already let them know about it by showing Alan's Facebook post.
That was when I saw my father coming from his room.
"Chotte, I want to talk to you," He said.
"Tell me, Dad"
"Could you come a little aloof?"
I went with him.
"Did you get Mithraji's permission to send Khushi to London?" he asked.
I smiled inwardly.
"How would I decide without her permission, Dad? Of course, I got her and Shashi uncle's permission" I said like a good boy.
"Did they permit?"
"Yeah... I can't believe this"
"Yeah, I too can't believe this. I thought I would struggle to get their permission but they are so gentle..."
My father huffed in relief. My mom prepared biriyani to celebrate Khushi's London culinary college admission. I had it with usual curiosity and found the same curiosity in Khushi too. She relished it silently. I sensed her being upset. Did anyone say anything to her to upset her? I nagged her. Khushi looked at me.
"Is everything alright?"
She nodded yes.
"You look upset"
"I'm..."
"Why? What happened?"
"From the time I came here, everyone is talking about going to London. I feel bad going to London, leaving you" She said feeling sad.
"Are you wasting these days thinking about the upcoming days?" I asked.
She sighed.
"Let's go home..." I said.
"Mmm"
We took their leave. Payal also left RM. Akash wanted me to drop her in the Palace.
"Bhai, why not you stay in the Palace for a few days?" Payal asked.
"Are you afraid of Mithra?" I asked.
"Are not you?" She asked
"I believe in me," I said.
"Maybe, until she gets caught, please come to the Palace, Bhai" She pleaded with me.
"What do you think? Don't you know about your husband? He would have tightened the security of the Mini Palace by now" I said guessing my brother-in-law's mind.
Payal looked at Khushi and they smiled at each other.
"It seems you understood my brother very much," Khushi said.
"The wearer knows where the shoe pinches..." I said.
"Ohhh..." They smiled.
We dropped Payal in the Mini Palace.
"Don't you guys come inside?"
"It will take time... I'm so tired. I'm going" I said.
"As you understood your brother-in-law very much, don't you know what he will say?"
"I know my sister too. She will handle her husband"
Payal rolled her eyes and Khushi chuckled.
"Bye..." I drove off.
"What's your problem?" I asked.
Khushi pouted.
"Don't you want to go to London?"
"You know I have never been this confused in my life... it's because of you"
"What I did?"
"Why are you so sweet? I can't choose my career over you"
I smiled. I felt so proud of myself for making the Princess confused.
"I can't believe I'm spellbound on a man who just entered into my life a few days ago. I'm even thinking of giving up my ambition behind for him" She punched my bicep.
"Ok, from here on, I will try to behave like a villain" I laughed.
"You and villain? Look at your face, no one will believe you if you say you are a villain"
"Others don't need to believe it but only you"
"Whaaat? What does that mean? When I think you are a villain, do you want others to think of you as a Hero? Don't you dare try to entertain others when I'm not here"
I laughed out louder.
We came to Mini Palace. As I guessed, my brother-in-law tightened the security of the Mini Palace double.
"Didn't I sway?" I asked.
Without answering me, she walked to our room. when we entered our room, I hugged Khushi from behind.
"Leave me..."
"Villain would not listen to you" I picked her up from the ground.
"Arnav... don't make me angry"
"Let me see what your anger will do to me"
I put her on the bed. Khushi turned towards me putting in effort. She clutched my face and bit my cheek.
"This is what a wife of a villain does" she got down from the bed laughingly.
She rushed to the washroom when I tried to catch her.
"You can't be there for a whole night darling" I shouted.
"I know to bite you again," She said and closed the washroom door.
That was when my phone beeped with a message tone. Taking it, I checked the message. It was from Bose.
RABIES was his message. I was thunderstruck. did the dog finish its work?
To be continued...