Chapter Six - Chivalry

Dedicated to four people -

masam (My partner in badass :P ), vgedin (twiggy) ..SankiMedhz.. (medhz) and my wife jessicad (jess)

You four know why, and I love you. :)

Also - This story has not been plagiarised in any form. All of the story is one-hundred percent mine. In case I have taken something from other books, the lines/scene has been marked and due credit to the respective writers/creators has been given. People who have read my previous work, already know that.

If you still have doubts, kindly PM/scrap me. Alternatively, as Angel-Jot pointed out, post your complaint in the complaint thread, and I promise to respond to your problem as soon as possible. I do not take kindly to public mud-slinging/popping up from nowhere and accusing people unnecessarily - especially when your accusations are absolutely false.

Sorry for ranting. Thank you for listening, and hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 6

Shashi let his tired head rest upon the walls of the hospital. It had been a taxing night, mentally, emotionally and physically. He was not as young as before, things like running around and pacing tired him. Akash had been a real brick, getting him coffee and managing all the work. Akash was a good man, a little training and experience, and he may just be the right man for the UK Deal. Finally, at around four, Akash was sent off to office, to manage the project reports and meetings from there. There was the video conference with the Russian delegates, Akash was needed there. There was still life in him. He could handle this.

The doctors walked out of the hospital room where his daughter lay, bandaged and... beautiful. She always managed to do that - look beautiful in the most absurd of situations. You could find her in the middle of the jungle, with tendrils of leaf sticking out of her hair, and she would still look beautiful. Like a nymph of the woods.

The doctors walked upto him, and Shashi felt himself stand up. He fought off the tiredness, rolling onto him in waves. "She's awake now" they said, letting a benign smile flash on their faces. "And she's waiting for you" they added, as Shashi nodded, unable to speak - so overwhelming the gratitude was.

"Thank you" he managed to say. They seemed inappropriate, those words. The two words could never convey his gratitude to the doctors for saving his daughter - his life. They nodded tiredly and walked away, and Shashi walked inside the room, where his daughter lay.

She had dark circles under her eyes. The first thing he noticed about her, his daughter. The pale face accentuated the circles, made them more pronounced. He noticed the needles poking into her pale skin, and he stopped himself from wincing.

"Hey pa" she said finally, tired of his silent assessment. "I thought I lost you, back then" came back his tired reply. Shashi reached for the chair, as his daughter looked back at him. "You are never gonna lose me, dad. I'll be there for you, sticking to you like those goddamn wrinkles you keep talking about. You can try and botox me away, but I'll be there. I promise" Shashi felt tears form in his eyes at his daughter's simple announcement. It were times like these when he saw glimpses of his girl... the girl who would sit up all night, making he pa birthday cards. The happier Khushi.

Khushi settles comfortably on the pillows. She and her father talked of pancakes, how she'd make them anyway, of business, of the weather, of parties, of the moonlight walks. Anybody eavesdropping the conversation would have thought he was listening to a father-daughter duo catching up over coffee.

"Where's the woman, by the way?" Khushi asked, after they were done laughing at the doctor's stuck out teeth. "What woman?"Shashi asked, apparently confused. "The woman who saved me, pa" came Khushi's reply, her tone injected with surprise at her father's lack of knowledge.

"What are you talking about, Khushi?"

"Dad, there was a woman... I had an accident because of her..."

"Khushi, there was no woman, when I came. I... maybe you should rest a little, go on, be a doll. Ring the bell. The sooner the doctor thinks you're fine, the sooner he'll let you go. Go on"

Khushi felt her eyebrow raise slightly. There had been a woman, Khushi was sure. Yet her father would never lie to her. And Khushi knew she was not hallucinating. Then why...

She absentmindedly pressed the bell, her eyes focussed on the doors her father had walked out of. The nurse quickly walked in and injected the medicine. Khushi's last thought, before letting sleep close over her, was about the mysterious woman and her equally mysterious disappearance.

Three Days Later...

Khushi was officially out of the hospital. There had been no serious damage, just a superficial cut on her stomach and head. She had quickly rejoined office and was slowly pushing herself forward from the abyss of the accident. The mysterious woman was still in a corner of her mind, not occupying her completely, and yet not letting her go. The media was speculating about her accidents and the injuries. The press had not been given any specific details. They did not even know Khushi was out. The entire mess had been orchestrated by her PR team. This would provide excellent coverage for their new business ventures.

Khushi was out to meet an old friend. The meeting could not be put off, the friend and Khushi herself had hectic schedules. Meeting was impossible these days. Skype could only take you so far.

The car stopped in front of the old cafe, her friend had arranged for them to meet. The food, he had promised, would be excellent. Khushi did not mind the ancient cafe, with it broken down walls and miss-matched furniture. It was the place Khushi Gupta would never be in, and hence, her release from the hospital would still be a secret.

She stepped into the cafe, walking towards the table in the corner. The cafe, she noticed - despite its obviously mouldy appearance, was popular among the locals. It was early in the morning, and three tables, out of five, were already occupied.

"May I take your order, ma'am?" A mellifluent voice asked her, and she looked up, to decline. She felt a jolt of shock race through her, when she saw the owner of the voice. It was the same woman who had saved her.

"You saved me, that night" Khushi said, in her excitement ignoring the sudden look of fear on the woman's face. The woman looked around, trying to control her expressions and failing. "Don't worry" came Khushi's soothing reply. "I'm not here to tick you off. I just wanted to thank you for not leaving me there. Thank you"

The woman looked down, embarrassed. "I... it was my duty, I guess."

"Yeah, whatever. What is your name?"

"I... Anamika"

"Well, Anamika. I owe you. Whatever help you need, call on me. I'll be happy to help. Okay? And while we're at orders, get me some coffee"

The woman nodded softly and walked away. Khushi turned her attention back to the door, waiting for him. Khushi quickly pushed away the feeling of something wrong to the back of her mind. She knew from the past that her gut was never wrong, yet decided not to push it.

Inside the kitchen, Payal collapsed against the slab, the coffee sitting on the pot. She refused to give in right now to the mire of emotions. How apt the name, she had given herself, seemed to Payal. For it was now a truth of her life. For Khushi, she would always be Anamika - the one without a name.

Ten minutes later ' as Khushi sat marvelling the coffee, the friend made an appearance and slide into the chair. After they called for coffee and breakfast, they talked. Once upon a time, Shyam Manohar Jha and Khushi Gupta had been great friends ' still were. Latitudes, longitudes and time schedules had not kept the friends apart from talking over skype or phone. Khushi had few friends in life, and whoever she had, she valued.

Shyam Manohar Jha was a writer. And a bloody good one at that. Having seven published works to his credit, he was now asked by publishing houses to write. Critics named him as the most versatile of them all, switching from melancholy to humour in the blink of an eye. He was now a household name ' his books bringing tears of joy or sorrow to the readers' eyes, with their simple language, raw emotions and beautiful characters. Khushi was the only friend he cared to have. His was a strange life. Everybody wanted to know him, and he wanted to know nobody.

"How is the book coming along?" she asked him, when he showed no signs of talking.

"I hate it right now. It sucks. Maya is not shaping up the way I want her to shape up"

"You should make her work out, you know. Shaped me up pretty good"

"Really Khushi? Is that the best you can do without breakfast?"

"I apologise"

"I'm still a virgin Khushi. That's depressing" he said, after a few minutes of silence, and the sound of food being chewed.

"I still find it hard to believe that the guy who wrote those sex scenes is a virgin. Whats your secret? po*n? Voyeurism?"

"I went to Devyani's woman yesterday. I chickened out"

"You, my friend, were born a virgin and will die a virgin"

"You're a bitch"

"Nice to know you missed me"

"Always"

The meeting, over food and coffee lasted for over two hours. They finally waved good-bye, with a promise to never skype each other again (knowing that they would) and went there separate ways. Khushi cast a last look at the cafe, before the car rolled away, Anamika already forgotten. The said Anamika however, heaved a sigh of relief and went back to her customers. Payal was saved, for now.

Afternoon arrived quickly. It was time for Khushi's official appearance in the public. She was to attend a charity street-fight event hosted by the Khurana's. Dressed in a pair of sheer palazzo pants and a white sleeveless top tucked in them, she looked dressed to kill. The PR team repeatedly sent her messages as to what to answer to what questions.

She stepped outside the car. The glare of the camera's blinded her momentarily. She smiled and answered a few questions for the paparazzi and walked inside. The interiors were cool and dank. A square ring dominated the centre of the area. All the spectators would be seated around the ring.

She found herself a seat quickly. The aim of the charity would be simple. There would be ten chosen bidders and ten fighters. Each bidder would place bets on the fighter. The amount of money collected in the end of the competition would be sent of for charity.
The rules of the fight were quickly announced. There was only two rules - Fight till you survive and anybody entering the ring would have to fight his way out.

The matches quickly commenced. Khushi was not paying attention to the fight or the hullabaloo. She felt bored. Fighting like animals bored her. She knew how to fight. She knew how to fight better than those animals. She looked behind her, to realise, with another jolt of surprise, that Arnav Singh Raizada was sitting behind her.

There was an old lady sitting beside her, suddenly complained of a headache by sitting on the front. Arnav quickly offered his seat to her, and proceeded to sit beside Khushi.

"Nice of you to offer the lady your seat" she said, her voice bordering on bored and sleepy.

"Always the chivalrous bas***d" he replied, a lazy grin settling on his face.

"Chivalrous, are we?"

"Oh yes, very"

Khushi smiled to herself. She reached for her handkerchief in her clutch and took it out delicately. She, aware of Arnav's eyes on her, then flung it ahead, straight into the ring.

"Oh Mr. Raizada" she said in her sweetest voice. "Would you be so kind as to fetch my handkerchief?"

She felt her face rearrange itself into a smirk, sure of Arnav's incapability to retrieve her handkerchief. She looked into her phone, busily typing the email, until she heard the crowd roar louder. She looked up to see who had won, only to realise the crowd was cheering on the new arrival

Arnav Singh Raizada has stepped into the ring.