Chapter 17
Chapter 17
JENNIFER'S POV
"Alright! The operation's done. The patient needs to rest now for atleast 48 hrs." I instructed the nurse. She injected the anesthesia injection accordingly.
"Dr. Mathews, we have your next patient waiting in your cabin." Informed Mandira, my assistant. "Coming!" I replied.
It had been a week since the forced proposal put on me. And, I had not anticipated any possible changes in my daily normal routine. But obviously, my luck seemed to be taking revenge on me for the sins I committed in my previous lives.
From the very next day, gifts kept flooding the house. Dozens of people would come each day to either congratulate father or simply to inspect the goodies coming each day. From gowns to jewellery to cosmetics to sweets and what not. I was hating the new-found attention of people in my personal life. But father as expected, looked satisfied.
The bruises and cuts I had earned that night had healed a bit but still, I had to use some concealer to hide them properly. For a change, father had stopped hitting me, hence making this job easy. But as the days passed, I was becoming restless and jittery. It was really happening with me. My wedding with that rapist Mayank Prakash.
I met him on the day of our engagement, two days back. And really, one look and it was confirmed what a creep he was.
FLASHBACK STARTS :-
"So, Jennifer..." he drawled and caught my hand the second father turned to leave, commanding me to stay with Mayank in this deserted dining area and get to know each other. We were seated on two of
the chairs out of almost 20 chairs set round the massive wooden table.
"Yes, Mr. Prakash." I replied curtly, withdrawing my hand.
"Awww, seems like my bride-to-be prefers to start with 'hello kiss' then actually permit me to touch her... hmm, I see." He cooed and inched closer to me. I could smell the pungent odour of nicotine from him, even after being at a one hand distance from him. He started playing with the hem of my ankle length skirt.
Although I was taken aback by the level of his shamelessness, somewhere that was shaking my pillars of confidence within. We were the only two people present there in the dining table.
I met his calculated glare fearlessly and said," Mind your hands Mr. Prakash. I won't think twice before kicking you in your balls even in public, infront of your honourable guests." Instead of withdrawing his hand from my dress, he looked amused.
"God! Where did you push me into!?" I asked the almighty mentally.
Hearing my warning, he covered the gap of one chair between us and spoke with a hooded gaze," You won't have the guts of even looking at me haughtily once we are out of here!" I frowned.
He tugged me by my wrist and pushed me against one of the pillars. I was aghast, my eyes wide open in response to his sudden shift in mood. He smiled at my pale face, a creepy grin... as if only reserved for me. Then he plastered his body against mine and whispered , " Sweety, would you like it if I rip your panties and tear off this dress to shreds?..... kind of make you more presentable?" That shook me from within.
"HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!-" I began to shout but he pressed his hand on my mouth, completely making my scream muffled.
Then he took his lip ring within his mouth, while biting his lip. His bulgy eyes raked my body, from top to bottom. I was panicking, thinking of ways to get him off me.
All of a sudden, some murmuring began to become audible. The bastard tilted his head a little to see. A small group of wedding planners were coming towards our direction. Before anyone could see him assaulting me, he quickly stepped back releasing his grip from me. He stealthily moved back to his seat and sat down, calm and composed. I was disgusted. This man changed his colours faster than the chameleon. How could father possibly expect me to marry such a pathetic animal who pounced on me on our very first meeting.
I slumped back out the pillar. I looked up at the ceiling and stared at the moving ceiling fans. Silent tears fell down from my eyes. I was not able to get out of this mess which threatened to strip off my pride and respect, my most valued possessions. I wanted to run away.
Before the planners made their way away from the two of us, I quickly stood up and wiped my tears. I pasted a fake smile on my face and quickly made my way out.
FLASHBACK ENDS
The brown haired old lady was staring at me with a confused look as I kept looking at a distant point, all the while thinking of the happenings of my engagement day.
"So yes Mrs. Kaushik, how are you doing? Did the recent change in doses have any side-effects?" I asked the old lady, with a polite smile, quickly coming out of my trance.
As she began talking, I started to jot down the aftereffects as directed by the lady. But once in a while, my mind would again slip into the past and throw questions at me, weaving some rescue plan.
Will that stranger help me? Should I go back to the den and ask for his help?
Should I run away? To some distant land?
I shook my head dismissing the ridiculous ideas. The stranger knew nothing about me. Maybe he could use my situation against me and take advantage. And running away would do nothing. Now the mess included the governor along with my father. They won't leave a single stone unturned to find me and then trap me in their golden cage, that is, this marraige.
"......whenever I see you, thunder strikes. Thunder strikes me hard!....."
The words popped up in my mind. Involuntarily, a small smile took over my face.
"Mandira, inject this tablet in the superficial vein of Mrs. Sharma's right hand and help the recently operated patient gulp down this injection." I stated shaking my head to get rid of the newly arrived tingling sensation.
There was no movement.
"Mandira?" I inquired again, still keeping my eyes down on the medical report of the lady.
"Mandira!?" I said out loud, slightly agited because of no response again.
I raised my eyes to see a surprised Mandira and an amused smile playing on the old lady's face.
"What?" I snapped at my assistant.
"Are you seeing someone special my child?" The lady asked lovingly all the while grinning at me.
My eyebrows twitched a little in confusion before I said a big NO.
"Ummm... yes mam, I shall give Mrs. Sharma her injection and the patient in the operation theatre, his tablet." Mandira replied at last, giving me a knowing smile.
I was more confused.
Suddenly, the telephone buzzed.
"Jenny darling, we need to go to the chief minister's residence to celebrate Mr. and Mrs. Dhoopar's anniversary. I want you to attend the function with Mayank Prakash. Come back to home, now!" Barked father and with that, the call was disconnected.
I froze. I wasn't in a state to tolerate any vulgarity of that rapist any long.
"This time if he crosses the line of nonsense, I wont think twice before shooting him in between his eyes!" I mentally declared.