Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 39: Interview (2)

Kartik’s question made Shehnaaz feel like she was about to break out in a torrent of sweat. She thought to herself, “He’s one of the best lawyers around, all right. He knows exactly which questions to ask…”

Her classmates were under the impression that she was just another transfer student at C University, but that was not the whole truth, not really; she had sat for and passed a
special examination administered by the Indian Army, thereby earning the privilege of direct admission into any
university within the India.

Her choice of C University had been a complete coincidence.

When she had been trying to decide on her school, she had occasionally overheard Sidharth mention to his two Private Secretaries, Rohit Maan and Deepak Rathi, over the phone that there was a Special Ops military base in C City, but none in the imperial capital.

Had Shehnaaz chosen to go to B University – which was located in the capital city – she would have had to part with Sidharth. She would have been left in the care of Rohit instead…
She had therefore chosen, without a moment’s doubt, to study law at C University.

Now that she was graduating, she had heard that Sidharth’s division was about to establish their headquarters in the imperial capital. The knowledge had given her the confidence to apply to the graduate law program at B University.

Deep down, she was still the same little girl in the burning car, scared out of her wits and, quite literally, her memories.

She was not capable of living on her own, apart from Sidharth.

Ever since the car accident six years ago, she had lived in fear and insecurity.

She was only at ease around Sidharth; she needed to live with him to feel safe.

There was no way she could tell Kartik  any of this, however; in fact, she had not even told Sidharth.

These were her most intimate secrets, buried deep within her heart.

Moreover, she had to keep Sidharth’s true identity a secret.

Shehnaaz lowered her head and steadied herself against the table. She said, choosing her words carefully, “C
University is closer to home. I was still very young back then, I didn’t want to be too far away from home.”

“Oh? Where are you from, Shehnaaz? Where did you grow up?” Kartik closed the folder and leaned back on the easy chair, his tone casual. His bright, slanted almond- shaped eyes watched her coolly.

Shehnaaz did not remember a thing from before she was twelve years old.
Her memory was gone, and so was her car, reduced to ashes; no one had seen the number on the license plate.

The only thing she had on her back then was a small backpack. Inside it was a photo, and a set of data charts.
The little girl in the photo was Shehnaaz. Written on the back of the photo was: “For Shehnaaz’s eleventh birthday”.

The date below it was from one year ago.

It should have been easy enough to find her parents or relatives, but even the Indian Army, with its massive reach and connections, had not been able to uncover where she had come from. It was all very strange.

This had been one of the reasons behind the Indian Army’s decision to ask Sidharth to be her guardian.

It was their custom to keep a tight rein on any element of uncertainty.

Because of this, Shehnaaz’s
background had to be kept a secret. When Shehnaaz entered C University, the military had already faked her personal history, which was now on
her resume.