Living in a Mirage

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"The paradox of vengefulness is that it makes men dependent upon those who have harmed them, believing that their release from pain will come only when they make their tormentors suffer. In seeking the Bird's death to free himself, Louie had chained himself, once again, to his tyrant. During the war, the Bird had been unwilling to let go of Louie; after the war, Louie was unable to let go of the Bird."

― Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

* * * *

"Sir, we have reached," Madhav informed unnecessarily.

Mr Malhotra couldn't help but sigh. As if the car coming to a stop wasn't an indication, must his secretary announce it? It didn't matter how efficient and remarkably competent Madhav was, he still sometimes fumbled like the new intern he had been when he had walked into his office. Back then, being the sole heir of the empire his father wanted to build, Mr Malhotra had recognized Madhav Mathur for what he was: the most important gift from his father - a loyal and efficient pet, ready to please him and stain his hand with dirty work.

"Something is going on with Shah, I didn't like his tone," Mr Malhotra said, knowing that was enough to get Madhav to work.

"He can't cause any trouble," the affirmation that came his way made him smirk. And that's why even after decades, no one could ever replace Madhav. The man left no traces behind.

"I will trust you on this then," Mr Malhotra said when the driver opened the car's door for him.

Smirking at Madhav's parting bow, deeply pleased and confident in his stance, Mr Malhotra walked into Dr Shah's office. The visit was truly unnecessary according to him. But he knew as a father, he still was obligated to show up when called in for an urgent matter regarding his son's health.

"Dr Shah, the demand to meet me was unexpected," Mr Malhotra said tightly, not liking the haste the doctor put him into even though it took him a month to comply with what had been asked of him.

"Mr Malhotra, I am sure you will understand the urgency of the matter when I reveal to you the cause of my worry," Dr Shah said, pushing back his glasses in an attempt to stop himself from lashing out at the man.

"And what that would be?" Mr Malhotra asked, sitting on the chair in front of the elder man's desk.

"The pills I prescribed to Manik seem to have side effects. I fear his condition is going to get worse if we continue with the treatment," Dr Shah continued with the already decided script.

"And what are these side effects? He hasn't complained to me about anything," Mr Malhotra said with narrowed eyes.

"Hallucinations and migraines. He isn't able to distinguish reality from what he sees under the effect of the pills," Dr Shah said, trying to assess if the knowledge would change the man's attitude.

"That's concerning. But why is he even having side effects, I thought you said medicine would help him," Mr Malhotra said with a frown.

"Every medicine has side effects, most of the time, it's one person out of hundreds affected negatively this severely. Or in case someone is taking pills they don't need to and they are misdiagnosed," Dr Shah put the bait, hoping the other man would catch.

"Misdiagnosed? What do you mean by that?" Mr Malhotra asked, waryly.

"Yes. It's been four years, and I don't see any improvement in Manik, he still insists that Nandini is real. Mr Malhotra, are you really sure there was no girl around him with the same name?" Dr Shah asked, hoping the man would give them something they could use.