ENCHANTED - BY INNOCENCE (ongoing)

48

Note: This chapter has 3000+ words and ends with a trivia so make sure you read till the end.

*** Vishnu Gupta ***

"Sir, the General is here to see you," my assistant informed me as he stepped in.

"Really?" I asked, confused. "Do we have a meeting scheduled with him that I missed?"

"No, sir," he replied. "This wasn't in the schedule."

"Did he mention the purpose?" I asked.

"He said it was to discuss some personal matters, sir," the assistant said, sounding extremely confused.

Is he here to murder me?

"Send him in," I said, although extremely skeptical.

A few minutes later, the assistant left, and Kheera came in, dressed in a black kurta, unlike his usual uniform.

"Good morning, sir," he greeted... respectfully?

"May I sit?"

"Yes... yes, of course," I said, trying hard not to show my confusion on my face.

Kheera sat down and looked at me with a smile. I secretly dug the nail of my forefinger into my palm to confirm that it was a dream, but to my surprise, I felt a sharp pain indicating that it was not.

"It's... uh... quite unusual to see you not in uniform. I almost didn't recognize you," I said, trying to instigate a fight.

"Well, I wanted to emphasize that I'm not here as a General but as your brother-in-law," he replied calmly, and I looked at him in disbelief.

"I even got you jalebis," he said, showing a box.

"What if they're drugged or poisoned?" I asked, suspicious.

He opened the box and pushed it forward. "Pick one, and we'll share," he said, not even getting offended at my remarks. "I want to build a relationship of trust."

Though suspicious, I picked a jalebi, broke it into half, and gave him a piece. To my surprise, he took it and ate it.

"Why are you doing all this?" I asked, confused.

"To appreciate you," he replied. "It was really kind of you to take Pritham's side in the meeting today."

"I did not take his side," I corrected. "I took the side of my people—the Easterners, who, despite all the contributions we make, are often degraded with snarky remarks and demeaning stereotypes."

"I agree," he nodded. "The Finance Minister really crossed the line."

"So did the General," I added, "who once said, 'Insanity is a disease of the East.'"

"That..." He took a while to come up with a reply. "That was just a fun banter."

"Of course," I said, rolling my eyes. "Everything is a fun banter."

"I will be careful with my words next time," he immediately and sincerely replied, much to my surprise.

"Appreciate that," I said as my anger melted away.

How am I supposed to bully Kheera if he's being nice to me?

"Your sister must've told you about her Brindavanam community," he said after a moment of silence.

"Is that why you're here?" I asked, finally figuring out his true intentions. "To get my approval?"

"Yes," he replied.

"So all of this drama was to fulfill your selfish reasons—"

"Not my selfish reasons," he interrupted. "Your sister formed that community. I have nothing to do with it, and as a matter of fact, letting the women of the intellectuals and other departments into the soldiers' compound puts us in a more fragile position. That's an additional requirement of security and compliance."