JEEVAN (A Standalone Novella)

Bonus Chapter| Please Quit Your Job

Happy Birthday choti writer sahiba ❤️✨
This one is for you!!!! Tried my best to work on your request and I really hope you like it🥹

To anyone who's curious about why I republished Sansaar then I suggest you to read the note at the end.

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Arjun walked in the house and glanced at the clock. It was 8 in the morning and he was returning home after exactly twenty four hours.

The only catch was that he hadn't informed his daughter of his extended shift at work. But that was fine, wasn't it? Especially when he had asked Shree to do it for him and he might have delayed it by a mere...five hours.

Totally fine! But what might prove a bit problematic was his fractured arm. After an armed fight with a criminal on run, he had saved the department from another black dot and awarded himself a broken bone.

Following his overhyped act of bravery, what concerned him was his daughter dearest's reaction. With a silent prayer, he tip toed up the stairs, hoping to get in his room before Arnika woke up. The girl slept like a log on Sundays. Hopefully, today was no exception.

As soon as he turned through a corner, his heart nearly leapt out of his chest in shock. Janaki, Arni's caretaker, a kind woman in her late 50s looked at him wide eyes.

"Arjun sir, ye kaise ho gaya?" she asked shocked, not bothering to mind her voice.

"Dheere, maushi! Arni jaag jayegi." he said in a hushed voice.

She nodded and said- "Puri raat bechain (restless) thi. Bilkul theek tarah se nahi soyi."

"Shree ne call toh kiya tha na? Phir bhi?" he asked confused.

"Aapko dekhe bina toh maano neend hi nahi aati usse! Abhi itni mushkil se do ghante pehle gehri neend me hui." she told him.

He sighed at that, internally cursing for not calling himself. He had been busy with tracking the man and lost track of time. As soon as they tracked the man's location, he had asked Shree to inform her while he rushed with Sameer and Ayesha to nab the criminal.

"Aap bhi thaki hui lag rahi hai, maushi. Jaake aaram kariye." he said and retired to his room.

He sat down on the bed with a sigh, feeling too exhausted from the last night's events. The events of the previous night replayed in his mind, the adrenaline, the chase, and of course, the unfortunate encounter with a criminal that had left him with a fractured arm.

As he leaned back against the pillows, he thought about Arnika. She was going to be furious...or worse, worried sick. He could already hear her lecturing him into oblivion.

That was the worst part. She had her mother's tendency of lecturing him endlessly. It didn't help that she was an exact replica of Roshni. From her expressions to her rebukes, she reminded him so much of his dead wife that he could never utter a word of protest!

A knock on the door brought him out of his thought. He looked up to find Janaki standing on the door with a glass of haldi milk. He nodded and she entered the room.

"Jaldi se ye haldi wala doodh pi lijiye. Kya pata Arni ke uthne se pehle aapka haath sahi ho jaaye." she joked as she handed him the milk.

Arjun smiled- "Aaj bohot daant padegi."

With that thought, he quickly drank the milk. Pulling up the comforter, he laid down on the bed. Arjun felt like he had just hit his head on mattress when he heard loud shuffling of feet from the door.

He looked up to find Arni standing there, her hair tousled and eyes still sleepy.

"You're back." She said and walked towards him.