Trials of Love (One - Shots)

It's always the country

Hello Fam :)

Here is the next one shot. I have a few favorite lines here. Do tell me yours. I am posting it on my Instagram to keep the account alive. :P

Happy Reading...

Nandini's eyes were stinging. She had been crying since morning and it was getting dark. Her phone was buzzing. Her parents were trying to reach her continuously. Her brain has stopped working since the news broke in.

Manik Malhotra and Abhimanyu Thakkar have turned rogue. They are found to be working with an unnamed terrorist organization. Even if the reason behind them turning is unknown, their colleagues and the authorities are equally dumbfounded as both of them have gained massive respect from everyone since the day they had joined the force.

The Indian Army chief talked to the media and said he was ashamed and apologized to the citizens of India for training two terrorists against their country.

When asked if there have been any shoot at sight orders on the two, the chief denied. The Army wants to track them down themselves instead of involving the police department and rectify some of their errors.

It's surprising to note that Manik Malhotra is the son of the ex-army general Raj Malhotra. Raj Malhotra himself has served the nation for more than five decades and we would like to know his opinion on his son. The media is unable to contact him due to security reasons.

Beside her, Raj Malhotra, her father-in-law, took his eyes off the television. "I am going to my room."

Nyonika, Nandini's mother-in-law, gave him a disbelieving look. "Aren't you going to talk about this?", she asked her husband.

"What's there to talk about? It's all over the news. Your son made me famous again."

"It's not a complaint by his school teacher, Raj, that we are arguing about your son or mine", she screamed. "They are calling him a terrorist."

"They will if he had chosen the path against his country", he said calmly. He turned to Nandini when she let out a sob. His expression softened for just a moment on seeing the state of his daughter-in-law. "Nandini, take your medicines and go to sleep. This news wouldn't stop your patients from getting sick."

He left the room after patting her head. There wasn't a single expression on his face and Nandini didn't expect anything from him. He had been in wars where everything till your expressions should be proper if you want to survive. On the other hand, Nyonika was pissed with the indifference as she stormed out of the living room. It was breaking them. No parent would want to hear the news of their son working for a terrorist organization. No wife wants to know that her husband's whole life was a lie. No one would want to witness their loved one turning a stranger overnight. Nandini wanted to reach out for her in-laws but she needed a grip on herself first.

She went to her room but sleep was far away. The room screamed about the presence of her husband. It has memories of their love. She glanced at the baby toys lying on the table and her hand automatically went to her stomach. A fresh wave of pain hit her and she cried into her pillow uncontrollably. She wanted to open her eyes and realize everything was a nightmare. She didn't understand how was that possible when she hadn't even tried sleeping.

XXX

Nandini didn't sleep the whole night. She was exhausted by the time she dressed up for the hospital. Her father-in-law was right. The patients wouldn't be cured all by themselves and being a doctor, she had a responsibility towards them. She went to the living room and found Raj sipping his morning coffee in his track pants. He must have returned from his morning walk. The noise of utensils battling told her where Nyonika was but her father-in-law was unfazed.