Chapter 4 : The Truth
Ronak received all information about Karan from Neha. Karan will be arrested in no time and their quest will be completed soon.
Neha and Hiren have been getting closer and closer for a few days now. Be it over the phone or face-to-face. Ronak was especially upset about this, so he asked Neha to stop it before it gets complicated. Ronak brewed coffee for Neha in her apartment. She gazed at the smart phone screen and blushed as she sat on the couch. The way she blushed, she was obviously chatting with someone. "Neha for the love of god, please." He said from the kitchen.
"Whaaaaaat??" She demanded with a slack look, like nothing was happening. She pretended there was no problem.
"oh , you know what I am talking about" Ronak smirked.
"chill out Ronak, you are not my boyfriend or anything" She said annoyingly
"I'm aware of that fact, but I'm just reminding you what will be good for you. And in this case, for him as well," Ronak said.
He was still brewing coffee for Neha and himself. Neha sighed, deep down she knew this conflict would not turn out well. The organization policies and person wise also.
"Neha stop acting like a child, please. I don’t want to see you hurt." Ronak was concerned. After her sister, the real Neha was gone, her best friend Shreya became Neha until the operation gets over. Both vowed to stick together until they bring justice to Neha.
Neha stood up and walked towards the bathroom, rolling her eyes. "We are just having lunch today, nothing more." She and Hiren planned on having lunch together.
"well don't come crying to me then.." He sat down on the couch with two cup of coffees.
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It was two in the afternoon and the sun was up and blazing. Hiren was sitting on the table waiting for Neha to arrive. He was well dressed and suitably prepared for the date. Neha made eye contact with him as soon as she arrived in the restaurant. She walked toward him and he smiled seeing her. She smiled at him and sat down before him.
"You look pretty" he said
"Just pretty?" she rolled her eyes over her dress and stared at Hiren's face.
He was nervous again, wondering what is wrong with him that seems to prevent everything from going in the right direction with him. He looked worried until Neha laughed "Look at your face... you don't need to be so formal, Hiren" she said and smiled.
He looked shy for few moments. "Oh my god, stop playing games with me.. I nearly had a heart attack" he said with a smile.
"Aww..I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said tenderly as she caressed his left cheek. She looked worried in her always smiling face.
The waiter quietly stood right besides their table. "Can we have…" Hiren was about to order her favorite Punjabi food but she stopped him.
"Hiren yarr, I wish to get some pizza," she said in an appealing tone.
Hiren looked confused, "What...?" he paused in shock, then spoke to the waiter about clearing their reservations. In a few minutes they were out of restaurant. The surrounding area looked quiet. Hien looked up the nearest pizza place in his phone as they both walked on the sidewalk. They were starving and it was a hot afternoon. Hiren gave her his jacket, so she wouldn't get sunburned.
"Thanks.." she thanked him and looked frustrated "Oh my god.. You can see the dustiness as soon as you enter that restaurant, the owner treated his manager like shit and that waiter can you not see the stain on his shirt. Indicating they have open kitchen, probably their chiefs didn't use any gloves or such. Dishes looked little yellow definitely they did not follow basic regulations " she was out of breath saying all these.
Well she was an agent after all, her observations were on point. Hiren was sweating as he walked "Alright…Miss sherlock Holems calm …down…" he looked frustrated too.
First, the mobile brightness wasn't working correctly. So he focused on that while listening to her vent. After roaming around for few minutes they found good pizza place and ate there.
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The number of dinners and lunches they shared together was countless. After all, they were both foodies. They had great conversations every time they ate and by the time they became close friends. They watched movies together, and he welcomed her to spend the night at his place a few times. The relationship was flourishing, and the trust was building between them.The common factor was their happiness together.
They started visiting the beach every other day in the evening when there was no one around.
One day, On the way back from the beach, they both walked towards Hiren's apartment building. Holding hands together and laughing at each other's funny jokes. Hiren's smiling face turned into a worried one as they got closer and closer to the building.They stood outside of Hiren's Building on the front lawn. The police Jeep was right there. There are police roaming around in and out.
Hiren became worried when one Hawaladar took Karan and brought him in handcuffs and sat him in the jeep. Hiren looked surprised. "Karan?" he asked and ran towards him. He looked confused. The officer standing next to the jeep catches Hiren's attention. "Officer, what is happening.. Why are you arresting him…" Hiren had a lot of questions. Officer informed him of Karan's ridicules deeds.
Neha got closer to him and hugged him tightly. She calmed him down. This was disturbing to him because he thought Karan was the best guy, and he thought so highly of him."Thank you agent Shreya.. Without your contribution, catching him would have been impossible" Officer expressed gratitude towards Neha's work. She was still hugging him. Hearing what he just heard, Hiren moved away from her. She always wished to avoid this moment. He looked deeply hurt into her eyes as he stared deeply into hers. Two of the closest people to him had broken his trust. It was too much to take.
To be continued