Chapter 73: chapter 73

MADHAVI ring the doorbell and wait in anticipation for my best friend to open the door. He is back from the secret mission alive but I won't say he is safe and sound until I see it with my very own eyes. Sruthi has no idea about her brother's adventures. They are the kind of siblings who would go for days without talking to each other but have each other's back when disaster strikes their life. The door opens after what feels like a million years when in reality it is only a few minutes. I am ready to tackle my friend and demand him what took him this long to open the door but the person on the other side of the door is an unfamiliar young man in a white coat. “Come in,” he says. “Who are you?” I demand taking him in. He looks younger than me. His white coat and the stethoscope around his neck tell me that he is a doctor. That could only mean that my friend is badly injured.“I am Pavitran. Can you please come in before I brief you about Vikram Sir's condition,” he moves from the door giving me space to enter. I go in and he locks the door. I don't wait for his explanation and walk to Vikram's room. The door is open slightly and I push it open fully to find my friend lying on the bed with bandages and injuries.Fury and worry take over my body and in the next second, I am at his side. I must have gone with him to the secret mission. I shouldn't have left him to leave on his own. At the sound of my shuffling near his bed, Vikram opens his eyes. He looks pale and worn out. I get a deja vu of seeing his sister like this not a mere month ago.I groan, “Why do you siblings have the habit of getting injured and making me worry?” Vikram grins at me, “Don't worry. I am not at the death's doorstep.”“Very glad to know that,” I say sarcastically. I want to ask him the details of the secret mission but I know he won't say it. It is a secret mission for a reason. Emphasis on the secret. I don't know which Mafia gang he decided to take down this time. It is been a long time since we discussed things like that. I am not even sure if he took a partner with him on this mission. A possessive part of me hopes he went alone. But another part of me—the one that cares for him and is selfless—hopes he took someone else with him. “Tell me that you didn't go alone,” I say.Vikram's grin is sheepish confirming my suspicions. Of course, he didn't take anyone with him. The only person who knows about his secret missions is me. These missions are off-record with no records left. The sounds of footsteps make me turn back and I find the young doctor come in with a glass of water. “Who is he?” I ask pointing to that man.“One of my trusted men,” Vikram answers as the doctor hands over the pills to Vikram. Vikram gets them without a question. Pavitran starts removing the bandage on Vikram's right arm as Vikram's eyes close. His breath evens out.“What did you give him?” I ask sharply giving him a hard stare.“Relax,  I gave him sleeping pills to ease him into sleep while I clean and change his bandages. Don't worry, I won't harm him. I owe him my life.”The raw emotion in his eyes tells me that there is more to the story and Vikram and this man share some history. After staring at him for too long, I realise that the man means his word. So, I relax and watch him change Vikram's other bandages.When he is finished, he looks at me, “Now, can we talk?”“Yes, we can.”We go out of the room and sit down on the couch. Pavitran removes his stethoscope and places it on the coffee table, “Vikram Sir was severely injured this time.” This time?So, Vikram had consulted this man on previous occasions.“How serious?”“He has a spinal cord injury that makes him infertile,” answers Pavitran in a grim voice.WHAT THE HELL?“You mean that Vikram can't produce children?” I ask trying not to panic.“Yes,” he answers. “He lost the ability to reproduce.”“Does he know?” I ask the doctor gripping the couch. “He knows,” Pavitran answers with a grim smile. “The strange thing is he is happy about it.”“WHAT?”Pavitran nods his head, “He was elated when I told him that.”I frown in confusion for a second before understanding dawns on me. Of course, Vikram would be happy. He never wanted to marry or fall in love. If their parents’ murder made Sruthi scared of blood and violence, it made Vikram scared of relationships and love. He always told me how pressurized he felt by the ministers asking him when he would marry and produce an heir for his position. Many ministers were aiming to get him married to their daughters. But, if the news about him leaks out then the tide would change. If Vikram cannot produce an heir then his close blood relation's child will become the next heir.Then that could only mean, that if a child is born between me and Sruthi, he or she would become the heir to Vikram's position. I don't know how to feel about this. I have mixed emotions. If Vikram is infertile, then the people would expect me and Sruthi to produce the next heir. As much as I would love to consummate my marriage with Sruthi, I don't want to do it under pressure or for the sake of producing an heir. Nope, if something ever happens between me and Sruthi, I want it to be because of her feelings for me. I want her to want me for who I am and not for some political reasons. I am damn sure Vikram wouldn't pressurize us to produce an heir. It is the other ministers I am scared of and Sruthi.I don't know how she will react if she learns this news. I know how duty-bound she is and how much she values her family's name. She would go to any extent to save her family's name. The fact that she married me—a man she hates with her whole heart—just to keep her brother in position proves her determination and dedication to her family's honour and name.Speaking of her, she still has no idea about how badly Vikram is injured. Usually, Vikram would never go home after returning from these kinds of missions. He would stay in ‘The Enclave’ because he knows how worried Sruthi would become if she saw injuries. He always hid about his injuries from her. He was afraid of triggering her phobia. I am not sure if I should tell her about Vikram now. Her psychologist told us that the Vishnu incident made her desensitive to blood and violence. I don't know how she would react to this news. As I am contemplating what to do, the doorbell rings. Pavitran gets up to get the door and I wave him off.“I will get it,” I say and walk to the front door still contemplating whether to tell Sruthi or not. Vikram's house doesn't have the high-tech security gadgets I have in mine. He has a security guard who lets only people who have appointments after confirmation with Vikram. To my knowledge, the only people who can enter the house without appointments or confirmation from Vikram are me and his secretary Nisha. Since, I am already here, the person ringing the door must be Nisha.But when I open the door, I am staring straight into the chocolate brown eyes of my wife who looks just as shocked to see me as I am.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥