PEOPLE AROUND PALAK ANAND

Girish Anand (Father)

Prakash Anand (Brother)

Dr. Rohit (Senior)

Tina and Veer (Co-workers)

Sandhya (Brother's Ex (Di))

PEOPLE AROUND DAVID MATTEW

James Anthony (Brother)

Jasmine Anthony (Sister)

Mrs. Anthony (Mother(Mattew is maternal surname))

Satish (Manager)

Harsha Gode (Family friend+Doctor(CHIEF))

Mrs. Gode (Same and very small role for now)

Ruksana (CEO of his agency)

Ms. X (Still not revealed)

*This is the character list for now. Why do I feel our Palak is at the losing end... Let's hope that will not be the case by the end of the story.

*Palak Pov*

"Uff! How many times do I have to wake you up?" I groaned, finally hitting on his shoulder and he immediately sat up in shock.

"Did you just hit me?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and even gave out a yawn at the end of his question.

"For the past one hour, Satish is waiting for you. And your phone is buzzing like crazy for the past two hours. What else should I have done?" I asked him, frowning and passed the phone which he immediately took from my hands while I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't snoop and even asked Satish whether there is anything urgent to deal with and make sure he handle it as you are not picking up your phone." Saying that I turned to leave but he took hold of my wrist before I can take any step.

"You do realize that I got abused by you today, right?" I sighed feeling tired.

What and all I just told him and he is still hung up on that fact? Why do I love him again? Just why? From the first day he did everything to trouble me and is still in the process.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, pulling my hand to make me turn around.

"I am asking myself why do I even love you." I replied, shrugging and he left my hand as if he got shocked.

I chuckled, seeing his expression and I think I kind of have an idea why do I love him. Would it have been possible to be this happy if not for him? Maybe, but I am not sure about it though.

"You just get ready and I will pay back." Saying that I walked away yawning myself.

If not for his schedule, I could have definitely slept for longer. Damn! I should really question myself again. I thought, smiling before preparing our breakfast and maybe even go to work early today to research more on the VIP condition.

"I know there is no time but you have to finish it." I literally had to order him to finish the breakfast as he tried to just run out of the house when his phone started ringing again.

"That's why you should have got up when I tried to wake you up." I mumbled, shaking my head when he just stuffed the bread into his mouth.

"It's your fault." That's all he said, walking towards the basin to clean his mouth.

"How?" I asked him, frowning, but he just shook his head.

"Wait!" I stopped him from leaving and arranged the tie properly before placing my hands on his shoulder.

"This is my payback." Saying that I pressed my lips to his and he paused for a second but immediately kissed me back.

"You are getting... actually I can't say that, but it's better if you leave now before you are anymore late." I mumbled pushing him away when he continued to pester kisses all over my face.

"Right! I may not be able to return this evening." He rushed towards the door.

"It's okay!" I commented following him.

"You actually don't care whether I come here or not. Or whether we meet or not, right?" he suddenly complained.

"You really don't want me to be possessive. Trust me about that. And if you really have doubts then remember yesterday's conversation." Hearing the last sentence he again stilled, but finally moved when Satish finally shouted for him.

Why is he behaving like that every time I bring out the topic from yesterday's conversation? Is he shocked or what? It's just better to wait for him to talk about it by himself. Why should I break my head over it?

****

Why did I actually think David was the toughest patient I ever had? I continued to stare at Mr. James's profile who is just sitting in his wheelchair staring at the wall and ignoring each and every word I am trying to say. He is not even letting move it anywhere by placing his hand on the controls.

I shook my head and glanced around to find the remaining doctors giving me pity looks and it is same from a few patients but others are just frowning at us.

This is just a bad situation not only for him, but for the patients who were literally forced to come here for treatment. What if the mental strength they clubbed together to come here gets shattered because of his behavior?

"When will you finish the session? Remaining doctors just send me off after a few minutes." He suddenly asked breaking my thoughts.

No wonder! Even they must have thoughts like me. But knowing his condition I can't leave him like this when I can understand completely why is he doing this.

"There are still forty minutes left, Mr. James. Your session is for one hour, remember?" saying that I glanced around hoping to find the chief and as I expected he is here to see how I am working.

I calmly walked towards him and he just sighed, looking at my face before saying, "Already giving up, Dr. Palak?"

"That's not the case, Chief. I just wanted to ask whether I can take him to the garden for his session." He gave a surprised look.

"As you can see all this is a disturbance to other patients and the doctors too, as they all are looking this side." I added and he gave a nod after a few seconds.

"If you know what you are doing, then it's fine. Normally I wouldn't mind if any other patient behaved like this, but he is really important for me. I hope you will not mind for having you do this. He will never listen to a single word of mine and that's making me not eligible to treat him." He explained before walking away while I stared at his back for a second before returning to my patient.

"Let's go, Mr. James." I gestured him towards the door.

"The session is done?" he asked, turning the chair and started moving forward while I continued to walk beside him.

"No! But the session in this room is definitely done." I replied, which made him pause.

"What does it mean?" he asked with a blank face, but he is definitely confused which is expected.

"We will be just going to the garden to not disturb the other patients." I replied and he immediately glanced at others before moving the chair again.

When we reached the place, he had to struggle a bit to move the chair as it is not handled manually because of a few stones on the way. I stared at them and even the chair before smiling realizing there is a huge benefit of coming here.

This is it! I thought when a big stone finally got stuck near his feet area. I immediately knelt down and lifted up one of his legs by holding the ankle and shifted the rock.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a startled tone.

"Removing the stone, Mr. James." I replied, placing his leg back and lifted the other one.

"Why is it not moving?" I asked myself loudly and lifted his legs a few times before finally removing the stone while he continued to complain.

"Finally! Now, we can move." Saying that I gestured the stone in my hand while thanking the heavens that I got this idea and it may not be the best but it is something.

"How can you touch my legs like that?" he asked in a cold tone.

"I can't let you get stuck in this spot, Mr. James. And I don't have the strength to lift the chair along with you." I explained this time pushing the chair manually towards the bench as he still seems to be in a kind of shock hearing my reason behind my actions.

I sat down on the bench after placing his chair beside with a little distance and brushed off the dirt crumbs from my hands before glancing around.

"It seems not many patients have the habit to come to garden much. In Lonavla, the place where I used to work, all of them tried to be out most of the time. But then I can see that it is kind of noisy here, unlike there." I continued to talk.

I really wish I was there and not here. From when did I started talking all this stuff with my patients? But then I had to change my way of working because of David and many others too. Maybe this will be not a bad idea too.

However, after I talked to him for the next half an hour, he just sat there staring straight not giving any indication that he is listening to me.

"Let's go back, Mr. James. Will someone be here to pick you up?" I asked standing up.

"My driver has been waiting in the parking lot for the past one hour." He calmly replied and I shook my head, but made sure to stand behind him so that he can't see that.

He was so sure that I will just send him off like others. I am sure even they must have tried completely in the beginning. Then why was he so sure I will give up on the first day itself?

"Oh no!" I mumbled when he got stuck in the same stone as I placed it back in the original place without moving it.

As he just turned the chair and moved while talking to me travelling the same way, my plan worked for sure. I ignored his protests and followed the same work before and he just moved away without saying anything else.

Will he complain about my act near the chief? I was definitely out of line, but at present this is the only thing I can think of.

However, to my surprise he just continued towards the entrance even after entering the building while contacting someone. I continued to follow him and finally found his car waiting near the entrance.

I sighed, turning around before walking directly towards the chief cabin to tell him everything before he complain about me.

"A basic exercise is done for the day, Chief." I gave him the report and he stared at me in shock without saying anything for a few seconds.

"He did it by himself?" he asked, coming out of shock.

"No! But I had to do something." I replied, not sharing the information and didn't open my mouth when he continued to wait for me to explain.

"Fine! But just don't push him too far." He whispered and this time he actually looks like a person concerned about him rather than a chief.

"I know, Chief! I will try my best." I mumbled nodding while he just stared at me.

"Is there something else, Chief?" I asked him frowning.

"No, no! Your shift ended, right? You can go." He replied, clearing his throat and I gave him a nod before walking out of his cabin.

What will I do by going home so early? He already said there is no way he can come to my place today, right? Oh god, Palak! You are acting as if you never went to an empty home before and stayed there for so many years.

However, I took a cab instead of the bus to change my destination. I got out of the cab at the end of the street while contemplating whether to take a step towards the building or not.

No! I can't turn away. I will be a part of David's life soon after sometime when we both are sure about our relationship to take the step towards marriage. At that moment I can't ignore my family like all these years.

I took a deep breath and started walking towards the place that used to be my home for so many years but just in words. After reaching the gate, for a second I wish that Dad didn't return to India from his trip, but the next second I want him here to just finish with this.

"Madam!" I turned to see the watchman walking towards me from his spot with a smile.

I inquired about his health before walking inside, realizing I can't just walk away after getting caught by him. I frowned, finding a couple of cars parked on the driveway.

"Don't tell me he is having a party right now." I whispered, walking towards the door which is completely open, making me sigh in irritation.

I shook my head, realizing I was absolutely right when I thought he must be having a party right now. Is he like mad? Doesn't he have a company to work for? Who have party during weekdays?

And how dare he is drinking after all the fiasco that happened? Does he want to get into another trouble? At least he is doing this at home itself.

"Look who is here. The guest who thinks that she is above all." Damn, I should have slipped past the moment I realized he was having a party.

He is worse with his words normally and when drunk that is nothing but a disaster which must be escaped with any means.

I immediately turned around to leave, but he reached me before I can. He laughed, shaking his head before placing his hand on my shoulder and turned me around.

"Everyone meet, my darling sister Palak. Oops! Doctor Palak! Wait! You don't do any operations, then how can you be called like that? Hmm... How about nurse Palak." He laughed at the end of the sentence.

"Oops! I forgot that you don't have enough brain to understand the doctor's profession." Saying that I pushed him off.

"Why are you here?" he asked in an angry tone.

"To meet Dad." I replied, taking a step back to run from this place if he replies with the words I really want to hear right now.

"He is abroad. You can tell me and you can even join the party." He gestured the people.

"Wait! Will you feel this is too low for your righteous self?" he asked mockingly and everyone laughed along with him.

Why was I even worried about him and tried to understand him during all those times? I really made a huge mistake by coming here.

"You can enjoy yourselves. Wait! I really hope no one is going to drive yourselves to your places and have some brain unlike him." Saying that I immediately turned around walking as fast as I can to leave this compound knowing well I touched the nerve of his.

Next time I will just get some courage and call Senior to find about my Dad's movements. I will not step here again unless he is here. He may be not the best Dad, but he is the only who can control this person.

'Don't ever get drunk in your life, David. And this is a warning.' I immediately sent a message before I could stop myself and slapped my forehead.

He is already against it from the beginning and that was just once, right. I shook my head and messaged him to just ignore my previous message. To that he just replied fine to my surprise, but I brushed it off.

****

I sighed, feeling bored to sit here like this and my act of using stones already passed off after one week. Today there was nothing I could make him do. He was more than careful today to pass through the way where there are no stones at all.

To top of that all that David has been busy even during the weekend and even though we met twice, we just sat in my flat.

"Mr. James! Do you know any good places in this area?" I suddenly asked, turning towards him and he glanced at me with a surprise look.

"Why?" he asked with a tense look.

"Don't worry, Mr. James! I am not going to take you out of this hospital compound. I just want to go to those with someone during this next weekend." I explained and he gave a nod.

Then he started giving the names of the restaurants in this area which are like five star completely. I frowned, but didn't stop him from conversing.

"I am not going to a business meeting, Mr. James." I calmly explained after he finished.

"I need to know the content to give a reference." He pointed out turning slightly.

"Er... to go with my boyfriend." I replied awkwardly while he sat in silence for the next few minutes.

"Fine! You can just google the places." He replied and I sighed shaking my head.

"Fine! In your experience, what is a good place and not just for dating but just to spend time, even alone." I asked and this time he gave an interested look.

I noted down all the places he started giving and got surprised when he added, "There will be less public at these places. So, you shouldn't go there alone after evenings."

"Are you concerned about your doctor, Mr. James?" I asked with an excited tone.

"If you are, then please start the therapy at least while sitting here. I got reprimanded today for having no progress with your treatment." I added before he can reply to my earlier question which I shouldn't have asked but I got too excited.

Somehow, after sitting with him for one week in silence, I am kind of fine with a conversation like this as he is really the best at being silent and better than me.

I always thought I can spend my time without conversing with anyone but he can take the award for that. Then again, with the condition he is at present I can understand.

"While sitting here?" he asked frowning.

"Yes! Are you interested?" I asked, staring at him.

"How can it be possible?" he gave a disbelief look.

"I heard you are a business man, Mr. James. Anything should be possible, right?" I asked, looking around and found a group of stones a few feet away.

I walked towards the pile and returned with two equal size ones. I knelt down before him and slowly lifted his leg before placing one stone below one the leg and followed the same with the other leg.

"Just stay like this for a few minutes and it will be enough." I said stepping back.

"Even if I want to, I can't move my legs, right?" he asked back with the blank face again.

"I mean to say, don't ask me to remove them for the next few minutes and I was not talking about anything else. I am your doctor and I know everything about my patient's condition that I need to know. You can use these statements near others, Mr. James. You need not waste them near me." Saying that I walked away to sit on another bench far away from the previous one.

"You can get the treatment now alone without anyone's presence. After some time, I will remove them." I added with my back facing him.

I am already sensitive with my own worries and replied with whatever words that came to my mind. Was I too harsh right now? I thought, frowning and immediately shook my head.

Even if I was he will not scold me or complain about me. All I can do it to not behave the same way next time and not think about what already happened.

After ten minutes, he still didn't say anything and that just made me push the time for another five minutes. When I returned, he is just sitting there with his eyes closed.

I knelt before him and removed the stones, but he didn't feel the movement at all. After sitting there for five minutes, I again placed them, but this time removed within two minutes and for the next twenty minutes I continued it with two interval time.

"What are you doing?" I glanced up finally removing the stones and placing them aside.

"Therapy! Had a good nap, Mr. James?" I asked, brushing away the crumbs on his legs before standing up.

"What is the use? I can't even feel them and they will not move no matter what we do. So, why do I even need this therapy?" he asked with a raised voice and I stumbled back after seeing him react in that way.

Was I too disrespectful? I thought, staring at him while he closed his eyes taking deep breaths. I sighed kneeling before him again so that he can look straight at me.

"They are just sleeping, Mr. James. But we can't stop taking care of them for that reason, you know. Your whole body still needs you. Don't give up like this. I am not going to make you do anything useless and all the exercises will be as limited as possible and to just take care of them so that they don't trouble you more. This is not for any other reason except for your sake." I mumbled staring into his eyes.

"What is the need of that when..." he cut his words fisting his hands.

"I will not give any speeches as if I understand what you are going through, Mr. James. But I can give a speech as your doctor and this is the right thing to do. I will not disturb you at all and you can just have your own time every day right here just like today. I think I was being insensitive by talking too much every day. But from tomorrow onwards, I will keep quiet and you need to participate slightly in this treatment." I explained while he just frowned at me.

"Is it a deal, Mr. James?" I asked forwarding my hand.

"The session time is over." He replied, moving the chair back before leaving the spot and I sighed, standing up before following him until he reached the car before packing my things and left the hospital.

****

"Where are you lost?" I got startled hearing the voice from the kitchen while I aimlessly started walking towards the bedroom after locking the door.

"I got scared for a second." I mumbled, staring at him while he smiled, finishing the water he is drinking before walking towards me.

I glanced at his leg and shoulder, which got injured all those months back. I suddenly hugged him tightly shocking him at a whole new level.

"Thank you for being fine, David." I whispered tightening my arms and he hugged me back hearing my words.

"What happened?" he asked using one hand to caress my hair.

"Nothing! But you need to be careful while driving and even racing. Don't forget that I will break your legs if you get injured." I replied, releasing him and he immediately brushed the tears away which I don't know were even rolling down.

"I will be completely careful." He promised and I nodded controlling my tears.

"Will you tell me what happened?" he asked, pulling me towards the couch and made me sit down.

After drinking the water, he passed, I turned towards him, saying, "I never knew when you became so important for me, David. But how did that happen and why?"

"I can understand you, Palak. You don't know what crazy things I did after falling for you." He shook his head before holding my hands in his.

"You love me?" I asked, staring at him and he nodded smiling.

"Why are you shocked?" he asked frowning.

"Even you were shocked when I confessed." I pointed out making him chuckle.

"Marry me, Palak." He suddenly asked while I stared at him.

"Too soon? I will ask later." He sighed without giving me even a minute to process.

"Wait! Are you really sure, David? Marriage is like forever." I stated and he just smiled.

"There will definitely be a few blocks waiting for us, Palak. But I will make sure we are always together and have a life for ourselves. We will have our own world away from everyone." He promised tightening his hold on my hands.

"Then... then I am fine with it." I whispered after staring at his face for a few minutes.

"Are you sure?" he asked with a surprised look and I nodded smiling.

"Thank you! Thank you!" he continued while pestering kisses all over my face making me laugh.

"I can't believe I accepted a proposal you just threw with no flowers or anything." I commented pushing him away.

"Right! I will just go..." I pulled him down when he stood up before pressing my lips to him, kissing him, letting him know how happy I am right now.

I stared at his face in shock when he suddenly got up and lifted me into his arms. My hands trembled a little and I finally moved them to circle his neck after which he walked towards the room.

"Wait!" I whispered stopping him near the bed, closing my eyes tightly.

"Relax! We will just be sleeping for some time as I can see you are tired. I will order some dinner after you get up." He said, shaking his head, smiling before placing me in the bed.

When he moved to walk away, I took hold of his hand, whispering, "Wait!" and pulled him down for a kiss and didn't release him letting him know I am ready right this moment. He hesitated for a second and stared at me before leaning into the kiss while caressing my cheek and I know I will never regret this.

--------------------------------

i just added the character list as i found it could be confusing i guess and i did a few mistakes with their names in the previous chapters which i corrected them completely...

This chap had focused more on the brother but main couple had their sweet moments too... and the brother is on board...

How is the chap???

comment plz and vote...

p.s: i will add the list for all the chapters so don't worry and this the present list and will not be anymore but i can't say...