Rajveer

I paced in my room, thinking about all the incidents that occurred in the past few days.

It has been two days since I returned to KMA, and Shalini discharged me from the infirmary earlier today.

Thankfully my bullet wound is healing properly, which is why I could convince Shalini to discharge me.

Although I am relieved that Ritu could not harm Naina, I am worried, too, because Ritu Mishra has left KMA.

If I had known about Ritu's departure earlier, I would have done something to stop her. But I only learned about it after returning from the infirmary, and she had already left by then.

It is a good thing that I had told Chaubey about my suspicions regarding Ritu and ordered him to keep an eye on her.

Just an hour back, Chaubey reported that Ritu is currently in Delhi and is staying in the Taj Palace there.

I have ordered Chaubey to make his men follow Ritu everywhere. She should not go out of sight at any cost because she is the only lead I have right now to prove Naveen's innocence.

Apart from Ritu, I am worried about one other thing too.

My jeep had been in perfect condition before. I had even given it for servicing just a day before I had that accident.

I remember that the brakes had suddenly stopped working that day which is why I had lost control of the jeep and directly hit that tree.

So, now, I want to know if that was accidental or if someone had deliberately done that.

My intuition says it was done deliberately because how could the brakes of a jeep, that had been serviced just a day before, suddenly stop working?

That is why I have sent Chaubey to examine the jeep.

I hope Chaubey would find something that can solidify his doubt.

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Naina

As I ate lunch in the mess, I thought about Rajveer Sir.

I have been constantly thinking about hom since we returned KMA two days back.

I used to constantly think about him before that too but at that time it was because I was worried about him and wanted to rescue him from the trouble he was in.

But now, I think about him and also feel restless because she wants to talk with him and properly thank him.

After returning to KMA, Rajveer Sir was been admitted to infirmary by Shalini Ma'am because of the bullet wound, fever, and dehydration.

I went to infirmary to talk with him a few times but someone always interrupted us.

Sometimes it was Shalini Ma'am, sometimes her batchmates, and sometimes it was Lieutenant Chaubey.

I went to the infirmary today morning too, hoping not to get interrupted while talking with Rajveer Sir that time, but Shalini Ma'am informed me that Rajveer Sir had already been discharged.

Although I wanted to go to his room and meet him in the morning, I could not do that because I had to attend her morning drills and classes.

I feel restless now because I have not been able to thank him properly for saving my life.

I do not know why, but I also miss talking with him. I miss the warmth his presence provides me.

I have faced the worst in the last four years, and that has left a permanent wound in my soul.

But after meeting Rajveer Sir, those wounds seem to be healing. With him, I feel happier and more cheerful.

I cannot fathom why I feel like this, but I know I never want this feeling to stop. I feel like wanting to spend more time with him every day.

I was still lost in my thoughts when I heard Rajveer Sir's voice.

I immediately turned towards the sound of his voice and saw him entering the mess with Shalini Ma'am. He was laughing and talking with her.

"Please, Captain. I just saw your kitchen. It is stocked with all kinds of vegetables and even chicken. Why don't you make something for yourself then instead of complaining about the mess food?" I heard Shalini Ma'am say.

"You are right, Doc, but there is too much work to do that nowadays I don't ever get time to make something.

"I love to cook, so I always keep my kitchen stocked whenever I get a quarter to live during my missions. But now the workload is too much for me to be able to cook.

"And I mean it when I say I do not like eating mess food. If only I had time to cook something delicious," Rajveer Sir told Shalini Ma'am wistfully, and I smiled because I found a perfect way to properly thank him for saving my life.

I do not know how to cook, but I can call Maa and ask her to message the recipe.

I will then follow that recipe step by step and will cook something delicious for him.

After all, how difficult can it be to follow the recipe and cook something?

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Third Person's POV

"You must be mistaken, Chaubey. Why would Cadet Amardeep Huda do something like that to kill me?" Rajveer was shocked when Chaubey told him it was none other than Cadet Huda, who had messed with his jeep's brake wires.

"I am confident it was Cadet Amardeep Huda, Sir. I even have the proof," Chaubey replied.

"What proof do you have?" Rajveer asked him.

"Well, this is his ID card, which I found in your jeep when I inspected it. Thankfully, the ID was not destroyed by the fire. We can still see Cadet Huda's face and name in the ID.

"Also, after finding this ID today morning in the jeep, I started keeping an eye on Cadet Huda.

"He received a call today in the academy. We tapped that call and found the caller was Raghu, the same goon who had abducted you and kept you in that warehouse.

"We were able to catch Raghu, and he told us he had fooled Cadet Huda into believing that he is from Indian Intelligence.

"Raghu had misled Cadet Huda to believe that you are a spy in the academy, who needs to be killed to ensure the country's safety," Chaubey replied.

Rajveer was stunned when he heard Chaubey. He decided then to confront Cadet Huda and clear his misunderstanding before he caused some irreversible damage.

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Huda was walking toward his class when he heard someone call his name. He turned and saw it was Captain Rajveer. His blood boiled, seeing that spy in front of him.

"Cadet Huda, I want you to come with me," Rajveer told him, but Huda shook his head.

"I have a class to attend, Sir. I am not going anywhere with you," Huda fired back. He did not want to go anywhere with the spy.

"I am not asking you, Cadet. I am ordering you. So, just shut your mouth and come with me," Rajveer told Huda sternly.

Huda rolled his eyes, but he followed Rajveer, having no other choice.

Rajveer led him inside a small room in the academy that was in the abandoned corridor. There was no one around.

Huda looked round the room and saw a table with two chairs in the center of the room. And there was a monitor in one corner.

It looked like an interrogation room and Huda was curious as to why Captain Rajveer brought him here.

"Cadet Huda, do you have any idea what you have done in your stupidity?" Rajveer began to speak, his voice laced with anger.

"What do you mean, Sir? What have I done?" Huda pretended not to know anything.

Those people from Indian Intelligence have told him not to let anyone know about their mission until Captain Rajveer is successfully removed from KMA.

"Oh, do you not know Cadet? Well, let me show you something then," Rajveer said to Huda and turned on the monitor.

Huda reeled in shock with what he saw on that monitor.

Two uniformed army officers were interrogating the person he met a few days back. The officer from Indian Intelligence.

"What is this? What game are you playing now? I know you are a spy, and I will not let you harm my country." Huda was angry as well as nervous.

Now watching everything unfold in front of him, the wheels in his brain have started turning, and for the first time in his life, he doubted himself.

'What if that person was lying? What if Captain Rajveer is not a spy? What if they had taken advantage of me to accomplish their mission of killing an honest army officer.' Huda's thoughts made him anxious because if Captain Rajveer was not a spy, he had committed a crime by attempting to kill an army officer.

Rajveer saw Huda deep in thought and knew he was starting to understand everything.

"Well, I think you have started to realize what you have done, Cadet. But still, you listen what this man has to say so there will be no room left for any doubt." Saying that, Rajveer turned on the sound of the monitor.

"Why did you call Cadet Amardeep Huda? What relation do you have with him?" Huda heard one of the uniformed officers ask the man.

"I have already told you I was hired by someone to fool that cadet. I was ordered to tell Huda I am an officer from Indian Intelligence with a mission to foil Captain Rajveer's plan because he is a spy with a mission to destroy our country.

"And what a fool that cadet is. He immediately believed everything I told him and even obeyed my orders when I told him to cut Captain Rajveer's jeep's brake wires.

"He is so stupid. Not for once did he think why Indian Intelligence would want his help when they have trained army officers to handle such situations if it ever arose. Instead, he was eager to get rid of Captain Rajveer.

"Even after Captain Rajveer returned to KMA, that cadet called me and asked me for some poison. He told me he would mix that in Captain's food and kill him. I would have given him that poison today if you had not caught me," Raghu finished speaking, and Huda was stunned, hearing all that.

Rajveer knew this was enough to make Huda realize his mistake, so he turned off the monitor.

"So, what do you have to say now, Cadet?" Rajveer asked him.

Huda was ashamed to even look at Captain. Keeping his head down, he started speaking.

"I know the crime I have committed is so big that I do not even deserve forgiveness. But still, I want to apologize, Sir. I was a fool to believe that person. And in my stupidity, I even tried to kill you. I am sorry, Sir," Huda apologized.

"It is ok, Cadet. This type of thing has even happened to army officers who are more senior than you. These people lie so convincingly that anyone can get fooled.

"It is good I was able to clear your misunderstanding before you could do any real harm.

"So, I forgive you this time but try to be more careful next time and do not believe anyone blindly without proof. Ok?" Rajveer kept a hand over Huda's shoulders and smiled at him.

Huda felt relieved after hearing what Rajveer said.

He knew Captain Rajveer could have easily reported this to Brigadier Chandok and could have expelled him from KMA, but he did not do that. Instead, he chose to forgive him.

"I am grateful to you, Sir. Thank you for not reporting this. If my mother had known about this, she would have been distraught," Huda thanked Rajveer sincerely.

"Just be careful next time, Cadet. You can leave now. You must be getting late for your class," Rajveer told him, and Huda saluted Rajveer before turning and walking out of the room.

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Naina reeled in worry as she looked at the mess she has created in Rajveer's kitchen.

She had called her mother earlier, asking for an easy recipe to cook something for Rajveer, and her mother had sent the two recipes. One was of vegetable stir fry, and the other was of cauliflower rice.

After reading the recipes, she thought that they seemed easy enough to follow.

She first decided to cook in the academy kitchen and bring the food to Rajveer Sir's room to surprise him, but Suri Sir denied saying that it was his kitchen, and no Cadet was allowed to cook there.

So, having no choice, she came to Rajveer's quarter to ask permission to cook food in his kitchen.

She was surprised to find his quarter unlocked without him inside. She was happy seeing the empty quarter because she then decided to cook for him and surprise him when he returned to his quarter.

But now, looking around the kitchen, she dreaded for his return.

All the vegetables were scattered around the kitchen bar, and there were unevenly cut pieces everywhere. All the spices were spilled on the floor and around the gas stove. Even the pan had caught fire while she was frying the vegetables, and now the whole kitchen looked and smelled horrible.

'Oh, he is going to be so angry. What do I do now?' Naina thought in despair.

"I will just get out of here. If I won't be here, he won't know who did all this. Yes, this is a perfect idea," Naina muttered and was about to go out of Rajveer's quarter when she heard the door being opened.

Not able to think anything, Naina quickly ran toward the window and hid behind the curtain.

Rajveer entered his quarter and immediately smelt the burnt vegetable smell.

Surprised by it, he immediately walked to his kitchen and was shocked to see the mess there.

All the spices were on the floor and around the gas stove. So many vegetables were cut unevenly and were scattered all over the kitchen. Even the pan was burnt, and that was where the burnt smell was coming from.

'But who could do this? Who could come to my kitchen and mess it up so badly,' he thought, looking around, when suddenly his eyes caught some movement behind the curtain.