Rajveer

I walk out of solitary confinement, still reeling under the realization that I am in love with my protégé, Cadet Naina Singh Ahluwalia.

I do not know what to do with this new feeling.

I have never fallen in love before. I had been in one relationship a few years ago, with Anamika.

When she confessed her love to me, I did not refuse because I liked the idea of being loved by someone then.

But soon, within six months, to be precise, Anamika and I realized that we were not meant for each other. She wanted love from me, but I could never give her that. Because no matter how much I tried, I could not fall in love with her.

We then parted ways, and after that nightmarish experience, I decided to focus on my duty and dedicated all my time to my country.

It did not mean I stopped wishing for love, though. I hoped to fall in love someday, make a new life with her, and have someone to call my own.

But I never thought I would fall in love with someone I am forbidden to have.

I know if I acted on my feelings for Naina, not only will I get court-martialled, but Naina will also be thrown out of the academy.

Thinking about it strengthened my decision of staying away from Naina.

I will not let my feelings destroy her life and career. I will stay away from her.

With that thought in my mind, I turn on the corridor to go to my quarter when I see Naina in front of my door, waiting for me.

I slowly walk toward her, memorizing her face, the concerned expression marring it and I wonder if it is for me.

Seeing me, she smiles--a shy smile which I have noticed she only gives me, no one else.

I feel a lump rise in my throat as I continue walking toward her.

How to stay away from her? Why is it always him who must sacrifice?

But I need to do this for her.

"Cadet Naina Singh, what are you doing here? It is almost time for the lights out. You must return to your room," I say as I reach where she is standing, and notice her smile falter a bit.

"I came here because I was worried about you. Are you fine, Sir?" She asks.

My heart flutters, hearing her question.

'She cares.' That thought almost brings a smile to my face. But I know I cannot fall weak now.

So, with the stern look on my face, I answer her, "I am fine, Cadet. Now that you have gotten your answer, please go back to your room and let me go to mine."

I am sorry for being rude to you, Naina.

I look at her for a few seconds while silently apologizing to her, and without waiting for her reply, I enter my quarter, closing the door behind me.

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Naina

I stand in front of the closed door, confused about why Rajveer Sir behaved that way with me.

He has never been rude to me. No matter how stubbornly I acted or how unreasonably I behaved, he was always kind to me.

I also noticed he did not smile while talking.

But he always smiled, what happened now?

Confused by his behavior, I stand there for a few seconds before turning and walking to the room, all the while thinking about him.

Since I returned from the mentorship camp, I have been thinking about him.

He has always been there for me to guide and help me.

He cooked Maggi for me when I had been roaming in the mess, searching for food.

He supported me in the trial and convinced Brigadier to allow me to train at KMA.

He just smiled and patiently cleaned the mess I made in his kitchen when I tried making food for him.

He taught me to do the formal dance for that Valentine's day ball.

He even took a bullet for me, risking his own life to save mine.

He always smiles and laughs with me, encouraging me, inspiring me, and guiding me in the right direction.

So, when I heard the rumors about me and Rajveer Sir, I could not deny it entirely.

Of course, the stay in the jungle was not planned. Major Bhargav had tricked us to it. But the other rumor stating that we love each other, now that is something else.

The more I thought about it, the more I felt that it was true.

I am sure that Rajveer Sir does not love me, he is just helping me because I am his protégé and his late best friend's sister.

But I have now realized that I have started loving him.

I do not know how and when, but I have fallen in love with Captain Rajveer Singh Shekhawat.

Just thinking about his name brings goosebumps to my body.

Shaking my head, I smile and enter my room.

But slowly, my smile falters when I realize the position we are in.

He is my teacher, my mentor.

If I pursue him with my feelings, it will be wrong according to the academy rules. He will be court-martialled, and she will be thrown out of KMA.

No, I cannot let that happen. No matter what, I will never let Rajveer Sir know that I love him.

Lying down on the bed, I smile again.

It does not matter that I cannot tell him about my feelings. As long as I am in KMA, I will spend as much time with him as possible and make new memories with him.

Those memories will be enough for me for a lifetime.

With that thought in my mind, I close my eyes to sleep, hoping to meet him in my dreams.

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Third Person's POV

Naina wakes up the next morning and glances at the clock in her bedside table. Seeing it to be already 0400 hours, she quickly climbs down from the bed and starts getting ready for the morning drill.

After getting ready, she runs out of her room, reaching the ground in time.

But as soon as she reaches the ground for the exercise, she hears people gossiping about her and Rajveer Sir, and also talking about her being a traitor's sister.

She does not care anymore what others think about her. She has gotten used to it.

After all, she and her parents were humiliated each day after Naveen was arrested and later declared a traitor.

But it stung, seeing her friends, Huda, Ali, and Pooja also believing the rumors.

Yudi and Aalekh supported her, but they were suspended from the academy for a week because they beat up some cadets who were talking nonsense about her and Rajveer Sir.

Both have gone to Yudi's house after being suspended. They did not want to leave her alone, but they did not have any other choice too.

That is why, she had been alone and lonely when Rajveer Sir was in solitary confinement.

'But now he is out, and with him by my side, I can survive this as well,' she thought, ignoring the taunts her fellow cadets threw at her.

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After finishing the morning drill, all the cadets walk inside the academy to first have their breakfast and then attend their class.

Since it is Friday, they only have a morning drill and Captain Rajveer's class.

Entering the classroom early, Naina waits Rajveer.

Although he was present in the morning drill, she felt like he was ignoring her. He did not look at her like he always did, encouraging her to do better. She longed for him to look toward her just for a moment, but he did not, and that disappointed her.

So, she has come ten minutes earlier in the class, hoping he too will come early so they can talk before others come in.

She almost jumps in joy when she sees him entering the class after a minute.

Rajveer sees Naina standing in front as he enters the classroom.

Sighing, he walks towards his table, ignoring her.

"Sir, I wanted to talk with you. I have been waiting to talk with you since we returned from the mentorship camp but didn't get the chance," she says.

He could hear a longing in her voice, which confused him.

'Why is she behaving like this? Is she also?' He begins thinking, but immediately shakes his head, stopping the thought right there.

"Yes, Cadet Singh? What do you want to talk about? Let me guess. It must be about Naveen, right? Well, you see, as much as I want to indulge you, I still have a class to teach. So please let me do my work for now."

He sees a sheen of tear appearing in her eyes because of his rudeness, and seeing that, he wants to reassure her but he fists his hands to stop himself. Instead, he turns away from her with a heavy heart and starts writing the topic he will be teaching that day on the board.

Naina felt hurt when he talked like that. It would not have mattered to her if someone else had talked to her like that. Well, if it were someone else, she would have given a fitting reply too. But him talking like that made her heart squeeze painfully.

The realization of her love for him has softened her toward him. That is why, she cannot not bring herself to shout at him or be rude to him.

So, wiping the lone tear that escaped her eyes, she turned and went to sit in the front seat.

When Rajveer turns back, he sees Naina seated in the front seat with her head bowed down.

Other cadets also start coming in and sitting on the vacant seats, waiting for him to start the lecture.

So, distracting himself from Naina's thoughts, he starts the lesson.

Naina keeps her head down for the duration of entire lecture, all the while thinking about Rajveer's changed behavior.

She wonders why he is being rude to her since coming out of solitary confinement.

'Maybe he also heard the rumors and is disgusted by their link-up. Perhaps he does not want to be linked up with the alleged traitor's sister,' her mind reasons, which takes her back to the painful memories she lived before joining KMA.

She remembered the time when her relatives and friends distanced themselves from her family when Naveen was declared a traitor. She and her parents were all alone then. Her father even had to beg some men to help them get Naveen's body to the cremation ground so that they could perform the last rites.

Thinking about that time brings tears to her eyes.

Why does it feel that history is repeating itself? She was alone then, and she is alone now.

'I thought Rajveer Sir would support me, but he is also behaving like others.' That thought causes a raw pain to wash through her chest.

Taking a deep breath, she looks up to see Rajveer's face. Seeing him, she remembers all the time he supported and guided her.

With those times flashing in her mind, she cannot bring herself to believe he is behaving rudely with her to avoid the link-up with her.

'Maybe he is stressed about something else,' she thinks and decides to try one more time.

Rajveer is about to end the class when he sees Naina raise her hand.

"Yes, Cadet Singh? Did you have any questions regarding the lesson?" Rajveer asks, hoping she will not do or say anything to give heat to the rumors regarding them.

He did know about the rumors when he came out of solitary confinement yesterday, but Shalini told him about it later when she came in his room for the routine checkup required after the confinement.

Shalini also told him that Huda, Pooja, and Ali believed those rumors. And he also knew Aalekh and Yudi supported Naina, but were suspended because they beat up some boys who were talking nonsense about Naina.

Afrer listening to everything Shalini said, he decided that he made the correct decision of distancing himself from Naina.

'If I can keep this up, the rumors will die soon, and Naina will not have to bear this humiliation,' he thinks, but jolts out of his thoughts when he hears Naina speak.

"Sir, I have few questions, so I was wondering if we could meet after the class," she says, and he immediately starts hearing the murmurs in the background due to her statement.

'Why is this girl so stupid and stubborn?' He wonders.

"No, Cadet Singh. I am busy after class, so please ask all your questions now. I do not entertain my students after class," he answers her with a stern voice.

Rajveer hoped Naina would drop it, but when has she done anything that he expected her to do?

"But, Sir, I am not only your student. I am your protégée too and--" she begins saying, but he cuts her off.

"Yes, Cadet Singh, you are my protégée, but that doesn't mean that I have to entertain you all the time. If you think that being your mentor means I need to solve all your problems and hold your hand to get you through all the difficulties in this academy, you are wrong about the mentor-protégée relationship.

"And if you want that kind of mentor, I will ask Brigadier Chandok to assign you a new mentor. Now please get out of my class and let me teach my students," he says and sees her again about to say something.

So, before she can say anything else to make matters worse, he shouts at her. "OUT, CADET SINGH. GET OUT OF MY CLASS."