Chapter 1
Saturday 7 am -
She turned over onto her the bed to find that he was fast asleep. She ran her fingers through his tousled hair and smiled. Her life was turning out to be much better than she had imagined. Her parents were not at all happy with her job selection. She belonged to the elite class and being his only daughter, her father wanted her to join their family business. But she knew that her happiness lay somewhere else and she decided to go in search of it.
When her parents found out that she wanted to be a Police Officer, they had ridiculed her. She remembered the conversation quite clearly -
'Ek police Officer ke job se tumhe kya milega? Na paise, na chain ki neend aur hamesha sar par mandrata hua khatra' said her father.
'Dad mujhe Police Officer ke job se khushi milegi. Aur main sirf khush rehna chahti hu aur kuch nahi' she had told him.
Soon her parents relocated and the ties were severed probably for lifetime. That was a huge setback for her and she thought she would never be happy again. But thanks to the handsome man lying next to her, she was.
In fact she would say the happiest moment in her life was when she had fallen for him and he had reciprocated similar feelings for her. He was not at all a man of her dreams. In fact he was the exact opposite. But they always said "opposites attract" and he had proved it right. After 7 months of courtship, they knew they were perfect for each other. She wanted him to move in with her for she had a huge house all to herself. But he had refused flatly. He thought it was too risky and he didn't want to give away their secret.
She hated it when he was away. But he would surprise her often over weekends and stay in for a day or two. She was lost in their happy memories when she felt his arms tighten around her waist and his mouth start to place delicate kisses up and down her neck. She smiled.
'Aaj jaldi uth gaye tum?' she asked.
'Haan jaldi toh uthna hi padega. Tumse pyar karne ke mauke bohot kam milte hai aaj kal! Sone me itna time nahi waste kar sakta main' he said smiling.
'Par ab to main tumhare saamne hi rahungi jyadatar waqt ke liye' she said winking.
'Hmmm. Jab jee chahe tumhe pyar kar sakta hoon' he said pulling her on his chest.
'Par kisi ne dekh liya toh?' she asked.
'Main nahi darta kisise' he said.
'Accha? Toh itne din se bataya kyu nahi office me tumhari girlfriend ke baare me?' she asked.
'Shaadi ke baad bataunga. Kisi ne bhaga liya toh?' he said.
'Shut up!' she said.
'Waise tumhe bata du mujhe bohot log chahte hai office me. Wo kya kehte hai, I am one of the most eligible bachlors' he said with a naughty smile.
'Haan haan pata hai! Jab aaungi tab dekh lungi har ek ko' she said angrily.
He was watching her squirm. How easy it was for him to make her jealous! He loved teasing her.
He let out a snort of laughter unable to control himself and she punched him on the arm. 'I hate you!' she said.
'And I love you! I can't express that in words but don't ever doubt that' he said cupping her face.
His words offered her warmth and comfort. He was her life. She leaned in and their lips met. The kiss was slow full of love and warmth. They pulled back after some time, slightly breathless. They were lost in each other's eyes and the ringing of her cellphone brought them back to their senses.
'Mat uthao phone! Har baar galat time pe bajta hai. Jo koi bhi hai baad me call karega' he said.
'Nahi. Sir ka phone hua toh? Aur ab ye romance bohot ho gaya, mujhe bohot saare kaam karne hai' she said.
He let her go quite reluctantly. She leaned over and grabbed her phone from the bed side table.
She came back to the room after five minutes. 'Kaun tha?' he questioned.
'Bohot important call tha' she said.
'Sab log important ho gaye mujhse jyada' he said making a face.
'Gussa ho gaye?' She asked leaning towards him.
'Thoda sa' he said.
'I am so sorry! Par call uthana zaroori tha' she said pouting.
'Thik hai par iski saza milegi' he answered.
'Manjoor hai' she agreed.
'Saza jane bina ha bol diya tumne?' he asked.
'Haan. Kyu? Kya baat hai?' she asked looking confused.
'Kyuki iss ki saja tumhe bureau me chukani padegi' he said with a wicked grin.
'Kya?! No way!' she exclaimed.
'Ab kuch nahi ho sakta! Tumne already haan kar di hai' he said and went out of the room, laughing heartily.
'Tumhe toh main dekh lungi' she said angrily.
O-o-o-o
On Monday morning, Shreya plugged in her earphones, turning up the volume. Putting on her jogging shoes, she set off closing the door behind her. She had got up earlier than usual as it was her special day. She was super excited as it was her first day in CID, Mumbai
O-o-o-o
The CID Bureau stood in the heart of the city. The deafening roar of persistent traffic, interlaced with the haphazard buzzing of horns, the erratic chatter of crowds was a common scene outside the CID bureau.
Contrary to that, the atmosphere inside the bureau that day was very casual, lively and relaxed. The reason? Their boss ACP Pradyuman was away for some meeting, they didn't have any case on their hands and they had found a new subject for gossiping.
'Lekin usne saare conditions accept kaise kar liye?' asked Daya.
'Haan sir bohot hi ajeeb hai' agreed Freddy.
'Ajeeb kyu? Maine bhi toh bohot young age me join kiya tha CID' said Tarika.
'Tarika tumhari baat alag hai. Tumne ek senior inspector ka dil jeet liya hai. ACP sir kuch nahi bol sakte' said Daya, looking pointedly at Abhijeet.
'Tum sab log meri taraf kyun dekh rahe ho?' snapped Abhijeet shooting an angry glance at Daya while the others sniggered.
'Lekin wo to abhi bohot young hai! Use ye condition kaise manjoor ho sakti hai?' asked Daya.
'Daya tujhe toh abhi se hi itni fikar kyu ho rahi hai uski! Abhi tak toh dekha bhi nahi ladki ko aur ho gaye chalu' said Tarika.
'Aur Daya agar tumhe uski itni hi fikr ho rahi hai toh tum hi dil jeet lo uska. Tum bhi toh ek senior officer ho. ACP sir tumhe bhi kuch nahi kahenge' said Abhijeet and everyone laughed.
'Nahi boss ye mere bas ki baat nahi hai' said Daya.
'Naam kya hai uska?' asked Sachin.
'Wah! Sachin kya baat hai! Ye dekho sir CID ka naya sher!' said Freddy slapping him on the back.
'Shreya naam hai uska' said Tarika smiling.
'Are nahi nahi aise baat nahi hai! Main toh bas aise hi puch raha tha' said Sachin awkwardly.
'Sachin kar lo jo bhi mann me hai par jara sambhalke. ACP sir ko khabar ho gayi na toh lag jayegi tumhari' said Abhijeet.
'Sir ye kaunsa rule hai? Pehli baar suna hai ye ajeeb rule! Shaadi karni hai ya phir relationship me rehna hai toh CID ki job chodni padegi! Aakhir kya problem hai ACP sir ko? asked Jaywanti.
'Kaam pe asar hota hai. Kewal yahi jawab dete aaye hai ACP sir hume' said Daya.
'Ye kya baat hui? Aur Freddy sir ki bhi toh shaadi hui hai na. Toh phir ye nainsafi sirf hamare saath hi kyu?' asked Jaywanti.
'Tum mujhe beech me la rahi ho? Toh kya tum ye kehna chahti hu ki main apni biwi ke saath na rahu?' demanded Freddy.
'Are yaar Freddy shant ho jao! Jaywanti ko join hue sirf ek mahina hua hai. Use kaise pata hoga?' said Abhijeet.
'Pehle ye rule nahi tha. Freddy ki toh join hone se pehle hi shaadi ho gayi thi. ACP sir ne ye faisla shayad Nakul ki wajah se liya hoga' said Abhijeet.
'Haan... Nakul ACP sir ka beta tha. Lekin wo gair kaam karne me laga hua tha. Ek mujrim tha woh. Aur jab ACP sir ko ye pata chala toh - toh unhone goli maar di use' said Daya.
'Kya?' asked Jaywanti shocked.
'Haan. Bohot takleef hoti thi unko. Ab bhi yaad karte hai wo use. Bas dikhate nahi hai. Par unhe CID ki duty sabse pyari hai. Apne khud ke jaan se bhi pyari. Nakul galat tha. Isliye unhone use saja de di unka khud ka beta hote hue bhi. Unhe laga ki har koi ye nahi jar sakega. Emotionl hokar agar kisine mujrim ka saath diya to ye desh ke liye thik nahi hoga' said Abhijeet.
'Uske baad ek din ACP sir ne hum sab ko bulaya aur bataya ki agar kisiko bhi shaadi karni hai toh wo yaha job nahi kar sakte. Ab us waqt Freddy ke alava kisi ki shaadi nahi hui thi. Kisi ki shaadi hone ke chances bhi nahi the toh phir ye rule aasani se ban gaya' said Daya.
'Freddy sir aap toh bohot lucky hai' said Purvi.
'Kyu Purvi irada kya hai? Tum bhi shaadi karne ki soch rahi ho kya?' asked Sachin.
'Nahi toh. Aisi koi baat nahi hai' said Purvi quickly.
'Lekin sir har insaan mujrim nahi hota na! ACP sir ne jo kiya uske liye himmat chahiye ye toh sach hai. Par iska matlab ye nahi ki har insan galat kaam karne wala hoga. Hume ACP sir ka najariya badalna hoga. "CID me kaam karna hai toh shaadi hi mat karo" ye iss problem ka solution nahi ho sakta' said Jaywanti.
'Tum hi shuruwat kar lo. Successful ho gaya toh hum sab ke liye accha hi hoga! Aur mujhe yakeen hai ki bohot hi jald Abhijeet aur Sachin tumhe saath jaroor denge' said Daya laughing.