The Rose & Her Thorn

Part 3

Vikram clenched his jaw, unable to voice out his complaints and frustrations as he wanted to win her trust. He walked away, fuming at the exchange between Shikha and Rohan as they shared jokes with one another, laughing like there was no tomorrow, with no signs of worry.

She painted a contrasting picture to the one which was etched on the canvas since the fateful night; a worried and innocent damsel in distress.

Their other friends soon interrupted their conversation. They were supposed to the attend the placement drive being conducted in the college auditorium by the IT giant owned by none other than Vikram Singhal. A shiver run across her spine as she processed that piece of information, but soon shrugged it away as she responded to another of Rohan's jokes.

⨳ ⨳ ⨳

Rohan and Shikha sat beside each other as they did since their childhood. They had been in the same orphanage before they had done odd jobs and moved out of the orphanage to become neighbors. Their struggles only brought them closer as an unspoken understanding grew between them over the years.

"So, how did it go to the village?" asked Shikha, glancing at her friend through the corner of her eyes.

"They still want nothing to do with me," said Rohan with a disappointed sigh. "Both the families disowned my parents when they eloped, and they had no intention of warming up to me."

"Except Sharmila Mausi, who got in touch with you."

Rohan nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, except her."

Shikha entwined her fingers with his and offered his palm a gentle squeeze. "You'll never be alone. Not if I can help it."

The edges of Rohan's lips twitched, and he flashed a grateful smile to his friend. Vikram, who sat over the dais, had seen Rohan and Shikha's exchange, and his palms balled into fists. His sharp intake of breath alerted his manager, and he struggled to maintain his facade and maintain the tasteful impression he had created in the eyes of the woman.

Vikram rose to his feet and walked to the podium to address the crowd about his IT Giant, and being the soft talker, which was a prerequisite for a man leading two contrasting lives, he had everyone's attention. His voice and his stature carried an aura of pride and air of mystery around him had spellbound the audience, and compelled even the worst of listeners to listen to his words.

"I, now, handover the mic to Shekhar, who would announce the interns we shortlisted for our company. We considered your past academic performance, your performance in the other interviews, and your overall record. Thank you!" said Vikram, earning a thunderous round of applause.

"Thank you, Sir. The lucky students selected for the internship are Rohan Malhotra, Shikha Agarwal, Ankita Singh, Pamela Menon, and Simran Chopra. An enormous round of applause for our interns, please."

Shikha was on cloud nine to bag an internship and she was happier she could work with her best friend, like she had always wanted. Shekhar was left surprised when he saw the names which Vikram had chosen, but he knew better than questioning his short-tempered boss. He was also aware Vikram had a plan in store for Shikha's best friend.

"I request the interns to meet me after the event to get further details on the internship. Thank you."

⨳ ⨳ ⨳

"Guess who landed an internship!" squealed Shikha, with happiness ringing in her voice, which made both Rajeev and Sunaina come out of their respective rooms.

Rajeev went to her, stopped her from jumping further by holding her shoulders. "What?! Which company?" he asked with a wide grin stretching from ear to ear.

"Rajeeviji, I got my internship at VSTech!"

Her words had erased the ecstatic smile from Rajeev's face. "What? Vikram chose you for his company?" asked Rajeev, his arms falling onto his sides as he wondered if his worst fears would turn into reality.

He had never expected mercy from Vikram Singhal, but he had been more than merciful that night. And offering her an internship added fuel to the flame of suspicion Vikram had roused.

"Rajeevji, aren't you thrilled I landed the internship in one of the most reputed companies of the state?"

The concern and disbelief in the eyes of her sister and Rajeev had replaced her excitement with frustration. "No, Shikha! I heard their interviews are quite hard, and they rarely take freshers. Vikram being kind to anyone is not a good sign," said Rajeev in a worried tone, and he looked at Sunaina for her views on the situation.

After she had heard the eventful night's incident from Rajeev, Sunaina was ambivalent about Vikram's behavior, but after hearing the news of Shikha's internship, her fears had found a new footing.

"Yeah, Shikha. Rajeevji is right. Don't you feel there is something wrong? No one expected their company to select from your college. You met him less than a month ago, and now his company not just selects students from your college, but you are one of them. Don't you think something is off?"

"You speak as though I am not eligible for this. I see nothing wrong with this!" said Shikha, irritated by how the news was taken. She had expected jubilation and joy, and instead she found her family questioning her capability to land the job.

"I hope we are wrong, Shikha. But there is nothing wrong with being careful, isn't it? Just be careful!" said Rajeev, letting out a small mental prayer to protect his to-be sister-in-law.

Shikha did not know where her steps would lead her to, but guided by her dreams, she wanted to run wild and free, unaware of the thorns which waited for the beautiful roses like her.

⨳ ⨳ ⨳

Shikha stared at her ragged brown teddy bear. Her sister had told her, as a child, that the bear was one of the first toys bought by her parents for her. She had lost most of her toys being hauled from one home to the other as every relative turned their backs to the young girls and slammed their doors against them.

A few were stolen by the older kids at the orphanage. The teddy was the only one which had survived the tumultuous journey of life thus far. And for years, the same bear, named Choco by a five-year-old Shikha, was her closest confidante.

"Don't they trust my abilities, Choco?" asked Shikha in her mind, staring at the doll patched with various colors. "Why is it so difficult for them to accept that I bagged the internship on my own merit?"

She sniffled and bit down on her lower lip. "I met those means girls, that Garima and Mallika, yesterday. More than a decade since I was detained for not paying the fees, and they still mock me. I can't even tell Jiji how much it affected my morale because she would just blame herself."

Shikha left out a defeated sigh. "But when things seem to fall in place finally, Jiji and Jijaji won't let me celebrate. They always told me to give up because it was beyond me. Why could they never place their hope in me?"

The film of tears covering her eyes glistened under the dim light of the table lamp. "How ironic that the man who finally placed belief in me is termed as a monster by everyone. Maybe everyone jumps to conclusions about him like they do about me."

Little did Shikha know that her identification with his supposed reception of misunderstanding from those around him would only aid him in his pursuit of her and push her towards the trap awaiting her.