4 Part 3

Jyotsna stood waiting on the road for Arjun Ranawat to pick her up for the preliminary checkup for artificial insemination. The thought of carrying the child of an unknown man, made shivers run across her spine. Irrespective of her brother's ulterior motives, he was right. The money they were earning at the call center was not sufficient to run their family and she knew that there were other ways to earn money against whom she would prefer death.

She had still not thought about what she would tell her loving aunt, Sushma Khanna. Jyotsna knew that if she ever comes to know that her son had coerced her niece into surrogacy, she would disown her son and would force her to cancel the contract, irrespective of the consequences. What lie could she make up for playing the role of a temporary mother?



Just as she was lost in her thoughts, a white SUV stopped in front of her. It took her no longer than a minute to realize that it was her client's car. She cringed at her thoughts as she addressed Arjun Ranawat as her client, but she knew that was the reality. Harsh, yet true.

Without uttering a word, she opened the passenger seat door, only to be stopped from sitting by Arjun's words.

"Ms. Khanna, nowhere in your conditions did you mention that it would require me to be your driver throughout the contract period," he said, his words dripping sarcasm as she saw him look at her tauntingly.

"I was afraid if you would remind me that I was just going to be the surrogate mother of your child, not someone who holds the privilege to sit beside you. I was merely trying to avoid that, Mr.Ranawat," she said with equal sarcasm, as she locked him into an intense glare through the mirror.

The intensity of her words hit Arjun hard. He had never expected such a sarcastic retort from her, but he made sure that he controlled himself on time.

"Take the front seat," he said, his tone lacking any emotion as he pulled his ASR-mask effortlessly into place. Jyotsna closed the door quietly and opened the left front door to take her seat as per his instructions.

"Sea.."

Jyotsna had already locked her seatbelt in when she was about to be instructed the same. The car sprung to life suddenly and had begun running at top speed, making Jyotsna speculate if Ranawat could ever not lose temper at the slightest chance of being furious. He was no less than a stubborn child himself, she mused.

She sighed deeply, ignoring her companion's surprised look, and smiled internally at her joke.

____________________________________

"Are you sure about this, Ms.Khanna? You are a virgin and it would be more painful than usual for you," the gynecologist asked with concern for the young girl in front of her.

"Yes, Doctor. I fully know what I am doing," Jyotsna said without any hesitation in her voice but the cold demeanor of hers was shaking Arjun Ranawat's mind. He was the one who was known to be cold always, then why did someone's nonchalance affect him so much, he wondered.

"As you wish, Ms. Khanna. Your ovulation date is on 30th October so please visit on that day to get the artificial insemination done. Although I hope that it would work for the first time, there is always a chance that it won't so please be ready for the worst and the best," she said with a sigh.

"Thank you, Doctor," said Arjun, rising and shaking hands with Dr. while Jyotsna just curtly nodded at her with a formal smile on her face.

"Take care, Ms. Khanna," said Dr. just as Jyotsna was about to leave the room, much to her surprise. With confusion etched over her features, Jyotsna nodded as she moved out through the door Arjun was holding for her.

"You never told me that you were a virgin, Ms. Khanna," he questioned, his eyes eying her with a gaze which was aimed to look at her soul directly.

"I never thought that it would make a difference, Mr. Ranawat. As I said, this would be my first and last surrogacy contract and I had no idea about this. Don't worry, your child would be safe," she assured with an indifferent look that never left her features in his presence.

"You wouldn't want to speak to me in that tone, Ms. Khanna. It would prove to be harmful to you," he warned. Her pococurante tone irritated him boundlessly. He was the one with a callous attitude, the one who used to ignore people. It proved to be incredibly nerve-wracking to be on the other side of the same treatment.

"I wouldn't want to speak to you at all, Mr. Ranawat. Believe me, it is an obligation of the situation for me too," she said in the same tone as he used against her, irking him to the edge of his patience.

"If it weren't for my Nani's orders of treating you well, you would have seen the consequences of meddling with Arjun Ranawat. Trust me, Jyotsna Khanna, you won't like them," he threatened, leaning dangerously close towards her, but much to his surprise, Jyotsna had held her ground and had not budged even an inch, neither did the defiant eyes flicker even for a second.

"Trust me, Arjun Ranawat, I am not liking it even now. There is nothing you can do to make this worse," she said, turning on her heel and staging a walkout.

Arjun Ranawat seemed to lose his breath. A girl had managed to walk away from him and all he could do was stare at her retreating back, owing to his surroundings. But he knew that it was just an excuse he gave himself. With the fire she carried in her, Arjun knew that deep inside she had frightened him for a moment. After all, what Jyotsna Khanna did was no less than a stunt and feat of dreams to many.

Maybe, Arjun Ranawat had finally found his match in Jyotsna Khanna!

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