A/N: Meet the cast: Mr. Random stranger🤣🔝
...

" Mukthi beta.."

Oh for God's sake! Not again.

Mukthi found herself in the middle of several viciously sweet aunties yet again that evening. Her mother had successfully blackmailed her to attend a party by their family friends. Every second was taking a toll on her already thin thread of patience. She had dressed up head to toe in black, almost gothic style to get a little revenge on her mother. It payed of rather well when she saw her mother gaping at her appearance before she turned absolutely furious . But apparently that wasn't enough to keep some of the gold digger aunties at bay.

" Oh dear look at you such a sweet little thing." On of them said giving a patronizing pat on her head.

'Really ? How would you like to get a big fat lashing from the sweet little me. Auntiji.' she thought giving her a tight smile.

Of course, that didn't stop the aunty's well practiced verbal assault . "At your age I was the mother of two. It's high time you get married dear." she said with another sweet smile that could give you diabetes any day.

"Infact I have a nephew who..."

Mukthi didn't hear much after that. She was busy trying to calm herself down biting back the retorts ready to jump out of her tongue...
'Patience Mukthi... Patience' she pep talked herself. Her prayers were answered when her phone rang, an unknown number flashed on her screen. She excused herself and almost ran away to find herself a hidden spot behind the garden. The call ended before she could pick it up. She didn't care because all she wanted was to escape from the sanskari vultures that had her cornered.
Peace at last!

" Hiding from someone?"

May be it was too soon to hope for it. She thought while giving out an exasperated sigh.

She turned around reluctantly to see a tall handsome guy in a suit smirking at her.
She rolled her eyes. "No. I came her for some peace and quiet. I really don't like to be disturbed" she said her voice cutting like a knife. It would have made any guy run for their life but apparently he was not one of them.

"That's a shame because I have no intention of leaving you alone Ms. Mukthi Khurana" he said with a daring glint in his eyes.

"What the... Are you threatening me Mr. Jerk?" she said turning around completely and glaring daggers at his smug face.

"Of course not. If I'm threatening you believe me, you'll know." he said meeting her glare without a flinch.

"I'm just saying you are a coward who keeps running away from your problems. The more you run away the more bigger it gets. Man up and face it" he said looking at her intensely.

"Oh hello! I don't take advice from random stangers, much less from an Arrogant jerk like yourself." She said through clenched teeth. "What the hell are you doing here anyway? "

He gave another lopesided smirk. "What am I doing here? I'm doing exactly what you are not, facing my problem." He gave her a once over and smiled as if sharing an inside joke with himself. "Well, this is going to be interesting"

Mukthi on the other hand was getting more and more furious with every passing second "Oh! Thanks for clearing that up. Now I understand exactly what you you mean." she bit back sarcastically. "But I still have this teeny tiny doubt. Who. The. Hell. Are. You?"

"Not someone you would want to know but you will anyway" He said with another smirk "We'll meet again Ms. Mukthi and when we do you'll know exactly who I am" he said and walked off without another glance.

Mukthi was starting at his retreating back dumbfounded. Wtf?!
....
After the long torture of the so called party Muthi buried herself with work to distract herself. She was at a nursing home as a part of her NGO works. She had visited this particular one only once or twice. She was surprised when she heard a commotion outside the usually peaceful VIP rooms.
"Excuse me. You don't understand. I just want to talk to her."
Her eyes widened when she saw a struggling Nandini being dragged out by a pair of huge body guards.

"What the hell are doing? How dare you treat a woman like this? Leave her right now"
Mukthi all but spat at the two huge men before her. Her eyes screaming bloody murder was enough to intimidate the pair of them and they let go of without another word.

"Nandini, what are you doing here?" She asked once the men had walked away mumbling their complaints.

Nandini looked at her and then at the retreating back of the body guards. She gave a heavy sigh and said

"I need your help"
....
"I knew it. I knew that evil witch had something to do with your break up. God! How l wish I could bitch slap her all the way to hell" Mukthi said cracking her knuckles.

Nandini couldn't hold back her smile. She was never too close to Mukthi but now she realized what she had been missing.
"Ummm... Mukthi there is something else you should know"

"No. I think I have known enough. Now all we need to do is tell Manik everything. What are you waiting for Nandini? Come on" Mukthi said starting to pull her along.

"She is here" Nandini said all of a sudden making Mukthi stop in her tracks. She turned around with a puzzled look. Nandini took a deep breath and began explaining what she saw a few days back.
...

A few minutes later, two elegantly dressed ladies entered the office of the nursing home. They looked rich and sophisticated enough to have the people there move out of their way.

"Excuse me. Can I speak to the Manager" Mukthi said to the attender with her nose in the air. Nandini kept her mouth shut as she was well aware if her acting skills. Mukthi obviously was the well experienced one here.

"Yes. Of course Madam. I'll inform him immediately. Please make yourself comfortable" he hurried out of the room as fast as he could. Well! That was gratifying. They soon realized their charm didn't work that well with everyone. Then again Mukthi wasn't the one to give up either.

"There is no Nyonika Malhotra here miss." The manager of the nursing home replied in a curt tone.

"Oh! That's a shame because I thought I saw her here. Must be the trick of light. Guess I'll give the donation to another nursing home then" Mukthi said with perfectly sad sigh. Nandini sat nearby dumbfounded at Mukthis acting skills.

"Donation?" the manager's ears perked up catching on to the bait.

"Yeah we were planning to give a donation of fifty lakhs to the institution that is kind enough to look after her. She is dear friend of ours, you see.Too bad she is not here." Mukthi said, acting in a way that can put any bollywood actress to shame.

The guy looked as if he was having a hard time making a decision. Mukthi decided to help him and began fanning herself with a bundle of 2000₹ notes still miraculously maintaining an innocent face.

" We don't usually do this but I can see how dearly you want to know about your friend. We are ready to make an exception only for you Madam. She is not ready to take visitors but I can give you information about her condition "

"What condition?"

" Cancer. She has stage IV leukemia. "

Both if them stared him, unable to process the knew information. Nandini was the first to recover. "Umm...Please excuse us." she said pulling a still shocked Mukthi out of the room.

"Oh God! Planning her murder is going to make me guilty now. What are we going to do ?" Mukthi said throwing her hands up in exasperation.

Nandini was having mixed feelings. Her basic instinct to sympathize with Nyonica was now waging a war with her hatred.

" We have to talk to her one way or another" Nandini said sharing a look with Mukthi.
....

An hour later Nandini found her self standing beside Mukthi. Both of them were dressed as nurses and their faces were hidden behind masks. Well they day was turning out to be rather dramatic!

"Are you sure this will work?" Nandini whispered to Mukthi while pushing a small trolley with medicines.

"Chill Nandini. You are worried because it's your first time. I've been with Cabir all these years and I've enough experience to last a lifetime. Believe me, I know what I am doing." She said confidently.

The guards standing at the door looked at them suspiciously. But Mukthi was quick to act." Oh my god! Why are not wearing your masks ? "

They looked at each other confused.
" Didn't you her about the flu that is spreading around. Ten of our patients are beig shifted to the city hospital. Put this on." she pushed a pair of masks into their hands. She pushed a hesitant Nandini forward and slipped through the door while the guards were busy putting up their masks.

They entered a room with plain white walls. An old tape recorder was running playing an old song that neither of them could recognize.

"I told you I'm not going to take the medicines anymore. Leave. Now" A cold familiar voice cut through the silence. She was sitting in the wheelchair facing away from them, not bothering to spare them a look.

"Good thing we are not here to give you medicines then" Nandini said.

Nyonicas eyes narrowed when she turned around and saw them. Nandini pulled down her mask revealing her face.

The determined hazel eyes clashed with the cold grey ones. Neither one of them was ready to back down. It was now or never...

...

A/N: I'm so sorry for the huge delay guys. I cannot promise any regular updates either. Again sorry. Life is a bit busy right now. I'll try finishing this story as fast as I can. Thank you so much for bearing with me. Love ya! Keep voting and keep commenting. It does give my lazy self a much needed push.😂