Chapter-1

A shiny blue BMW pulled up infront of the bustling nightclub building. Navya got out of the car. Her appearance instantly invites attention from many pair of eyes, especially guys. She wore a maroon knee length dress with a Sabrina shoulder model showed off her smooth white skin and long legs.

Suraj, the white guy who drives the BMW also looks at Navya with adoring eyes. He kissed Navya's hand gently, intentionally did it infront of the crowd, as if to show that Navya couldn't be bothered.

"Ready for the party?" Suraj winked at Navya.

Navya chuckled at his behaviour. "Let's have fun tonight." She said to Suraj.

She walked inside the night club hand in hand. Sonia, their mutual friend is having a birthday party tonight. A room of the night club is specially rented for the party.

A DJ plays frenetic music. A number of male and female guests seemed to be dancing and hugging each other. Navya looked around. Almost everyone there was unknown to her.

"Hi Navya, hi Suraj." Sonia said when she saw the two of them. " You guys are such a perfect match, you know." Sonia said adoring the two of them. The birthday girl was wearing a tight gold dress with a length above knees, looking very hot.

Navya embraced Sonia and ignored her recent words. "Happy Birthday Sonia." She said and handed her a gift.

"Thanks Navya." Sonia said with a cheerful voice. "Enjoy the party! Today we will party until we're satisfied...." Sonia screamed, followed by laughter and cheers of approval from her friends around her.

People began to sway and prance fun on the sound of the music pounding. Suraj invited Navya to take a drink served by the bartender. They sat side by side on the sofa in the corner of the room.

Navya looked at the glass in her hands, trying to hide her awkwardness. She never drank any liquor. But everyone looks happy, swaying to the beat of the music, drinking alcohol and joking with their respective partners made Navya more awkward.

"Ah....who cares! I just want to be free, forget all the hurt. Here is no dad who can stop me." Navya said to herself.

"Sonia said.... you're only 22 years old, but you're already in masters degree. You're great Navya." Suddenly Suraj said to Navya. His eyes stared her intensely.

"When I was 18, I graduated from high school from Jabalpur. Then I moved to Delhi to do my bachelor's as well as masters." Navya said to Suraj in a simple way.

"Why you choose masters in Delhi?" Suraj asked Navya confusingly.

"On purpose, so that I can leave Jabalpur. There are many bad memories of mine in Jabalpur." Navya said with a bitter tone. This is the first time she was telling the reason of her leaving Jabalpur.

Suraj just kept looking at Navya curiously. "That's too bad. Is this because of a boy?" Suraj asked her after sometime.

Navya nodded weakly. She took a sip of her drink which tasted bitter but somehow relaxed her mind.

"Which idiot would hurt you?" Suraj continued. "If you want to open your heart to me, I will never waste that opportunity. You are like a pearl Navya. Unique, exotic and one of a kind...." Suraj said to Navya in a soft voice. Navya smiled at his compliment. Suraj never misses an opportunity to compliment her openly.

"But for Ronit, my ex, I wasn't good enough. The clear proof is, he cheated on me with my best friend." Navya said in a flat tone. Navya felt more and more comfortable while talking as she took another sip of her drink.

"Stupid man Ronit." Suraj cursed him.

Navya feels supported to continue pouring out her heartache. She couldn't remember how much she told him about her past. All she knew was that Suraj always defending her and cursing Ronit. She even asked for more drinks. Each time she drank the liquor, she felt her mind become freer and lighter.

After chatting for sometime, Suraj invited Navya to the middle of the room to dance. Suraj hugged Navya's waist. Navya wrapped her arms around Suraj's shoulder. They both swayed to the beat of the music.

Late at night the guests are getting busier and busier. They all danced and cheered as the music grow louder. Suraj hugged Navya so tightly. Her face looked charming under the dim lights in the room.

Suddenly Navya felt her stomach start to heat up, her body went limp and her eyes just wanted to close because of the weight. "Is it because of alcohol? Ah.... I shouldn't drink so much." Navya said to herself.

Navya was just about to ask Suraj for help to lead her back to her seat then suddenly the door burst opened. A group of men dressed in black stormed into the party room.

"Everyone freeze at their current place. We are from police." One of the officers shouted loud.

The atmosphere suddenly changed. Many of the guest tried to run out of the room but were immediately intercepted and arrested by the officers. The music stopped. All that could be heard were the screaming of the guests, the clatter of running feet and the shouts of the officers. In the chaotic situation, Navya felt her body getting weaker and stomach churning.

Suraj's hand which was holding Navya's hand was cold. "It's okay Navya, don't worry...." Suraj whispered but couldn't hide the quiver in his voice.

Navya tried to hold onto Suraj's hand but she couldn't take it anymore. Her stomach felt like it was being shaken, the pain was unbearable. Not to mention the heavy head. Just as an officer approached them, she vomitted her guts onto the floor. She only remembers Suraj screaming frantically called out her name, then everything twirled and vanished.

Navya heard noises around her, she slowly opened her eyes. "Where am I? This place smells like medicine." She said in her mind.

Her eyes looked around. She was lying on the bed. On the left and right there is also a row of beds again, several people are lying there. She tried to sit up but couldn't. A middle aged woman dressed in white like a nurse approached her. There was no smile or friendliness on that woman's face.

"Are you feeling better? I've already injected the gastric medicine." The nurse said to Navya.

Navya remembered that her stomach was very sore and she had vomitted in the party. "It must be my stomach ulcer that recurred from too much alcohol." Navya said to herself. "My stomach doesn't hurt anymore mam." Navya responded to the nurse.

"Okay then, I will report it to the officers so that they can take you." The nurse continued.

"Take me?? Where and why??" Navya asked confusingly.

"To the Delhi police station. You fainted when you are arrested in the party." The nurse said to Navya.

"Huh? Arrested? What did I do wrong?" Navya asked with wide eyes. She almost cried.

The nurse left the place without saying anything and one of the officers approached towards Navya.

"Come on mam, let's go." The officer said in a cold voice.

Navya was trembling in fear. She didn't dare to ask anything. Everything was like a nightmare for her tonight. She was taken away by the officers to the prison cell inside the police station.

Inside the cell, there were several girls dressed in party wear as well, probably from the same party as her. But there was no familiar face for Navya. Suraj and Sonia were nowhere to be seen.

Navya was still wearing her party dress, it smells like vomit. She was sick of smelling her own body odour. She thought that's why no one approached her.

A number of officers went back and forth, but no one paid attention towards her. She decided to not to take her phone in the party so that she can enjoy freely but now she badly needs her phone.

Her limp body leaned against the wall of the cell. "What can I do?? I don't know what time it is but it must have been late at night. What actually happened? Why the party suddenly raided and I am also arrested? Where are my friends?" Navya asked all these questions to herself until she finally fall asleep in the same sitting position as she was very tired.

********

"Embarassing....what a shame!!" Navya's dad's scream echoed through the room. Navya sat with a trembling body in the corner of the room. Her dad never lashed out like this before. Her dad's face was bright red, the veins on his neck clearly visible.

All the events from the night of her arrest to the present day flashed through Navya's memory. "Truly the worst experience of her life." Navya thought in her mind.

Navya remembered, she woke up in the prison cell the next morning. Her whole body aches for not being able to sleep comfortably. An officer called her, asking who she wanted to call. Navya was worried. She thought to call her dad but she knew about his anger.

Finally she asked the officer to call her friend Suraj or Sonia. Then she found out that Sonia was detained elsewhere with Rahul (her boyfriend) for carrying illegal drugs during the party and Suraj was released on bail by his rich family.

When Navya was in doubt to whom she call, suddenly another officer reported that someone was looking for her. She was taken to another room to meet the person who was looking for her. It turned out that the person was Mohit, her father's young friend as well as a assistant lecturer at the university where Navya studied.

"Navya...Are you alright?" Mohit immediately approached her when they met. Mohit's face looks worried.

Navya couldn't spoke anything because she was embarassed. But Mohit was kind to her. He brought an extra cloth for Navya to change. He asked Navya to clean up and change in bathroom before going home.

When Navya returned from bathroom, Mohit was negotiating with the officers to release her on bail. As Navya was not proven to be carrying any illegal drugs except alcohol the officers released her on bail.

Mohit took her home by his car. After arriving home both Mohit and Navya were shocked to see Navya's dad in home. He immediately flew from Jabalpur as soon as he heard the news that Navya is arrested. Mohit went inside the home with Navya to accompany her.

"I agreed to all your wishes. I agreed on your decision to study here so that you won't be upset. But here you're more ridiculous. You are going to night club,got drunk, making friendship with drug addicts. What do you want to be here??" Navya's dad shouted at Navya.

Navya's tears began to fall. At times like this she remembered her mom, who had passed away, her mother who always supported her and loved her.

"If thing will go like this, you better come back to Jabalpur. You can't study in Delhi anymore." His scream startled Navya.

"Dad... I don't want to go back to Jabalpur, I want to study here." Navya cried infront of his dad.

Mohit's hand wrapped around Navya's shoulder. Without even realising it, Navya immediately hugged Mohit who was sitting beside him and sobbed in his chest. Mohit stroked Navya's hand and shoulder to calm her down.

"Be patience Mr. Malhotra. Let's talk about it calmly for Navya's sake." Mohit spoke in a soft voice to Navya's dad.

"How else are you going to be patient? Have you seen what this kid looks like? If she stay here all the time, she will do whatever she want as she is free. It's only been one month in Delhi and she is already drunk, the police arrested her." Her dad screamed loudly in anger.

"There must be someone with her to guide her so that these things won't happen again. If she will live here I can't see what she is doing." Her dad continued.

"Let me guide her Mr. Malhotra." Mohit said to Navya's dad.

"You will guide her? And how will you do that? You will live in this house? Girl lives with bachelor boys unless there is an official relationship." His voice began to soft.

Navya was still sobbing, unaware of the fact that Mohit and her dad's conversation started to change the direction, making it a big decision that would change her life forever.

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