Page 26 of Mrs. Pandey
"I'm fine," I rasped, dragging myself to my office. I closed the door, stumbled to my desk, and collapsed into the chair. My forehead hit the wood with a dull thunk. The silence was deafening. I popped a pill, swallowed it with shaking hands, and leaned back, trying not to cry from sheer exhaustion.
I needed rest. But I wasn't going to get it. Not while Prashant Pandey sat on his high horse, playing God.
I somehow made it through the day. My limbs screamed for rest, my skin slick with sweat. My brain was a fog, but I filed reports, attended briefings, and kept my spine straight.
As the sun dipped low, I turned off the lights in my office, ready to collapse for real.
That's when I heard the door opened.
I turned to see him. Captain Prashant Pandey. His face unreadable, his gaze fixed.
"You poor little thing," he said, mockingly. "Still pretending you're stronger than you are?"
I didn't have the strength to fight him. But I'd be damned if I let him see me break.
I stood up slowly, legs shaking. "I don't need your pity, Captain," I said hoarsely. "And I'm not pretending. I'm doing what you should've done. Following protocol."
He took a slow step forward, the sneer still playing on his lips. "Protocol doesn't win wars. Toughness does."
"No, Prashant," I shot back, my voice shaking with fury. "What wins wars is leadership. Compassion. Trust. And you're failing at all three."
His jaw clenched. "Watch your tone, Lieutenant."
"You watch yours," I hissed. "You're using your power like a weapon. You're not building soldiers. You're breaking them."
His face twitched. "You think I enjoy this?" he barked, a sudden crack in his tone. "You think I want to be this way? I'm doing what I wish someone had done for me."
The room fell still. His voice dropped.
"I was prepared when I served in Kupwara," he muttered. "And I still came back with four body bags."
The air left my lungs.
"Prashant..."
"Don't," he snapped. "I need soldiers who don't collapse from a fever."
My hands trembled. I was done.
"You think I'm weak? That this pain makes me less of a soldier?" I stepped toward him, my voice hard despite my trembling frame. "I showed up. I fought through this day while you sat there, judging me."
His face shifted, an emotion I couldn't name flickered in his eyes.
"I'm not afraid of you," I whispered. "But if you think turning your team into punching bags makes you strong maybe you're the one unfit to lead."
The room swam. My knees buckled. And the last thing I saw before the world went black was him, his face twisted with something between shock and regret as I collapsed into his arms.
Darkness took me.
______
Chapter 13
IRA
I peeled open my eyes to see Prashant sitting in a chair near my bed, squeezing a cotton cloth in a bowl of water. He was about to place it on my forehead but froze when he saw me staring at him.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, trying to sit up, but he gently pushed me back.
