14-03-2026, 11:24 PM
(CHAPTER CONTD)
The next morning carried a strange heaviness for Sonarika. She stood in front of the mirror tying the ends of her dupatta, but her hands moved slower than usual. Her mind kept circling the same thought. What if Papa was right? Behind her, Ragini leaned against the doorway watching quietly. Ragini could see the worry clearly written across Sonarika’s face.
"Hey" she said gently.
"Breathe"
Sonarika looked at her reflection.
"What if everything I believed about him was a lie?"
Ragini walked closer and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"No matter what the truth is, you’ll deal with it. You’ve survived far worse this year"
She said calmly. She gave her a small smile.
"You just need to be strong enough to hear it"
The drive to Reshma’s house felt longer than usual. Every meter felt heavier than the last. When they finally arrived, the atmosphere inside the house was warm and lively. Reshma greeted them at the door with her usual cheerful energy.
"Sonarika!" she said happily, hugging her.
Two children ran across the living room. Arjun and Poonam. Sonarika had brought Karan along so the kids could play together. Karan quickly joined them, the three disappearing toward the back room with the loud energy only children possessed. Sonarika then introduced Ragini.
"Reshma, this is Ragini"
The two women greeted each other warmly.After a few minutes, a man stepped into the room. His appearance was simple—plain shirt, composed posture—but there was something unmistakably firm about him.
Suresh.
He greeted Jagjeet respectfully.
"Namaste, Uncle"
Jagjeet Sharma nodded and gestured toward the living room. Everyone sat down. Jagjeet, Sonarika, and Ragini on one side. Suresh and Reshma opposite them. The air grew serious.Jagjeet spoke first.
"Tell me something good" he said quietly.
"Tell me I’m wrong"
Suresh didn’t respond immediately. Instead, his expression hardened slightly.
"Before I say anything" he said calmly.
"Everyone here needs to understand something"
He looked around the room carefully.
"What I’m about to reveal cannot be disclosed outside this room"
He paused.
"Not to anyone"
Sonarika’s heart started pounding. Ragini shifted slightly in her seat. Suresh finally spoke.
"Your husband didn’t lie about everything"
Sonarika held her breath.
"But yes" he continued.
"What he told you about his posting in Drass was a lie"
The room fell silent. Suresh leaned forward.
"Hemant was never stationed in Drass"
Sonarika’s heartbeat quickened.
"He wasn’t a regular soldier either"
Jagjeet frowned.
"Then what was he?"
Suresh’s next sentence stunned everyone.
"Hemant was a Garud Commando"
![[Image: Special-Forces-The-Garud-Commandos-Patch.webp]](https://i.ibb.co/twHLNpMB/Special-Forces-The-Garud-Commandos-Patch.webp)
The words hung in the air like thunder. Sonarika blinked in disbelief. Suresh continued.
"He belonged to one of the primary batches of the Garud commandos. The unit itself had been formed to bring India’s combat capabilities closer to elite modern forces like the United States Marine Corps"
"Hemant was handpicked during recruitment" Suresh explained.
"His academic scores were exceptional. But what really caught attention was his combat capability"
He flipped open a thin file he had brought.
"In college final years, he had already built a reputation as a gunsmith"
Ragini looked confused.
"A what?"
"Someone who is an expert in Gun building by hand. Who knows its features and work structure and can develop one in the field"
Sonarika said.
"Precisely" Suresh said with a surprised look at Sonarika who explained it in her way quiet well.
"A weapons specialist" Suresh clarified.
"Someone capable of customizing and modifying handheld firearms with remarkable precision. His training reports were extraordinary. Hemant excelled in close combat, guerrilla warfare, survival tactics, and battlefield strategy. Which was why he wasn’t placed in a regular infantry unit. He was recruited directly into the Garud training pipeline"
Suresh continued calmly.
"In just a span of a year, Hemant was involved in more than ten operations involving covert missions across several regions"
He listed them slowly.
"Oman. Nepal. Pakistan. Turkmenistan. Kazakhstan. Russia.There had also been intercontinental operations. Hemant’s unit participated in a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo"
The room was completely silent now.
"He had an exceptional combat record" Suresh added.
"Numerous neutralized terrorists and pirate operatives"
He looked directly at Sonarika.
"If I had to compare him to a fictional character…"
He gave a faint smile.
"He’s basically India’s John Rambo"
Jagjeet leaned forward.
"If all this is true, why lie to his own family?" he said,
Suresh nodded.
"That part is actually simple. Operators like Hemant had to maintain strict cover identities. The people he eliminated were not ordinary criminals"
Suresh said quietly.
"Many belonged to organized terror networks. If his identity became public, retaliation could easily target his family. So his records were deliberately falsified"
Suresh explained.
"Some official databases still list him as posted in Drass as a protective cover. In reality, Hemant had been stationed at Nal Air Force Station. The base supported Garud operations related to airfield protection and special missions"
"That explains the lie" Jagjeet nodded slowly.
But another question remained.
"What about his retirement?"
Suresh looked serious again.
"That was the nest lie. Hemant didn’t seek retirement because he saw a fellow soldier die"
Sonarika’s eyes widened.
"He was forced to retire because he broke military orders"
He explained the incident carefully.
"During one operation, a squadmate had been captured by Lashkar terror outfit across the border. Command had ordered the squad to stand down. Hemant ignored the order. He crossed the India–Pakistan border alone.He infiltrated the terrorist launchpad, eliminated the entire cell, and rescued his squadmate. The feat was extraordinary. But it was also a violation of military protocol. Morally he did a right thing"
Suresh said.
"But disobeying a direct command is still a punishable offense"
His record showed something remarkable though.
"Hemant was the tactical leader of his squad. And unlike many special units operating in high-risk zones—His squad had zero martyrs. Every soldier under his command had returned alive from missions"
"So he lied… but to protect us" Jagjeet leaned back slowly.
"Yes" Suresh replied.
"And frankly, his file is fascinating"
He closed the folder.
"What I’ve found so far is only the surface. There’s more history in there"
Ragini suddenly exhaled loudly.
"Oh my God" she said.
"I already admired the guy"
She laughed nervously.
"Now I’m a fan"
The tension in the room finally softened a little. Jagjeet looked relieved too. But Sonarika didn’t smile. Her mind was racing. If Hemant had truly been such a fearless warrior…A man capable of crossing borders alone…A leader who protected every soldier under him…
Then another question began forming in her mind.
Why did he change? Why did a man like that choose to live quietly as an ordinary employee at Quadron? Why did he tolerate humiliation from someone like Sandeep Vardhaan in the office? Why would someone with that level of power and skill bury his past so completely? For the first time, Sonarika realized something unsettling.
That she was not the only partner with secrets in their relationship. One thing was certain , she was now intrigued. And she intends to find out the truth about her husband!
END OF CHAPTER 32
"Hey" she said gently.
"Breathe"
Sonarika looked at her reflection.
"What if everything I believed about him was a lie?"
Ragini walked closer and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"No matter what the truth is, you’ll deal with it. You’ve survived far worse this year"
She said calmly. She gave her a small smile.
"You just need to be strong enough to hear it"
The drive to Reshma’s house felt longer than usual. Every meter felt heavier than the last. When they finally arrived, the atmosphere inside the house was warm and lively. Reshma greeted them at the door with her usual cheerful energy.
"Sonarika!" she said happily, hugging her.
Two children ran across the living room. Arjun and Poonam. Sonarika had brought Karan along so the kids could play together. Karan quickly joined them, the three disappearing toward the back room with the loud energy only children possessed. Sonarika then introduced Ragini.
"Reshma, this is Ragini"
The two women greeted each other warmly.After a few minutes, a man stepped into the room. His appearance was simple—plain shirt, composed posture—but there was something unmistakably firm about him.
Suresh.
He greeted Jagjeet respectfully.
"Namaste, Uncle"
Jagjeet Sharma nodded and gestured toward the living room. Everyone sat down. Jagjeet, Sonarika, and Ragini on one side. Suresh and Reshma opposite them. The air grew serious.Jagjeet spoke first.
"Tell me something good" he said quietly.
"Tell me I’m wrong"
Suresh didn’t respond immediately. Instead, his expression hardened slightly.
"Before I say anything" he said calmly.
"Everyone here needs to understand something"
He looked around the room carefully.
"What I’m about to reveal cannot be disclosed outside this room"
He paused.
"Not to anyone"
Sonarika’s heart started pounding. Ragini shifted slightly in her seat. Suresh finally spoke.
"Your husband didn’t lie about everything"
Sonarika held her breath.
"But yes" he continued.
"What he told you about his posting in Drass was a lie"
The room fell silent. Suresh leaned forward.
"Hemant was never stationed in Drass"
Sonarika’s heartbeat quickened.
"He wasn’t a regular soldier either"
Jagjeet frowned.
"Then what was he?"
Suresh’s next sentence stunned everyone.
"Hemant was a Garud Commando"
The words hung in the air like thunder. Sonarika blinked in disbelief. Suresh continued.
"He belonged to one of the primary batches of the Garud commandos. The unit itself had been formed to bring India’s combat capabilities closer to elite modern forces like the United States Marine Corps"
"Hemant was handpicked during recruitment" Suresh explained.
"His academic scores were exceptional. But what really caught attention was his combat capability"
He flipped open a thin file he had brought.
"In college final years, he had already built a reputation as a gunsmith"
Ragini looked confused.
"A what?"
"Someone who is an expert in Gun building by hand. Who knows its features and work structure and can develop one in the field"
Sonarika said.
"Precisely" Suresh said with a surprised look at Sonarika who explained it in her way quiet well.
"A weapons specialist" Suresh clarified.
"Someone capable of customizing and modifying handheld firearms with remarkable precision. His training reports were extraordinary. Hemant excelled in close combat, guerrilla warfare, survival tactics, and battlefield strategy. Which was why he wasn’t placed in a regular infantry unit. He was recruited directly into the Garud training pipeline"
Suresh continued calmly.
"In just a span of a year, Hemant was involved in more than ten operations involving covert missions across several regions"
He listed them slowly.
"Oman. Nepal. Pakistan. Turkmenistan. Kazakhstan. Russia.There had also been intercontinental operations. Hemant’s unit participated in a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of the Congo"
The room was completely silent now.
"He had an exceptional combat record" Suresh added.
"Numerous neutralized terrorists and pirate operatives"
He looked directly at Sonarika.
"If I had to compare him to a fictional character…"
He gave a faint smile.
"He’s basically India’s John Rambo"
Jagjeet leaned forward.
"If all this is true, why lie to his own family?" he said,
Suresh nodded.
"That part is actually simple. Operators like Hemant had to maintain strict cover identities. The people he eliminated were not ordinary criminals"
Suresh said quietly.
"Many belonged to organized terror networks. If his identity became public, retaliation could easily target his family. So his records were deliberately falsified"
Suresh explained.
"Some official databases still list him as posted in Drass as a protective cover. In reality, Hemant had been stationed at Nal Air Force Station. The base supported Garud operations related to airfield protection and special missions"
"That explains the lie" Jagjeet nodded slowly.
But another question remained.
"What about his retirement?"
Suresh looked serious again.
"That was the nest lie. Hemant didn’t seek retirement because he saw a fellow soldier die"
Sonarika’s eyes widened.
"He was forced to retire because he broke military orders"
He explained the incident carefully.
"During one operation, a squadmate had been captured by Lashkar terror outfit across the border. Command had ordered the squad to stand down. Hemant ignored the order. He crossed the India–Pakistan border alone.He infiltrated the terrorist launchpad, eliminated the entire cell, and rescued his squadmate. The feat was extraordinary. But it was also a violation of military protocol. Morally he did a right thing"
Suresh said.
"But disobeying a direct command is still a punishable offense"
His record showed something remarkable though.
"Hemant was the tactical leader of his squad. And unlike many special units operating in high-risk zones—His squad had zero martyrs. Every soldier under his command had returned alive from missions"
"So he lied… but to protect us" Jagjeet leaned back slowly.
"Yes" Suresh replied.
"And frankly, his file is fascinating"
He closed the folder.
"What I’ve found so far is only the surface. There’s more history in there"
Ragini suddenly exhaled loudly.
"Oh my God" she said.
"I already admired the guy"
She laughed nervously.
"Now I’m a fan"
The tension in the room finally softened a little. Jagjeet looked relieved too. But Sonarika didn’t smile. Her mind was racing. If Hemant had truly been such a fearless warrior…A man capable of crossing borders alone…A leader who protected every soldier under him…
Then another question began forming in her mind.
Why did he change? Why did a man like that choose to live quietly as an ordinary employee at Quadron? Why did he tolerate humiliation from someone like Sandeep Vardhaan in the office? Why would someone with that level of power and skill bury his past so completely? For the first time, Sonarika realized something unsettling.
That she was not the only partner with secrets in their relationship. One thing was certain , she was now intrigued. And she intends to find out the truth about her husband!
END OF CHAPTER 32
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