An Affair to remember: OS

An Affair to Remember

The hall was decked to the nines, looking like a splendid palace. The bride and groom had arrived at the mandap, and the rituals had started without delay. It was well known that the groom was a beast if things did not go his way, and today, of all days, they had to go smoothly. Inside and outside, the press people shoved each other out of the way as they reported on the event.

"And the breaking news today is the marriage of Superstar RK and the former Mrs. Madhubala Dixit! The lady, who obtained her divorce from ex-husband Mukund Dixit, a salesman, over a year ago, looks radiant in her bridal wear, and the groom took everyone's breath away as usual!" One reporter announced grandly.

"As our audience knows, Ms. Madhubala Malick has become, in a short time, one of the most sought after makeup artists in the industry. RK's pursuit of her after her divorce has been well documented and we congratulate her on bagging the most eligible man in the industry!" Another gushed to the camera.

"Of course, like most things RK does, controversy surrounds this event, with rumors that the two were involved before the divorce! Allegations of an affair have been swirling around the pair since the start, but we keep hearing no comment. Maybe they'll loosen up after the wedding!" A third reporter joked.

Inside the hall, Madhubala Shamsheer Malick was not thinking about anything but her soon to be husband sitting beside her.

This wedding was very different from her first. Mukund had loved her, but she had felt nothing for him but friendship. On the day of her wedding, he had been radiant with joy, and while she had thought she would be happy, numbness had pervaded her being. A state that had lasted until she had met RK. Her mother's assertion that having a man who loved her marry her would be enough had been wrong.

She felt tingles of desire wrack through her body as RK's fingers brushed her neck, tying the mangalsutra. His smirk as he felt her shiver made her smile as well. No, having one love in a marriage was not enough. Not for Madhubala. Though the road to get here had been paved with thorns, though she had compromised the values she had held so dear, she wasn't sorry. Not when Madhu had Rishab waiting for her at the end of the day.

As they stood to do the phere Madhu remembered the sequence of events that had led her to the mandap again.

Madhu had grown quickly disillusioned after her marriage. Mukund was a weak man, and it seems most of his fight against him mother had been spent on getting her to agree to let him marry Madhu. Whenever Aayi picked on anything Madhu did, he was usually silent, or at most, defended her half-heartedly. He apologized afterwards, behind closed doors though, a fact which made Madhu feel worse. It was clear that Aayi ruled the roost, and though Madhu was not faint of heart, having no support against her mother in law drained her emotionally. So after six months of marriage, when Trishna got an item number in RK's film, and begged her to come along and be her makeup artist for two weeks, Madhu agreed. The ruckus it created in the house was enormous, but in the end, Madhu dug deep into herself and found strength to fight back Aayi, and got Mukund to agree to let her go.

The first phera finished, and Madhu felt flowers and rice falling over her and Rishab. She caught her mother's eye as they turned to do the second phera. The love in them could not hide the hint of disappointment. Just as the love in Trishna's eyes could not hide the anger. Yes, though Trishna had broken into the industry, she had not really succeeded. Madhu's success had made her sister angry. And RK's attentions had not helped. And Padmini hated the scandal and how it had focused the limelight on their family. Madhu remembered again.

The first time Madhu had met RK, she had just finished a call from Aayi. The woman had berated her again for failing as a wife and bahu, and flatly telling her to come home. Her refusal had led to fight with Mukund on speakerphone, and concluded with Madhu shouting that he had told her she could go, and could be less spineless against him mother for once?! Cutting the call, she had collided into RK, who had been talking to Bittuji about the shoot. As RK had steadied her in his arms, Bittuji had started berating her for not looking where she was going. Madhu had replied that it was his Chief who blind, and it was possible because he was constantly exposed to those hideous, eye-searing shirts! RK had laughed as Bittuji had sputtered, and introduced himself. Madhu, still angry at the call, had brushed aside his flirting, telling him "Everyone knows who you are. Acting so arrogant with me is useless." When she had walked away, she had felt his eyes following her.

The third phera started as her flashbacks continued.

Despite his reputation, RK's pursuit of her had been surprisingly low-key. So much so that she had not realized his intentions until he had backed her up against a trailer and trailed a finger down her collarbone. Her values had rebelled against her attraction and she had given him a scathing tongue lashing. That night though, another fight with Mukund had drained her emotional strength. She had sought to talk to her sister or Roma, but both had been so absorbed in their success that they had given her only cursory attention. Angry and forlorn, she had gone out into the pouring rain, screaming and crying her frustration at the world and her marriage. As she had fallen to her knees, she felt an arm surrounding her shoulders, and looked up to see RK. The passion in his eyes had captured her, but it was the sadness, the feeling that he understood being trapped and angry and being able to do nothing about it, that had caused her to close the distance between them and kiss him.

The night that followed had been a revelation. She had never known that her body was capable of such sensations. Madhu and RK had been perfectly in tune with one another, knowing where to kiss and touch to elicit the deepest reaction. Moan and groans had echoed across his hotel room as they had made love again and again. For the first time, seeing how she had affected RK, Madhu had felt powerful.

At the fourth phera her eyes found Deepali's. RK had been candid about his past with his bhabhi, and Madhu could not help but let a smirk cross her face as she saw Deepali's face contorted in anger. Yes, RK had broken his rules about not interfering in relationships for Madhu, his junoon, while he had used that same belief as a shield against Deepali. Madhu looked forward to grinding that woman's face, along with her father and brother in laws; in the mud for all the pain they had caused Rishab.

The regret had been swift to come in the morning, and Madhu had berated herself for giving into her momentary insanity. But she had not run. She had been honest with RK about the state of her marriage and her family, and told him that she could not, would not be with him. Madhu had thanked RK for showing her passion and desire for the first time, then asked him to forget about whatever they had shared. It should have been easy, a one night stand had been the norm for him. Madhu had not known then that her refusal had made her all the more attractive, and that RK's obsession had started shifting to love when he had seen her strength and despair the night before. And so, when Madhu left the room to sneak back to her own, RK had started plotting on how to make her his.

At the fifth phera she took her place before RK, jumping a little as he caressed her waist discreetly as she moved forward. Throwing him a glare, which he replied with a wink, she started walking again.

Coming back from the shoot, requests had started coming in for Madhu's services as a makeup artist. Her expertise with Trishna had not gone unnoticed. RK had set the ball in motion to keep her in the film industry as well. Soon, she had so many commissions she had had to quit her job at the parlor to do solo assignments. As Madhu's name spread, she had more work, and she was soon bringing in more money that Mukund, which irked him greatly. He was also upset that she refused to be intimate with him, citing headaches and tiredness so frequently that he snidely asked if she needed to go to the hospital. Madhu tried to reach out to him, but Mukund had been enraptured by her beauty- he did not know who she really was. And as he was finding out, Madhu was very different than he first thought.

What Mukund did not know was that RK was still pursuing his wife, and that Madhu refused to be with him because she felt she was betraying her family if she did so. But Madhu was still human, and RK was perceptive enough to switch tactics when he had to. So the superstar and the makeup artist began to get to know each other. What began as a game for Rishab Kundra evolved into something else entirely. Madhu seemed to understand him like no one else, and she was so similar to him that RK wondered how everyone seemed to misjudge her so much. Scared of his feelings, he began to withdraw. Angry at him for doing so, and angry at herself for feeling the way she did, Madhu began to fight back against Aayi as an outlet. She refused to be a doormat anymore. The fights escalated in the Dixit house, with Mukund caught in between.

The sixth phera began.

As Madhu's success grew, so did the rumors surrounding her. Gossip began to abound, started by those who had been at the infamous shoot, that RK had been pursing Madhu. By this time, she had become wise in the ways of the industry and refused to add fuel to the flames, denying requests for interviews and saying "No comment" to any reporter that asked her that question. Her marriage would Mukund suffered a fatal blow when she saw him having ice cream with a woman from his office. The scene could have been innocent. But it was not. Madhu knew Mukund when he was infatuated. And he was infatuated. The fight that followed shook the house. Mukund accused Madhu of indifference, which had driven him into another's arms. Madhu accused him of cowardice and selfishness. She cursed him for being a spineless fool. That night she moved back into the chawl, ignoring Malick's questions and her mother's pleas. The media went wild with speculation about what had happened, and if RK had played a part. Living at home became unbearable, with constant questions from her mother and fights with Trishna and Roma. So, using her savings, she moved out into a small house, filing for divorce on the same day. The night she moved in there was a knock on her door. She opened it to see a drenched RK, whose red-rimmed eyes showed his struggle with his feelings. They had stared at each other for a few moments before Madhu had stepped aside to let him in. No words had been spoken. He had simply looked at her in silence, and she had returned the favor. Finally, he had taken her face in his hands, and kissed her. Their hunger for each other had been so ferocious they had been unable to make it to her bed upstairs. They had made love on the floor, then on every room in the house throughout the night, ending up in the bed in the morning.

"I couldn't fight it anymore." RK confessed as they had cuddled in her bedroom, exhausted.

"I'm glad you're here." Madhu had replied simply, finally falling asleep in his arms, at peace for the first time. RK followed her soon after.

The last phera.

RK's courting of Madhubala had resulted in a media circus that made Madhu's previous experiences feel like nothing. She had been hounded day and night about when their relationship had started. When Madhu felt like she could not stand the barrage for another day, she would remind herself of what it felt like to talk with someone who understood her on every level, what it felt like to be in his arms, to make love to him as often as she could. That would give her the courage to go on. RK was impressed with her poise and grace, and would often tease her that Madhu should have gone into the film industry as an actress, not a makeup artist.

Madhu had met the rest of his family quite by accident. RK had been shot by an underworld don as he had not given into extortion threats. To the shock of both families, he had named Madhubala as his medical proxy, and had given her the power to make decisions for his health. When Bittuji had told her of this, Madhu had realized that RK's feelings had been as strong as hers, and her heart had soared. He had recovered, and during his time in the hospital, Madhu had grown to know his family. She immediately pegged Sikandar and Kuku Bhatia as leeches, and felt pity for Radhaji, who was clearly too weak to understand the son she had borne. Deepali had struck her as strange, possessive of RK in the oddest way. Madhu had relished putting her in her place. Since Aayi, she had very little patience for those who sought to bring her down. Bittuji had been a surprising ally. He had informed her that his Chief had never been happier, and whatever made his chief happy, he would support. Madhu had been touched. When RK regained conscious, the first thing he had done when he had seen her was ask her to marry him. Elated, she had agreed.

As the ceremony concluded and the guests broke into applause, Madhubala Rishab Kundra looked at her new husband and smiled. Their story was just beginning, and she knew, as did he, that it would be a super hit.