She dragged her swollen feet up the wooden stairs at a painfully slow pace. Like she'd been dejected by the world, like there wasn't a poor salaried bodyguard on her waiting downstairs, like the heavens weren't pouring rain on the both of them, she pushed her weight up by the railing.
Suddenly, she felt a pull on her wrist. Then, the cold of his dry lips pressing against hers. He tousled her hair and with one whip it came undone. His fingers tugged on her cheeks, chin. He poured kisses on her neck tracing the lace of her blouse. Then, tore open her button down continued ruthlessly, the cool of his vigour still fresh on her nerves. She felt him kiss her brasserie and that did it. She couldn't stop crying. No, it was more like shrieking, screaming with sounds so animalistic she'd never thought them possible. Her reddened eyes were nothing short of a disaster coming. She repeated hit the shadowed man shouting "go away".
Rishabh rushed up the stairs and pulled the stranger into a headlock.
"Get your hands off him!" she ordered. "Don't you dare touch him", Madhu stressed and Rishabh immediately let go.
"Your safety is..."
"He's my husband", was all she said before the doors shut in Rishabh's face and the shadowed man walked inside with Madhubala.
That was the last he saw of the self-proclaimed gold digger until she reappeared at sunrise wearing nothing but a smile and a men's white button up. How clich! They did "it" last night and now she was out to show off. Or, it could be that Rishabh was just feeling lonely. Either way, he did not like this feeling. That seedy looking man wrapping his arms around her like he owned her. Gosh, what were they doing now? Making a person feel dirty, no disgusted.
"Use the room people!" he thought but never said out loud.
Madhubala yawned leaning on the ledge of the deck and looking out into the vast nothingness. Sameer caught her from behind reprising the Titanic moment.
"I am still angry", she whispered into his ear.
"That's why we had angry sex. Look at me Madhu. I came back for you", he tried and almost perfected the charming act. "I am still crazy in love with you woman. You just say the word".
"I married you for your money, don't you know?" she answered with a straight face.
"No. That can never be the case. I know for a fact".
"Don't delude yourself", she scoffed.
"You can't beat me kid, I stole you from my brother". Mister's confidence was shooting off the charts.
"I didn't ditch my moneymaker brother-in-law for a rights' lawyer. I dumped him for the corporate drone that I made out of you", she threw it back just as hard.
"Wow. And I am the lawyer in this relationship? No, you showed me direction in life. And what's wrong with loving a little money?"
"Lose this position and I dump you ass faster than you can say Malik". She tore away from his embrace and reached for a wine glass.
"So all I have to do is win. Alright, don't you worry kid. I'll buy you everything you want".
"You better, you better, you better".
Oh why couldn't this man get a hint? She wanted to act harsh for once, pull away from him, think rationally. She was going to leave him cold and dry after all. But he wouldn't stop. At some point, she started turning weak. She didn't know if it was her honeymoon night or his kiss under the streetlight but she stopped hating him then. Perhaps, she never hated him to begin with? It wasn't love exactly but it was certainly surrender. She couldn't resist his charms. So, like always, she kissed him in the end.
____________________________________________________________
At last she appeared again like a moon shining behind parting clouds, she bestowed her now rare silhouette upon the very bored bodyguard. Rishabh sighed in relief like all his pent up frustration was let out at once. Yes, he appreciated the freedom of doing nothing for weeks on end but somehow he missed the feeling of protecting this bubbly client. It was as if the entry of one mysterious husband had turned the night owl, club rat into a demure housewife. The two were perpetually naked and stuck together every hour of the day. It could make one puke and then some. Come to think of it, she wasn't so housewife-like afterall. Her button like eyes stared at Sameer like he was an alien from space. Or, maybe like her first crush?
"No", Rishabh immediately dismissed his thought.
It was definitely the former. She was probably thinking of ways to steal Sameer's money being a golddiger and all. Either way, now would be the time to ask.
Madhu pulled out a cigarette and bit it with her two front teeth. "Got a lighter?" she quite naturally reached out toward him.
RK was taken aback for a second and blurred out "you smoke?" in disbelief but soon composed himself. "I am sorry. Miss".
"Got a light or no?"
"No. Miss".
"f**king military runaway! Speak like a person you rotten brained bas***d. What? You danced out of a dystopian movie?" she spit out the cigarrette and butt it out even though it needed none. "What are you doing not following me?"
Rishabh silently tagged behind afraid what might tick off the already angered queen bee.
"What are you doing not opening the car? Annoying little f**ker. Did you eat you salary and forget your owner?"
"Where are we going?" he asked timidly.
"Shopping. The queen is back bitches!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Advocate Anjali Awasthi
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