Chapter 30
"Rishabh" she whispered almost inaudibly as the champagne glass she was holding in her hand fell on the ground.
Karan pulled back at the noise, and a waiter was there almost instantly picking up the pieces, but Madhu's eyes were stuck on the man in front of them, only a few feet away.
Rishabh...was he really here, or was she hallucinating?
Their eyes met and the red cracks in Rishabh's eyes tore at Madhu's heart as his gaze pierced her. She didn't have any hope of seeing him again and yet here he was, close enough that Madhu could feel the memories of his intoxicating smell take over. She closed her eyes and opened them again to confirm it wasn't a dream, but it wasn't. Rishabh was four feet away and all Madhu wanted to do was to forget everything and to run into his arms. But the pain in his eyes reminded her of what she had done, of what she had chosen when she had called Tony with trembling hands on Monday and asked him to come take her back on Tuesday morning. She had lied when she told him RK wasn't going to be in town on Tuesday and she was acting as per his instructions. She knew RK would be hurt and angry when he would eventually find out what she did, but she had hoped that it would be better than the pain and guilt of giving her away with his own hands. Most of all, she had hoped she wouldn't be around to see the hurt and anger, but here he was, four feet away, staring directly at her with eyes bursting with the very emotion she had tried to escape.
Rishabh took his first full breath in over 24 hours when his eyes first fell on Madhu. Yes, he had finally found her and the relief of that first instant was greater than all his fatigue, pain and every other emotion inside him. As time had ticked, he had been getting more and more convinced that he had lost her forever and a bit of him had been dying ever second with that realization.
But finally, finally, his perseverance had beaten his destiny and there she was - alive, and as much as he could see, not physically hurt. Rishabh didn't know when a fear that Madhu would hurt herself had taken root in his heart and so just seeing her lifted a few tons of weight off him.
Quickly though, his relief changed into resolve. He was going to take her back from here tonight, by hook or crook. This was not where a girl like Madhu should be. This was not where his Madhu would ever be.
He walked towards her as fast as his injured legs would allow never once taking his eyes away. He saw as she suppressed her pain in a way that RK had now become quite familiar with and replaced it with her trademark fake smile RK had hoped he'd never have to see on her again. He knew the man touching her and he knew what the man wanted. RK tried to suppress his own feeling of jealousy towards him and anger towards Madhu for having run and landed herself in this situation in the first place, and focused on what he had come here to do.
But as he stood there, only four feet away, and looked into her eyes which were screaming with pain again, his resolve started to waver. The past 24 hours had been hell as he had tried all he could to find her, all the while dealing with the possibility of losing his love forever. Now, his pain threatened to overpower him and all he wanted to do was to reach out and pull her away from the man who was touching his Madhu.
Kyun dard chupaaye baithi hai
Kyun tu mujhse kehti hai
Main toh khud hi bikhra huya
Haaye andar andar se toota main
Tere ishq mein khud hi se rootha main
"Wow...if you respond like that with that, I cannot wait for the rest of the night." Karan was mumbling, his attention still entirely on Madhu's ear but Madhu wasn't hearing his words at all. Her shivering right now had little to do with Karan's caress. Karan's arm was still wrapped around her and Madhu suddenly felt extremely dirty. She felt Rishabh's eyes shift emotions as they moved a bit to the man on her left and Madhu lowered her eyes in shame unable to look at Rishabh any longer.
"Let's go" Karan said and turned her around with her shoulder, when a voice behind them stopped him.
"Karan Mathur."
Karan turned back and Madhu did too, to find Rishabh's outstretched hand held out towards Karan. It was then that Madhu noticed his left hand covered in a cast, though he had worn his jacket over it, and the bandage on his head. Her eyes scattered over him in panic as she saw evidence of many physical injuries and bruises, but Rishabh's attention was solely on Karan. Had he been in an accident?
"Kundra. Fancy seeing you here after all those years." Karan's voice bellowed as he met Rishabh's hand in a proud handshake. "Darling, why don't you go to the room and change? I would be right behind you." Karan whispered to Madhu but it was loud enough for Rishabh to hear.
Madhu was still in a state of panic over Rishabh's injuries but hearing Karan and then watching Rishabh's brief glance at her reminded Madhu of the impossible situation she was in. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't run to Rishabh. Not right now and perhaps not ever. She knew her role in his life was over and she knew she had complicated things for him while she was there. Perhaps his being here tonight was merely a coincidence. A cruel coincidence.
With one final reminder of everything that had happened in the last 5 days, of everything she had done, of her future plan to escape, she took one final look at Rishabh before turning and walking towards the elevator.
Because no matter how much it hurt, this was the path her destiny had laid out for her. Because no matter what her heart wanted, she wasn't and she was never going to be good enough for Rishabh. No matter what bonded their souls, she could never be more than his shame, his dirty secret.
And they both deserved better.
Haye teri hoon sari ki sari main
Par tere liye bazaari main
[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5WdL51te0A[/YOUTUBE]
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"Madhu!"
He screamed at the top of his voice, hoping like hell she was there.
"Madhu! "
He screamed again and a couple of men suddenly appeared around him.
"Ae, who are you? Why are you screaming? Run away right now or..." One of them tried to shove him, but RK shoved him back with his one unbroken hand.
"I am RK. Rishabh Kundra. I am here to take Mitasha. Call her."
"Madhu!" he screamed again, not willing to wait to have her before her eyes.
One of the men called Tony, who appeared a few minutes later while more men joined to keep RK from getting inside the building.
"RK Sir. You here? What a surprise! You could have called me." Tony spoke as soon as he came. RK ran to him and held him by the collar.
"I want my Madhu. Mitasha...I said 8 o clock. Why did you take her in the morning?"
A couple of men ran towards them to attack RK for holding Tony, but Tony held up his hand to stop them and freed himself.
"Rk Sir. Our deal was three months and it's over. That's what we agreed. I didn't come early by myself. Mitasha called me yesterday and told me that you had left instructions to pick her up early."
"Bullshit." RK screamed, then took a deep breath.
"Ok whatever. I want her now. Call her, I am taking her. I will give you your money. More money than you asked for. Just give Madhu back to me."
"RK sir you know that's not possible. A deal is a deal."
"Madhu is not a deal." RK screamed and leapt over Tony again in anger, but this time a couple of men caught him and pulled him back, holding by the arms. RK freed himself from them and tried to renegotiate.
"Look Tony...whatever's happened, fine. I want her back. Everything. Permanently. I will make it worth your while. My Madhu will not be touched by any of your clients..."
"RK sir. I really don't know what to say. She's not here any more. I picked her up from your house and dropped her straight to Karan Mathur's hotel."
"Karan Mathur?"
"Yeah he's the CEO of Zest International. He's in town for five days...15 of my girls are there. Lots of politicians, real estate mafia, very important people. Everyone's there. Mitasha too. And I dropped her at noon. By now..." Tony looked at his watch.
An immense fury short through RK. How could he be this late? How could things be this unfair? Madhu was...Madhu was...Oh God! the thought of everything she might have gone through already filled RK with huge rage and he jumped at Tony for the third time. His punches were just as uncontrollable as his urge to punish someone for making his worst fears come true like this. RK hit Tony for a full two minutes before the rest of the men all leapt at him together and started beating him back. The pain they gave, however, was nothing compared to what RK was already feeling.
"Stop" Tony yelled after a while. He really didn't want the mess of something happening to RK on his doorstep, especially over one girl. For one, RK was a big businessman and for second, Tony did not get involved in murder himself. He had other people who did but Tony himself walked on a weird line of morality. He got his men to restrain RK while he dialed a couple of phone numbers.
After five minutes, Tony reappeared.
"RK Sir. Listen, there's no point fighting. Mitasha is not here and I can't pull out of this deal. Lots of dangerous people are involved and a lot of money is at stake. But I talked to my boss. I will bring Mitasha to you after five days, on Sunday. I will bring her straight from the hotel to you. Ok? That's the best I can do."
"The money..."
"I don't need more money from you. My boss..."Tony paused, because that was the most awkward thing his boss had said "...my boss says it's ok. We have made enough money on our investment in her. I will bring her back to you on Sunday. Now unless you want someone else until then, go home please."
******************************************************
Madhu was already in tears when she got out of the elevator, but the sight of the same man who had offered her money for a five minute job in the party standing in the hotel corridor set her running as fast as possible towards Karan's room. By the time she closed the door behind her, she crumbled on the floor in fear and pain. Seeing Rishabh had been like throwing oil over the fire that had been consuming her and Madhu was filled with dread over what would happen in just a few minutes when Karan came to the room. She wasn't ready to allow his disgusting touch all over her body and yet she had no choice. Petrified, she closed her eyes and shivered in anger at her fate as her will to live and her will to fight finally evaporated.
She hoped Manav would run away from his school tomorrow morning like she'd told him. She hoped he would catch one of trains whose tickets she had sent and she hoped the money she had left for him was enough for him to find a safe place to live. She hoped he would be strong enough to survive by himself, safely, for the rest of his life because as of this moment, as she heard the door of the room open, she didn't think she had the energy left in her to fight through the end of this and run away to join him.
She heard his footsteps and sat up, still facing away from the door. She grabbed at the base of the lamp lying near her, ready to throw it on him if needed. Then she felt his touch on her shoulder. At the faintest of touch, she was enraged and turned behind, ready to hit him, hurt him and do whatever it took to push him away. If he was going to have her killed tonight, it would be the best option of all because she was so tired of this fight.
She jerked his hand behind but stilled when she saw that the man behind her wasn't Karan, like she expected. To the contrary, the man standing near her with tears in his eyes was none other than Rishabh. Her Rishabh.
Her hand froze for a moment, then the lamp fell.
"Rishabh" she squealed, and jumped up straight into his arms as he took her into a bone-crushing hug.
"Madhu" he whispered as they both tightened their embrace, unwilling to ever let go. Tears continued to fall from both their eyes, but more than pain, the moment was defined by disbelief as the two souls who had nearly given up hope of ever finding their true mates again did everything they could to assure themselves this was happening for real.
"Madhu" he repeated his name over and over as he kissed her forehead and rubbed her back.
"Rishabh" she murmured as all the fears she had been fighting were suddenly released in the protectiveness of his embrace and she wept bitterly into his chest.
Time froze for the two soulmates who had each suffered untold anguish. Maybe, this was their moment of promised liberation. The light at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel.
Or maybe not.
Edited by teekay - 10 years ago
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