Chapter 32
"I have Manav"
What does that mean? Madhu looked at RK out of the corner of her eye as the elevator reached the basement. His right hand was still holding Madhu's left hand tight, but he wasn't looking at her. He looked angry and tense but Madhu could sense warmth and possessiveness in his grip at the same time. Suddenly, he left her hand, making her turn towards him. The next minute, he had taken off his jacket and hung it loosely around her shoulder, covering her bare shoulders from the weather as well as any uncomfortable glances from passers-by. Still in shock, Madhu averted her gaze after a second, but from the corner of her eye she could see the cast covering her left arm. His right hand found her left again as they exited the elevator.
Madhu was numb as Rishabh dragged her through the backside of the hotel kitchen to a staff exit into the hotel's basement parking. From the limp in his left leg which had become more pronounced walking through the basement, Madhu knew he was badly hurt and suddenly her worries returned manifold. What had happened to Rishabh since she'd left the previous morning? How did he get here? How did he convince Karan to let her go? Why did he say he'd take care of Tony? And most of all, what was he doing with Manav?
They stopped and Madhu realized they'd reached RK's car. He opened the door of the passenger side and gestured her to sit.
"Rishabh where..." she began to ask, the first words appearing in the last four minutes since they'd left Karan's room.
"What where? We're going out of here." Rishabh angrily replied.
"But..."
"Do you want to go back to Karan?" he snapped, and Madhu just nodded seeing him so angry. Of course, she did not want to go back to Karan. She was ready to kill or die to escape from Karan. But this didn't make any sense either. And why was he so angry and rude?
"Then sit quietly. We need to get out of here before anyone see us." Rishabh offered before getting in the driver's side. Something told Madhu she wasn't going to get her answers just yet. But could she trust Rishabh with whatever he was upto?
Madhu watched as RK drove out of the hotel and onto the highway. It was dark and traffic was relatively sparse, yet RK's concentration was completely on the road. He was driving an automatic, so he didn't need the use of his injured hand and leg as much, but still from the look on RK's face, Madhu knew that he was angry or in pain. Probably both.
Yet, he drove speedily and wordlessly without looking at Madhu. She turned to concentrate outside the window and decided to talk to him once they got home. After long, a wave of relief had swept her and the stress of the panic and fear she'd felt less than an hour ago finally began to show on her as the adrenaline receded and her head started pounding.
Less than an hour ago, she had lost all hope and reached the point of no return. She had lived yet another nightmare up close and this one had broken her. Her forbearance had reached its limit. Her patience and optimism had dissipated. She had given up on everything, even Manav, and chosen to die. She wondered if that was how her mother had felt when she had resigned to her illness and given up on life. Madhu too had given up, unable to take anymore, and had decided to die refusing to take any more humiliation. She knew she wouldn't make it out, but she didn't care. She just wanted to escape the hellish vortex of her life, which had served her blow after blow and had turned into something unrecognizable and yet something, she couldn't fully escape the blame of having created in the first place by trusting where she shouldn't have. She could smell the end and taste death in her mouth. There was no point - the moment had come to call it quits.
Until...until somehow, the very next moment, Rishabh had shown up.
Pehli aandhi mein ghar bikhra, doosri mein khwab lut gaye
Teesra to toofan tha, jeene ki wajah bhi le gaya
Khudgarz lootera saanson ka, aakhir kaar aaya to magar
Bin kuch liye bas hum ko khud ki tabaahi ka ilzaam de gaya
********
"Roma di" Madhu called out at the first familiar face she'd seen since Tony had dropped her to the hotel and told her that she was going to be here till Sunday with Karan Mathur. He said there'd be other girls and they all should come back together Sunday evening once everyone left. She hadn't said anything to him, but mentally she wondered how this changed her plans. Probably for the better.
Yet, as she kept her emotions and tears under a tight leash, the heaviness inside her heart kept increasing with every passing minute, both with the dread of surviving the coming five nights and the agony of having walked away from Rishabh without a proper goodbye. Now, as she stood in the hotel salon where she'd been instructed to go to, she spotted Roma along with a few other girls and the tears finally gave away as she wept in her embrace.
--
"Get up. We have to go." Roma told her as a phone call informed the girls that their respective clients were already in the hotel and they were all to go to the lounge where they were sitting and be ready to entertain. It was the beginning, and Madhu reluctantly stood up as someone helped fix her makeup. Her body was heavy with fatigue, lack of food and sleep, but her spirit was happy with sheer pain.
Karan walked up to her as they reached the lounge, at which point the girls separated and Roma walked to the old minister she was supposed to be with. He recognized her from the picture he had seen and kissed her palm as she reached her.
"Wow, you're even more gorgeous than your picture. Mitasha, right? We are going to have a lot of fun, sweetheart." he asked with a smirk as he slid his arm around her waist. She managed a weak smile.
--
She woke up in a bed and looked around, but there was no else around. She was in her room - rather Karan's room - where she had checked in the previous day, but she had no memory of getting here. She saw Karan's clothes on the chair, but he wasn't in the room. She looked at herself and realized she was wearing the same outfit she was in the lounge. She tried to remember what had happened and when did Karan bring her hear, but her head ached hard.
--
"Oh good you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"Roma di...I am ok. I...I don't remember...what happened..."
"You fainted when you were getting drinks? You didn't eat anything yesterday. We brought you here. You had fever too. Let me see...hmm...you are still burning Madhu. You need to eat and take some medicines."
"Di did Mr Mathur..."
"He was in Ayesha's room last night, so I don't think he came here. Maybe he left you alone after..."
"You think?"
"How does it matter Madhu? Tony said he paid a lot of money and he's the boss. He may have left you alone last night but he won't leave you today. These men can sleep with a dead woman as long as they get her body. I can't believe you're still fighting. Weren't you with RK for three months?"
Tears streamed down Madhu's cheek at the mention of Rishabh.
"Ohh. Stop crying and eat something. Trust me, these are the best kind of clients we can get. All the men are working now, so we're all catching up on sleep. There's a big party tonight. You should rest and get better before it ok. I will send food over."
--
"What's going on?" Karan suddenly yelled and Madhu jumped, not having heard him enter the room.
"Mitasha, right...? What's the deal with you? Didn't you get your share of money?" He yelled and Madhu whimpered to deny.
"Then why do you look like this? I thought last night you fell ill and I didn't want to get sick so I didn't touch you. But look at you right now, you look like hell. Did you eat?" He asked pointing to the food tray lying untouched.
"I...I am ok." Madhu somehow managed, gathering her strength.
"Look...I don't know what your deal is. You may be good looking but...this.. I don't want any hassle, that's why I bought a professonal. If I wanted to bother with what's going on with you, I'd just a girlfriend, ok. I don't force anyone, ok. Now you tell me - do you want to be here or do you want me to call Tony and send you back?"
"No!" Madhu resisted the thought of being sent back to Tony. That would be much worse for her in every way. "I am fine. I am sorry. I will be ok. I will get dressed up."
Karan looked at her for a few seconds, then nodded. "Ok. Be ready by 9. We have a party to go to. I will send you your dress. And you better be beautiful and willing when I come back, because Karan Mathur never took anyone unwilling to his bed."
Karan left, and Madhu slumped on the floor. She thought she knew what she was bargaining for when she had left RK's house, but once she got here, her pain had been too strong.
"This wouldn't do." She told herself and willed all her courage back up. She had to get through this. She had to make it through the next four nights. For Manav.
--
"Your lover told me all about your little brother...I can put your brother outside your reach in no time." Tony had threatened.
--
"Madhu, I have Manav." Rishabh had said. What did it mean? Was it a threat too? Manav, where are you?
Madhu opened her eyes, jerking out of her dream where she had just seen Manav's face. She seemed to have fallen asleep, but now the car was no longer moving and Rishabh was there, sitting next to her and staring at here. Rishabh was really here. She really was out of Karan's room. But what now...
"Where are we?" Madhu asked, her words hoarse.
"Pune. Outside the city. I own this farmhouse. Come." Rishabh answered before getting out of the car.
It was quite late in the night and Madhu realized there wasn't anyone else around except a security guard who was now opening the main door of the house for Rishabh. Why were they in Pune?
Rishabh emerged from the kitchen a few minutes later and handed Madhu, who was in the living room, a glass of water. The house was clean and furnished, but it didn't look like anyone lived here. From what she could see, there seemed to be a couple of bedrooms, possibly more.
"Here take this. Do you want something to eat?" RK offered, but Madhu didn't take the glass.
"Why are we here?" she asked instead.
"I'd explain everything. Just sit down and have this water and tell me if you're okay. Are you hurt anywhere? Should I call a doctor?" RK asked Madhu, concern clear in his voice. Now that the immediate danger had averted and they were out of the city unharmed, the guilt that it had taken him so long to find and rescue Madhu had taken over the anger he had felt at Madhu's actions and her stubbornness as well as the pang of jealousy he had felt on seeing her with Karan. None of that mattered any more. His Madhu was here, with him, safe. He only wished he could have gotten to her sooner and saved her the ordeal.
Madhu looked at Rishabh bewildered, unsure what to make of his concern. His voice had genuine concern and he didn't seem angry like he did when they'd left the hotel, yet Madhu couldn't be sure what to believe. Why wasn't he answering her questions? She took the water but didn't respond to his question.
Rishabh touched her shoulder to repeat his question, but Madhu immediately flinched at his touch and Rishabh withdrew his hand.
"Should I call a doctor?" He repeated after a couple of seconds of composing himself.
"Yes, but not for me, for yourself" she thought in her head as her eyes went over Rishabh's injuries, but she didn't voice the words. Instead, she asked him "Why did you bring me here?"
"Can't go home. We'd be here for a few days. Nobody knows you are here."
"Days? And Manav? You said you have Manav. He's not here, is he? Is he in Panchgani still? Where is he?"
"Madhu. He is alright. He is safe. You don't need to know exactly where..." he started to explain.
"...so you are now keeping him prisoner with yourself?" Madhu suddenly screamed, standing up.
"What? No..."Rishabh was stunned. For one, he had never seen Madhu lose her temper but more importantly, he couldn't fathom where that had come from!
"Just like Tony kept him under his eye? Now it's you, isn't that what is. You are going to keep him under your eye away from me, to keep me under control. That is why you said don't worry about Tony..."
"Madhu what the hell are you...you think Tony and me are the same..."Rishabh screamed back, furious at the import of her words.
"I don't know the difference any more. He sells you buy. You brought me here saying Manav is with you and you're threatening me just like he did. So is this it now? This is where I will be? Is this my new prison? This...secluded farmhouse. Is that the new deal? You've bought me from Tony and Karan Mathur to keep me imprisoned here as your mistress forever and you've abducted Manav to keep me from running."Madhu was hysterical.
"What..."RK grabbed Madhu by the shoulders but she shoved him away
"Isn't that it, Mr Rishabh Kundra? Isn't that why you saved me from Karan and forced me to come with you? Isn't that why you took away my freedom?"
RK was stunned. Did he understand this all wrong? Did Madhu want to be there? Was Madhu happy with Karan and that life? Is that she why she kept refusing to leave? Did he misread it? No, that couldn't be...she was anguished, she was crying - he'd seen it. And she had told Patil she wanted to escape. No, this couldn't be it.
"Freedom? What freedom? You are saying you were free there, with Karan, selling yourself?"
"I would have run. I would have escaped."
"What with your stupid plan? Tell Manav to run away to some unknown city and then try to escape from Tony yourself. With no support? Do you even understand the risk? You'd have been caught and hurt? Manav could have been hurt by himself...you wanted to do everything by yourself, without any assistance. That was your stupid plan?"
"So what...so what if it was stupid...I would have tried and tried and tried till I succeeded. Or I died. At least I had the hope to be free. The hope that Manav would be free and safe. But you...you ruined it...you are a true monster...didn't you get enough of me in three months? What more do you want from me?"
Madhu was hysterical, but RK was stunned speechless at her words. She really did not want to be with him. She wanted escape from him, as much as she wanted escape from Tony. He stumbled back a few steps as he felt his heart break inside him. He loved her, but she thought he was a monster. He had fought for her, risking everything, but she wasn't his to get. He had hoped they could be saved, together, but...
"What do you want from me, Rishabh Kundra?" Madhu meanwhile had broken down, falling on her knees. Her words escaped between her uncontrollable tears and each word squeezed the breath out of Rishabh's lungs.
"I gave you everything I had. Even though you raped me, night after night, I still cared for you. I thought you needed the solace, so I gave everything I could - physically, emotionally, mentally. I even forgave you for everything. But now I have nothing left and you've still trapped me here. Couldn't you be happy in your perfect life? Am I not a human being? Am I merely an object you can buy when you please and imprison in your fancy palace, leaving me to suffocate for the rest of my life? Tell me is that what you want Rishabh, tell me, Rishabh..."
Madhu wailed but all she got in response to her questions was a deathly silence as Rishabh retreated, having realized the true enemy wasn't outside the door anymore. It was festering inside them in their deep, raw wounds - too powerful to be defeated by love alone.
Edited by teekay - 10 years ago
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