"Don't they say luck favors the brave?" Madhu asked with a bright smile.
Yes, indeed. Some poor wretches held up by a weird twist of fate had forfeited their seats to the couple in question.
"Twenty-two thousand dollars and counting," Rishabh replied laconically.
"What do you mean?"
"Luxury comes at a price, madam," he retorted, casting a wide glance around their stately first class ambiance. "Wanted to let you know how much you owe me."
"Ohh..." She dropped her gaze, but not before he spied a coy glint in her eyes.
"Care to shed some light on the goings on, Ms. Mysterious?" he demanded, stymied after venturing to dissect her cerebrum without much success. "Are you planning to run away again cause if you are, you won't get very far."
"I'm not, and I never will," she reassured him, clinging tight to his arm.
Grasping her hand, he laced his fingers purposely through hers, "You cannot ever get rid of me, understand?"
"I would never want to."
Time stood still as his eyes probed hers for several moments.
Then finding nothing else to say on the matter, he dug into his pocket and extracted an old familiar article"her prayer book. "By the way, here's the precious keepsake you left behind."
With an emphatic shake of her head, she replied, her lovely eyes misting over, "I don't think I need it anymore now that I have you."
Flying back so soon perhaps wasn't a bad idea after all, Rishabh thought, feeling upbeat again. Their new life together could afford a kick-start.
The trip went perfectly according to him with Madhu's attitude closely resembling that of a sugar cookie, and though it wasn't anywhere near her norm, he wasn't alarmed. She was probably trying to make up for all she had put him through.
Therefore, when it was time to disembark in LA, he was in pretty high spirits.
Madhu experienced a strange sense of dj vu when she saw Sujoy waiting for them at the baggage carousel just as he'd done not so long ago. Yet the circumstances couldn't have been more different. Those memories were too painful to recall, but she was glad to see him again.
"You look antsy, Rishabh," Sujoy said.
"Shut up and get a move on, Sooj!"
Notwithstanding this unfriendly dialogue, Rishabh let his friend hug him briefly before he thrust him away. He was in such a flurry to get home he failed to notice the secret exchange between his wife and his colleague.
***
Madhu's palms turned sticky with sweat as their apartment drew closer.
She seemed preoccupied, not meeting Rishabh's eye. Instead she was looking out of the car window and fiddling with her cell phone.
"Welcome to a new life in your old house, Mrs. Rishabh Ahuja!"
She gasped in surprise when her husband carried her across the threshold.
"You look more terrified than you did the first time!" he mocked, laughing out loud on seeing her perturbed face. Then much more softly he said, "Don't worry, I won't eat you for dinner though I'd very much like to. Instead, we shall have your favorite pizza delivered from Tony's, then sleep off our jet lag." He winked. "Does that sound like a plan?"
She pursed her lips. "Rishabh, I... I need to go somewhere."
"What? Come again?"
"I have to go out for a while."
He couldn't believe his ears; this was getting curioser and curioser. "I don't get why you are saying what you are saying, and even if it's true, you aren't going anywhere at this ungodly hour!"
"But it's only seven," she said, glancing at the clock.
"Whatever it is, you aren't stepping out. It can wait till tomorrow."
"No, it can't," Madhu insisted.
"Why not?"
"Because it is something that needs to be dealt with right away."
That the matter was urgent was clear. He attempted to reason, "Tell me what the problem is. I'll take care of it."
She firmly shook her head. "No, I have to do it on my own."
Why in hell is she so stubborn?
"Then I'll come with you. Now that I have you, I can't let you out of my sight," he said, gripping her firmly by the shoulders, his manner conveying the intensity of his distress.
She shut her eyes, it was a difficult situation. "I have to accomplish it on my own. Please don't ask me any more."
"Why not?" he shouted, shaking her hard. He envisioned his world falling apart again. "Why are you being so secretive? What if you don't come back?"
"I will, I promise. Give me just an hour."
"No, I can't afford to take such risks! What guarantee do I have? I""
"Because I love you, Rishabh." Madhu raised her hand to tenderly tousle his hair while he stared at her openmouthed. "I've loved you since the day I first saw you, and the feelings have multiplied a million times despite all my efforts to resist." She smiled. "So you see, Madhu cannot survive without her Rishabh. I'll be back, trust me."
He let her go.
***
"Thanks for agreeing to meet me at such short notice."
Madhu voiced her gratitude when she saw Rich patiently waiting for her in the coffee shop at the corner of Orange Grove and Lake. It was just a five-minute quick dash from the apartment. He'd been kind enough to suggest it, knowing she was still fairly new to the place.
She'd been pleasantly surprised when he had concurred to the rendezvous without pelting her with too many questions; perhaps he'd sensed her urgent need.
Her hand felt tiny in his huge paw, but his grip was warm and reassuring. She felt her anxiety tumble several notches.
"Care for a drink?" Rich asked.
"No, thank you. I don't want to keep you any longer than necessary, you are a busy man."
He grinned in good humor, leaning back in the overstuffed couch. "I've all the time in the world. It's not every day a beautiful young girl like you seeks out an old man like me."
She smiled, taking the chance to observe Rishabh's boss as he took a sip of his espresso.
He was very handsome in a quiet way with clean distinguished features, steel-grey hair cut sensibly close to his scalp, and gentle blue-grey eyes, which belied a very sharp intellect.
On a casual encounter, no one would have estimated the man sitting in front of her was the sole owner of a multimillion dollar estate"his demeanor being down-to-earth without the slightest hint of misplaced pride. How could someone like him be so unlucky in marriage? Madhu hated Des even more"if that was conceivable.
Seeing her hesitate, Rich said, "You can share with me anything you want without reserve. I've always considered Rishabh like my older son, so you're like a daughter to me."
She took a deep breath to garner courage. "Are you the chief engineer...main lead on the Venus project?"
He looked a little surprised. "I guess you could say so, though there are quite a few above me. Spacegenics is not like any other company. The system's more complex."
"But you are the one who decides who's in and who's out, hires and fires, and all that, aren't you?"
Appearing to get the drift, he offered an imperceptible nod. Her brow furrowed. "I don't wish to say this but..."
"Go ahead."
"When I left for India, I kept it from Rishabh."
He looked puzzled. "But I thought you took off together...didn't you?"
She shook her head. "No, it was a rash step I took due to a foolish misunderstanding, and the irresponsibility was entirely mine. He isn't to blame. He followed me, believing I wouldn't return otherwise, caring in the least for the consequences."
"I find that hard to believe. I've always considered Rishabh a very stable and steady man. But then love can make you do strange things," Rich said with a bitter smile.
Madhu colored, realizing how much her husband had given up just for her sake. "Is it true that he's no longer a part of the team?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Rich agreed gravely. "It's automatic. Anyone who leaves the country during the first six months forfeits his or her position. The clause was put in because most of the crucial R and D decisions are taken during this time period and a project like Venus is highly sensitive with tremendous implications for national security. You can surmise the potential damage caused if any information got into the wrong hands."
"But Rishabh is absolutely innocent. I can vouch he was with me the entire duration."
Rich nodded. "Your husband's loyalty is beyond question. I trust him implicitly. He's one of our best and brightest engineers with a great future. In fact, one of his designs is being tested right now with encouraging results. So you can understand what a great loss this is for all of us."
Oh god! My poor Rishabh!
"I don't want to transgress on your authority, Rich, but even though my husband is indifferent right now, I know he'll be completely broken-hearted if he is not there in the thick of things doing what he loves...and I'll never be able to forgive myself," Madhu said.
"Yes. I haven't seen Rishabh so enthused before."
"So for my sake... No, for his sake, can you put in a word? Seeing that, you know him so well and have right from the start? Please? I'm sure your opinion carries a lot of weight," she implored, feeling helpless in the bargain.
After looking at her, Rich arrived at a decision. "I can't promise, but I'll give it my best shot."
He then beamed. "Now go, run to your beau. I don't fancy him holding me up at gunpoint anytime!"
***
Are you having an affair? I'm pretty sure you are!
Madhu smiled; it'd been barely a few minutes past the hour when her phone alerted her to her spouse's message.
"Yes, I am," she said before racing back as though her life depended on it.
She found him prostrate on the living room couch, his eyes closed, with the book The Consolations of Philosophy opened to the chapter "A Broken Heart" lying near his outstretched arm on the floor.
"You don't need this stuff anymore," she chided, replacing the book on the coffee table before cuddling against him.
He smiled, eyes still shut, as she pecked him on the tip of his nose. "So who are you having an affair with, care to clue me in?
"With you of course"a most wonderful never-ending affair."
"Hmm...then I have no complaints," he said, folding her securely in his arms.
tbc
PS: SD2 will be posted on wattpad. Please follow me @ https://www.wattpad.com/user/TheWriteDoc
Current Affairs
Sampoorna
