Chapter 11
RK finished his call and dialed another phone number. As the phone rang, he turned his back to glance at Madhu again, who seemed to be engrossed in her books.
Tu dhaar hai nadiya ki, main tera kinaara hoon
Tu mera sahaara hai, main tera sahaara hoon
He was standing in the tiny balcony adjoining her room which opened to the pool in the backyard. Madhu herself wasn't allowed here, but of late this had become RK's favorite place in the house to do calls from. From here, he could see her and yet not disturb her. He hated his room and only went there now to get something or to shower and change clothes. That room had too many unpleasant memories. Mostly, when home, he worked from Madhu's room or the living room. More often than not, he made sure she was around, within his line of sight, even if he wasn't talking to her.
Slowly, at work, he was getting back to being the old RK. No, in fact he was becoming a new and improved RK. His self-doubts were gone and were replaced with the confidence and decisiveness that had made him the super-successful CEO of Kundra Industries in all those years. With his blind spots finally removed, he was no longer trusting or vulnerable beyond needed. But he wasn't ruthless or heartless either. He was strict, but his temper and his emotions were now largely under his control. Rishabh Kundra was a scary man when angry, but with his anger under control, he was invincible.
In his personal life though, things weren't quite as smooth yet, but they were definitely looking up ever since he had stopped trying to analyze the past and the present and just let himself go with the flow. Madhu was still a puzzle to him, but he realized making himself think one way or the other about her didn't really work. It was hard to stay cold to her when RK was acutely aware that her innocent smile was the reason he had begun to heal. His life was a mess, and as he had begun to set it in order, he realized he needed Madhu to be around while he did that because he wasn't yet ready to do it alone. So he stopped thinking about her and stopped trying to decipher her motives. In some corner of his mind, he was acutely aware that Madhu was becoming an addiction that he'd have to deal with some day, but he ignored that voice, just like he ignored the voice that tugged at his heart when a moment of unrestrained vulnerability crept onto Madhu's face and made RK want to reach out to her, really get to know her and take away whatever that was she hid behind her fake smile.
Rationally, RK was convinced this wasn't going to end well and that he couldn't trust Madhu at face value. But when it came to Madhu, his rationality failed him. He put it down to his emotions still being raw. He figured he'd get to dealing with it when he was ready, but for now, he wasn't going to dwell in it. If he was making Madhu his crutch to limp out of misery and back to life, so be it.
"Hello Mr Agarwal" RK spoke as his lawyer finally picked up the phone, even though his gaze was stuck on the frown at Madhu's face as she seemed to be stuck at a problem.
"Good evening Mr Kundra. I was just going to call you. The papers are done. We're all set."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, all the names you'd given me. I have drawn up the contracts for all of them. These terms are great for them."
"Good. I want Sikander to have no resort. Every investor, every distributor and every promotion partner he has on board for his movie needs to go away. Just make them an offer they cannot refuse."
"I have made the paperwork exactly like you told me, Mr. Kundra. Also, since you blocked the sale of assets that Mrs Dipali Kundra was trying to make last week, her lawyers have got in touch today. So far, everything is on track as we discussed."
"Good. Keep an eye out and let me know if Dipali or Sikander try something else with my properties. I know they need the money quickly for the movie. That shouldn't happen."
"It won't. The new divorce application based on adultery is filed, but I'm dragging my feet on it."
"Good. There is no hurry. She will get a divorce, but at my terms. I want her to beg for it."
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Madhu looked up from her books as she saw RK come back in the room after more than an hour of being on the phone. She closed her book and sat up - it wasn't like she was getting anywhere as it is. Why had she decided to study Maths anyway? She loved Economics but hated that Economics degrees and indeed the profession itself demanded a fair bit of mathematical knowledge, especially calculus. Even in school when there was basic calculus, she had struggled with it. Yes, she knew more than everybody else in her little town, but that meant she had no one to ask when she got stuck, and of course she couldn't afford a tutor. Of course, college mathematics was ten times harder and the book ten times more complex.
As RK shut the balcony door and pulled the drapes, she found herself wishing - not for the first time - that she could step out to the balcony too. In reality, she wanted to go to the pool, to touch the water, but maybe that was too much to ask for someone like her to actually be outside the house even though it would be within the boundaries of the yard. Still, the balcony seemed too alluring, too near yet too far. She yearned for the fresh air, the unrestricted view and the additional proximity to the pool. Of course she never voiced any of it, but she still wished that she could stand next to RK while he spent all that time on his calls.
The truth was, there was something oddly soothing about his voice.
No, not the painful drunk stuttering she had too often heard - that broke her heart. Maybe not even the angry curt words he had said a few times in the beginning. But RK wasn't being himself any of those times anyway, Madhu knew. This RK was different. RK talking on the phone for business, RK giving instructions to her or Patil kaka...this was probably normal RK and oddly enough, Madhu felt good hearing the baritone of his voice around him irrespective of what he was saying. In the last few weeks, she saw a lot of this RK and she didn't mind one bit. Even though initially she had been surprised by how often RK would make her sit around in the same room as where he was working, she had now got used to it. She didn't need him to talk to her to feel like...this...whatever this was.
And then, there were all those times when he actually talked to her. Sometimes he even teased her, and the feeling that left her with was something on a different level altogether. He didn't ask her too many questions of late like he had started doing until a few weeks ago, but it didn't matter. Neither of them wanted to talk about their past, and yet, whenever a bit of past spilled onto their conversations, Madhu found it wasn't as uncomfortable as she would have imagined. Most of the conversations though, were about "normal" things - about food, about books, about the weather - and it was that normalcy that felt the most abnormal to Madhu. Because she really really liked it.
It was an odd little friendship that had formed between RK and Madhu, Madhu was surprised to reflect. It was so far away from anything she had imagined when she got here, in fact, the way she felt while talking to or listening to RK was so far away from anything she had ever imagined in her life, that she wondered if anybody else felt this way. It was different from how it felt when she was in bed with him. Sex was an escape, a way to forget pain. But the conversation, the "being together" part, that made Madhu feel as if she was a real person, an individual connecting with another individual stripped of any and all labels of identity that made her a woman, a daughter, a sister, a student, a call girl, a mistress, a victim, a slave.
Who knew that the airwaves of someone's voice could make someone else feel so...free.
Aankhon mein samandar hain, aashaon ka paani hai
Zindagi aur kuch bhi nahi...
Madhu wiped off the one tear that accidentally escaped onto her cheek as she was thinking about all this while RK came inside the room and sat on a chair near her. Unknown to her, he had been watching her all through, and hadn't missed any expression on her face.
"Done with studying already?" he asked, reminding himself to not ask a question that would suck him deeper into the whirlpool called Madhu.
"Umm..yes. My head hurts with calculus."
"Really? I thought you are brilliant."
"Not with calculus. Especially these transformation problems."
"Show me. I can help you."
"What?" Madhu asked, shocked.
"I have a Harvard MBA, you know." RK answered, pretending to be hurt at Madhu's shock.
"No...yes...I mean...of course you would know all this. But you'd help me?"
"Why not?"
"Um...ok.. but not right now. My head hurts. And you're also tired right now. Have you looked at your eyes? You've been working non-stop all day and ever since you came back you've been on the phone. You know you never take care of your health."
RK raised his eyebrow questioningly and Madhu stuttered to correct herself. She had spoken too much.
"I mean...let's have dinner? It's already 930."
"Ok" RK smiled, and they both got up to go downstairs to eat.
"Bhai!!!!!" a shrill voice echoed in the living room, startling both RK and Madhu who had just sat down for dinner. From the exuberance of the voice, RK knew who it was, and he left his food to run towards her.
"Trish! You're here? At this time? Alone?" he exclaimed, then hugged her tightly.
"When did you come from London? And why did you not call me?"
"Ohho...let me at least enter and sit. Stop bombarding me with questions. By the way, Mom sent lots of love for you. So here, one more hug from her side."
"Say thank you to Mami." RK said breaking the hug. "Come, sit here. Actually, come have dinner. You must be hungry."
"Yes...I'm starving." Trishna said and walked straight to the dining area, with RK following her.
"Patil kaka, how are you? I really miss your gobhi parathas."
"Trishna beti. How old how you have got? Wait, you sit. I will just bring gobi parathas for you."
"Awesome!" Trishna beamed, when she finally noticed Madhu standing quietly at the back. She had considered slipping away as she heard a guest, but Trishna had come in within minutes, not giving Madhu enough opportunity to slip out.
"Hi! I am Trishna!" Trishna walked up to her and held out her hand, introducing herself.
"Trish, that is...that is Madhu." RK spoke from behind Madhu, saving her the decision of how to explain herself.
"Hi Madhu."
"Come sit" RK gestured to Trishna, who in turn gestured to Madhu to sit, having noticed her half-eaten plate on the table "Come"
Madhu reluctantly followed, not knowing what to say and they all took their seats at the table.
"So you are..."Trishna asked Madhu.
"She's a friend. She is here for a few days. She's just come to the city and is moving colleges, so staying her temporarily." RK offered an explanation, his eyes meeting Madhu, who gulped, grateful at his respectable answer. She wouldn't know how to behave had RK called her a call girl.
"Cool! What do you study?"
"Economics honours." Madhu answered.
"Wow! That's tough."
"Not really." Madhu allowed a little smile.
"Well you must be super smart. Just like Bhai. But you're younger than Bhai right? How do you know him?"
"Enough questions, Trishna. First you tell me what you're doing here all of a sudden. No warning, nothing."
"I came to see you, of course. Did you think I will forget it's your birthday tomorrow?"
Madhu looked up at RK, surprised at learning it was his birthday the next day. He himself though looked pretty stunned, as if he had himself forgotten.
"What? Don't tell me you forgot it's your birthday."
"Uh...you know..."
"Come on bhai. Just because bhabhi..."Trishna checked herself, not wanting to discuss all those painful topics already. "Ok whatever, now that I am here, we are celebrating your birthday tomorrow. Right Madhu?"
Madhu gently nodded, trying to quickly and inconspicuously finish her food and leave, but RK looked a little uncomfortable.
"Trish, do we have to..."
"No excuses Bhai. You know I've just come for one day..."
"What?"
"Yep. I have to leave early morning day after tomorrow. And you know it's been two years since you last came to London and we last met, so I don't care but you're spending the day like I say." Trishna pointed out, reminding RK how neither Dipali nor Radha had ever liked Trishna's family, and therefore they were not really welcome here. Trishna's father's was RK's real mother's brother. Both Mamaji and Mamiji loved RK a lot, but once Mohan Kundra had remarried, they gradually spent less and less time with him as Radha didn't really like Mohan being close to his ex-wife's family. When Trishna was born, she became very fond of RK as well as she was an only child. Because of their bond, RK continued to meet them whenever possible by himself going over to their place, but he didn't want to upset Radha too much so kept the frequency low. Five years back, they had all moved to London and their meeting had reduced even more.
"Oh but Trish...ah I wish you'd called me before you came. I have to go out of town tomorrow early morning. I'd be back by night but you're leaving" RK was perplexed..
"What? That's not fair. I came all the way and..."
"Arey I didn't know you were coming. And it's really important for me to be in Panchgani tomorrow."
"Panchgani?" Madhu couldn't help but blurt out as soon as she heard the name. This was the first she was hearing of RK's trip, but that wasn't surprising. RK traveled on business every now and then.
"Have you been there?" Trishna asked Madhu.
"No..umm...my brother is in boarding school there"
"Really? It's a hill station right. Is it a pretty place? Bhai, I think this is a good solution. You have to go to Panchgani, fine, but I am coming with you."
"But Trish what will you do. I have three hours of meetings. You'll get bored"
"So. It's only three hours right. At least the rest of the day is free. I will do some sight seeing and shopping. And this way I get to spend time with you."
"Okay."
"Actually, Madhu you should also come with us! Yeah, that's perfect. That way I'll not get bored at all. What do you say?"
"Uh...no...I...how can I..."
"Trish, Madhu can't..."
"Why not? Do you have college tomorrow? But new term hasn't started right."
"Uh no...but..."Madhu looked helplessly at RK, who was trying to find an excuse himself that would fly with Trishna.
"What but? You can meet your brother too!"
"Bhai this is final. It's your birthday, this is my gift. We are all going for a trip!"
"Excuse me. Shouldn't I be the one getting a gift on my birthday?"
"Um...but I am the kid sister right. You'd ask for a gift from your younger sister." Trishna asked horrified, and RK couldn't help but smile at her antics.
"Yes!" she blurted as soon as she saw RK's smile. "You agreed. It's all set then. Ok Madhu?" she enthusiastically asked before anyone else protested and Madhu stayed quiet, not sure what to say. The possibility of seeing Manav was too tempting for her to vociferously refuse, and she decided to leave it on RK to make her call.
Quickly, Madhu finished her dinner and excused herself to her room, leaving RK to catch up with his cousin sister.
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