Chapter 19
(Next day, Friday afternoon)
"I wonder how you read a book upside down?"
"Woah, you scared me" Madhu said, jumping off her chair. The book fell off her hands. She bent to pick it up, when she felt RK's gaze on her cleavage. Instantly, she turned red with embarrassment. It was such a bizarre thing. All her life, any man watching her with a hint of desire in their eyes filled her feelings of discomfort and revulsion, even disgust. It was true for Mukund, Tony and even RK when she had first met her. But now, she felt a strange kind of excitement feeling wanted by Rishabh.
And shockingly enough, it didn't feel cheap or wanton for some reason. What was it about Rishabh that made her feel better about herself? Why did it feel so good when he talked to her, when he wanted her or when he needed her?
Mentally reprimanding herself for her stray thoughts, Madhu quickly stood up straight and held her book high against her chest.
"How come you're back so early?" she asked with a gentle smile but not looking into his eyes for the fear that he would read in her eyes what she was thinking moments ago.
"Madhubala. You ask me the same question when I am late and the same question when I am early. I thought this was my home." RK said with a smirk, settling down on the sofa opposite Madhu.
"Oh no...I mean yes...I was...of course this is your home. I was just..."
"It's ok. I am joking. I didn't feel like going to office, so once my meetings finished I came home. I am going to do the rest of my work from here. Is that fine with you?" He jokingly asked, pulling out his laptop.
"Yes, of course."
"Good. Then ask Patil kaka to bring me a tea and you sit down back in your seat and show me how you were studying fundamentals of a free market economy from an upside down book."
"Patil kaka is not here. He was not feeling well so I asked him to take the day off and go home. I will get you tea."
"Okay. But then come back here and..."
"I know! I will show you how I can read a book from any angle." Madhu giggled. "Actually, when I was 5, one day I was reading a comic book in class hiding it inside the textbook. Suddenly, I realized the teacher was standing on my head asking me if Chacha Choudhary had solved the rocket theft yet. I was so embarrassed, but mostly I was stunned that she figured out that the story was about a rocket theft."
"Then?"
"Then I asked her."
"You asked her what?"
"That how did she know what story I was reading. And she said, Miss Malik. I am a good teacher. I can read a book from any angle."
"How much?"
"How much what?"
"How much did you get beat for that?" RK asked, grinning.
"Oh, a lot. The comic book was ok - I was the class topper and I was only reading it in class because I was so bored by what she was teaching and what I already knew. But talking back to her like that got me a lot of flak both from her and my mother! Imagine, no chocolate for a week!" Madhu pretended to shudder with horror.
RK and Madhu both erupted into laughter as she related the memory. RK saw Madhu getting a little serious as she kept her book aside and stood up.
"Then what happened Madhu?" he asked.
"That day I vowed that when I grow up and become an economics professor, I'd become a good one. I'd be able to read a book from any angle." she gave a tight smile and left towards the kitchen to bring RK's tea.
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(couple of hours later)
RK and Madhu were still sitting in the living room. RK was going over a business plan while Madhu was reading her book, when the doorbell rang.
"Madhu, open the door please." he said, not looking up from his laptop.
Madhu nodded and stood up, then started running upstairs. RK noticed that and called out. "Madhu? I said door." he gestured.
"Yeah, one sec. I need to get my dupatta. I can't go in front of a stranger with my dupatta."
A stunned RK kept staring at that direction as Madhu quickly ran upstairs, than returned with her dupatta back in town and ran down to the door.How did a girl who didn't feel comfortable going in front of a stranger without a dupatta agree to sell her body to strangers?
"Rishabhji" Madhu was standing next to him, calling out to him but he was still lost in that question from two minutes ago. What was he missing about Madhu?
"Rishabh ji"
"Huh?" he answered when she finally got her attention.
"Someone is here to meet you. Your lawyer? Mr Agarwal?" Madhu softly asked.
"Yeah. Mr Agarwal." he answered, finally standing up. He saw his lawyer standing outside the room and the look on his face told him something was wrong.
"Ok."
"I am going to my room." Madhu said, picking up her books.
"No, it's fine. We'll go to my study." he said and walked towards Mr. Agarwal.
"Hello Mr. Agarwal. You're here, is everything ok?" RK asked the lawyer as he reached him.
"Mr. Kundra, who was that girl?" he asked instead.
"My Madhu." RK blurted.
"Excuse me?"
"I mean Madhu."
"Is she the girl from the picture..."
"Yes"
"Hmm. We need to talk." he answered, suddenly looking serious.
"Ok. Let's go to the study."
*********************************************************
RK had been with his lawyer for over two hours. Madhu had tried to keep studying, but her concentration had been patchy at best all day and eventually she gave up for good. Ever since she had spoken to Manav the previous day, Madhu couldn't help but feel happy. She didn't remember feeling this light in the longest time. Despite the pain in her heart and the darkness in her soul, life finally had started looking like it would show her some mercy and she wanted to be grateful. Especially since Manav seemed to have understood her now and had promised to stay away from Mukund.
She couldn't tell him everything, but she had finally told Manav that Mukund had beat her and tried to force himself on her because of which she ran away from the town. She didn't want to lie, but she told him she got a job in an office in Mumbai and RK was her boss. She told him she'd meet him as soon as she can, and she would try to get him transferred to a school that Mukund wasn't aware of because she was scared he could hurt him. That last bit, she still had to talk to RK about, but something in her was reasonably sure he would help her. Other than that, Manav had believed everything she said and apologized to her. He was hurt but Madhu could live with that for now. This was the only way to protect him. He gave her his cell number and Madhu was happy she had a way to reach him wherever he was.
Or she was.
Now all she needed to do was talk to RK. Perhaps tonight, once he got done with his work, she could tell him about why she feared for Manav's safety and who Mukund was.
Mukund.
Madhu couldn't believe she'd ever loved and wanted to marry that man. How could she have been so blind, so naive!
She remembered how scared she had been when Mukund had first attacked her. She remembered how quickly everything had gone from bad to ugly to soul-scorching. Every second seemed like a worse nightmare than the previous one, and it had eventually led to that night when she had entered RK's hotel room and he had monstrously ripped her last shreds of identity. It was the night she was turned from Madhu into Mitasha and her ability to feel seemed to have been numbed forever with too much pain.
And yet, it was RK who somehow had rescued her from losing herself completely. It was RK who had bought her and pulled her out of that hell, saving in the process the tiny shreds of Madhu that still remained. It was RK whose misery had thawed her frozen heart and she began feeling again to the point that RK's pain became not only important to her for his happiness but also for her own sanity. It was through his pain that she had found a bridge back into her own pain again, and from there to now, to a whiff of hope. By saving her, by being good to her, by treating her like a person and by caring for her in his own ways, RK had won her gratitude and devotion for the rest of her life.
Just then, RK and his lawyer emerged out of the study. By the time the lawyer walked out and Madhu had shut the door behind him, RK was already halfway up the stairs.
"Rishabh ji" she called out and he halted in his step.
"Not now Madhu." was all he said. Seconds later, Madhu heard his door being noisily slammed shut.
Something suddenly felt very very wrong.
*************************
The doorbell rang a couple of times, bringing Madhu out of her thoughts. It had been fifteen minutes since the lawyer had left and RK had retreated to his room.
There was an eerie silence around the house and Madhu couldn't shake off the worried, distraught look RK had on his face when he emerged out of the study. Involuntarily, Madhu found herself praying for RK's safety. "Please God, don't let anything go wrong for him..." but God had stopped being kind on Madhu a long, long time ago. Perhaps the day he took her mother.
Madhu looked towards RK's door. It was still shut. The doorbell rang again and she walked ahead to open it.
A tall, beautiful woman in a full-length gown stood there.
"Call that loser" she blurted out as soon as the door was opened.
"Excuse me?" asked an incredulous Madhu.
"Didn't you hear me. Call that loser. I know he is home." she ordered, walking inside the home, stepping Madhu inside.
Madhu followed the impetuous woman.
"Excuse me. May I know who you are?"
"Patil! Patil! Did the old man die already?" she answered completely ignoring Madhu's question.
"Patil kaka is not home. And Rishabh ji,,," Madhu answered, shocked at the disdain.
"Rishabh ji?" she turned around and took a full look at the first time to the woman who'd opened the door.
"Did you just call RK Rishabh ji? Wow. Hang on. You're that woman. You're her, aren't you?"
"I...I don't know what you're talking about, or who you are"
"What I am talking about," Dipali said while sizing Madhu from top to bottom, "is that you are the woman who's sleeping with my husband."
Madhu was stunned. This was RK's wife?
"Wow. Salwar and all. I thought RK had some taste, but looks like ever since I left him the poor guy is getting whatever trash is finding on the roadside home."
"Dipali ji..."Madhu attempted to respond, but her words dried up and a few tears fell from her eyes as she looked away.
What was she going to say - I am your husband's mistress?
"So you're the dirty secret? You were the woman with him in Panchgani right? I wish my guy got a better shot of your face. You're pretty, you know." Dipali said, placing one of her fingers on Madhu's cheek. "They would have probably put it on Page 3 instead of 6 with a pretty face like yours."
"I...I will call Rishabh ji." Madhu somehow said and moved a few steps towards the stairs, wanting to run from the humiliation.
"Is that what you call him while in bed? Rishabh ji? Isn't that too long? I used to call him RK." Dipali continued talked, but Madhu didn't stop or respond.
"At least tell me what's your name?" Dipali yelled as Madhu reached near the top of the staircase.
"Madhu!"
RK had heard some noises and had emerged from his bedroom, only to see Madhu running up in tears. He stretched his arm and grabbed Madhu's wrist but the very next second though, RK's eyes spotted Dipali standing at the base of the staircase.
"You! What the f**k are you doing here Dipali?" he screamed in so much fury that Madhu automatically halted in her step.
"Easy RK. I was just trying to ask Madhu if you're better in bed with her than you were me." Dipali snickered.
"You get out of my house right now!" RK shouted while his grip tightened on Madhu's wrist, who turned to face both of them.
"Well, technically we are still married. So this house that you're sharing with this two-bit wh**e of yours is still mine too, right hubby?"
"It takes a wh**e to know a wh**e. And who's a bigger wh**e than you, Dipali Sinha?" RK's eyes were red as he screamed at Dipali. His fingers dug so deep into Madhu's wrist that it drew blood, but he wasn't aware. Just like he wasn't aware how much blood he had drawn by calling Madhu a wh**e almost to her face.
Suddenly, Rishabh pulled Madhu closer to himself and grabbed her by the waist.
"At least Madhu is honest. Not like you, sleeping with her husband's brother behind his back."
"And sleeping with a married man in his house is honest?" Dipali sniggered, enjoying riling up Rishabh.
There was something addictive about the power you could have on an unsuspecting heart of a nice, naive person. Dipali missed that.
"Bullshit." he screamed, pushing Madhu away from him in a jerk as he took a few steps downstairs. Madhu stumbled and almost fell on the ground, but RK did not notice. Every inch in his body was mad at fury for Dipali - fury he had never truly unleashed at her, fury for everything she had destroyed and was threatening to destroy.
"You first of all don't know the meaning of marriage. And anything between us was over the day you first slept with my brother in our marriage bed. So what don't you cut the sweet talk and tell me why you're really here?"
"Our wedding night.." Dipali coolly said.
"What?"
"The first time I slept with Sikky in our marriage bed. Anyway, I don't care which tramp you spend your days and nights with. I am here to tell you that life would be a lot less miserable for you if you withdraw your adultery case and sign on the original papers."
"No way."
"Come on RK. Do you think I am an idiot that I wouldn't figure out it was you who cut the financing and drove away the investors for Sikky's movie? Don't you think I know why no distributor wants to work with him anymore. I have played this game too long, I'm not a fool like you. Three years RK. Three years I spent pretending to be sweet Mrs Kundra so I can get this money. And I can do anything...anything...to not let you steal the money I rightfully own."
"Rightfully? I gave that away to you."
"Yes, you did, to your sweet wife. And now you can't take it away just because you found your own sweet little wh**e? Anyway, I don't care about Sikky or his stupid movie. Shenoy is ready to launch me. I just need the money. I am sure your lawyer has told you the current scenario by now. It's messy and I am offering you a way out."
"Shenoy?"
"Yes. Your Shenoy. Now don't look at me so shocked. It wasn't so hard to have you followed. And turns out, Shenoy likes beautiful things more than the joint venture that you were offering." she pointed to herself.
"You..."
"Save it. I know you want freedom from me, and I want the same. So I don't want to make this hard. You have three days. Withdraw the case and sign over the papers and my money by Tuesday, otherwise..."
******************************
Madhu was sitting on top of the staircase for the last 20 minutes. RK had been on the phone ever since Dipali had left. She could hear him yelling from his room. She could hear his anger and feel his pain in his voice. He was breaking!
Then, the voices stopped and there was silence. Rishabh!
Suddenly, her humiliation at Dipali's hands felt much smaller than what he had probably just faced. She was the other woman, but he was the faultless husband whose heart had been crushed by the woman he had trusted and probably loved. Only half an hour ago, Madhu had felt ashamed in front of Dipali. She was the wh**e who had slept with a married man. So what, if she hadn't done it of her own will?
But now, all the shame was replaced with a strange hatred for Dipali. Dipali hadn't humiliated her because she was offended with Madhu. She was just enjoying torturing Rishabh. Her heartless sadism angered Madhu. RK didn't deserve this!
With a newfound urgency, Madhu wiped her own tears and stood up. RK was in pain and he shouldn't be. He needed her!
She walked towards his room, but instead met RK on his way out with a bag in his hand.
"Rishabh ji, is everything ok?"
"I need to go to Bangalore" was all he said, his voice icy cold, before he walked down the stairs.
* So, I had a bad day yesterday, and then I started writing this difficult chapter. As you can probably guess, my mood nose-dived after the first 500 words, as did the quality of writing on this chapter. I thought I'd do it today, except I had a much worse day today.
Don't take me wrong, I have the plot line down precisely until after the prologue actually shows up in the story, so the events of the chapter would have been the same. But this has come out much worse than it was in my head. Maybe I will trash and rewrite it, but for now I am posting it.
Btw, what sucks he most is I can anticipate what you guys are going to say after I post this. So I am going to go into a hiding now until life starts sucking less so I can get to chapter 20 or I die (hopefully).*
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