*Thanks for the patience and please give me more because the days of ultra-fast updates are over. I will write when I can though, I promise. Pls excuse typos*
Chapter 38
It was a kiss that touched the dead corners of their heart like a cold, soothing elixir. It was a kiss that set them on fire. Rishabh's hand left Madhu's head and instead he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her whole body closer as the blazing fire made them forget everything else.
In that moment, all that existed was Madhu and Rishabh and their unspoken love for each other. They kissed with an urgency that said they couldn't get enough of each other; they kissed with a need that said they couldn't give enough of themselves to the other. Madhu's body pressed hard into Rishabh's and the swing moved under them. Rishabh tried to seek balance, but they'd both been too lost in the moment and with one of his hand still in plaster and most of the weight of Madhu over him, the next moment they had slipped off the swing and fallen on the grass bringing them back to reality. Madhu immediately parted from Rishabh's embrace and removed her eyes away as both of them realized what they had been doing.
For a minute, nobody said anything. Then Madhu felt Rishabh's arm around her shoulder and she turned to look at him. As soon as their eyes met, they both erupted into laughter simultaneously. Both the grief of their heavy hearts and the awkwardness of a few moments before disappeared as they openly laughed together, for the first time ever.
A minute later, Madhu stopped laughing and looked smilingly at Rishabh, who had laid back flat out on the grass and was still laughing manically. The sound of the joy in his voice tugged at her heart with the same intensity that seeing her pain in his eyes had tugged at her heart a few minutes ago. She felt herself getting sucked once again in the gushing warmth Rishabh always seemed to generate inside her. Somehow, the man always found a way to touch her soul and draw something out of her, no matter how much pain and darkness filled inside her. She didn't realize why and how she kissed him moments ago but she knew it was an expression of the unique bond of pain they shared - pain that nobody else understood but them. However, by the time they parted away, she knew the kiss had changed its character because every inch of her was feeling the same maddening desire for him she used to feel a couple of weeks ago when he was away.
At all levels, in ways she didn't even understand, Madhu needed him.
She took a deep breath to control herself before standing up.
Rishabh realized Madhu had stopped laughing and looked up to her sitting next to him. Her piercing gaze was on her and in the shining moonlight, she looked like an angel. He didn't think it was possible, but today after listening to her story and after getting to know more of her, he was more in love with her than ever. In fact, it was much more than love. He felt pride. He felt a deep respect. He was in awe of her courage. He felt a maddening need inside him to give her everything - happiness in every way, anything and everything she wanted...the whole world needed to be at her feet, really.
Shaking his head to dismiss the crazy thoughts inside him, he smiled at her when she stood up and extended her hand to him, "Let's go inside", she said.
He grabbed her hand and used her support to stand up. Hands still intertwined, they walked inside the house, their feet leading them to Madhu's room by themselves.
Rishabh pulled back her hand as Madhu sat on her bed and was about to turn away when she grabbed his hand again. He turned his head towards at her and found her looking straight at him. For a second his heart stopped. She looked breathtaking. Her eyes were dark and there was an innocent vulnerability on her face. He took a step towards her, wanting nothing more than to envelope in her arms and make love to her all night, then forced some restraint on himself. He knew she was vulnerable tonight after sharing her past and he did not want her to regret anything later. But more importantly, he knew that after everything that she'd lived through, she deserved more than wordless sex. She deserved to be treated like a princess and made love to with dignity and absolute care.
"Not like this" he murmured, his eyes not leaving hers and instead of kissing her senseless, Rishabh bent over her and kissed her forehead, then made her lie down in the bed, covering her with the comforter.
"You are the purest and the most beautiful woman in the entire world, Madhu. Inside and outside." he spoke sincerely to her, looking in her eyes as he placed her hand over her chest.
"Good night" he murmured and kissed her forehead one more time before leaving her room.
****************
As soon as he emerged from his room, Manav saw Rishabh stand outside Madhu's door, watching her sleep from the half-opened door of her room. It was still early in the morning, though clearly his sister had overslept by her usual standards if she was still asleep. Manav watched Rishabh for a bit, then walked towards him. The adoration in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Good morning" Manav said, startling Rishabh who suddenly turned not realizing when Manav had crept up on him.
"Oh good morning Manav. Did you sleep well?"
"Yep. Is di still asleep? Should I wake her?"
"No no. Let her rest. I...I came to see..."Rishabh stammered for words as both of them walked away from Madhu's door "I came to see if she was awake because I wanted to ask her something. But maybe you can tell me too." Rishabh finally got his brain working right as they reached the living room couch. He got very little sleep overnight. First he slept late because he was raging with desire for Madhu and cursing himself and his sense of propriety for not giving in to the moment and staying back with her. And then he woke up early, feeling restless as his need to make everything right for Madhu. He even called the DIG he knew at 7 am at his house and talked to him about the possible plan against Tony, giving him whatever details he knew and making note of whatever else he needed to ask Madhu and pass on to the police later in the day.
"I...I wanted to know your address. I mean your old address, where you lived. And also if you have the address of Mukund."
"Mukund? Why?"
"I..."Rishabh paused, then sighed and decided to tell Manav. If they wanted Manav to start being responsible and behave like an adult, they should treat him with the same respect. "You know he tried to hurt your sister. I wanted to do a police complaint against him so he doesn't come after either of you in the future."
"Hmm. That makes sense. I will write down the address. I even have his cell number." Manav stood up to bring his phone to Rishabh.
"Here" he said, showing Rishabh Mukund's contact details while he himself scribbled their old address.
"Thank you."
"You know I called him once..."Manav said and Rishabh looked at him with concern.
"When?"
"After you and didi came to Panchgani. I was angry and I wanted to call him and ask him to take me."
"What?" Rishabh stood up, shocked.
"I didn't...I mean I called him...but I didn't talk to him. He didn't pick up. Later, he called back but by then I had calmed down and I thought if Madhu di had said not to talk to him, I shouldn't. That's it, nothing happened."
"That's it? You sure?"
"Yeah. He doesn't have my number so I am sure he didn't guess it was me. I...I am sorry..."
"It's okay Manav. No harm done. But you did good champ. At least now we know an active number that was working only a few days ago. Maybe it would help the police track him down faster. Thank you. But, you're smart and responsible and anger can make us do terrible things. You should learn to control it."
"Yes. I know. I always cool down and think I won't repeat it, but I don't know why I get angry. I want to be like Madhu di...she almost never loses control. But it's so hard to be like her."
"That's true. She's quite perfect, isn't she?" Rishabh answered with a slight smile on his face and Manav noticed that Rishabh's mind was elsewhere.
Just then Madhu walked into the living room having heard their noises and Rishabh's smile instantly widened.
"Good morning" she said "I just woke up. Looks like both of you beat me."
"No worries. You go freshen up. Today me and Manav are making breakfast."
"Oh really?"
"Yes ma'am. Come Manav." Rishabh grinned and got a beautiful smile in response from Madhu, none of which went unnoticed by Manav.
He walked to the kitchen as she returned to her room and Manav followed.
"Rishabh bhaiya, can I ask you something?" Manav asked after a few minutes as they started shopping ingredients for omelettes.
"Yes, champ. Anything."
"You like her a lot, don't you?" he asked and Rishabh almost cut his finger, startled. He turned towards Manav who had also stopped chopping and was looking at him.
"You do, right. It's in your eyes when you look at di."
Rishabh was stunned for a few seconds not knowing how to respond, then took a deep breath. "Who wouldn't? Your sister is the most amazing person I have ever met."
Manav grinned in response, then resumed chopping his mushrooms. "You're quite amazing too, Rishabh bhaiya. I like you a lot. You should tell her."
"Manav, I..."Rishabh struggled for words, trying to figure out how to react.
"You want her in your life, don't you?" Manav turned around and asked plainly.
"More than anything else" Rishabh answered, this time without any hesitation "Manav, would you...how would you feel if I asked your sister to marry me?"
"How do you think I'd feel, jeeju?" Manav smiled and gave a hug to Rishabh. Rishabh had a big smile on his face too as he parted. This was...unexpected. And easy. If only it was going to be as easy getting Madhu to say Yes. But after the previous night, Rishabh felt hopeful again. There was something between them, undeniably powerful.
They resumed cooking; Rishabh asked after a few minutes.
"How did you know?"
"It's pretty obvious the way you look at her and the way you care for her. And me too. But you haven't told her yet, have you?"
"No. I don't know how she feels...and I don't want to lose the friendship that we have if she doesn't want me."
"Rishabh bhaiya is so nice. He remembered what I told him the other day about things I liked and bought them when I wasn't even looking. He even ordered our favorite food without even asking at lunch. He is so caring and thoughtful, isn't he?" Manav had gushed to his sister after they'd returned from their shopping trip.
"Yes, he is." Madhu had replied, smiling brightly.
"When I grow up, I want to be more like him. He tries to make everyone happy all the time. I will thank him again tomorrow."
"You should, though I don't think I can ever thank him enough for all he's done for us...I just want him to be happy too. He's gone through a lot in his life" Manav looked up and noticed his sister smiling, but lost. Then she added wistfully, saying more to herself than to anyone else "There's nothing...absolutely nothing that I wouldn't do for Rishabh and his happiness"
Manav remembered his conversation with Madhu earlier and smiled at Rishabh's question. He was sure she loved Rishabh too, even if she didn't admit it yet.
"Don't worry so much. Just tell her. You know...my sister...she's amazing and very smart, but she can be quite dumb too when it comes to asking for something she wants."
"You think?" Rishabh asked, hopefully.
"Just trust me" Manav winked, leaving Rishabh wondering what did Manav know that he didn't. Obviously, things were a touch more complicated than Manav knew because of all the history between them, but still as Madhu walked to the kitchen to join them for breakfast, looking fresh as a daisy, Rishabh couldn't help but feel more optimistic than in ages.
He would ask her to marry her, and he would do it the way she deserved to be asked. He was going to absolutely sweep her off her feet.
*******************
The rest of the day passed by in work as well as in thinking up a perfect proposal for Madhu. When he got back in the evening, he told Madhu about his discussion with the police on raiding Tony. She called and managed to talk to Roma for a while, informing her about the upcoming raid in the next few days so she could disappear just before that and also getting a lot of information about Tony's gang from her that she relayed to Rishabh.
"Do you think this would work?"
"We ought to try. And the DIG says their special sting team has been conducting such operations for some time. I will give him all this new information as well - then they can do something in the next few days. Hopefully, at least a few girls will be saved if they want to get out"
"Yes. Roma didi said she would plan to relocate away with her siblings so that Tony or his men cannot find her when they come back from jail."
"Hmm. You know Dad has a trust that runs a Women's NGO and a self-employment operation...something I don't know all the details...Mom used to..."Rishabh paused, thinking of Radha, then continued "...anyway...we can help those girls get there. They'll get a place to live...jobs..education...if they want."
"That's a great idea."Madhu beamed, then kept her hand on Rishabh's. "Rishabh...thank you..."
"It's nothing." he dismissed it. "Listen one more thing. I asked an investigator to locate Mukund." Madhu stiffened a bit hearing Mukund's name.
"Why?"
Rishabh squeezed her hand to reassure her. "He deserves to be punished too Madhu. For what he did to you..."
"I don't want to ever see him Rishabh."Madhu replied, agitated.
"I know. Listen, you think about it. I haven't gone to the police. I don't want you to relive the trauma either. I have just asked someone to find out where he is, that's it. We won't do anything you don't want. Sleep over it, ok." Rishabh tried to reassure her, though Madhu turned pensive on being reminded of Mukund and everything he did.
"So...tell me, what did you and Manav do all day?" Rishabh asked trying to change the mood.
"Just the usual. Listen I was thinking...maybe Manav can go back to Panchgani, to his school. It's almost the end of the academic year...exams are in less than two months. It would be hard to switch schools at this point in the year. You said you're going to put bodyguards near him anyway. I don't think Tony would bother him now and Manav knows to be careful of Mukund. Maybe it would be okay, just for these two months. Next year he can go somewhere else, closer to me. I will get a job."
"Hmm. I don't know Madhu. I don't like the idea of sending him far away, away from my eyes. Bodyguards would be there but I still don't feel good if there's a little bit of a risk." Rishabh frowned and Madhu was amazed for a second at seeing Rishabh's concern for Manav.
"But he has friends there and he likes the school a lot."
"Are you really comfortable with it?"
"Not really. But he wants it. And I think...the risk is less now. Besides, I am confident you will not let anything happen to him." Rishabh looked at Madhu with a stunned expression at her expression of trust in him. She trusted him with the life of the person she loved more than anything else in the world?!?!
"Okay, if you think it's ok. But he's coming home every weekend."
"Home?"
"Home. Yes. Mumbai. My home. You are coming too and he will come every Friday and leave on Monday until the term is over." Rishabh spoke with brazen confidence, waiting for Madhu to push back on his idea of coming to his home with him. She hadn't yet said anything, and he didn't want to give her the chance, if he could help it, to think of any other alternative than living with him in his home. Still, his heart was in his mouth as he waited for a response. What wouldn't he give to hear a yes from the woman who ruled his heart, his life!
Nigahon Mein Dekho Meri Jo Har Bas Gaya
Woh Hai Milta Tumse Hoo Bahu
"Okay" Madhu said after a few seconds, her mind more caught up in thinking about Manav than fully internalizing the import of Rishabh's words.
In any case, if Rishabh wanted her to stay with him, she didn't want to say no to him any more. Last night, she was vulnerable and she had practically invited him to stay with her. But he had respected her and understood her better than she did himself that if she slept with him, she would feel worse about herself and their relationship when she woke up. He hadn't rejected her, in fact in his own way he had made her feel more loved and more special than she ever had. If there was ever any doubt about her feelings for Rishabh, it went away the moment she realized that in the morning. It was love. She had indeed fallen in love with Rishabh. Probably a long time ago. But it had never felt as clear, as real and as within reach until this morning.
Jane Teri Aankhen Thi Ua
Ya Baatein Thi Wajah
Huye Tum Jo Dil Ki Arzooo
Tum Paas Ho Ke Bhi
Tum Aas Ho Ke Bhi
Ehsaaas Ho Ke Bhi
Apne Nahi
"And what was that about a job? You, mademoiselle, are going to write University exams in three months. All you're going to do from now is study" Rishabh continued his bossy ways, trying to hide the fact that he was actually over the moon with Madhu's lack of protest at the idea of living with him!
"University exams?"
"Yep." He answered and then reached out within his briefcase to pull out a couple of forms for her.
"Third year Econ honours. The correspondence course has exams in three months. Just fill this form and give me."
"But I never completed second year."
"It's not necessary. Besides I looked at your books. You're mostly on third year material. And you're super smart, NerdQueen. So just study and ace the exams, and you would get a degree from Mumbai University. There's no difference between the regular college degree and this degree, but this way you don't waste a year trying to get admission in the college when the next term starts."
"Wow."
"Yep. Get started. And start pack your stuff. We will go to Panchgani day after tomorrow, drop Manav and then go home to Mumbai."
"Day after? We can go tomorrow."
"Yeah. I need to get a few things done here. And I also want to make sure things are set up in Panchgani before Manav gets there. I still don't feel good about the idea of sending him there." Rishabh made up an excuse. Actually the Panchgani part was true, but more importantly, he had made arrangements and was planning to propose Madhu the next day in the evening. A part of him felt uneasy about rushing it, but the rest of him couldn't stand the idea of delaying any longer and Manav's words and now Madhu's responses had given him a lot of confidence.
"Okay" she replied and gave a bright smile that melted his heart.
He wanted so much to tell Madhu how he really felt about her and he wanted to do it right. He wanted to bring everything he had and offer it at her feet. He wanted to see her smile always just like she was smiling at that moment. And he really, really wanted to hold her in her arms, never ever to let go again.
"Okay, then!" he smiled, then lifted Madhu's hand upto his lips and kissed it softly. Okay, then!
Kaise batayein kyun tujhko chahein
Yaara bata na payein
Baatein dilon ki zubaan aankhon ki
Kaise tujhe samjhayein
Tu jaane na
Anupamaa
Kumkum Bhagya
