23
The next morning when Randhir woke up, he remembered what had happened last night between him and Sanyukta. Shit. He squeezed his eyes shut, as if it was a nightmare that he wanted to forget. Yes, they slept together, and now she was sleeping on his chest soundly, looking like an angel. He was sure this was all a plan by her though.
She was not an angel... she couldn't be. She was a devil, only interested in him for his money and to prove herself to him, she stooped so low as to sleep with him?
Yes, sure it had been fun for him... sex was always fun for him, but he didn't want that fun at the cost of her clinging on to him now. One thing bothered him... it was the fact that the sex he had last night with Sanyukta felt very real, very pure, and very different from anything he had ever experienced before.
Randhir pulled her body off him and lay her down on the bed, as he got up and put on his clothes. He picked up Sanyukta's clothes and placed them on the bed beside her before coughing loudly.
She stirred in her sleep and looked up at him.
"Good morning," she said softly.
"Don't be late for work," was all he said. "You have one hour."
"What?" she yelped, and sat up, holding the covers to her chest. "How am I going to be there in an hour? I have to go home and change!"
"That's not my problem," he told her sternly. "What happened last night doesn't give you excuses to be late. Hurry up, time is ticking."
Randhir then left his room so he could give her space to get dressed. In about a minute, she had already run outside his room in her clothes from last night and glanced at him again, as if she was hoping he would tell her not to worry.
Instead, he just glanced at the clock noticeably. She put on her shoes and ran out of the door, her heart beating erratically.
He felt bad for not being nicer to her... but what was he supposed to do? Now that she had given her whole body to him, he had no reason to even keep her around... surely once he got rid of her, she would learn her lesson to not be so hungry for money.
He was going to fire her soon.
24
It was painful for her to walk, let alone to run. Her whole body was sore and she was aching all over... yet she was running the fastest she could run, because Randhir told her to be on time. She couldn't be late.
She hadn't been expecting this, but what else could she have expected? She was still his secretary, and even if they made love last night, it didn't mean that they could forget about their professional life.
Sanyukta managed to get home in twenty minutes, change into a formal dress, and put on her heels for work, before leaving and taking the auto to office... she had a car, but of course, she couldn't show up to work in that.
As soon as she got to work panting for air, Randhir was already there. He glanced at the clock and then back at her.
"Not bad," he said out loud. "You're here two minutes early."
Sanyukta stumbled to his desk and straightened her dress.
"Yes sir. What would you like me to do today?" she asked him.
"I have a few appointments in the afternoon," he told her seriously, glancing at her with interest. "I want you to cancel them all."
She nodded.
"What reason should I give them?" she asked.
"I want to spend some time with my girlfriend," he answered.
"What?" she asked, her eyes widening, then she smiled shyly and looked down blushing.
Randhir who noticed this, smirked.
"Her name is Tina," he told her, and her smile dropped, as she stared at him with shock. "She's been my girlfriend for a few weeks now."
25
Tina didn't exist. Randhir was just making this up to show her that she wasn't important to him at all, but as he saw the frown that appeared on her face, his heart dropped. He couldn't let her facade distract him though... he had to be focused. This was all her plan. She wanted him to feel sorry for her, so she could trap him and get his money.
"Don't lie," she replied.
"What?" he asked her, taken aback.
"I mean, I know you don't have a girlfriend. Do you think your girlfriend would let you spend so much time with me?" she asked him and joined him behind his desk.
"Hey you're not allowed back here," he argued, but she had already reached him and placed her hands on his shoulders from behind him.
"I know I'm not allowed back here as your secretary. But I'm not coming back here as your secretary... I'm back here as the Sanyukta you made love to last night. I'm here to tell you that my love for you is real, and I know that the love you showed me last night was very much real too," she told him softly, leaning in to place her lips against his ear, causing him to start breathing unevenly. "At least don't disrespect your own love like that."
"I don't trust you," he finally said out loud. "You're only after me for my money. It's so obvious."
"Believe what you will. I'm not going to prove myself to anyone," she answered, then she smiled sadly, before kissing him softly on his cheek and standing up straight. "I guess I should resign then."
"What?" he asked, shocked.
"You want to keep me?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows.
What was with this girl? Why was she messing around with him? He was the master player here... she couldn't beat him at this game too.
"N - no! I mean yes!" he stammered, then his heart started to beat faster unexpectedly. "Dammit, I don't know what's wrong with me."
"Why?" she asked softly.
"I don't know," he said with frustration, placing his hands on his head, and feeling his heart ache, "I want to love you... I really, really do... but how can I love you when I don't even believe in love?"
She placed her hands on his shoulder again and this time she hugged him from behind, pressing her cheek against his.
"By giving it a chance," she answered softly. "In order to love someone when you don't believe, you have to give it a chance and take the risk of having your heart broken... is your love worth having your heart broken?"
"Yes," he answered breathlessly, without even thinking about it.
"Then the answer is obvious," she replied.
"I love you," he said to her, without thinking about it for a moment, as he felt his eyes get wet. "I love you Sanyukta."
Then he turned around to face her and she smiled.
"I love you too Randhir," she answered, and a feeling of warmth took over his heart.
Then she closed the gap between their mouths and kissed him softly.
26
As soon as her lips met his, he turned his rolling chair around and pulled her down on his lap, his hands reaching up to cup her cheeks as he deepened the kiss.
Her hands fell to his shoulders, and she broke the kiss, struggling to breathe.
Looking into his eyes, she noticed that they were wet, and she felt her own eyes fill with tears. Sanyukta reached up to caress his cheeks with her trembling fingers, and he dropped his hands to her waist, pulling her closer to him.
"I'm sorry," he murmured.
"Don't be," she replied softly and smiled at him. "I understand why you were doing what you did."
"That doesn't give me an excuse to -" he started, but Sanyukta leaned forward and pecked his lips quickly, leaving him stunned.
"I don't know where you got these guts from," he pointed out.
"Love," she answered, and started to giggle.
"Sanyukta, I think I should be honest with you," he told her seriously. "When I first told you I loved you, until even last night, I didn't mean it."
Sanyukta pressed her forehead against his, and he could feel his heart start to beat erratically.
"I didn't want to admit I fell in love with you... because... because well girls are liars. Or at least, that's how I feel. I felt like they're cheats because the one girl from the past who I truly had feelings for, she claimed to love me when all she wanted was my money... so I made myself believe that you were after my money and power too," he admitted. "I don't like being lied to... it hurts me a lot when those who I care about lie to me."
Sanyukta felt an overwhelming sense of guilt hit her when he said that, but she didn't interrupt him. He needed to get this off his chest first.
"I wanted to hurt you, to teach you a lesson so you would know not to do this with anyone," he continued, and then stroked her cheek lovingly. "I wanted to humiliate you, to embarrass you, to hurt you and snatch your dignity from you... just to teach you a lesson."
She felt tears invade her eyes at his confession, but she smiled nonetheless.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, looking guilty. "I really am sorry. When I told you I loved you today, and even last night as we were making love, I meant it. I wasn't lying."
"I know," she answered softly. "I know you meant it."
"This morning I tried to push you away because I couldn't handle how beautiful last night was. I had sex before, but I never made love Sanyukta," he told her honestly. "I never knew why everyone claimed sex was so beautiful... last night I found out why."
"It was beautiful for me too Randhir," she confessed. "It was the most beautiful night of my life."
She removed her forehead from his and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
"I really want to give us a chance," he admitted, holding her to him tightly. "I want to believe that you love me for me, and not my money or power... I want to believe all of that... sometimes it's hard when all I've been acquainted with was the opposite."
"Take your time Randhir. I will be here with you, waiting with you," she said, a smile on her face.
"Thank you," he answered, rubbing her back, as a smile formed on his face. "You are amazing Sanyukta... thank you so much for being here."
Warmth filled her heart as he finally gave in to his feelings, finally accepted love, and he finally surrendered to the calling of his soul.
27
Later that day, once they were finished their work and it was time to go home, Randhir hugged Sanyukta from behind in his office, burying his face in her neck.
"Randhir!" Sanyukta gasped, as he started to suck on the supple skin of her neck.
She felt herself go weak and if he wasn't holding her from behind, she might have even fallen down.
"I'll drop you home," he told her, his nose nuzzling her neck.
"No!" she said right away - Randhir could not drop her home... no way, if he saw where she lived, he would find out that she wasn't the poor girl that she pretended to be.
"Why?" he asked, and she placed her hands on top of his, before turning around to face him.
"I want to come to your home," she said with a smile.
"My home?" he asked, surprised. "Why?"
"To spend time with you obviously," she told him, rolling her eyes.
He cupped her cheeks lovingly and kissed her forehead.
"Why don't we spend time at your home?" he asked her softly. "I want to see where you live."
"Not today Randhir," she told him, "I'm just worried my father will come home and if he sees you, it won't be good right now. I have to tell him about you first."
Randhir smiled and held her tightly.
"Okay then," he whispered. "But Sanyukta there's something I want to tell you."
"Mhmm?" she asked him.
"We're going to take things slow from now... I feel like I rushed everything for you. I want to give you everything in a special way... so we'll stay away from each other," he told her softly. "From our first kiss to everything else, I want it all to be special."
Sanyukta smiled against his chest.
"Randhir, you don't have to do that... it was very special for me," she told him honestly.
"No, but I wasn't being genuine," he told her. "Now it'll be perfect."
Sanyukta broke the embrace, and looked into his eyes with her tear-filled ones.
"I love you," she told him lovingly. "I love you so much."
"I love you too," he told her, then smiled. "So how about a date first?"
"A date?" she asked. "Where?"
"That's a surprise. I'll pick you up at seven this evening," he told her. "Text me your address."
"Yeah okay," she told him, feeling nervous about what address to give him. "I'll see you tonight then."
"I'm going to miss you," he said to her, with a sad smile.
"It's only for a few hours," she replied, smiling. "We'll meet soon."
He took her hand and squeezed it, before letting go.
"Come, let's go. I'll help you find a taxi," he said to her, and she smiled.
"Okay," she answered, and followed him out of his office.
28
Sanyukta had given him an address to a lower-middle class area, where she decided to take a taxi to before he picked her up. It was cold outside, and Sanyukta was dressed in a blue knee-length dress and had a black shawl wrapped around her.
She had been waiting for about fifteen minutes, shivering in the cold until he arrived in a BMW and rolled down his windows, looking surprised.
"It's so cold, you could have waited inside!" he told her, then unlocked the doors of his car. "Come in!"
She got in immediately, her teeth still chattering.
"Sanyukta!" Randhir exclaimed and touched her cheek which felt like ice. "You're going to get sick. Why didn't you just wait inside?"
How could she tell him she couldn't wait inside because she didn't even live here?
"Where are we going?" she asked, feeling the heat inside the car finally start to warm her up.
"You'll see," he told her and smiled, taking her cold hand in his, and rubbing it softly.
He started to drive the car, and she smiled, watching the serene look on his face. She wanted him to stay this way forever... peaceful and happy.
Sanyukta decided that she would tell him the truth soon, but first she wanted him to settle his feelings. She didn't want to overwhelm him right away.
He took her to a hotel and as soon as he brought the car to the front, he got out of the car in his suit, and went to the other side to open the door for Sanyukta. Holding his hand out for her to take, he smiled at her. She smiled back and took his hand, getting out of the car.
Randhir then gave the keys to the chaffeur before leading her inside the hotel, to the restaurant.
As soon as they sat on the table Randhir had reserved for them and gave their order, Randhir looked behind her and his expression turned to one of shock.
"What the hell," he said out loud, and Sanyukta turned around to follow his gaze.
"What?" she asked, and her eyes widened as she saw what he was looking at.
"Why's my dad here?" he said out loud, "And that too with the father of the girl he wanted me to marry?"
Sanyukta gulped nervously, and turned around immediately so they couldn't see her.
His father was here at this hotel with her father.
29
"I'm going to go there and tell them right now to not even think about hooking me up with that girl because I have you. Come, let's go - let them see who I've chosen!" Randhir said angrily, and got up, but Sanyukta grabbed his hand fearfully.
"No Randhir!" Sanyukta said, and he sat back down.
"Why?" he asked her. "I don't want them to fix my marriage or try to get me to date this girl! I am not interested in this girl!"
How could she tell him that the girl he was referring to was really her?
"Randhir, please let's get out of here," she begged. "I don't want my date with you to be ruined."
"Let me at least tell them Sanyukta -" Randhir started but Sanyukta shook her head.
"Please Randhir, now's not the right time," she pleaded. "Let it be!"
"Sanyukta do you want them to fix my marriage with another girl?" he asked her angrily. "Let me stop it while I can!"
"Talk to your father later," Sanyukta told him. "Not right now!"
"For goodness sake, I don't even know that girl's name and they're trying to fix my marriage with her," Randhir said angrily. "I just can't take it!"
"Please Randhir," she begged, her eyes filling with tears. "Let's get out of here."
She didn't want her father to see her here at any cost, and she knew that if Randhir's father saw her, he'd recognize her as well.
Randhir sighed, took out his wallet and dropped some cash onto the table, before getting up.
"Let's go," he said, and held his hand out for her to take.
She took his hand, and with her back facing the two father's, she walked out of there with Randhir.
Once they were out, she breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where will we go now?" she asked him.
"We can go to another hotel," Randhir answered. "I can't believe that out of all the hotels, they found this one to fix my marriage in."
Sanyukta smiled and squeezed his hand as they walked to his car together. He opened the passenger door for her, and she got in. He closed her door and then went to his own side before turning on the engine and driving.
"Hey," Randhir said, taking her hand as he drove. "Let's go to my place. We'll order in."
Sanyukta smiled at him and nodded.
"I like that idea," she told him softly. "That way I can cuddle with you."
"Cuddle with me?" he asked, a smile appearing on his face. "Is that what you want?"
She blushed and nodded.
"I prefer just spending time with you in a simple manner... we don't have to do anything fancy," she told him happily.
"Alright then," he told her, rubbing circles on her hand. "We'll go to my place then."
The next few weeks passed like this - with the two of them enjoying each other's company... spending time together cuddling, but never doing anything more.
Then one day, everything changed when a storm of the past came knocking on Randhir's door, leaving behind a mess.
30
Randhir woke up that morning with Sanyukta sleeping soundly on his chest. They fell asleep like this often, in each others arms, enjoying the feel of just being with each other. Most of the time, they would talk and joke until they fell asleep. They were always fully clothed, and had not even kissed since that day three and a half weeks ago where Randhir confessed to Sanyukta that he wanted to be with her. Randhir wanted to make her first kiss very special by taking it slow.
He smiled and caressed Sanyukta's hair as she breathed deeply on top of him. She stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes.
"Randhir," she mumbled.
"Yes Sanyukta," he muttered in response.
He didn't know how he kept his hormones in control with having her sleep so close to him, but he had to say he was quite proud of himself. He didn't think he could ever do this.
"Good morning," she replied.
"Good morning," he said with a smile.
"It's the weekend right?" she asked him groggily. "No work today?"
"No, not today," he answered.
"Okay," she mumbled, and sat up on the bed, rubbing her eyes.
He sat up too and looked at her beautiful face - even in the morning, right after she woke up, he found her to be so beautiful.
She looked up at him, and smiled... it was so hard for her to resist kissing him when he looked at her so lovingly, but she knew he wanted to make everything special for her, and she was respecting that.
Just then his phone rang and he picked it up immediately, "Yes dad?"
Sanyukta looked up curiously.
"What? I told you... I don't want to get married," he said with gritted teeth. "I already have someone in my life! What do you mean her dad said yes? I don't want to marry her!"
Sanyukta looked at him with shock - her father, without even asking her, went and fixed her marriage with Randhir?
"No dad!" he yelled, "I told you, I'm not marrying her. I refuse to!"
Then he hung up the phone and breathed sharply with annoyance.
"Are you okay?" she asked him, touching his arm softly.
"My stupid father fixed my wedding that girl!" Randhir said angrily. "How could he?"
Sanyukta hugged him tightly, and he relaxed in her arms.
"Don't worry Randhir... everything will be okay," she murmured.
He hugged her back.
"I don't know what I would do without you," he told her honestly.
Sanyukta broke the hug and cupped his cheeks.
"I should go home now, but let me know if you need me," she told him softly, and he nodded, kissing her forehead.
She then got up and stretched, before picking up her bag and walking out of his room to put on her shoes. He followed her out. Once she finished putting on her shoes, she held his shoulders and kissed his cheek.
"I'll see you later," she told him softly, and he smiled.
"Soon," he informed her.
"Of course," she said softly.
Randhir grinned at her, and she walked out of his condominium, a happy smile on her face.
As he watched her go, he decided that he wanted to give her a gift from his side. So later that day, he went to the mall.
He entered a jewelry store, looking for something that he could gift her. His eyes fell on a beautiful gold chain with a diamond heart pendant.
"This is perfect," he murmured, then turned to the shopkeeper. "Please pack this!"
Randhir gave his card to pay. The shopkeeper charged his card and then handed him the bag with the packed locket.
As he was leaving the store, he bumped into someone he was never expecting to see again.
"Randhir!" she gasped, her eyes wide.
"Vidhushi?" he asked incredulously.
Was he dreaming?
31
Randhir nearly dropped his bag with shock. The one girl he loved many years ago, was now in front of him. He hated her when they broke up, but now she was back... in front of him... it was so hard for him to register what was happening. What was happening? Why was this happening to him?
"It's been so long," Vidhushi murmured and Randhir nodded, holding his shopping bag even more tightly. "You're in a jewelry store? Who are you buying jewelry for? A girl?"
Suddenly Sanyukta's face appeared in his mind and a small smile formed on his lips.
"Yes," he answered, nodding. "It's for my girlfriend."
Vidhushi looked at him with a shocked expression.
"You have a girlfriend?" she asked, sounding stunned. "Wow Randhir, I never thought you would get over me."
"Yes, and that's what your problem is," he told her. "You weren't just money hungry and greedy, you were a conceited bitch too."
Vidhushi's mouth fell open when he said that, and her eyes widened with shock.
Just then, someone appeared from behind her, and Randhir glanced up to see his Sanyukta.
"Why do you want to go here?" she asked Vidhushi, and then she turned to glance up at Randhir, before her mouth fell open in shock.
"Sanyukta?" Randhir asked incredulously.
"R - Randhir," Sanyukta stammered, her eyes wide.
"You two know each other?" Vidhushi asked, sounding confused.
Sanyukta felt like she would die on the spot as she looked into his eyes.
Ishaani
