CHAPTER 2
"Damn it, no network" , Uday said after a while of fidgeting with his cell phone in hopes that it would let him make his desired phone calls, but the storm had it's own plan. It was messing up with the signals of his phone and that agitated him further.
"Just relax and sit down, your constant blabbering is giving me a headache" , came Manyata's voice. She had her eyes closed and was massaging her temple with the tip of her fingers.
"Relax and sit down? You're kidding me right? We are stuck in a freaking barn if you noticed" , replied Uday in disbelief. He was amazed to see how perfectly calm and relaxed this girl was. Usually girls would freak out under such situations, especially when there would be a stranger involved too. But this girl, she was definitely different than others he had met. His astonishment grew further when after a few moments, Manyata burst out into uncontrollably loud giggles.
"Uhh are you okay?" , Uday raised his eyebrow in question. This girl is definitely crazy.
"Sorry but I was just thinking, that should have been my line don't you think? Like the part in movies where the heroine freaks out because she's all alone in an isolated place with the hero. But here the hero is all scared himself" , Manyata continued laughing and Uday stood there enthralled by her reply.
"Hey I am not scared" , said Uday feeling offended.
"Yes you are. Don't worry, I won't rape you" , Manyata passed him a cheesy grin. Uday was taken aback by her statement as he hadn't expected her to say something like that. But he regained his composure in a matter of seconds.
"Trust me sweetheart, you couldn't rape me even if you wanted to" , smirked Uday.
"Is that a challenge?" , Manyata stood up confidently and crossed her arms.
"I would have gladly led you on had it been a different situation, but I will not take advantage of your clearly demented state so no, it's not a challenge" , replied Uday matter-of-factly.
"Admit it, you're scared. And that too from a girl" , scoffed Manyata.
"Oh great. The drugs have completely gotten to your head" , Uday was losing his calm with every passing second and Manyata was just making it worse for him. He turned around to find a place where he could sit since Manyata had already claimed the best spot and the drug was making him tired and a little too exasperated for some reason. He could only come to one conclusion at that point. Maybe this drug magnifies your current inner feelings. Uday's agitation was being doubled under it's effect, and Manyata's behavior had reached a whole new level of crazy. He found a spot for himself and had only moved a step towards it when he felt a hand tugging on his arm to make him turn around.
"Drugs? What drugs?" , asked Manyata suspiciously. Uday realized that she had no clue about the whole drug matter that had basically led the police to the bar for a raid, so he decided to explain it to her.
"The thing is..." , he had just begun when Manyata cut him off.
"You drugged me? Oh my God!!" , Manyata started moving back, shock and fear clearly visible on her face.
"What? No I didn't. Okay let me explain" , he tried to move forward to make her calm down, only to be cut in once again by her screams.
"HELP, SOMEBODY SAVE ME FROM THIS MAN!" , yelled Manyata in an extremely melodramatic way.
"Oh God what have I gotten myself into" , Uday slapped his hand on his forehead.
"What racket do you work for? TELL ME?" , asked Manyata grabbing his collar.
"Okay you are getting REALLY high" , replied Uday trying to loosen her grip from his shirt.
"Were you going to supply me to another gang?" , Manyata was almost in tears. Uday couldn't believe he was actually going through all this. He mentally slapped himself for getting in this mess.
"Seriously what is wrong with you? I saved you from the damn police and that's how you repay me? Great" , said Uday in disbelief. Manyata recalled how Uday had saved her earlier tonight from the clutches of the police, and she relaxed a little bit and let go off his shirt.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening to me. I just feel so..."
"Hyper" , completed Uday.
"Hey I take offense"
"Just calm your nerves and sit down"
"You're so boring" , with that said, Manyata went back to sit again whereas Uday just started at her in amazement.
She must have been the first girl to call me boring, yet I didn't feel offended or angry. I just stared at her like she was a new project I was working on, trying to figure out the pros and cons to reach a conclusion. I shook my head to come out of my reverie and went and sat down opposite her. Manyata had a funny expression on her face, and I had to suppress a smile. Never had I imagined to see such a day in my life, nor did I know that drugs could affect someone to such an extent that they would become hilariously crazy. I couldn't deny, but I had begun to enjoy this girl's antics. She was definitely different and amusing, and she clearly didn't put on a show of being a perfect girl in order to impress me. And that intrigued me even more. Maybe it was the after affect of the drug, but one could easily tell that she was genuine even in a drugged state. Extremely crazy though, but genuine. I could guess that she was completely unaware of my true identity for now. I was tired of seeing people faking around with me to come in my good books just because I was a Prince. Sometimes I couldn't comprehend if these people actually even liked me or not, or was it just the tag of being a Prince that made them bow down infront of me. Karan was the only person that I knew who loved, respected and appreciated me for the real me and was never afraid to point out my flaws because he was a true friend who always wanted the best for me. And now being with this girl made me feel normal, but good, something I always felt only with Karan.
It was still raining hard outside, and the sudden sound of the thunder broke Uday's chain of thoughts. He looked ahead only to find Manyata paralyzed with fear. He guessed it must have been the affect of the thunder. And he couldn't help but tease her.
"Look who's scared now" , smirked Uday. Manyata threw him an angry stare and muttered something under her breath which Uday thought sounded like "Halkat veda" . Uday chuckled at her selection of swear words for him, she was very creative indeed.
"Tell me something about yourself" , asked Uday after a while of examining Manyata.
"Why should I? You're a stranger. What if you turn out to be some sort of a psychotic stalker or a serial killer?!" , replied Manyata. Uday laughed at her innocent statement. He had genuinely laughed after what seemed like years.
"I can assure you, I am not a stalker, nor am I a serial killer. Since we are likely to spend the night together, we might aswell get to know each other to pass our time" , stated Uday. He could feel that she shrugged at the word "night" and passed him a weak smile before answering.
"I guess you're right. Well I am Manyata Raichand from Delhi. I am 18 and I was supposed to be on a date with my long-time crush today but instead, I am stuck here with you" , replied Manyata sadly and going slightly off topic.
"Long-time crush huh? How long exactly?" , asked Uday with a mischievous smile.
"2 weeks to be precise. That's the longest I've ever had" , giggled Manyata.
"Okay enough about me. Now your turn" , added Manyata looking interested.
"I am Udayveer Singh. 21 years of age and I am a Pri..."
"AAAHHH"
Without letting him finish, Manyata screamed and ran to Uday and jumped on his lap hugging him with all her strength and knocking the air out of him. Uday was left baffled at her sudden reaction. Her hands were interlocked at the back of his neck pulling him closer. She was shivering in his arms and he knew something had scared her. But what? For some odd reason, he felt beatific having her in his arms. Like she belonged there. Belonged there? God what the hell am I saying?!? These drugs are playing tricks with my mind. Ignoring his desire of hugging her back, Uday decided to break the awkward silence.
"What happened, are you alright?" , asked Uday moving her back to make her look at him. She had shut her eyes closed and didn't speak. Uday shook her a little bit to bring her back to her senses and her eyes immediately shot open.
"T-t-there was a cockroach trying to crawl up on me. Yuck!" , Manyata made a face showing disgust.
"What? You got scared of a cockroach? YOU?!? I bet the poor cockroach would have been petrified by a mere look at you" , mocked Uday.
"Excuse me what is that supposed to mean?" , replied Manyata offended.
"I mean to say that weren't you so confidently challenging to rape me just moments ago, and you got scared of a tiny little cockroach? Unbelievable!"
"It was gross and slimy and wriggly okay. I panicked"
"Admit it, you were scared" , said Uday mimicking her.
"No I wasn't" , stated Manyata.
"Is that why you're still sitting on my lap?" , smirked Uday and gestured her with his eyes to look down. Manyata felt like someone had just punched her. She took notice of the position they were in , she was sitting on his lap, still holding on to him, and when realization dawned on her, she immediately pushed him a little back and stood up. Uday passed her a triumphant smile and crossed his arms on his chest whereas Manyata stood there shooting daggers at him.
"That was unintentional" , claimed Manyata.
"Yeah, sure" , Uday closed his eyes, still smiling, and leaned his head back showing complete disinterest in her previous statement. After a while he felt someone pushing him, and he knew who it was.
"Move over. Make room for me. I am not going back there" , said Manyata, still pushing him.
"Okay okay just stop pushing me already" , Uday moved a little to the other side and leaned sideways to the heap of hay next to him. The whole barn was filled with piles and heaps of hay occupying most of the space there, leaving them less room to sit. And since Manyata had refused to go back to her original spot out of fear of cockroaches, they had no choice but to share the remaining space. A few moments were spent in silence when Manyata finally spoke up.
"Will she be okay?" , Manyata sounded upset. Uday got confused at her vague statement.
"Who?" , he asked.
"Jay, my little sister. I hope she's okay. She's still really immature and cannot walk even a step without me. I'm scared, if something happens to her, I won't be able to forgive myself" , tears were welling up in her eyes and Uday had no clue as to how he should console her. The drugs were definitely playing with her mind since she was having mood swings every 5 minutes or so , but he couldn't help but admire her even more. She really was something else. Seeing her getting so worried for her sister's welfare instead of worrying about herself earned her a lot of respect in Uday's eyes. He tried to comfort her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sure she'll be fine. Don't worry" , said Uday. Manyata passed a weak smile and nodded.
"So, do you have any siblings? Tell me something about your family?" , asked Manyata excited. The word "family" triggered unpleasant and bitter memories to surface in his heart and mind once again.
*****
August 1994
"Daddy, it's Karan's birthday and I want to buy a gift for him. He is my best friend so I want to give him the best gift. Please take me to the gift shop Daddy" , an 8 year old Uday was jumping with excitement and pleading his Father.
"I am busy Uday" , Giriraj who was clearly not interested in the conversation continued working on his files without once looking at his son's desperate face.
"Daddy please I want to buy something good before someone else does" , young Uday began to tug on his Father's arm.
"Uday don't disturb me. I said I am busy. Take your Mother with you" , said Giriraj going through a pile of documents.
"No not Mama. I want to go with you today. You always send me everywhere with Mama only" , replied Uday sadly. Giriraj did not answer him as he was too busy with his work to pay any heed to his only son's pleadings. So Uday spoke up again.
"Daddy please take me to the gift shop. I promise I will behave like a good boy. Please Daddy please please please" , Uday kept on tugging at Giriraj's arm and his patience reached it's limit.
"Enough Udayveer. I am tired of hearing you whine. Can't you see I am busy with some work? Go ask your Mother to take you wherever you want but don't come back here to disturb me again" , said Giriraj sternly. His loud tone scared the young boy and he instantly left the study room, fresh tears rolling down his delicate rosy cheeks.
November 1999
"I curse the day I decided to marry you Avantika. You've made my life a living hell" , spat Maharaj Giriraj.
"And I curse myself for having fallen in love with such a heartless man" , tears brimmed in Maharani Avantika's eyes.
"Don't you dare answer me back like that"
"Why not Maharaj? Why don't I get the right to do or say anything at all?"
"Avantika don't make me regret marrying you more than I already do"
"If not me, then atleast think about our son. Think about what kind of an effect our deteriorating relationship would have on him. He's just 13 Maharaj. He's still a kid"
"He is a Yuvraaj Avantika. Don't turn him into a weak soul like yourself. My son is very well known to the fact that Royals have no place for emotions in their hearts and you better not try to change that"
"I will not let you turn my son into a heartless monster"
"Keep your voice down Avantika"
"No Maharaj, not today. I won't let my son's life and decisions be dictated by you. What happened to me will not happen to my son. Uday will not live his life under the shadow of a ruthless King"
"Avantika!!!" , The King had slapped his wife hard across the face. Maharani Avantika gave one last disappointed look towards her husband, who had no remorse of his actions, before retreating to her room. Instead, all he had was pure hatred on his face for his wife. What both were unaware of was the fact that their son had witnessed everything. Uday stood there hiding behind a pillar, petrified. He had grown up seeing his parents taunt, fight and hate on each other, but never had he seen his Father raise his hand on his Mother before. He knew his Father was a shrewd and harsh man, but witnessing this incident with his very own eyes made him distance himself from him even more. He held back the tears that were welling up in his eyes and went to his Mother's room to console her.
March 2005
"Promise me Uday, promise me that you'll stay strong" , Maharani Avantika patted her son's head while he lay there resting his head on his Mother's lap, shattered from the inside and fighting back his tears.
"Mom please don't leave me" , pleaded Uday.
"I am always with you sweetheart. Doesn't matter if you can't see me, but I will always be with you" , said Avantika and kissed his forehead. Uday raised his head and passed a weak smile. He hugged his Mother as tight as he could.
"Why won't you let me come with you Mom?" , asked Uday, still hugging his Mother. Avantika moved him back to make him face her.
"Because before being my son, you are first and foremost the Yuvraaj of Jaigadh. You have made a promise to your people and taken a vow to put their needs and wishes before yours. You have a responsibility on your shoulders that you cannot back down from, no matter what the situation is" , his Mother explained, to which he nodded.
"But I will miss you" , a lone tear escaped his eyes.
"I will miss you too son. And I am always just a phone call away" , Maharani Avantika kissed her son's forehead once again before leaving the place that once used to be her home forever.
Uday could not bring himself to live in the Palace he once thought was his home, without his Mother in it. Everything reminded him of her. And it reminded him of the pain that this house had given her. He couldn't forget his Mother's tears, and the reason behind it. The walls of this Palace had started to suffocate him. He walked up to his Father who was busy helping his new wife move in.
"Dad, I need to talk to you" , said Uday, his face and voice void of any emotions.
"Oh Uday. It's good you're here. Let me introduce you to Meghna. Meghna come here and meet my son Udayveer" , Giriraj gestured his wife Meghna to come forward.
"Hi Uday, it's so nice to m..." , but before she could finish, Uday raised his hand and silenced her.
"Dad, I need to speak to you, alone" , said Uday in a more business like manner this time and walked out of the room. Giriraj followed him.
"Is this the way to treat someone Uday?" , asked Giriraj sternly once they were out.
"It would be better if you don't teach me how people are supposed to be treated, especially after what you did with my Mother" , spat Uday. Giriraj was at a loss of words so Uday grasped the opportunity and continued.
"I only came here to tell you that I am leaving"
"Leaving? Why? Are you going to your Mot..."
"Don't worry Dad, I am not going to London to Mom. I am just leaving this house"
"And why is that?"
"Do you really expect me to live in this house under the same roof with the woman who destroyed my Mother's life? No Dad. I won't. This house only reminds me of the sorrows and pains my Mother had to go through because of you. I am moving to my Hotel and would be handling all the estate matters from there. And before you begin to give me a lecture on irresponsibility and how being a Royal I can't back out from my duties, let me tell you that I am well aware of my duties and responsibilities as a Yuvraaj and I don't think I need to live with you to fulfill them. I am capable of handling this Empire even without your help" , without giving his Father a chance to speak. Uday stormed off from the Palace and the King stood there agape.
*****
"Hey, where are you lost? Hey?!?" , Uday was brought back to the present by the sound of Manyata's fingers snapping infront his eyes.
"Huh? Oh I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something" , replied Uday trying to compose himself. Those bitter memories still made his heart ache.
"I think you're drugged too. You're losing your senses" , Manyata observed him.
"And you didn't have any to being with"
"Excuse me?"
"Just go to sleep!"
"No. I'm bored and I don't want to sleep"
"Fine" , with that said, Uday leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Manyata didn't like the sudden change of behavior in Uday and she didn't know why she felt that way. She felt she was being ignored, and that pissed her off. After a few minutes passed, Manyata spoke up again.
"If I wasn't stuck in this barn with you, I might have had my first kiss today" , said Manyata dreamily.
"Here we go again" , sighed Uday, his eyes still closed.
"Oh good you're awake. So tell me, have you ever been kissed before?"
"Let's just say, I am not inexperienced like you"
"Is that some sort of a code word?"
"Sort of"
"Or are you not telling me because you are probably a bad kisser and feel embarrassed sharing your experience?"
"What?" , Uday's eyes shot open at that statement and his mouth slightly open due to the shock.
"Yea that must be it. You probably are a bad kisser" , Manyata said to herself, but it was loud enough for Uday to hear. No one called Yuvraaj Udayveer Singh a bad kisser and got away with it.
"I am certainly not a bad kisser and I will prove it to you" , with that said, Uday grabbed Manyata from the waist and pulled her closer, such that she landed straight in his lap, and with the other hand he held her hair from the back of her neck and pushed her face forward. Within seconds he harshly placed his lips on hers and kissed her roughly without giving Manyata the chance to process what just happened. Manyata's hands rose of their own accord and locked them around his neck deepening the kiss, with her fingers playing with his hair. On sensing the feel of Manyata's hands in his hair, Uday pulled away from the kiss. Manyata was perplexed at the sudden disinterest from Uday and she stared intently at him, her hands still in his hair. They sat like that for what seemed like eternity when finally Manyata came back to her senses and pulled herself away from him and got off from his lap to sit back on the floor, her face flushed with color and embarrassment. Uday decided to break the awkward silence.
"So, you still think I'm a bad kisser?" , asked Uday casually, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
"Yes" , replied Manyata in a weak voice staring at the ground beneath her. Her cheeks had turned crimson and she still felt mortified for getting carried away by the kiss.
"Oh really? Maybe that's why you were so...involved" , Manyata instantly looked up to face him and Uday passed her a victory smirk. Her cheeks were getting warmer due to the color appearing on them while Manyata pondered over his words. She really was equally, if not, more involved than him. And she felt elated for some odd reason. A part of her wanted to feel his lips on hers again.
Even though I remained calm and cool from the outside, my body was reacting in a completely opposite way from the inside. I could feel my insides burning with desire. I had kissed many women before. But never had I felt the urge to just hold on and never let go. When her lips had touched mine, I felt an immediate spark, like a bolt of electricity was running through my veins. That only increased my desire for her more. Was it the effect of the drugs, I didn't know. All I knew was that I wanted to do it again. And just one glance at Manyata told me she wanted the same. I knew she would hesitate, so I decided to make the first move.
"Do you want to try that again?" , both Uday and Manyata said at the same time and mirrored each others expressions on realizing it. There was a hint of surprise, desire and hesitation all mixed together. But neither of the beings wanted to back out now. With a slow deliberate movement, Uday leaned in and bent his head to hers, connecting their foreheads, then with the most gentle of pressure pressed his lips against hers. Her hands unintentionally rose up and her fingers began to brush his collarbone. He held her waist and pulled her in tighter, deepening the kiss. The felt oddly elated in each other's arms. Uday pulled away to look in her eyes, and what he saw in them made him gently frame her face with his hands and look at her with new found emotions. He lowered his face once more and gently grazed his lips on the crook of her neck all the way down her shoulder pulling down her sleeve. Manyata felt her body shiver with his touch. This was the first time she had allowed a man to come so physically close to her, and she wasn't ashamed of it. The feeling of his warm lips on her cold skin was impeccable. Every touch, every kiss of his made her feel purer, like she was complete. If this is how losing your innocence feels, she would gladly lose it to this man every day and every night for the rest of her life. She cradled him close, tangling her legs in his to show equal passion, and in a swift movement, Uday leaned over and pushed her beneath him, her back pressed tightly against the cold floor and their lips still connected. When he deepened the kiss, he felt as if he had been tossed into the ocean, with the waves crashing around, and over him, drowning him, but he had no intention of fighting them off. They were driven away with passion and desire as they removed the only barrier of clothes between them exposing their skin.
"You're beautiful" , Uday said huskily looking down at her bare body. He felt something in him change during that moment. Never had he called a woman beautiful before, with so much genuineness and sincerity. She smiled a weak smile and embraced him in her arms as he bent down and enveloped her bare body into his.
This wasn't lust, this was their first step towards the feeling called love.
*****
I am going to be a little busy over the weekend so please don't expect me to update anytime soon now. Lol. But to make up for the future delay, I made this update longer. Hope you guys like it. And in case you guys didn't notice earlier, I thought I should remind you that as I had mentioned in Chapter 1, we are in the year 2007 right now! And sorry about the PMs saying "Chapter 3" . My friend was sending them out and she wrote that by mistake.
Drop in your precious comments and hit the like button! 😊
Edited by fia21 - 13 years ago
