Riansh OS - I , Wife of a Criminal

Author's Note:

Hello guys, 

This OS is from Riddhima's POV that takes place before Vansh's poisoning. This story has little creativity as far as plot is concerned as it follows the serial mostly...except in some parts, where I tweaked a few things. I have retained some of Vansh's iconic dialogues too.

The OS is more focussed on Riddhima's perspective about Vansh, exploring her dilemma and internal conflicts regarding him.

Copyrights are reserved in my name.

It is long...so take your time. 😆 Happy Reading! 

OS - I, Wife of a Criminal

This man confuses me. 

The one sleeping on that tiny couch, his legs crouched to fit in his gigantic form into the small space. The man whom I call a criminal, and the world my husband.

Six months back, I had entered his life. My intention? To put him behind bars. Just the way Kabir wanted it...correction, just the way he still wants it. 

Kabir who? Ah! That's a story for another day...but for now, let's just say, Kabir, the police officer. Kabir, the CBI agent. Kabir, my love. 

One day, Kabir came up to me and asked for something peculiar. He said he'd need someone outside his profession to nab a high profile criminal. "Would you do it for me? I have no one else to trust," he said.

I looked into his eyes. Kabir was all I had, my friend, my family, my soulmate. If I refused, would he leave me? To an orphan, that was a precarious situation. "What is it that you need, Kabir?"

He heaved a sigh of relief. "You have to get close to the man I want to nab. Get close enough to collect evidence against him."

I, an orphaned girl, who grew up abandoned in an orphanage. What did I know about spying? But then love makes you do strange things. "What do I need to do?" I asked him, my lips quivering with uncertainty. 

"I will teach you everything. You will get the necessary crash course. Listen to me, your involvement is off the record...so you have to be very careful."

"This is just temporary, right?"

"Absolutely...just a few months...and I promise, you will be safe and back to your old life."

It happened just like that. And before the reality could sink in, I found myself boarding the Raisinghania liner as an event organizer for a lavish cruise party. An insane mission. My job was to slowly win trust of the Raisighania family as an employee, and become a part of their circle. Little did I know back then that I was stepping into a lion's den with nothing but my naivete as my shield.

I still remember the day I lay my eyes on the 'criminal'. The alarm went off the moment I stepped into the body scanner at the entrance. Lady attendants came rushing and dragged me to an unknown open area of the cruise ship. Scared out of my wits, I remembered Kabir's words...HE can smell fear like a hound. If you get caught...don't show it on your face.

In the far end, a tall figure stood along the edge of the cruise, facing the ocean. The attendants grabbed my arm and brought me before him, and he turned his face to take a glance.

The first thing I noticed about Vansh Raisighania was that he was very handsome. His aura penetrated my fear as I observed him. Towering height, resplendent golden skin and chiselled features, accentuated by a neatly maintained beard. All things perfect, yet strangely unsettling.

Unsettling, because...Kabir, for instance, despite being half as handsome, radiates a pleasing aura. But not Vansh. Darkness encircled his eyes, indicating his lack of sleep or, perhaps, overwork. One look at him, and you could tell he is a dangerous man, the kind that exudes a sense of potent threat. If there was something more intimidating than his countenance, then it was his voice. A deep, sexy baritone that reverberated even as he spoke. He was both the beauty and the beast.

"What are you carrying, girl?" He asked, his eyes boring into mine.

I shivered. My one-sided transmitter butterfly clip was discovered, and now this man would throw me offboard. I knew how to swim but...

"What are you carrying?" He asked again, this time his voice lower, but more menacing.

"No..nothing sir." I stammered.

"Your phone." He said with a smirk. "No unauthorized phones allowed on my cruise...and my house." With that, he snapped his fingers and one of the lady attendants came rushing. "Check her bag."

"I am sorry, sir. I didn't know." I said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"What's your name?" He spoke as he turned to look at the ocean again.

"R..Riddhima…"

"Hmm. I am letting you go for this is your first mistake. But remember, there is no scope for mistakes in VR's cruise. Make sure my guests have nothing to fuss about."

"Yes sir…"

The chilling silence that followed was perhaps his way to tell me off. I rushed to the allocated cabin allocated at the verge of tears. That was only the beginning.

After that terrifying encounter, one thing led to another, and I made my way to VR mansion as the resident physiotherapist of Vansh's sister Sia. Till this day, Vansh keeps taunting me -- What is your real profession? Physiotherapist? Party Planner? Or something else? I want to ask him the same too. But VR doesn't like questions. So I hold my tongue.

Kabir says he is a drug and weapon smuggler in the garb of a business tycoon. Basically, a white collar criminal. I trust Kabir. At least I did when I stepped into this risky business. I believed every word he said, every picture he painted. And when I entered Vansh's abode, Kabir didn't seem too far from the truth.

VR mansion was a strange place with strange rules. Huge and luxurious, it had every facility I thought only 5 star hotels had. The area had phone jammers, which meant no unauthorized calls could be made in and out of this place. Vansh does not trust anyone, Kabir's words rang in my ears when I first stepped in. Other than the men, no one was allowed to go outside the mansion except for family outings or emergencies. All staff were provided rooms in the house, and they could leave only when Vansh relieved them from employment. It became apparent soon after that all this stringency would apply for me as well, more so than on others.

Two kinds of people lived here, with clear demarcation in their status: Family and employees. Vansh's granny and Sia were warm and welcoming at the very onset, the others not so much. And these others made sure to remind me at every step that I was like a servant...and thus beneath them.

Vansh never pulled rank with his employees like his elite family. But otherwise, he truly appeared to be the monster that Kabir said he was. The man was like a beast always on the trail of his prey. Especially with me. 

Maybe, he had sensed something. Not maybe, I am sure he had sensed something because he just wouldn't let me be. He'd hound every move of mine, smell my littlest of fears. He'd gauge every trick, every white lie that I'd utter. And when he'd be busy, he'd send his right-hand Angre to keep an eye instead. Nothing, absolutely nothing could escape his hawk eyes unless luck intervened. 

Once, he caught me searching frantically for my transmitter in their garden where I had hidden the device a while ago. It was the single most important thing for me at the time, being my only means to stay in touch with Kabir and the world outside the VR mansion.

"What are you looking for?" That intimidating baritone rang out from behind.

"Ahh…," I turned to face him, composing myself immediately. Relax, Riddhima. He smells fear. So relax. "I..I am looking for flowers for puja…Dadi asked me to..."

He caught my wrist instantly. "Pulse rate high...sweat beads on your forehead...Words stuttering...you look too tensed for someone collecting flowers for puja."

That's Vansh for you. With him always on my back, it was a nightmare to look for evidence. I didn't give up...but the truth is...I found nothing solid to pin it on him either. Once I asked Kabir, "Are you sure of his illegal activities? Because, I searched his study room. I found nothing."

"Try harder...I know you will find something…"

There was something worth noting in Vansh Raisinghania, though. The man was cold as ice with outsiders and his coldness coupled with his heightened sense of vigilance was terrifying. Sometimes, I doubted if he was a vampire or maybe, a werewolf in disguise. Only such a creature could possess such omniscience and omnipotence like this man had.

With his family though, he was a completely different person. By the way he bowed down to every wish of his Dadi and pampered his little paraplegic sister Sia, you could never tell he was a criminal otherwise. He trusted 4 people only in the family: Dadi, Sia, his right hand Angre and mother Anupriya. Rest were all under his radar.

Warm and righteous, Dadi doted on his elder grandson. How? I wondered.  It was then that I realized that except Angre, his family had no inkling of his criminal activities. Though he was always his impassive self, as far as duties were concerned, for them, he was the perfect son, perfect brother and the bread-winner. Their protector. He would take care of their every need...shield them from every danger. This made my job even more complicated as no one except Angre and Vansh himself knew about the smuggling.

How Vansh and I got married is another story altogether. After two months of my job, I decided to quit. Vansh's obnoxious vigilance made me realize, this spying was not my cup of tea. Flinging my resignation letter on his face, I packed my bags to leave. Silly me! I had forgotten, I was dealing with a dangerous man.

"What the hell is this? I have resigned...let me go…" I demanded as Mrs. Dsouza, the senior caretaker coerced me back to the mansion.

As I re-entered the hall that I had left minutes ago, I saw the same intimidating tall figure. "VR mansion is not an open sky where you can fly at your will. It is a golden cage whose door opens only when I want it to open. Once a person steps into this house, everything about him/her is dictated by neither Time, Destiny or God. But Vansh."

I frowned. Is this man a nutcase too? Who speaks like this?

 "I have resigned...I thought I made it clear."

"Of course...you are no longer an employee here...but that doesn't mean, I have set you free. You cannot get away from me, until one of us is...dead."

"Wh...what do you mean?" 

"Aha! In 3 days, we are getting married...," he announced briskly, his lips curving into a wicked grin.

For a moment, I was dazed. But when I realized, the guy was damn serious, I spoke up. "What the f*ck? Who the hell are you to decide that?"

"The owner of this house where you live now."

"What nonsense? I refuse to marry you. Simple."

"I haven't asked for your hand that you can refuse. I have just informed you that we are getting married." 

"Are you out of your mind? What are you...Almighty God?"

"Inside this mansion? Yes, I am." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. 

It was lockdown time. The streets of Mumbai were empty...even if I somehow escaped, no transport would take me back to my hostel at least 50 kms away from VR mansion...no friend or former client would help me out of fear for this new virus that was killing millions all over the world. I was trapped.

"Why are you doing this?" I softened my tone as Kabir's face flashed in my mind's eye. "Are you taking revenge bcoz I hurt your ego?" 

"You can call it whatever you want...I don't have a problem. Your future is decided. Get ready to be my wife." With that, he strutted off.

Later that day, he informed his family about his proposal (if one could call it that). None of them had any idea of the exchange we had had before. Dadi and Sia were very happy, others not so much. His second sister Ishani taunted, "What did you find in this middle-class trash?" His cousin Aryan replied, "Ah...don't you get it, Ishani? That girl is pretty...Bhai just wants to have some fun!"

"Shut up!" Vansh thundered, much to his cultured Dadi's satisfaction. "Ridhhima is going to be my wife...a part of this family. And bhabhi to both of you. Respecting her is not your choice...but your duty." And with that, he silenced everyone.

I loved Kabir, and this marriage was nothing but a compromise. A compromise which Kabir wanted me to do as well, for the sake of this mission. The irony!

"This is going too far...I didn't sign up for this…" I cried, while calling Kabir secretly from Sia's phone. "You said, this will be over soon. I only needed to be an employee…What if he..."

"I swear Riddhima, nothing will happen to you. And this marriage is no marriage. This is just a mission, I promise you that. A mission for the welfare of the nation...of the society. I swear I will rescue you with my team once we nab him. "

I wanted to scream out loud, run away. But it was too late. I had already walked too deep into the lion's den. Vansh would not let me live in peace even if I escaped now.

On the night of our wedding, I was petrified. A criminal was now my husband...what next? Rape? Fool...Riddhima...you thick-headed fool to get into this trap by trusting your lover blindly… I cursed myself, waiting for the beast to pounce any moment.

But... he didn't...much to my surprise. Instead, he made a deal. 

Holding a vintage unloaded gun and a golden rose, Vansh said, "You can choose what kind of life you want, Riddhima...Guns or roses. You can have a beautiful life like this rose. But for that, loyalty is all I demand. Or else…" He came closer. "If you ever betray me, shoot yourself with this gun before I get to know of it...and if I betray you, I will shoot myself instead."

The last line left me stunned. Is he f*ck*ng insane? Or...does he really? No! It cannot be. I turned my face away. 

"Get used to it...from now on, you are Mrs. Riddhima Vansh Raisinghania." With that, he picked up his quilt and chose the small couch, leaving the large bed for me. Only before falling asleep, he gave a wicked grin and said, "Riddhima...Thorough gentleman, you see."

At that moment, an old memory hit me: an incident at the ship where I had first met him. That night, there was a lavish party at the cruise. His cousin Aryan was after me from the moment I was introduced to the family. "Give me sex on the beach…" he spoke over my shoulder, as I was talking to the bartender.

"What? How dare you!"

"Relax, hon. It's a cocktail...Aren't you supposed to know that being an event planner?"

"Oh...sorry...I…"

"I am waiting at the lounge. Serve me the drink there. In 5 minutes."

When I reached the lounge, I realized it was a mistake. The guy had more than just the drink on his mind. "Oh come on...I know poor women like you…" he said as I declined his advances politely. "Credit card...jewellery...that's what you want right?" 

"Aryan!" The baritone that had scared me that very morning came as a welcome surprise from behind. Aryan stepped back to find his brother at the door of the lounge, who approached and stood in between us.

"What is it, Bhai?" The leech rolled his eyes.

"Aryan...you are making her uncomfortable."

"Oh come on, bro! Please stay within the limits of business deals and stay out of my life."

"VR doesn't follow limits, Aryan. He sets them for everyone else. Now back off." 

For a moment, I thought I was watching two grown male lions gnarling at each other. One, a stronger, older, alpha. Other, a more sinister but cowardly younger beta. Aryan backed off and left the two of us alone. 

"Thank you Mr. Raisinghania." I don't know what I was thinking...but out of genuine gratitude I extended my hand towards my boss. 

Vansh turned to face me and looked down at my hand with a momentary shock. Perhaps, he thought it to be my audacity. A junior employee  trying to shake hands with the owner of the cruise! But he shook my hand eventually, staring into my eyes for a while.

This memory posed a question in my mind, as I watched him doze off in the tiny couch wearing his wedding sherwani. What is this man? A chivalrous criminal? 

I can't tell why Vansh declared the wedding...for except at night, where he maintained his role as a thorough gentleman, he still continued to hound me as he did before throughout the day. Perhaps, even more than before. None of us trusted each other. I searched for evidence, and he for my next move. Nothing escaped him. What I ate, what I wore, what I read. Although I was now his wife, I still felt like an employee in this house. Just a physiotherapist with some elevated privilege. I was not allowed to ask questions, not given access to certain areas. In fact, I still do not own a phone while all other members have one. Only once in a while, I'd catch him staring at me. I can't tell if it's lust or something else in his eyes...for he would look away the moment he got caught.

I was aware that he kept a close eye, but soon, I stopped caring. Time was running out. The longer I stayed here, farther away I'd drift from Kabir, and the distance was killing me.

Much to the chagrin of Vansh and his family, I unearthed a dark secret of his past: his ex-fiancee Ragini. And from the hushed behaviour of everyone around and hints suggested by Ishani, she seemed to have been dead. But how? My mind replied instantly...Ofcourse...Vansh must have killed her. But the problem was, there wasn't much evidence to prove it.

The idea of Vansh having a girlfriend itself was amusing. What did Ragini see in him? How could a sane girl fall for someone like Vansh? Did he ever love her? He is capable of anything...Kabir said time and again. But was he capable of loving a woman too?

"My Vansh might appear hard on the exterior...but trust me, inside, he is very soft and emotional," Dadi said quite often.

I wanted to ask her...Which soft side, exactly? I haven't seen any of it so far...But then I refrained. Dadi is my only well-wisher in the house afterall. Every other member except Sia had ten faces each.

Ganesh Chaturthi arrived as though like an answer to my questions. The fiercely atheist cold-hearted man turned into a believer overnight. I asked around about the reason behind this transformation...but no one would oblige. That was the thing with this family. No one said anything to me...So I did what I came here to do...Jasoosi.

One day, I followed him to a secret chamber I never knew existed in this mansion, stealing the key from his wallet. And what I saw inside left me puzzled. A large room spilled with clothes, jewellery and the statue and portrait of a woman. Who is she? Another dead girlfriend? I needed to find the answer; maybe it would lead us to some evidence against Vansh.

Taking advantage of his drunkenness the next night, I dressed myself as the woman in the portrait, hoping to challenge him in his semi-conscious state. Alcohol usually does the trick even with the most cunning...and he would blurt out the truth. But damn, this man!

Vansh turned out to be smarter. And strangely immune to the blurriness that comes with intoxication. As always, he caught my act. In a maddening frenzy and anger, he dragged me to the secret chamber and screamed, "Do you take me for a fool? Respect...respect Riddhima! Respect your husband. Vansh did not become Vansh in one day. How dare you come here...wear these clothes and jewellery! How dare you touch the portrait?"

Touch the portrait? I turned to find an empty wall staring back at me. A brown frame of dust marked the wall where the painting was once hung. "But I didn't touch it!"

"Where is it, Riddhima?" He screamed.

I wanted to shock him, but was left puzzled myself at the turn of events. Last time I was here, the portrait was in its place. "I don't know, Vansh!"

"Liar!" He roared like a wounded lion. Taking out his pocket knife, he held it down my throat. "Don't play with me, Riddhima!" His red eyes threatened to bulge out of their sockets. His face no longer looked handsome but resembled that of an ugly beast.

I decided, this is it. That moment had finally arrived. My hope for freedom from this farcical life and five-star prison overpowered my fear of death. "Don't act, Vansh," I summoned all the courage I had, not bothering about the knife anymore. A part of me knew he wouldn't harm me. "First hide the portrait and then blame someone else, huh? You think I am a fool? Just admit that you murdered Ragini...you murdered this woman in the portrait too. You killed her, didn't you? Say it out, you bloody criminal!"

Vansh let go of my arms. He sat down on the floor with a thud, devastation slowly replacing the monstrous wrath on his face. After a long silence, he said in a softer voice, "How can a son murder his own mother?" Saying so he stood up and walked out of the chamber.

Mother?

So that Anupriya was not Vansh's mother! That tall woman with aquiline features and snobbery written all over her face...one whom Vansh trusted blindly...she was his step-mom.

Dadi spilled out the rest of the story later. "Vansh's real mother left him when he was young. She was his world. Since that fateful day, he has stored all her belongings in a secret chamber inside the mansion...her saris, jewellery...and a huge portrait which he himself painted.  Her departure has turned him into this stoic creature. He is very, very sensitive about Uma. He refuses to think or let anyone else speak of her in his house. Only during Ganesh Chaturthi -- the day she left him -- he goes to that chamber and fidgets with her things."

In all these days that I knew Vansh, for the first time, I saw him vulnerable. Shoving my mission to the side for a minute, I walked to our room and was stunned. Vansh...the criminal...Vansh the murderer...the ruthless business tycoon... lay coiled on the floor like a baby in a fetal position, his body shaking with grief, his face red with helplessness. 

In my desperation to unearth the truth...did I cross the line? Is this the same Vansh? Being an orphan, I know what it's like to not have parents. For the first time, I felt bad for him.

I wanted to tell him that I understood, I might have my own agenda to nab him...but I'd never ever play with the emotions of another orphan like myself...but he wouldn't listen. "Vansh! I a...am sorry."

"Find that portrait...and then get the f*ck out of my life! Go wherever you feel like going...We can't be together anymore," he yelled. Anger spewed from his every breath, every word. He stood up and shoved me away. 

The portrait was at last discovered, half burnt in the store-room. I found out who did it...Anupriya...his step-mom. After the whole mother fiasco, I didn't want to bring it up. I don't know why but I didn't feel like hurting Vansh any further.

"You did it! You destroyed my mother's portrait!" He shrieked.

"Yes I did." I lied. "I'll leave if that's what you want." 

"Get out!"

At last, Dadi intervened. "Vansh! She is your wife...not some employee you can fire anytime you want! What is this!"  Dadi and Sia were the only two saving graces in this house. While everyone else looked down upon me, Dadi showered her love and Sia her respect. Thanks to them, this house sometimes felt like home, and the people inside, like family.

Something changed after this.

The man for all his flaws, refrained from touching, except holding my wrist a few times. Even on our wedding night, when he scared the sh*t out of me, he made sure our skins didn't graze. Not even the next morning, when he tied the string of my suit.

But after the portrait incident, something snapped…like an invisible wall between us broke down. Everytime we argued, he'd come dangerously close. He'd hold my arm, grab my shoulders. I shuddered at the proximity.

Weeks passed by. His anger slowly cooled down. And he was back to his older self...the cold, sarcastic Vansh...except, this time, he loved to come close.  He'd zip up my dress even when I didn't ask for his help...hold my hand and interlock his fingers with mine softly as we talked. 

I knew there was more than what meets the eye. His anger was terrifying but not enough to sway me. He saw that when he held his knife down my throat. What truly terrifies me...or any woman is the unwanted touch of a man. I could sense that he was the same Vansh...cold and ruthless. Only this time, he had changed the rules of the game. 

He'd bring me surprises...roses...bags...dresses. "Wear the orange dress...I want to see you in it. Now. " He said one day. I obliged, unsure of what this new Vansh would do if I refused. 

"Ah lovely, sweetheart!" He said with a smirk as I stepped out of the washroom. "You look gorgeous… The family will be out for a picnic to the farmhouse this Sunday. You and I will stay back at home. I want to make you feel special! Wear this dress on that day!"

I shuddered at his words. This romantic Vansh was even more terrifying than the angry one. Ishani had once blurted out that he did the same to Ragini as well before she "disappeared". Was he planning to kill me next? Did he find out that I am a spy? Sensing danger, I sent an SOS signal to Kabir and even a parcel. 

Sunday finally arrived. The whole family left for the picnic. I shivered, not knowing what to expect...but what eventually happened shook us both. The shootout. And everything changed. Just like that.

Now he behaves with me like he does with his family. It is as though, by taking the bullet for him, I have passed the test of his trust. I have crossed over to the other side.

"Did you take your medicine?" he'd ask every morning.  "Did you take water therapy? Don't forget what the doctor said." 

I stared at him, wondering for the umpteenth time, Is this the same Vansh? How many shades can a man possess?

He'd help me tie my hair...even drape my sari, keeping his eyes closed all the while so as to not make me uncomfortable. "Where did you learn all this?" I asked him out of curiosity. 

"God has bestowed some with more talents than others," was his swift reply. Vansh could praise himself with a strange kind of finesse that sounded less of a boast and more of a fact. That talent too, God had bestowed upon him.

Two days ago, I fell into the pool. I saw his face when he pulled me out...he was paranoid. Nowadays, everytime I hurt my finger, or my feet, he'd rush to apply ointment like I am some little kid. 

Is this all another game of his? This care and affection...is it all a charade? A facade perhaps for a bigger plot? 

"Why are you doing all this, Vansh? Why are you suddenly being all nice to me?" I asked him yesterday.

"Because I have always protected everyone. No one has ever protected me before like you did that day. And I am not an ungrateful person."

I was stunned. Does that mean even the protector desires to be comforted and protected once in a while?

Perhaps he sensed my thoughts...that I was looking through his inner desires. Smirking, he said, "Whether you see it as my guilt for my past misbehaviour...or responsibility...Taking care of you is my duty. Nothing else!"

Nothing else? Or is the man... falling for me?

Nah...he is Vansh Raisinghania. How can he fall for a woman so easily? He doesn't trust anyone except a handful in his family. What is this man? What does he want? Why did he marry me? Does he know about Kabir secretly?  

He stirs in his sleep, breaking my chain of thoughts. The dim light from the night lamp above reflects on his handsome face, highlighting his chiselled features. Monster or not, he is indeed very handsome. Perhaps, the day I send him to jail, I'd tell him that.

But jail...for what?