"You. love. me?"
Unease coiled around her heart. Why is his tone so mocking?
"Are you f**king kidding me?"
Now her gut twisted a little too. Kidding?? No, she wasn't. All she had done was voice her feelings for the boy she has known all her life.
"I never imagined you would try to trick me, Maahi. Why dammit? What have I not done for you? WHAT? Hell, I took the f**king bullets for you! And this is how you repay me? By playing games? If you think I'll believe the crap you have dished out even for a second, then you don't know me at all. I am not that stupid trusting boy your family abused for years. You people don't come to anyone's doorstep to spit without a hidden agenda and you want me to believe that su
It was quite early in the morning, three days later, that Maahi again saw Samar's handsome face as she entered the breakfast lounge of Hotel Renaissance located at Powai lake. Her choice of place to meet him, close to his apartment complex. Dressed in gym slacks, a racerback tank, and a thin full-sleeved jacket over it, all black, she adjusted the strap of her gym bag on her shoulder and walked towards him. Sensing her arrival, he looked up from his glass of what looked like juice, stopped rolling his ear stud between his fingers, and narrowed his eyes at her. She felt nervousness swirl in her gut."So, the Princess finally decides to make an appearance," he taunted.Maahi dropped her bag to the floor, gracefully slid in the chair opposite his, and smiled wid
"Look at me, Kunal."But Kunal didn't. He stubbornly kept looking outside the window of the study, at the well-kept garden surrounded by high walls which were made even higher by erecting blue tarpaulin on them, to curtail visibility against an off-chance attack that could be staged from one of the many skyscrapers mushrooming around them.Lalaji pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. Kunal had barged into his study early in the morning, and he was not ready for his temperamental arguments. Age was really catching up with him. He didn't know for how long he could keep his hot-headed grandson in control anymore."Beta, damage his share of the business. Tip the authorities for another raid on his club. Ruin him, for all I care. But if you harm a single hair on Samar's head, I will cut you out of the business and my will," he
Samar knew his relationship with Maahi was going to be absolute bliss. And it was going to be pure agony too.But it was an agony he was choosing to endure.That she was penitent enough to not look into his eyes while demanding he signs his death warrant, proved that he hasn't chosen wrong.Not that he was going to sign any such thing. And he wasn't going to lose Maahi again, either. Yes, he was crafty that way."Look at me, Maahi," he repeated once again.This time, Maahi gulped, and hesitantly brought her beautiful eyes to his face."You don't want me to harm your brother, did I get that right?"She nodded after a hea
Maahi looked around."You want something?" Samar promptly inquired."No," she raised the glass of water she was holding with a hesitant smile, "I am good.""You sure?""Yes""Umm... okay."She felt the need to nod to that, just to keep the air alive around her.But a moment later, the air lulled back to its earlier stillness.Another stretch of silence yawned between them.God, this was getting embarrassing, Maahi cringed inwardly.She pinned the awkwardness onto his
Samar stuffed another morsel of scrumptious aloo parantha in his mouth, desperately trying to ignore the heat in his body. He was sure there were two spots of pink blooming on his cheeks. It was the heat that had nothing to do with the spices in the parantha and everything to do with the beautiful woman who had made them.The woman who was sitting in front of him, awkwardly willing the flush away from her own face.It so happened that she had come to wake him up half an hour back. And call it an occupational hazard, but he had lethally quick reflexes even in his sleep. It took only a nanosecond for him to haul and trap her beneath his body when she poked him in the shoulder. Thankfully, his subconscious knew that he was safe in his house, else he might have snapped her wrist or something. As soon as he saw her surprised face below his and it registered that it wa
"This pasta is freaking awesome, Maahiji. What is its name again?""Lasagna," Maahi smiled, as she pulled out the store-bought Tiramisu cake from the fridge."What a name! So difficult. So impressive. This delicacy deserves it, I tell you," Jayant declared while gobbling up the Italian dish that Maahi had prepared for him.That made Maahi laugh."And what is that?" he asked greedily eying the cake."This is Tiramisu cake. It is the most popular Italian ...sweet dish.""Wow, Maahiji. You have made my day. First that minestu soup, then this lasnaa, and now cake too. What is its name again?"Maahi smiled at his zeal. "Tira
Samar stood under the gaze of a gaping Majid, who was manning the security at the hotel gate of Kunal Vaghela and Natasha Desai wedding venue. Irritably, he snapped his fingers in the other man's face to bring him out of his stupor."Are you done gawking?"Kunal's right-hand man had the gall to grin, "Looking handsome, Samar bhai!"Fidgeting with the cuffs of his light creme-colored Jodhpuri Suit that was accented with gold on the Chinese collar and the breast pocket, Samar decided to play it cool, "Thank you.""Never thought I would see you all dressed up, for this occasion especially," Majid confessed honestly as he started patting Samar down."Neither did I," Samar muttered.
It was an hour or so past midnight and an ominous storm that had been brewing above the Arabian Sea all day, was at its crescendo. Cinching the lapels of the bomber jacket closer, Jayant braced himself against strong gusts of incoming sea wind. Small steamer boats anchored at the shore were dancing choppily at the tunes of rough waves. While he monitored the unloading of their latest consignment going on in front of him with practiced eyes, he could see that the workers were having a tough time of it. The high tide was vehement on this cloudy night and the full moonlight was quite lacking its usual luster. And true enough, before he could even finish the thought, a man almost slipped a wooden crate while trying to hold his footing against a particularly high wave that crashed into the rocky embankment."Kalji ghya! Agadi ekaca boksa nahi sodala pahije," Jayant instinctively shouted in his mother ton
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?"The large gathering inside the lavish banquet hall of a seven-star hotel of Mumbai gradually turned to face the stage at Samar Jagtap's courteous request. This was one of the few highly sought parties of the season and the elite of the Mumbai business community was present tonight here. It was no secret that people hadn't always clamored for an invite for a Jagtap do. In fact, in the distant past, an invite from Jagtaps instated fear rather than prestige in the recipient's heart. But gone was that era and these days Jagtap's name was synonymous with success, respectability, and philanthropy. They had their profitable fingers dipped in every conceivable pie - property development, manufacturing, trading, and so on; and they generously passed their fortune on to the less fortunate ones. The only business that reminded people of Samar Jagtap's murky past was his extremely
As the aircraft touched down, Maahi started winding up her long chain of thoughts, as long as this flight from Zurich to Delhi. And what thoughts they had been! It was like she had relived her whole life in her mind in those scant hours. Having just left her brother permanently at a facility in Switzerland had left her feeling rather poignant. The feeling, she guessed, similar to when one left their parents at an old age home.Tiredly, she collected her hand baggage and stood up to deplane. Luckily this time there was no extra security check-in her honor. Vaghela name had lost almost all its steam in the past year. It was a brief respite, she knew, for she was going to get a new surname soon, the one that was all the rage these days in power corridors. Jagtap.And sure enough, her future husband was waiting for her as she exited the airport. Patiently waiting next to his car, emitting a strong fuck-off vibe to four very wary policemen standing a few
Maahi's heart turned over in her chest as she looked at the peacefully sleeping infant in her arms. From day one, she had felt an inexplicable tug towards him. Fallen in love with him at very first sight. So cute, so innocent, so tiny, and so very dear to her. Vansh, Swapnali and Jayant's son. The reason everyone didn't fall apart after Swapnali's demise. The reason that had compelled her to walk back into Samar's camp. The reason his Samar kaka has found his smile again.The reason why his uncle JK and his aunt Madhura were getting married right now.Maahi clutched the little-swaddled baby a little tighter to herself, overwhelmed with a peculiar possessiveness. However, she didn't want to demean the sacrifice these two young people were so selflessly making, even in her thoughts. But it was true that from today onwards her role in Vansh's life as one of his caretakers, like it had been since the last month, would cease. And it hurt. Swapnali's younger sister, Ma
Maahi smiled at the night duty nurse and quietly closed the door behind her after checking up on her grandfather. He was sleeping peacefully, under the effect of painkillers probably, for it has just been ten days since he had been shot. He was moved back home as soon as he was out of danger. In the business, to which their grandfather had dedicated his life and sacrificed everyone else's, it was considered wise to recuperate in one's stronghold. Lying helplessly in the public building, where security arrangements could never meet the rigid standards, no matter how meticulously they were made, was akin to tempting the fickle fate.Without making a noise, she moved to the room two doors down. Similarly, she opened it and took silent stock of the situation there. Her brother was sleeping, and his male nurse was dozing off in the comfortable chair in the corner of the room. These days her brother didn't require much nighttime care. Satisfied, she closed that door as well.
That night, Samar tiredly staggered up four flights of stairs to his mother's apartment. He generally preferred to stay put at his club until six in the morning to supervise the change of employee shift, but today neither his heart nor his brain was in the business. In fact, after his chat with Rizwan last evening, he had spent all his time devising scenarios where he could revive his interactions with Maahi.It was a difficult situation, he conceded after many hours of contemplation. He cannot present himself at Vaghela House without ensuing explosive violence or at the least, giving Lalaji a coronary. Maahi seldom ventured out of her house these days, the proof of which was she hadn't taken her best friend out anywhere in the city yet. The phone call and messages were clearly not getting through her anger towards him. He was at his wit's end.He would have preferred
Six Months LaterMaahi leaned on the muscular shoulder with a sigh as a reassuring arm wrapped around her and pulled her closer into the warmth of security. How she'd missed him! They were sitting against the headboard on her bed in her bedroom in the Vaghela House. It was very early morning and although it wasn't totally dark outside anymore, the light hadn't arrived either."I missed you so much," she confessed."I missed you too, sweetheart. I would have come way sooner had you let me," Archer Calhill replied affectionately."I know," Maahi said. She had asked him to come the day before and within thirty-six hours, he was here. In fact, he had landed in Mumbai a few hours back itself. Ever since bhaiya had been shot and she bowed out of Samar's l
Kunal sat at the woven cot made out of coarse jute at the oddly placed and thus, a deserted tea stall just outside Virar. It was his regular meeting spot with Shetty for the past few months. Like always, the sensible owner of the almost out-of-business tea stall asked if he needed anything and then left the small kiosk quietly. His reward would be waiting for him on the table at the end of their meeting.He was satisfied how the business in regard to Jayant Kirloskar had turned out. Not only had he exacted the revenge from the Bastard for turning his sister against him, but he had also cut his crucial arm away. Two birds with one stone. Now what was left was to silently ride this chaotic aftermath. His temper was famous, but his cunning was not and he was going to use it in his favor. He was not going to ever fess up to his role in Jayant's murder. He was not going to lose his birthright, his inheritance for anything. That was why
Samar paced outside the small bedroom at Jayant's flat. JK stood tensed in a corner. Half an hour back, Swapnali had collapsed. Just like that. She was sitting on the bed and bam, keeled over, and dropped on the floor unconscious without any prior warning sign. Samar panicked. JK grew hysterical. It was kaki who finally emerged out of her five-day-old stupor and rushed to her daughter-in-law's side. The doctor was summoned and was presently checking her inside.The vibrating phone burned a hole in his pocket. Out of sheer irritation, he fished it out and barked, "What is it, Maahi?"He knew it was her without even looking at the caller id. She had been doggedly persistent in calling him since the last five days. But she was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. He had realized how easy it was to say that her family name didn't affect his love towards her. It did. W
"I DIDN'T DO IT!!!!"Maahi sat up with a start."IF I FIND THAT YOU HAD A HAND IN IT, I WILL KILL YOU WITH MY OWN HANDS KUNAL!!!"Alarmed, she jumped out of the bed and rushed to her door. The voices were coming from the corridor outside."I SAID I DIDN'T DO IT!!"She peered outside, quiet like a mouse, trying to make a sense of all this commotion. Loud noises had been permeating her sleep since the last couple of minutes and had more or less woken her up, but she wasn't any wiser regarding the topic of this argument as her groggy brain took time to pull out of the dreamland and catch on to what was actually being said.It was very early morning going by the hues outside