Luckily for him, Shantanu and Ganga Malhotra had encouraged him to apply to a few universities in the USA. He had even won a part scholarship from the University of Georgia. Shantanu had helped fund the rest of his education. Aarav had accepted his offer only on the condition that he would repay every rupee that was spent on him. “Arre baba! Okay, I’ll take back everything once you start earning. Will you send your acceptance letter now?” Shantanu had laughed at the determined young man.
Aarav had gone to the United States to finish his BBA and then his MBA. He worked there for a couple of years before returning to Delhi for the first time since he had gone to the USA. He rushed home to his parents. His second halt was to be the Malhotra home. He would meet Saloni to find out if she returned his feelings before talking to Ganga aunty about marrying her. Unfortunately, Shantanu uncle was no more. It was a good thing that he had lived to see Aarav’s graduation while the latter had also managed to return all the borrowed money before the older man’s death.
Half an hour after he entered his home, Aarav’s mother Amrita handed him a cup of tea, saying, “Hahn, I forgot to give you the latest news. Saloni is engaged to be married. The groom is an NRI from America...”
The buzz in Aarav’s head had shut off his hearing power. While his mother went on and on, he didn’t hear one word after that. Saloni was engaged! He wanted to smash something, maybe even kill someone.
Aarav went and locked himself in the only bedroom in the house, not caring if he was inconveniencing the others at home. He banged his fists on the wall, his eyes burning with unshed tears. Why hadn’t she waited for him? Saloni must have surely known that he was doing well in both, his studies and his job. Didn’t she think he was good enough for her?
Barely twenty-four hours later, Aarav had caught a flight back to America, pleading an emergency at his work place.
Coming back to the present, Aarav called Saloni on her cell. “Sal, how’s it going?” he asked.
“Superb Aarav. Where have you been? You’ve become a stranger nowadays.”
“Miss me?” Aarav grinned as he got into his car.
“Hmm...yes,” said Saloni before adding, “Terribly,” in a whisper.
“I have a couple of hours of free time. Tell your boss that you’re going for a lunch meeting with me and come down. I’m waiting for you in my car below the office.”
“Are you sure?” Saloni looked around her to see if anyone had noticed the colour flaring up her cheeks.
Aarav laughed. “Well, I’m your boss’s boss. Who do you think is going to question me?”
“Are we really going to a meeting?” Somehow Saloni didn’t believe it. Aarav seemed to be in the mood for fun or at least that was how he sounded on the phone.
“Are you going to ask all the questions over the phone or do you plan to step out any time soon?” He challenged her.
“Okay, I’m coming. Give me five minutes.”
“Two,” said Aarav, before cutting the call. He raised the volume on the car radio and hummed along with the song, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the head rest.
Saloni opened the passenger door in three minutes, settling down before shutting the door. “Hey, what’s up?” she asked, drinking in his striking features avidly. Just that minute, she realised exactly how much she had missed him.
“Hey yourself!” Aarav opened his eyes to give her a soft smile. “So how’s it going?” he asked, starting the car to drive out of the compound’s gates.
“It’s been wonderful Aarav. I’m working with the marketing department, with Ganesh Selva and his team.” Saloni spoke for the next five minutes, describing her responsibilities before concluding, “And I’ll be working with another team from Monday onwards.”
Aarav gave her a grin, nodding his head.
“So, where are we going?”
“To my place, for lunch.”
“Oh.” Saloni’s heart picked up pace. She couldn’t help recalling their last close encounter. She wondered if Aarav was still interested in her. And how about herself? Well, he was a handsome devil and a successful one at that. She was definitely attracted to him. But...Saloni didn’t want to think too much.
Luckily for her, they reached an underground garage and Aarav parked the car.
“Chalo, let’s go.” Aarav was confident of the fact that Baldev must have left their lunch on the dining table and made himself scarce. He had, after all, been clear with his instructions.
19
Manish was fuming as he tore open a packet of muesli and poured the contents into a glass bowl before adding cold milk to it. It had all started with this, he recalled with bitterness. How dare she?
It was more than a month since he had returned to Chicago after the disastrous meeting at the Malhotra residence. Thinking back, he wondered if his father had been too hasty in threatening Saloni and her family with divorce.
But then, she had refused to apologise, hadn’t she?
What had he asked? That she prepare hot breakfast for him every day. Was that too much to expect? Wasn’t he an easygoing husband? He made no demands on her. She had been bored in Chicago after their marriage. Hadn’t he given her a child, a son at that, to keep her entertained?
Manish was so busy that he really needed someone to take care of his hearth and home. No, he didn’t much care for the physical closeness between a married couple. It was overhyped in his opinion. The reason he had got married was to have someone to mother him. Well, some of the people who had moved to the USA from different countries, even Indians actually, had taught themselves to be self-sufficient. But Manish felt that he didn’t need to be. He had been a pampered child and it had been difficult to live by himself, managing his day-to-day life. Getting help to clean his apartment had been an expensive affair before marriage. And he had had all his meals at restaurants except for those occasions when someone invited him over or when his parents visited him. He gritted his teeth when he recalled how his mother had been all praise for Saloni, insisting that she would make him an ideal wife. Some wife! She was too selfish is what he knew now.
Manish was due for a promotion. He’d probably work longer hours. How would he manage his life? Who would cook his meals? Who would keep his house neat and tidy?
Even after thinking all this, Manish didn’t appreciate how much Saloni had worked at making his life smooth. He actually believed that she was selfish and ungrateful.
And the bitch! How dare she mention in front of his parents and hers—and her grandmother too—that they hadn’t slept together since Mitesh’s birth? Did she ever look into the mirror? Saloni had grown fat and unattractive in Manish’s eyes. And then there was the baby, waking up in the middle of the night and disturbing his much needed sleep. Shouldn’t Saloni be grateful, instead of complaining, when Manish had shifted into a separate bedroom?
Women!!!
They were such impossible creatures it seemed. But then, all those women who worked with him, the doctors and nurses, they were all so nice to him, treating him with respect. Why couldn’t Saloni be more like them?
Manish was respected at his work place because he was good at his job. His wife didn’t think much of him because he had treated her terribly, having no value for her role in his life. But then, Manish’s ego was too big for him to acknowledge this simple truth!
Forget Saloni! He needed to rush the divorce and get married again. How could he go about it? His family lawyer in Delhi had said that divorce, even by mutual consent, would be a long time coming as both husband and wife needed to live separately for at least a year before an application for divorce could be filed in a court of law.
Shit, shit and shit!
20
Lunch over, Saloni sat on a sofa chatting with her boss. It was Friday afternoon and Aarav had messaged Ganesh and Hiten that the two of them wouldn’t get back to office.
Saloni realised that she didn’t really know the man. What if he did this with all the new women employees at his of
fice? She mentally shook her head. Of course Aarav wasn’t like that.
Suddenly, Aarav was on his knees in front of Saloni, his elbows on either side of her on the sofa. “Sal, tell me something.” His voice was a soft whisper. “The first time I met you all those years ago...was I wrong in thinking that you liked me?”
Saloni startled brown gaze found his, her eyes having gone wide. They had never spoken about it. She stared into Aarav’s dark grey eyes that held such a warm expression in them. She couldn’t help but study his attractive features, his broad forehead, his dark, curved eyebrows, his slashing cheeks, sculpted lips, the lower just that little bit wider than the thin upper one, a hawk of a prominent nose and then those piercing grey eyes. His eyelids were heavy, with thick curling eyelashes that any woman would envy. After a complete scrutiny, she looked back into his eyes and slowly shook her head. “No, you weren’t wrong.”
“Saloni...” Aarav groaned as his body sagged, burying his face on her lap, his arms lying on the sofa, parallel to her thighs.
She watched in fascination as her right hand seemed to take a life of its own as it ran over his head gently, pushing back the silky locks that fell against his forehead. Her left hand immediately joined in the concerto, touching his nape gently. Her throat felt choked with the emotions of the seventeen-year-old whose dreams had been shattered in less than three days. But no, she wasn’t going to think negatively. That had all been in the past.
It was the present she should focus on. It was obvious from Aarav’s words and body language that he had never forgotten that day so long ago. Could that be the reason he was unmarried? But that sounded too farfetched.
Aarav got up to pull her into his arms, pressing his lips gently to her forehead. “I love you Sal,” he whispered in her ear.
“I...” Saloni moved away a couple of inches to look at him with wary brown eyes. “Aarav...”
He pressed a finger against her lips, shaking his head. “I know you just got out of a marriage that you didn’t want. Maybe it’s too soon to have told you that. But I’ve been in love with you for more than nine years now. I left it till too late to tell you before. It doesn’t mean that you have to reciprocate my feelings or even do anything about it. I just want you to know. Bas!”
Saloni’s eyes went wide in awe. Could it be possible that another human being could love her without expecting anything from her? Aarav sounded too good to be true. “Aarav, I hope you won’t think I’m being too selfish. I was deeply attracted to you when I first met you. Chances were high that it could have developed into something if we had had the chance to get to know each other. But unfortunately, it was nipped in the bud.” A deep sigh shuddered through Saloni. “I like you, a lot. And,” she smiled, “So does my son, it seems.”
“Oh yeah! I adore the little man too.” Aarav smiled at her, sighing at the same time. “I suppose it wasn’t meant to be then. But I hope you’ll let me get to know you more now that you are back home.” He raised an enquiring brow.
Saloni nodded slowly, looking into his eyes. “I’d like that. Manish and I are filing for a divorce by mutual consent.” She wanted Aarav to know about that. “I am hoping that it wouldn’t turn ugly. But this is going to take a long, long time. I’d understand if you want to move on, since I can’t say that I might ever want to get married again. I can’t ever live under somebody’s thumb, not after the lucky escape I’ve had.”
Aarav laughed softly, pulling her into his arms and tucking her head against his shoulder. “Saloni! I love you and only you. After all these years, what I realise is that it’s enough just to be in love with you. If you reciprocate my feelings and we can get together, it would be a celebration. Even otherwise, I never moped about it. But there’s no question of moving on. I’m not interested in setting up home with any other woman. It’s either you or no one. And no, please don’t think of that as pressure. Not at all.”
The atmosphere was too intense by now. “Come along, let me show you my home,” said Aarav, taking her hand in his before walking to the French windows.
The whole of the top floor was his. Two-thirds of the area was his home while the rest of it, in an L-shape, was a terrace. Saloni’s eyes went wide with surprise when she saw the long swimming pool, the aqua tiles glittering below the water, under the evening sun. There were eight lounge chairs made of cane, along the length of the pool, below an awning.
They turned left from the French windows to walk around the pool. Plants grew in abundance over the parapet wall that surrounded the terrace, making the ambience pleasing to the eye. “This looks so lovely, Aarav. You must feel proud of having achieved so much in your young life.”
He shrugged. “I’m glad you like it.”
They walked along the length of the pool and turned right. Saloni gasped in delight when she saw the garden swing that doubled as a love seat. It was set on a bed of luxuriant green grass. She removed her footwear to rush across the cool patch to sit on the swing, settling against the fluffy cushions with a sigh of pleasure. “This is heavenly,” she declared, smiling up at her host who had followed her at a more sedate pace.
Aarav had taken his jacket off during lunch. Saloni couldn’t help but notice the raw masculinity emanating from him now that his shoes and socks were also removed.
She forgot to breathe when he settled down next to her on the love seat. The swing moved gently forward and backward as they sat in silence, one with the atmosphere.
Aarav felt on top of the world, a soft smile on his face as he lifted it up to the fading sunlight, his tilted head resting on the back of the swing. After all, hadn’t he bought and designed his home with Saloni in mind?!
21
Aarav and Saloni met regularly for lunch at his home from then on, but only on Saturdays. She never corrected her family who were under the impression that she was working on those days.
Those stolen moments with him were a balm to Saloni’s spirit as they just chatted desultorily or went swimming, with Aarav making no demands on her. It was just two people spending time together as they enjoyed each other’s company.
He also visited her home once or twice a week, to spend time with Mitesh, bringing him a gift every time.
It was Mitesh’s first birthday. Ruma and Lakshman had flown down from Jaipur; as had Akshay and Sunita with their kids. It was a family affair, an enormous cake cutting that was followed by a lavish dinner. The little boy had been in his element, loving the attention along with the dancing and loud music.
Saloni had put her foot down when Aarav had wondered loudly if he should get Mitesh a puppy for his birthday.
“Do you want my mother to kill me?” Saloni laughed at him. “And aren’t you spoiling Mitesh enough already?”
Aarav gave her a cheeky grin, his eyes roving over her lovely features. “Babies are meant to be spoilt. And a puppy that grows along with him will make for amazing company.”
Saloni sighed. “I know what you mean. But let’s avoid that for now. I can’t wait for the divorce to get finalised.” She felt under pressure, with her mother giving her accusing looks at every opportunity. But it was barely four months since she left Manish.
That Saturday, opening the door to his apartment when the bell rang, Aarav smiled at Saloni, taking her hands in his and giving her a peck on her cheek as he always did.
Saloni looked up into his eyes, holding back the sigh that wanted to spring forth. That brief kiss on her cheek was too damn frustrating. Hadn’t Aarav professed to love her? Didn’t he want to make love to her? It was marriage that she wasn’t keen on. Right now, Saloni wouldn’t mind a tempestuous love affair.
She connected so well with Aarav. They enjoyed their time together, at work as well at leisure. The first time she had visited his home, he had told her that he loved her and was okay with whatever she had to offer.
Saloni paused. Well...he was ready to accept whatever she was ready to offer. As far as he was concerned, she wasn’t ready to give him anything, not with a brok
en marriage that wasn’t even completely behind her. A small smile broke forth on Saloni lips as she came to a quick decision before throwing her arms around Aarav’s neck. “Give me a proper kiss Aarav,” she commanded, sending him a sultry look from her melting brown gaze. It felt so good to be close to his hard physique. Saloni revelled in the heat that swept up her body.
“Sal...are you sure?” Aarav’s hands spanned her waist as he gathered her close to his body. “I won’t stop with a kiss.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.” Saloni moaned as she bit his earlobe.
Aarav’s hand held her nape firmly as he lifted her face for his kiss. His lips sought hers, first gently, turning rough as he felt her ardent response. Their tongues fought a duel even as their hands raced over each other, removing the clothes that got in the way of skin.
“I’ll try not to hurt you Sal. But I’ve waited too long for this,” groaned Aarav, lifting the semi-nude Saloni in his arms before taking her to his bedroom.
He laid her on the bed and went on his knees beside it, checking her out with hungry eyes. She looked gorgeous, still clad in her lacy, black bra with matching bikini panties, a combination of shyness and invitation in her eyes. He removed the front clasp with trembling fingers, asking, “Do you still feed Mitesh?”
Saloni shook her head, colour running up her cheeks. Did he think she was still too big? She did exercise most of the days. Would he find her too fat too? Determined, she helped him pull off her bra, but crossed her arms over her upper body, shyness overtaking her need.
Aarav gently prised her arms away to stare at her twin mounds, his breath coming in gasps now. “You look beautiful Sal.” Aarav placed her arms at her sides before tracing a forefinger over the quivering tip of her left breast. It puckered in response even as Saloni whimpered.
With a smile on his face, Aarav cupped the breast even as he bent forward to take the tip of her right one in his mouth. Saloni’s arms went around his neck to hold his head close as unfamiliar sensations raged within her. “Aarav...” she moaned, pressing her body closer.
Flaming Sun Collection 3: Perfect Twins Find Anya (Box Set with 3 novellas) Page 31