by MV Kasi
CHAPTER 25
Nina felt restless. She had woken up earlier than usual that morning.
She looked at the wall that divided her room from her captor’s. She heard him return late in the night. He had been shifting restlessly on his bed. She had wondered if he was trying to let her know he had returned and wanted her to talk. Or was he restless because of something else? She didn’t know, and she was too sleepy to have woken up completely and start talking.
Currently, no sounds were coming from him room. She knew he must have stepped out.
“Mrs. Bhupati, your food.” She jumped when she heard the old man’s voice from outside the door.
She wondered what time it was. She had slept very late, feeling trapped and restless. She was worried about herself. About Suraj. About what the captor was doing while he was away. Everything.
She knew she had to initiate direct contact with her captor somehow.
“Come in,” she said out loud.
The door opened, and the old man came in with a tray.
“Thank you,” said Nina when he placed the food tray on a nightstand next to the bed.
The old man usually smiled back, but right then he was grimacing. The skin around his mouth had taken a decidedly grey pallor.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
He looked at her with glazed eyes. And then, he collapsed on his knees, clutching his head. The mask he had on his face fell to the side, exposing his face completely. He didn’t seem to care, because he was in too much pain for it.
Nina rushed next to his prone body.
“My medicine,” he gasped out softly. “I… forgot… to take them this morning.”
“Where?” she asked urgently. “Where do you keep your medicines? I’ll get them for you.”
“I-in… my… room. Outside.”
“I’ll be right back,” she said running out the door and climbing the stairs.
As soon as she reached the kitchen, her eyes fell on the backdoor which was open. She ran outside and saw a small detached cabin right next to the main house. She pulled open the door and frantically scanned the room and found a small cloth pouch on top of a nightstand.
She opened the zip and saw a couple of strips of medicine along with a few bottles of pills. Grabbing the entire pouch, she turned to head back.
Her legs faltered when she saw the outside.
She could escape. This might be her only chance to do so.
But that would mean the old man could possibly die. She also knew her captor was around somewhere close. He would capture her again.
And whatever level of trust she was building with him, it would be all wasted. The threat to Suraj was real. She knew her captor was determined to carry out what he set his mind to.
Not wanting to waste any more precious minutes when a man lay dying, she made up her mind. She rushed into the main house, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and ran down the stairs.
“I got the medicines,” she told the old man. “Which ones do you need? Please, show me.” She pulled out all of them and held it in her hands in front of his vision.
With shaking hands, he pointed at one of the strips.
She tore it open and popped the pill into the old man’s mouth and held the bottle of water to his lips. He was able to swallow it before he lay back on the floor. His breathing was shallow.
Anxiety and worry tore at her heart when he didn’t move for several minutes. Even though he didn’t speak much to her, he always had a kind smile to offer her. He had even cooked some special meals when he didn’t have to go to the trouble and offered her some basic food.
She knew she couldn’t move him, so she brought a pillow and placed it under his head, raising his head and making him comfortable.
Much later, she heard footsteps climbing down the stairs.
“What’s going on?” a harsh voice demanded.
“He forgot to take his medicines this morning. I just gave it to him.”
With a frown, her captor sat next to the old man. Nina could smell the mild and fresh perfume of a soap. He must have gone for an early shower in the lake.
“Stay with him. Don’t move,” he ordered and hurried out of the room.
He was back with a small packet of biscuits. He placed one near the old man’s mouth and lifted his head. “Eat,” he said softly.
The old man’s eyes opened slowly, and he did as he was told. He took a few more bites before closing his eyes once again.
“Is he going to be okay?” Nina asked.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “He’s diabetic. His sugar levels must have dropped when he forgot to take his medicines.”
They stood quietly and watched as the old man’s breathing became normal once again, but he still didn’t stir.
“I’m going to take him to his room. Don’t move.” He picked up the old man in his arms.
Something stirred within Nina when he saw the worried look pass on her captor’s face.
He was capable of caring for someone.
CHAPTER 26
Gaurav put Khan in the bed and covered him with a light blanket before heading back to his room.
His captive was seated in a chair with her breakfast untouched. He was just about to close the door to lock her inside, when he heard her request.
“Please, sit with me for some time. I would like some company.”
He didn’t move.
“Please, just for a few minutes,” she further pleaded.
Despite himself, Gaurav went inside. He supposed a few minutes wouldn’t do him harm. And she had indeed saved Khan’s life to have earned it. He sat in the chair next to the bed.
“Thank you,” she said with a small smile.
He remained silent and watched her eat.
It was quite intriguing the way she ate. She didn’t just eat like everyone else, she made sure she enjoyed and tasted every bite. And he knew why. Food had cost her the life of her younger sister.
“Tell me your name,” she said, savoring another bite. “Maybe not your actual name, but something I can call you by. I can’t keep thinking of you as my captor.”
He tried and failed to stop a small smile from escaping to his face. “Why not? I think of you as my captive.”
Her eyes fell on his lips, and her hand paused mid-bite for a second, before she resumed eating. “Maybe. But don’t you think you know enough about me to think of me as Nina?” she softly asked.
He already did think of her as Nina. During his dreams, when he had her underneath him, and was buried deep inside her body, he had called her by her name several times. But he wasn’t going to tell her that.
Hell, he didn’t even want to acknowledge that fact to himself. He felt disgusted that he thought of her that way. She was not only a married woman, but the wife of his enemy.
He had to keep repeating to himself of her married status each time he heard her voice. But each time his mind continued to think of her and craved her.
She was watching him and didn’t seem discouraged by his lack of response.
She smiled. “Okay then. I’ll continue to think of you as my captor and I can be your captive.”
The smile stirred something inside him. Along with the primal attraction he felt towards her, there was something else. A softer emotion. He wanted to pull her towards him and kiss her gently.
He immediately got up from the chair. “Your ten minutes is up,” he said gruffly. And then, he walked out of her room.
He went into his room, and sat on the bed and closed his eyes.
“Thank you for keeping me company,” he heard her say softly through the walls.
What are you doing? A voice inside him asked.
He was thinking of her most of the time. It almost cost him his life, a day ago, when a goon almost stabbed him.
And by visiting Nina Bhupati’s mother, a few days ago, he was risking discovery as well.
But he couldn’t seem to help himself.
He took a
deep breath. His captive was slowly beginning to strike fear within him because he knew he was softening towards her and falling for her plan.
And he damn knew it was a plan.
He knew her choosing to talk was deliberate, but at the same time, he also knew her stories were real.
The experiences she and her sister faced since a tender age were sad and at times, horrific. They touched him deeply.
And they also made him admire his captive’s spirit. Not just because of how she faced and handled everything, but also for the tone his captive used to narrate her stories. She spoke in a matter-of-fact way rather than in a sad, pitiable manner to garner sympathy from him.
And he didn’t pity her. He was proud of her. Each time she or her older sister overcame an obstacle, it filled him with a strange feeling of pride.
The way he viewed his captive was slowly beginning to change. She wasn’t weak and useless arm candy of an evil, rich man.
She was strong. She was a fighter. And not only because of the way she fought, but also because of the way she could endure, and survive.
Each time he listened to her voice coming through the walls, her strength shone through, captivating him completely with her tales.
He wanted her.
He didn’t just want her body, but he also wanted her mind and spirit.
And he also wanted her to want him.
It was insane.
CHAPTER 27
Nina was allowed to visit the sick, older man that evening.
She took a tray with dinner to him. Food that was obviously prepared by her captor. She didn’t know why, but she was shocked by the fact.
When he brought the meal to her room, she had worried about the old man not getting any rest. Her captor had looked at her with his typical expressionless face and informed her that he was the one who had prepared the meal.
And the food, although simple, was pretty good.
“How are you feeling?” she asked the old man.
“I’m fine,” he answered.
Nina could see that he was still feeling weak. She placed the tray on his lap after he sat up on the bed.
His eyes fell on the food. “Don’t worry. I didn’t prepare the food. Your boss did,” she said with a smile.
He returned the smile. “Why should I worry if you had cooked?” he asked.
“Because I don’t know how,” she confessed.
He didn’t look surprised. “My boss cooks well. He’s cooked for himself and me whenever I was sick,” he said.
He must have seen the look on her face, because he lost the smile on his. “My boss is not a bad man, Mrs. Bhupati,” he said. “He’s just a man fighting for justice in his own way.”
“Justice for what?” she asked softly.
He fell quiet.
“Please, tell me. I already told your boss I’ll help him find the truth. But if I don’t know what happened, and whom he’s trying to avenge, I can’t help him.”
The old man stared at her with a torn look on his face.
“Please,” she pleaded softly. “Trust me. I will not allow anything bad to happen to any of you. Just tell me why I was taken and whom your boss wants to avenge.”
The old man lowered his head and stared at his food. “My boss didn’t want to tell you anything because he was worried that if you escaped before he could carry out his plan, then you would bring your husband’s men to us. He wasn’t worried about himself. He was worried about me and… the other man.”
Nina knew that the old man probably didn’t recall saying the other man’s name while she was being choked. But she remembered. It was Vikram.
She even wondered what relationship Vikram and her captor had between them. Were they related by blood, or were they friends?
Either way, she knew the old man and the other man must be pretty close to her captor, if they were risking arrest for her kidnap.
“You don’t have to tell me everything. Just tell me why?” she pleaded again.
The old man stared at her, and then his eyes closed as he took a deep breath. “Your husband was responsible for my boss’s sister’s death,” he said. “You husband gave the order to have her killed. He also made it appear like a suicide. My boss’s mother died of a heart attack a day later.”
Nina was stunned. “No,” she said in a whisper. “That’s impossible. Suraj would never do that. I’m pretty sure there’s been a mistake.”
The old man looked at her with pity flashing in his eyes. “My boss has proof, Mrs. Bhupati. Multiple proofs and witnesses who confirmed the fact.”
Nina kept shaking her head. “I don’t believe it. If there was proof, then why wasn’t Suraj arrested or even blamed for it?”
“Your husband is a powerful man, Mrs. Bhupati. He has resources to be able to cover up the murder and not be associated with it in any way.”
Nina’s head spun. She knew Suraj. She trusted him implicitly. His moral code was much higher than hers. There was no way he would knowingly take an innocent life.
“Why would Suraj want to kill someone?” she asked.
“He did that as a warning to my boss. To show him what would happen if someone went against him.”
“Against him, how?” Nina asked, still trying to make sense of everything.
“My boss found—” The old man was about to reveal important information before he realized that his boss probably wouldn’t be happy or maybe that it would endanger his boss.
“Found what?” she asked. “Is your boss an employee of my husband?”
The old man continued to stay silent.
“Please tell me. Does he work in any of the companies my husband owns? I’ll try to resolve whatever happened. My husband isn’t a bad man either. Whatever happened was tragic, but we need to get the truth out before anything happens to either of them.”
“As I said, everything and everyone pointed to your husband, Mrs.Bhupati.”
Nina wanted to argue, but she knew the old man wouldn’t be convinced just because she trusted Suraj. “How do you know your boss?” she asked instead.
He contemplated before asking. “I was his cook and housekeeper.”
“From his childhood?”
“No, for the past seven years.”
“So, his sister and mother passed away seven years ago?”
“No. They died a few months ago.”
“You knew them well?”
“No, they lived away from him.”
“In a different city?”
“No. They lived close by.”
“I see.”
“Mrs. Bhupati, I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to hate my boss. I know he did some things to you to question his morality. But until he lost his mother and sister, he wasn’t like that. He was a carefree and a happy bachelor whose life consisted of his family, work, and friends. Wherever he went, he was the life of the party.”
The last part shocked Nina. She couldn’t imagine the grim, expressionless face of her captor being carefree and happy, let alone as the life of the party.
“Was he, close to his family?” she asked softly.
“Yes. He was very close to his sister and mother. Even though he insisted they stay with him, his mother didn’t want to be a burden to him. She was quite a woman, his mother. Very hardworking. Even his sister, she was a bright, chirpy student and was on her way to becoming a doctor soon… before her life was cut short so cruelly.”
Nina felt both pity and empathy listening to her captor’s life before it changed irrevocably.
But she hated the guilt that was taking over.
Why was she feeling guilty? She knew in her heart that Suraj could not have been responsible for their deaths. But somehow her heart felt heavy with guilt and sadness.
The old man continued to talk.
“When his sister died, and his mother passed away due to the shock, my boss went to pieces. Before even he could mourn them properly, there was an attack on his life. Until then, he thought h
is sister and mother’s deaths were not related to your husband. But once the attack happened, he found proof.”
“Proof of what?” she asked.
“Proof that his sister’s death wasn’t a suicide. And that it was done as a retaliation not to reveal information he dug up against your husband”
Nina began to think furiously. “What does your boss do?” she asked.
When the old man didn’t answer, Nina prodded further. She had to know. “You said found something. Is he a reporter? Did he investigate something about the Bhupatis?”
A shocked and worried look passed on the old man’s face. “I’ve said too much.”
“No, you haven’t,” Nina reassured. “And I promise you that I won’t tell your boss about this conversation. Please tell me whatever you know.”
There was silence. “Even if my boss knows I’ve revealed everything to you, he won’t hurt me.”
“Then what’s stopping you?” Nina asked.
“Although you are a good woman, Mrs. Bhupati, you would support your husband. I can’t risk my boss’s mission or his life by revealing everything.”
“I see.” Nina could sense that the old man wasn’t going offer any more information. “Thank you for trusting me with whatever you have told me so far,” she said, meaning it. “And please… call me Nina.”
“Nina,” he repeated said with a small smile. “Please call me Khan.”
“I will, Khan.” Nina was touched by his trust.
LATER, WHEN NINA returned to her room, her head spun with all the information and implications.
Her captor was a reporter who had some kind of information about the Bhupatis that could possibly destroy or at least damage their reputation. Nina couldn’t figure out what it could possibly be.
The Bhupatis owned too many businesses and ran several charitable organizations to be able to point at a particular thing. And even if someone had information and wanted to blackmail Suraj about it, Nina would have known about it. Suraj had never hidden anything from her.
Could it be her father-in-law her captor should be after? Nina knew her father-in-law was more than capable of using any means to snuff out any scandal that would touch his political career or family. Did her father-in-law pass the order to threaten a reporter and his family? Was her captor confusing her father-in-law’s threats to be Suraj’s?