Soulless (Revenge or Love?): A Hot Romance Thriller set in India

by MV Kasi

  But she felt something, some sort of weird unwanted attraction. Maybe it was the sarcastic way he always spoke to her or the chilling calm when he warned her about teasing his sister in the college. Or maybe it was simply the fact that he didn't fawn over her like others usually did.

  Irritated, she watched his profile, "Why are you even here?" she demanded. "You have never come to any of the parties before."

  He was quiet for a few seconds and she thought he wouldn't answer, but then he finally did.

  "I'm the designated driver for someone."

  She scoffed rudely. "Well... aren't you the ever helpful nice little boy! I know you would rather spend a Saturday night stuck in your room, building some nonsense with your cardboard boxes and a broken radio or something. Everyone in the neighborhood thinks that you look like a fool, trying to fly those things on your terrace using your remote control."

  Actually everyone in the neighborhood including her was fascinated by those flying things, but the already arrogant Samrat didn't have to know that.

  Samrat turned to look at her. "I didn't know you were so interested in my work or that you spied on me. Maybe I should keep my curtains closed from now on," he told her with a slight smirk on his usually serious face.

  That damn smirk hurt her pride, and she was more than a little annoyed. "Ohh puhleez. I should be the one worrying. I'm sure you have tried to look into my room with that shanty telescope you have on your balcony. Well...I hope you enjoyed the view, because that's the most excitement you'll probably get until you are married. No. Wait. Actually, even then, knowing your type—which is a boring repressed prig by the way—you'll pick someone wa-a-y-y younger than you, a nice pretty little innocent, and have a five minute fumbling that will result in a child within the first nine months. And then, the both of you will continue to live a virtuous life while you invent your nonsense," she said, making air quotes for invent.

  At her rant, he cocked his head in amusement, rather than anger. "That's quite a speech. For someone who is supposed to be in a loving relationship with her boyfriend, you seem to have thought a lot about my future wife, my sex life and even my child. That's concerning."

  His nonchalance challenged her and drove her mad. She had always wondered why he couldn't fall for her, just a little bit.

  Maybe it was time to bring out the big guns, and see his facade crack a little. She knew that no one was immune to her charms for too long.

  Slowly moving closer, and leaving only a few inches between them, she smiled at him. "Actually...yes. You should be concerned, especially because I haven't been able to stop thinking about you. You are all I think of these days," she said huskily.

  He looked amused at her display. "That is very concerning...but not for me, just for Sidhu. I thought both of you are getting married in a few years."

  She shrugged. "Who knows what will happen in a few years." And then, she changed her smile, making it more sultry and seductive. "But aren't you curious about the thoughts I have of you...Samrat?"

  He watched her quietly for a few seconds. To her satisfaction, she could see the amusement vanishing rapidly from his face.

  “What do you want Mahi?” he asked with a deliberate slowness.

  His voice caused every fine hair on her neck to rise in awareness. Low, gravelly, it sounded as if he was growling.

  “What do I want?” she repeated, forcing out a laugh and feeling out of sorts. “You are pretty direct. But that's what I like about you.”

  Rising to the challenge of wanting to unnerve him in return, she slowly raised her hand, and ran a finger across his thin eyebrow scar, and was about to trail it lower to his square jaw. But he caught her hand and jerked it away from his face.

  "Don't embarrass yourself Mahi. Let it go. Drop your pretense. You can't get me to be interested in you...now or ever. I would never be interested in someone like you. Get it?"

  Shallow, arrogant, bad influence and many more such descriptions that followed behind her over the years rang in her head.

  But she focused only on his rejection and her hurt pride. Directly her fury towards him, "You arrogant idiot,” she hissed. “Do you really think you can talk to me like that?”

  She tried to slap him with her free hand, but he stopped her, and held both her hands. She struggled furiously, to free her hands, and to claw his face for making her humiliate herself.

  Watching her grimly, Samrat waited for her to calm down.

  And that's how Sidhu found them.

  "Mahi?"

  When Sidhu looked at them questioningly, she struggled again to free herself from Samrat's hold. That time he let her go.

  "Sidhu!" she said and ran to him and hugged him tightly, while also managing to squeeze out some tears.

  "Are you alright?" Sidhu asked her gently as he held her.

  "No. I'm not," she said with her voice trembling and accused Samrat of grabbing her and then forcibly kissing her.

  Soon her voice rose and she became hysterical. Their other classmates and friends from the party heard her shout, and gathered around them, and she repeated her accusations again in front of everyone.

  Samrat was silent all the while and he didn't defend himself.

  Even Sidhu looked torn, since he knew her pretty well.

  But she had goaded Sidhu to defend her honor by hitting Samrat. Sidhu had no choice, but to punch him. And Samrat didn't lift a finger in defense. He simply left the party right away with his friends.

  PRESENT

  Mahi cringed, recalling Samrat's expression when she hurled those false accusations in front of everyone. She wanted to go back in time as her thirty four year old self and slap some sense into her twenty one year old self brat. Maybe even sit on top of her to have a long talk with that messed up kid.

  "God, what was I thinking, when I accused him with those horrible allegations, and just because he rejected my drunken advances. No wonder he hates me even now," she muttered as she stepped out of the shower and quickly dried herself.

  She decided to skip the moisturizer, since it was already pretty humid and hot, and wore a comfortable long mid-thigh length Minnie Mouse night shirt with loose cotton pajamas.

  The past fourteen years had changed her a lot, in both appearance and in her mind.

  She had never been classically beautiful to begin with, and at thirty four she was no longer striking, as some people had described her during her teens and in her twenties. Her five feet five inches body had filled out, making her look like a woman and no longer a young girl.

  But she knew that some of that sarcastic attention seeking teenager still lived inside her, and probably would remain there, until the day she died. The only good thing was that she had changed considerably and could have more control on herself.

  She got out of the bathroom, and remembered that there was no food at home except for a couple of granola bars in one of her bags. She was way too tired to bother with some chores or shopping. So she simply lay down on the bed, and stared at the rotating ceiling fan, recalling the main reason she had wanted to move back to India.

  Mahi, most of us are hit by tragedies one way or the other, and curse our fates. But fate is not our enemy. We are. When you lock yourself away from the world and retreat to yourself, you are destroying any chance of happiness you may ever find in your future. You can never control your life, but you can choose who you want to be, and what you want your life to be like.

  After her aunt had said those words, she felt ashamed. Her aunt didn't have much choice on whether or not she could live. But she did.

  At that instant she knew that there was still a lot of fight left inside her, making her want to grab the chance to start over. She didn't want to be that broken person anymore, drowning in self-pity.

  Soon she had purchased her parents’ house—who were more than willing to sell—and flew to Hyderabad with all her belongings.

  Just then, her stomach grumbled loudly, interrupting her thoughts. Feeling hungry all of a sudde
n, she walked into the living room where her bags were still lying unpacked.

  She got out the cell phone and put on the headphones before playing songs from her music list. She sat next to one of the bags and began to rummage through it, looking for the protein bars.

  It was getting really hot, making her break into a slight sweat in-spite of her recent shower.

  Deciding not to take her top off, she removed her pajamas to cool down.

  She sighed loudly in relief as soon as she felt the cool breeze on her legs, and continued to dig through the bags.

  By the time she found the protein bars, the floor was littered with her clothes and other belongings. She was just about to tear one of them open, when she had a weird feeling that someone was behind her, and was watching her.

  She quickly turned around and almost had a heart attack seeing someone standing inside the wide open door.

  THE HOLIDAY AFFAIR – SAMPLE

  Amazon Link: smarturl.it/theholidayaffair

  Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33543288-the-holiday-affair

  A STANDALONE novel based on THAT SAME OLD LOVE.

  DESCRIPTION:

  Rana Bugati is a movie star who is famous for his perfect villainous roles. Handsome and cocky, he is used to winning the most beautiful women with just a smile. But when one overzealous fan with a powerful father threatens his safety, his parents want him to settle down rather quickly. He's definitely not happy being pushed towards an arranged match, and he is more than outraged that it is with a woman who had kicked his ass several times during their childhood.

  Srishti Shah is driven and ambitious. She refuses to let anything or anyone distract her from the path to success. But when her fiancé of seven years dumps her for not being 'there' in their relationship, her confidence as a woman is shaken. She wondered if a woman could have both, a demanding career, and a great relationship. Her family told her she could. And they went about it by trying to fix her up with her childhood nemesis, who for some reason they think is perfect for her.

  Sparks fly when the former enemies are brought together by their eager parents. But when one unexpected kiss leads to a sizzling encounter, Rana proposes a deal. To explore their chemistry some more, until they could get their parents off their backs. But it doesn't take long for Rana to realize that pretending to be a couple isn't going to cut it. Now he just has to convince Srishti that they are perfect together.

  CHAPTER 1

  Rana rushed inside his parents' house with worry churning in his stomach.

  The first person he saw was his mother. And soon his worry turned into relief, and then anger.

  "Hello, Ma," he called out to her.

  His mother who was supposedly too sick to even talk, was sitting in his childhood home, sipping tea with his father and cousin.

  As soon as she saw him, an expression of guilt formed on her face.

  "Rana, welcome back home. I haven't seen you for a while," she said softly with a smile.

  "I visited you, just a week ago, Ma. What's going on? I had to cut short my trip because I got a call informing me you were sick," he said in an accusing tone.

  Rana's father jumped in right away and answered on behalf of his wife."Well, she is sick. Sick of you and your reputation. We all are!"

  Rana pinched the bridge of his nose as a headache began to form. "Dad, please don't start again. I've had a hellishly long flight since I couldn't find any direct flights in the last minute," he said tiredly.

  And before his father could retort or say anything, his mother spoke up.

  "Rana, come sit here for a minute. We have something important to discuss with you."

  Unable to ever say no to his soft spoken, petite mother, Rana sat on a sofa, next to his cousin Rahul, who was a frequent visitor to his parents' house. His cousin and his father were both doctors who ran the Bugati family owned hospital chain.

  Most of the males and females in Rana's father's family were doctors. And some of them, including his father were quite active in politics.

  Rana was the only one who hadn't walked the same career path as the rest of his family members. His father had never let him forget that fact.

  "What is it, Ma? Why did you make me rush home under false pretenses? You've never resorted to such tactics before. Did someone make you do it?" Rana asked, throwing a meaningful glance towards his glowering father.

  "Rana," his mother said gently, trying to maintain peace between father and son. "I'm sorry for making you cut short your trip. But we had to let you know something in person."

  "What is it?" he asked.

  "We have received an excellent proposal for you."

  Rana frowned."What do mean proposal, Ma? I hope you are not talking about a marriage proposal."

  Rana's father jumped right in at that. "What other kind of proposal would you ever receive? It's not like you are a doctor or even interested in taking part in our businesses or politics—"

  "Ashok, please..." Rana's mother interrupted her husband, before the conversation turned into another yelling match.

  Both father and son glared at each other with matching scowls, but remained quiet because of the woman they both respected and loved.

  Before Rana was born, his mother had been a top-notch gynecologist. But when Rana was born with a few health complications, she had given up her career to take care of him full-time. And later during his teens when he out-grew his severe food allergies and lung problems, she dedicated herself to running various charitable organizations.

  Rana was quite close to his mother because she had always been there during his childhood, taking care of him, listening to him and encouraging him with whatever he wanted to do.

  "Yes, it is a marriage proposal," she said. And at Rana's frown, she continued beseechingly. "It's simply a proposal, Rana. There is no pressure to accept. We just thought since we know the family already, you might think about it."

  "I know the girl? Who is it?" Rana asked.

  "Before I tell you who it is, I would like to first ask if you are okay about the fact that she was engaged to someone else for a while. They broke up a few months ago," she said.

  "Why should that fact bother me or anyone to that matter?" Rana asked with a frown.

  His mother smiled. "I knew it wouldn't bother you."

  "Whom are you talking about, Ma?" Rana asked, getting both curious and impatient.

  "Well, dad and I felt that you are both well-suited to one another. I know you would enjoy having a life partner who is independent and driven like you. And she has started her own company from the past three years and is looking for a partner who would support her in every way."

  "I'm sure she'd be more than happy with my monthly checks deposited in her bank as allowances," Rana said drily.

  "She doesn't need your money, you idiot," Rana's father snapped. "If we weren't in a desperate need to save your useless life from Sudharshan Reddy's threats,, I would never think of tying that innocent, girl's life with yours. She doesn't deserve a womanizer like you."

  "There is no threat to my life. Sudharshan Reddy and his daughter are simply drama queens with their theatric displays," Rana stated irritably, ignoring the womanizer part of the comment.

  "Well, I don't want to take chances. Once you are married off safely, they'll leave you alone," Rana's father stated.

  Rana didn't want to be treated like a little boy who needed protection. "I think I am perfectly capable of managing my life without your assistance or advice. I already have enough security during—"

  "It was my idea, Rana," his mother stated softly, shocking him. She smiled, but Rana could see the worry in her eyes. "Please, for my sake, just promise me that you'll come along with us this evening. It's only a casual meeting."

  Sighing in defeat, Rana said, "Fine. I'll join you this evening. And who is this paragon of innocence and womanhood who will save me from danger?"

  "Srishti Shah," his mother replied with a hopeful smile.


  Hearing that name, Rana's mind howled and rebelled.

  Srishti freaking Shah! What the everlasting hell!

  But he maintained a calm look on his face."What time are we going to meet her?"

  "Around five. The Shahs are hosting their grandson's first birthday party this evening. So it won't be an awkward meeting for you both. You can just connect casually during the party as old friends," his mother said eagerly.

  Rana hoped to god, his mother wasn't dreaming of having Srishti as her daughter-in-law or as the mother of her grandchildren. Because he was quite sure she would be extremely disappointed.

  Because no way he would let that harpy get anywhere close to him.

  He looked at his father, who was still glowering in silence, ready to erupt at the slightest provocation.

  "Rahul, come join me upstairs," Rana told his cousin before he headed towards his room.

  Rahul was Rana's father's were brothers, and since both were of the same age, they grew up being quite close to one another. They had gone to the same boarding school from the age of fourteen and stayed together until they both graduated from the same medical college.

  But unlike Rahul, Rana wasn't a doctor. He gave up his medical degree to pursue what he was really passionate about.

  Acting.

  Unfortunately, it was the biggest grievance his father had about him, amongst hundreds.

  "I will not allow any son of mine to be a two-bit actor and turn our family name into a laughing stock!" his father had raged.

  "Well, it's a good thing that I'm not asking your permission then. I'm just letting you know," he said quietly.

  His father was outraged. "I'll cut you off from the will if you give up on becoming a doctor!" his father threatened.