It was a one-night fling. She was looking for a reason. A reason to distract herself from Rishabh and the abusive relationship and the way the horrible alliance ended. Vikram seemed like the best distraction. If not for a lifetime, at least for a few hours or at least for the night, Natasha wants to forget everything. She wanted to leave her past behind and enter the realms of bliss and euphoria.
“You’re still here?” A familiar voice brings Natasha back to the present. She turns around only to find Samantha glaring at her.
“It’s not right to let someone wait, especially when he's desperate enough to toss you on his shoulder and fly you away like a superman. And especially when he belongs to the league of extraordinary single men.”
“And how do you know he’s single.”
“So you agree he’s extraordinary?”
“Never mind what I said.”
“Sweetie, the way his eyes gleamed when he saw you, I bet he’s single and ready to mingle. Who’s he? It feels like you guys know each other. An old fling?” Samantha saunters to the empty couch and leisurely sprawls on it.
“You on break or what?”
“Yeah a ten-minutes break. My feet are aching.” She pulls her feet up and stretches them on the leather. “Ahh.” She closes her eyes, letting her head fall back. For a moment, Natasha thinks that she has saved herself from Samantha’s keen eyes. But the moment Samantha opens her eyes, Natasha again sees hundreds of questions dancing inside those kohled pools.
“What?”
“I’ve asked you something. It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me what is brewing or probably has already cooked up between you and Mister Jaysingh.” Samantha drops herself down on the couch, her head resting on the armrest now.
“Oh, come on, Sam. You know every single detail of my life. I haven’t hidden anything from you. Vikram Jaysingh has nothing to do with my life.”
“Oh, so now you know his name also. Vikram, huh?” At once, Samantha rises from the couch. It feels as if she has become a powerhouse. Within seconds, she reaches out to Natasha.
“You can’t slip without telling me everything. I don’t care if he’s waiting for you earnestly. Tell me quick or I won’t let you go.”
Natasha studies her friend’s unrelenting gaze. She’s adamant and inflexible. Natasha must tell her everything about her secret crush on Vikram if she wants to meet Vikram.
What’s this desperation? What’s this restlessness? Why does she want to meet Vikram? And why does it bother her that he’s waiting for her? Does she still feel something for Vikram? Even after so many years?
Nah. Never. Vikram Jaysingh is nothing but a beautiful facade of a man. A man with a cold and ruthless heart inside. A man who treats women like coffee cups. A man who himself doesn’t know how many women he has slept with.
Natasha is nothing to him except a one-night stand. She should have considered all this before making any assumptions about Vikram’s changed behavior. She should be aware of Vikram’s womanizing tendencies.
Natasha shrugs any positive thoughts about Vikram off her mind. But the next moment, her inner voice itself forces her to think about the dark-eyed god. The one that’s begging her to meet with him in person.
If he’s a philanderer, a flirt, a womanizer, what is he doing here? Why does he want to meet her? Shouldn’t he have forgotten about his months’ old one-night fling with her?
Natasha doesn’t know, can’t even guess. When earlier, she used to read him like a high school student, conjuring up all the answers to her questions, now she can’t fathom what’s going on in his head.
His current disposition is far beyond Natasha’s logical thinking, his character unfathomable and mysterious.
Chapter Nine
Why the hell she’s taking so much time? What does she want to prove by keeping me waiting here like a stranded traveler?
And why the hell I’m waiting for her? I have a huge chunk of things to take care of before leaving Krishnagiri tomorrow but here I am, waiting for the woman who doesn’t give a damn about me.
Shit.
Vikram paces back and forth, massaging his temple. If she’s not showing herself up in the next five minutes, I’m going to get out of here. Vikram decides that he’ll leave the pub without any intention of coming back the next day. But only he knows how brittle his own thought is. He could never leave. He has searched for this woman for months. How could he let her vanish again?
He has been searching for her for the past several months and now when he has found her, he’s not going to let her slip again. He wants to find out the truth. He needs to know why her face seems like the face of an angel. A face he was always looking for. A woman he was waiting all his life of twenty-seven years. Why does it feel that she's the missing part of his own heart? He wants to know her. He wants to know her inside out. He wants to know everything about this woman.
Vikram is in his thoughts when the door to the dining hall clicks open and a silvery figure materializes in front of him. The woman shuts the door behind her.
Gone are the white apron, the black skirt and the white blouse, now a pair of black pants adorn her long legs. Her gray sweater is flowy and loose in contrast to the revealing black dress she wore on Christmas eve.
The sweater and pants aren’t doing any justice to woman’s sexy curves, yet she looks adoringly beautiful. Her sight is so calming and peaceful, Vikram forgets all the rants of his head. His mouth falls open on its own accord and he literally feels his lips curving into a smile, and not just smile, he feels like he’s flaunting way too much teeth. He’s grinning.
“Shall we?” Vikram offers his hand to the lady.
“Yeah.” She smiles but it’s a bit shaky and a nervous kind of smile. She gives her cottony hand in Vikram’s. Her cold hand quivers in Vikram’s warm one. But as soon as Vikram squeezes it and clutches it with his warm fingers, the quivering stops. He then gazes at the lady. She smiles and opposite to the nervous one, this one feels like coming straight from her heart.
Thank god. She’s feeling better now.
Vikram ushers the lady to the exit of the pub and finally into the bright night outside. The moment they step out of the restaurant, Vikram fishes out his mobile phone from his pants’ pocket and dials Keshav before putting the talking device close to his ear. With his other hand, he keeps the woman’s cold hand clutched to diffuse enough warmth to her cold fragile skin.
Why suddenly Vikram has started feeling so protective about her? Why does he want to comfort her? And why the hell she looks so much vulnerable? Vikram needs to know the answer to all these questions but first he must take her to some decent and quiet place.
“Hey, bro,” Keshav speaks on the other side.
“I’ll be off for a while. Don’t wait for me. Get back to the hotel and I’ll see you there.”
“Cool, bro. Looks like you’ve met someone really special. Abandoning things midway isn’t your thing.”
“Will talk to you later.”
Vikram disconnects the call, shoves the mobile phone back in his pocket, and opens the back door of the waiting Mercedes. “Hop on.” He flashes a lopsided smile as he holds the door open and guides the lady in before sliding next to her.
His eyes study the woman sitting next to him as the vehicle picks up speed and starts gliding on the road.
“Do you know any place where we can sit and talk since you’ve been living here for quite some time I guess?”
“We can go to Midnight Cafe. It’s an open-air cafeteria only at twenty minutes ride from here,” the woman says.
“Sure,” Vikram speaks before he requests the driver to take them to Midnight Cafe.
The ride till the cafe remains eerily silent as neither the lady nor Vikram speaks anything. All the time, she’s gazing out the window like she did on Christmas eve when Vikram offered her a lift in his car. That night she felt like a woman on the cusp of falling apart. She was crying. She was emotional. In contrast to that night, tonight she feels col
d and emotionless. Vikram sees pain in her eyes but she’s efficiently hiding it behind her icy stare and calculated glances.
The vehicle comes to a steady halt as they reach the open-air cafeteria. Vikram gets out of the car and keeps the door open for the lady.
She steps out of the vehicle and Vikram shuts the door behind her. Unknowingly, unbidden, Vikram finds his hand landing at the small of her back as the two enter the cafe.
The hilly town is embracing summers yet the mild chill in the air makes the lady shiver with cold. Vikram quickly takes off his jacket and wraps it around the lady’s trembling body. She gazes at him and then whispers dropping her head down, “Thanks.”
Within minutes, they reach a vacant table in one solitary corner of the cafe. As they occupy their seats, Vikram forces his eyes away from the woman and looks around. It’s a beautiful little cafeteria with very few tables decorating the rustic stone-floor. There aren’t many diners except a few couples, cozily enjoying the cool summer night in the hilly town.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Yes, it is.”
Vikram notices her taking in the surroundings before her gaze lands on Vikram and she fidgets.
“Now tell me why you left me without even bothering to say goodbye?” Vikram fixes his eyes on the woman.
“Does it matter?” The woman who a while ago was seemingly looking vulnerable, is now challenging Vikram with her unwavering gaze.
“Yes, it does. Don’t you think I deserve a reason of you leaving me without even saying a word to me.”
“I left a note.”
“Note? Huh…” Vikram smirks. “A note with no name on it.”
“Since when you’ve started jotting down the details of your one-night stands, Vicky.”
“Nobody calls me Vicky except…” Vikram’s words trail as he slams his palm on the wooden table, his eyes never leaving the sultry brown ones.
The woman never speaks, her lips curving into a mysterious smile. A smile that possesses the power of locking Vikram up in a cage of obscurities.
What puzzle is she trying to construct? Why is she not spitting out the truth? And what exactly the truth is? What connection exists between them?
“N,” Vikram speaks pinching the bridge of his nose, “St. Jude’s High School.”
“N…” He squeezes his eyes shut and throws his head back trying to go back in time.
A girl with twin braids and twin braces shines in the darkness of his eyes.
“Natasha Malik!” he shouts not even bothering to disturb the serenity of the cafe and the calmness of the sprawling night.
“Shit! I can’t believe this. It’s you, Natasha Malik.”
“Why it’s so hard for you to believe it’s me, Vicky?” Natasha lifts the coffee cup to her lips which the server has placed on their table a while ago. She then takes a swig of her coffee. She places the white porcelain cup back on the saucer. Her eyes again pin Vikram from across the table.
“I never thought of…”
“Never thought of sleeping with a plain woman like me. Am I too ordinary for your glitzy glamor-filled life that you still regret spending a night with me?”
“Shit. Nothing like that. I mean you were so… so aloof, so distant, detached from all the happenings of the school I never thought of talking to you, let alone make friends with you. I thought you don’t like getting along with others. I thought you’re the lone-wolf type girl, you know.”
“You were so busy with your gang of friends and the girls you flirt with day in and day out, you never had any time to look at me. Most of the time, you ignored me, Vikram Jaysingh. But I’m surprised today. Why did you want to meet me tonight? Why did you wait for me? And it wasn't only a matter of few minutes, you waited for me for a darn long time. You waited for me for one full hour. I’m surprised.”
“I’ve waited for you for five long months, Natz.”
“Now don’t call me by that name. You don’t deserve to call me by my nickname.”
“I’m sorry. I would never call you Natz again. Sorry again.” Vikram smiles, his eyes still fixed on the beauty sitting across from him.
“Why did you wait for me?” the lady asks.
“I don’t know. Perhaps, it’s God’s way of telling me that not everything comes with a price tag. Feelings and emotions are priceless.”
“Don’t tell me you are having feelings for your high school classmate. The one you’ve always treated like a wallflower.”
Vikram is speechless. Nothing comes out of his mouth as he stares at Natasha. Natasha locks her gaze with his for a short while and then she looks away. Vikram still is not ready to tear his gaze away from her even after knowing that she’s getting nervous under his scrutinizing stare.
“Now stop staring at me. I’m not a teenager who’ll blush and smile. You don’t have any effect on me.”
“But the color of your cheeks tells me a different story.”
Natasha lifts her eyes from the table and looks up. A crimson tide paints her cheeks as Vikram leans back in his chair and scrutinizes her, never bothering to take his eyes off her.
Vikram tries to say something. And as he rounds his lips, Natasha rises from her chair.
“I’m feeling sick here.”
“Oh, I’m sorry if…”
She turns around and rushes to the exit. Her heels clank against the stone-floor as she runs away.
What the hell has happened?
Vikram flashes his card at the counter before rushing after the lady.
Chapter Ten
A sick feeling traverses across Natasha’s stomach. Waves and waves of pregnancy-induced nausea hit her tummy and travel to her throat. She feels like throwing out but somehow controls herself. She could have used the washroom. Instead, she ran out of the cafe and now she’s just not able to hold anything down.
She pukes and pukes some more in the vomit bag, she carries in her purse all the time, as she sits on the roadside bench.
Why did she run out of the cafe? She could have used the ladies' restroom in the cafe itself, but she ran away. It’s because Vikram was so ruthlessly commanding her thoughts, her thinking process, she couldn’t even think of going to the bathroom. The only thought that occurred to her head was to run out of the cafe and seek refuge on the roadside wooden bench. Thank god she has the vomit bag.
Natasha is yet not done when a commanding figure lands next to her on the bench. A warm hand presses the small of her back.
“You okay?” Vikram whispers, his voice sugary soft and so much suffused with tender love and care, Natasha feels her feet going jelly.
“Yeah.”
Natasha tries to calm down her shaky breath and her nervous heartbeat. The bout of nausea has left behind an aura of sickness and Vikram’s nearness is making things even worse for Natasha.
“I’ll get some water for you.”
“I have it.” Natasha tries to open her blue purse. She struggles with the zipper when Vikram speaks, “Let me.” He takes the purse from her hands and pulls down the zipper. He fishes out a small water bottle, uncaps it and lifts it to her lips. He again warmly rests his hand at the small of her back.
Natasha gulps few drops of water to wet her mouth as the sickening sensation still lances through her, though mildly.
When she stops drinking, Vikram takes the bottle away from her lips, recaps it and places it back in her purse.
“I’m sorry if I have played any role in making you sick.”
Natasha turns to face Vikram. For a moment, their eyes lock and then she looks away.
“It’s like this since the beginning of the second trimester.” She clears her throat.
“What?” A pause and then he speaks again, “You pregnant?”
Natasha looks back at him and sees his eyes growing narrow, his forehead creasing.
She nods.
“Shit!” He massages his forehead, looking away, glaring the empty concrete road in front of them.
Silence unfurls. Vikra
m buries his head in the cup of his hands. He remains in that position for quite a long while before lifting his head and looking back at Natasha.
“Since when?”
“Five months.”
“You’re married?”
Natasha shakes her head, her eyes meeting with the obsidian ones.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“We broke up a few months ago.”
“So you’re single now?”
“As single as I could be.” A faint smile curves Natasha’s lips.
“And you’re working in a pub and doing night shifts. Do you think it’s all good for you and the baby?” Now, Natasha could sense concern lacing Vikram’s voice.
“It happens. Life happens.”
“Not from now onward. You’re not going to work in that dingy pub anymore. It’s hazardous for you and the baby both.”
“What would I do then?”
“Oh yeah. How could a self-dependent woman like you will accept someone’s help, not even if that someone is an old high school friend.”
“Stop. We were never friends. You never knew me back then.” Natasha cuts Vikram, glaring at him.
“True. We were never friends. How can I forget something so obvious about you?”
“What does that mean?”
“You purposely avoided boys, didn’t you?”
“And how can you say that when you never knew I ever existed.”
“Oh, come on. I always remember you as a nerdy girl with twin braids and loose clothes.” Vikram crosses one leg over the other, smirking. “Your transformation is surprising.”
Natasha feels dark eyes scanning her. Nervous, she tucks imaginary strands of hair behind her ears and tears her eyes away from Vikram’s charming face. In the dim light of the lamppost, Vikram appears even more seductive and charming. Critters start to swarm in Natasha’s belly under Vikram’s scrutinizing gaze.
“So where do you stay? Any friend or relative who can look after you?”
Again the sexy baritone assaults Natasha’s senses. When she looks at Vikram she finds his eyes traveling from her face to her stomach which isn't flat at all. Her belly has a small bump which is quite evident now as she isn’t wearing any apron.
Accidentally Ever After Page 4