Flaming Sun Collection 3: Perfect Twins Find Anya (Box Set with 3 novellas)

by Sundari Venkatraman

  “I hope that’s a promise,” she called out to his retreating back.

  Dev stepped out of the door to blow her a kiss before going on his way.

  Anya was surprised when Dev walked back into the office at 1.30 pm. “Time to go for lunch,” he said, “I’m famished.”

  “Is it that late already?” asked Anya, flexing her fingers. She had been furiously typing on her laptop, making points for the meeting on Wednesday, referring to the notes she had made when Shaan explained the workings of the farm. There was a lot to learn, but she wanted to get the morning’s work in perspective before they went further.

  “Yep. Are you ready to go?”

  “I suppose,” she said, getting up. “And Shaan?”

  “He has lunch with everyone else at the community kitchen. I’ll take you there one of these days. It’s like a picnic,” promised Dev.

  “Can’t we do it every day?” asked Anya curiously. She noticed that Dev treated all his workers like his own family.

  “I’m sure they feel freer without me breathing down their necks all the time,” he grinned.

  “You’ve got a point there. And Daadima must be waiting lunch for us.”

  “Exactly, along with our dogs and cats,” he grinned. “Here, let me help you.” Dev squeezed her bottom on the pretext of helping her on to the bike.

  “So, it’s going to be like that,” she said, looking up into his simmering hot grey eyes.

  “Like what?” he asked, an innocent expression on his face.

  Straddling the bike, she raised a hand to open the top button on his shirt, before reaching out to press her lips to the V, her damp tongue drawing a circle on his skin. “Hmm, you taste so good that I wouldn’t mind having you for my lunch.”

  “Anya.” Dev’s voice turned guttural, his manhood making its presence felt.

  “What?” Anya placed a hand against his erection, her eyes turning to molten chocolate. “Do you want me?”

  “And how!” He bent down to kiss her hard, not giving a damn if anyone was watching them. She was so sinfully tempting. He gently removed her hand. “So do I have an appointment with you tonight?”

  “You bet,” she whispered against his throat. “Unless Daadima...”

  “Daadima’s bedroom is on the ground floor. It’s just the two of us on the first,” he said, his hand caressing her waist, pushing her t-shirt out of the way.

  “It’s a date then,” she said, kissing him one more time before they set off towards the main house.

  They fell into a comfortable routine, Anya learning the ropes of the business. Dev accepted the majority of her marketing plans and gave her a free rein to go ahead in executing them. Their nights were steamy. Dev went to her bedroom on most nights as he always woke up at dawn and managed to shift to his own room by the time the servants came in. Anya found this frustrating at times, but then, they didn’t have a choice.

  Weekends were fun at the farm. They watched a movie or two in the open air, all the families coming together. Dinner was cooked on a barbeque while parathas with varied fillings were made on the tandoor that Dharmesh set up. Everyone who knew how to cook pitched in, and they all had a gala time.

  The coming weekend was to be even more entertaining with a houseful of guests. There were ten more people other than Farhan and Arth. Some of them were farmers from Mahabaleshwar while there were two couples who had gone to college with Dev.

  The farm took on a festive air. Even Renu and her parents were invited for dinner on the Saturday.

  Renu was on her best behaviour and she really had to work hard at it as it was the most unnatural thing for her. While everyone turned out in casual clothes, she wore a short black dress with layers of makeup. The rest of the party was too well-mannered to say anything.

  “Dev,” she said in a loud whisper, “Don’t you think there’s something strange about Anya’s friends from Mumbai? Are you aware that “both the guys” are too much into each other?” she asked, making quotation marks in the air.

  Dev turned from the makeshift bar to look at her, his face stony. “So?”

  “I’m just saying. I think they are gay,” she continued to speak in a whisper that could be heard by at least a dozen people near them.

  Dev asked again, “So?”

  “Arre, so nothing. What is it to me? They are your guests,” snarled Renu, her temper getting steadily out of control by his indifferent stance. Her hatred towards Anya had doubled, trebled and quadrupled since the evening began. For one thing, the younger girl was dressed in a pair of snug fitting jeans and a sleeveless red kurti that made her skin glow. For another, Renu noticed that Dev’s eyes followed Anya everywhere, as if an invisible thread connected the two.

  “Exactly,” said Dev, moving away in the pretext of talking to someone. He kept walking, stopping to speak to everyone, but striking a steady path towards the woman he loved. She stood out like a beacon, her smile lighting up the night. Anya made a perfect hostess, making everyone comfortable. Even his workers had taken to her and had all become her loyal fans. Dev finally reached her side. “Here you go,” he said, handing her a glass of chilled wine. “Cheers!”

  “Cheers!” she whispered, touching her glass to his, looking deeply into his eyes as she sipped from the glass. Working on his farm had given her a purpose in life, to the point that she really didn’t care if she remembered her life before the accident or not. Her life seemed complete with a career that gave her satisfaction and a lover who worshipped her. A home, an adoring grandmother and a houseful of pets were all an added bonus.

  Farhan and Arth walked towards them. They had arrived that morning in Dev’s helicopter, along with four others who were also travelling from Mumbai. “You have a fantastic set up here, Dev,” said Arth, “It’s amazing how you’ve worked singlehandedly towards achieving your dream.” He was all admiration.

  “And Anya, are you happy with your new job?” asked Farhan, pulling her into a hug.

  “I love it,” said Anya, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m so lucky to have Dev by my side.”

  Renu walked towards them and caught the tail end of the conversation, losing it completely. “I’d advise you not to get too complacent. Luck tends to run out on everyone, most unexpectedly at times,” she said spitefully, her eyes spouting venom at Anya. If looks could kill, Anya would have fallen dead then and there. How dare she! On the one side, she was getting too close to Dev. On the other, she was snuggling close to that gay friend of hers. Renu shook with temper. And that stupid Dev, didn’t he have eyes in his head? Couldn’t he see that his favourite guest was playing with all men and was utterly shameless? She gritted her teeth, finding it difficult to calm down.

  The ever polite Arth turned to Renu and asked, “Would you like something to drink, ma’am?”

  “I don’t drink,” she bit out at him.

  Arth gave her a benign smile. “Maybe a soft drink?”

  Dev couldn’t help grinning despite his anger towards Renu’s terrible manners. With his very politeness, Arth was underlining her stupidity, without even meaning to.

  “Dev will get one for me. He knows what my favourite is,” insisted Renu, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

  Arth was anything but a pushover. He bowed to Renu, saying, “I must insist. Dev’s had a long and difficult day and has just stopped for a breather. Go on, tell me what your favourite is?”

  Glaring at all four of them, Renu mumbled, “I don’t want anything,” and flounced away.

  “Why is she so angry?” asked Anya, not realising that Renu was jealous of her.

  Dev grinned, sitting down on a chair and pulling her on his lap. “She probably ate something that didn’t suit her.”

  Farhan and Arth laughed, settling on the chairs beside Dev. “You are an innocent baby,” said Farhan, “Don’t ever change,” he insisted.

  “Yeah, please don’t ever,” whispered Dev, nuzzling her neck.

  Most of the guests left on Sunday evening while Far
han and Arth decided to leave early Monday morning. They were going to take the scenic route from Karjat, having hired a taxi, refusing Dev’s offer of his station wagon and a driver.

  “We had a wonderful time,” said Farhan, shaking hands with Dev.

  “You must stay with us the next time you are in Mumbai,” insisted Arth.

  They hugged Anya in turn, taking their leave, waving to them as their taxi took off.

  “Shall we get to work?” asked Anya, looking at Dev.

  “Slave driver,” grumbled Dev, falling in step with her.

  21

  Two months had gone. Dev was happy with Anya’s marketing tactics as they had made his products reach high end customers, cutting away the middlemen. While Dev had had two five-star hotels on his direct customer list, she had added half a dozen more by now. She had come up with social media plans and they had hired a couple of college students from Mumbai to work on those.

  Anya had also insisted on using the office space for a couple of hours in the evenings to teach the workers to read and write. To begin with, there were a handful of people who attended her classes. Some of them even grumbled that they didn’t want to spend their free time studying—not at their age. But soon, more and more joined the class until all of them were enrolled. She never gave them home work. Whatever they did, they did in the classroom. That way, there was less cause for complaint.

  “You know Dev, I think we should encourage their children to take up vocational training during their holidays. It’d be great if we can organise some workshops. It will motivate them to return to the farm as well as set them up for life. What do you think?” she asked, her left hand tracing the contours of his muscular chest. They were in bed after a bout of energetic lovemaking, Dev holding her close with his left arm around her body, his eyes half closed in slumber.

  “I think you’re the best thing that happened to me,” he said, pressing his lips to the top of her head. “You go ahead and give me a plan and budget and I’ll work it in.”

  “I think I’m falling in love with you Dev,” she declared.

  Dev got up with a jerk and sat against the headboard, pulling her up into his arms. “Tell me again.”

  “I am in love with you,” she said, kissing his rough cheek.

  “I’ve been waiting to hear that since forever,” he said, his grey eyes aglow with adoration. “I love you too Anya. Will you marry me?”

  “Hmm.” She looked into his eyes. “Do you think the time has come for me to visit my parents?”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” he said, his face shadowing with disappointment.

  “I’m sorry Dev. But I still don’t feel hundred percent complete. I avoid thinking of my past most of the time. But when it comes to a life changing decision, I feel scared. Are you able to relate to what I am saying?” Her chocolate gaze begged him to understand.

  A deep sigh shook Dev’s frame. “The trouble is that I do, even if I don’t want to. You go ahead and visit your parents as that needs to be done. But what happens in case you don’t remember, even after that? Will you still refuse to marry me?” he asked.

  “Even now, I’m not refusing to marry you Dev. If there’s one person on earth who I want to be my partner, it’s you. I...”

  Dev swooped down to kiss her hard on her lips. “That’s good enough for me. So, when do you want to go? I can come with you, in case you need moral support.”

  Anya shook her head, gently. “You’ve done too much Dev. I think I need to do this by myself.” More than anything, she didn’t want Dev to be hurt just in case her parents were rude and they had seemed capable of it from what she recalled from her experience with them at the hospital. “Maybe I need to go with Farhan, if he’s ready to go with me. They still don’t know that we are divorced,” she grimaced.

  Dev wasn’t too happy with the idea, but what she said made sense. And despite her amnesia and all that, Anya was an independent woman and that was something he truly admired in her.

  Dev pushed her down on the bed and went on top of her. “That’s an idea,” he sighed, continuing, “I’ve found you after so long, Anya. I don’t want you to disappear from my life, ever again.”

  She looked at him curiously. Had he been searching for her? She shook her head to herself, assuming that she was reading more than what the situation warranted.

  She called Farhan the next day. “I think it’s time to face my parents, Farhan. Will you go with me? They think that we are still married. I...”

  “Of course I will. Give me a couple of days. Will check with them and also set my business in order so that I can take some time off.”

  “You don’t need to stay back with me, Farhan. I’m sure it’s bound to be unpleasant once they know about our divorce. I’ll probably stay there for a week at the most, maybe even less.”

  “Only if you’re sure.”

  “I am.”

  “Okay then. I’ll book our tickets and call you back,” said Farhan before disconnecting the call.

  The next day, Anya had opted to have lunch with Shaan and the others at the community kitchen as Dev had gone to Mumbai with Meena for a routine health check up for her. Feeling too full, she decided to take a stroll along the lake. “Shaan, I’ll be back in half an hour, just going for a walk,” she called out, stepping out of the office when he nodded.

  The sunlight was a pleasure to walk in, in the December cold, even though it was midday. Anya strolled along the perimeter, hugging her body as a cool breeze blew from the lake. She removed the sweater that she had knotted around her neck and pulled it on, leaving the buttons open. Walking further down, she stood next to the short wall lining the lake for a few metres. While most of the lake surrounding was open, Dev had had a wall built in this section as it was the deepest here. There was even a marker that said that it was 15-20 feet deep in that area. It was probably closer to twenty now since the monsoons had got over only a couple of months back.

  Anya absent-mindedly threw small pebbles into the water, watching the ripples. While she appreciated the alone time, she missed Dev. As she stood there day-dreaming, she heard footsteps and turned her head to see who it was. “Hello Renu,” said Anya, her smile not reaching her eyes, wondering what the other woman was doing here. It was obvious that Renu didn’t like her, though Anya couldn’t really understand why.

  “Hello bitch,” said Renu, glaring at Anya’s shocked face. “Why are you shocked? It’s because of you that my life has gone down the drain. Before you came, Dev was happy with me. But now that you are here, he refuses to even look at me,” she snarled.

  Anya was unwilling to believe that. She would have known. Dev’s body language around Renu always suggested abject dislike. It was obvious that he put up with his neighbour only because of good manners.

  “You don’t believe me,” said Renu, her voice going calm. “It doesn’t matter now, anyway.”

  Before Anya could understand what she meant, Renu rushed towards her, giving her a hard push over the wall that was barely three feet high. Not expecting the attack, Anya’s eyes widened in shock as she went over swiftly, her arms flailing, a scream on her lips before she heard a splash and then absolute silence as she went under.

  Renu dusted her hands and walked towards her jeep, getting into it and driving away as if the devil was on her tail.

  Shaan looked at the wall clock in the office. It was forty minutes since Anya was gone. One thing he had come to know about Anya was that she was never late and she wasn’t one to shirk work. Dev had told him specifically to look out for her as she was still recovering her strength. Shaan got up, feeling restless, his instincts shouting out that something was amiss. He speed-dialled Anya’s cell, only for it to ring from where it was lying next to her laptop on the main desk.

  He stepped out of the office and got on his cycle, wondering which way Anya must have gone. That’s when he noticed Renu racing away on her jeep. He frowned. What was she doing on Wadhwa Farm, when Dev wasn’t home? He pedal
led faster, going towards the lake in the direction from which Renu’s jeep had come.

  As he reached the wall, he was surprised to see a totally wet Anya, trying to grab a hold as she attempted to get out of the water. Her face pale, she gave him a weak grin, her teeth chattering. “Give me a hand, Shaan,” she called out as he jogged closer to her. “Am I glad to see you!”

  Shaan took out his cell phone and dialled with his left hand, even as he pulled Anya out of the water with his right. “Dharmesh uncle, can you please get the car to the lake near the wall? It’s urgent,” he said.

  Anya sat on the wall, her clothes sodden as she tried to squeeze the excess water out. Shaan helped her out of her wet shoes, removing his jacket to cover her shoulders from the biting cold breeze.

  “Is something wrong Shaan?” asked Dharmesh, “Dev just arrived with Daadima. I...”

  Dev had taken the phone from Dharmesh by now and asked, “What happened, Shaan? What’s the emergency?”

  “Anya fell into the lake. She’s out now, but...”

  “We are on our way,” said Dev and the phone went silent.

  They arrived almost immediately, the station wagon screeching to a stop a few feet from where Shaan’s cycle lay on the ground. Dev jumped out of the car and went to Anya. “What happened, sweetheart?” he asked, lifting her up in his arms to take her to the car. “Shaan, will you call Dr. Sriram?”

  “I don’t think I really need a doctor,” protested Anya, her voice stronger than before. “Dev, careful where you put me in the car, I’m totally wet.”

  Dev placed her gently next to Daadima, taking a blanket from the back and wrapping it around her. When Dharmesh started the car, Dev called Seema to ask her to run a hot bath for Anya.

  “So how did your visit to the doctor go, Daadima?” asked Anya to the silent Meena.

  Meena smiled at the bedraggled girl sitting beside her. “All good. I’m as fit as a horse. But how did you fall into the lake Anya? Did you think that the afternoon is a good time to swim in this chilly weather?” she teased her gently.

  Anya gave Daadima a smile, snuggling against Dev’s chest as he held her close to his warm body. “You know something Daadima, today I found out that I can swim, almost champion level.”