The Captive (A Dark, Romantic Thriller set in India)

by MV Kasi

  But her father-in-law, for all his faults wouldn’t risk his son’s life or reputation. If someone were going after the Bhupatis for any wrong doing, her father-in-law would shield his son.

  What if she asked her captor? Lay out all the cards and tell him what she found out?

  But she was worried that would put Khan at risk. Khan trusted her. And even though Khan had said his boss wouldn’t harm him, Nina wasn’t too sure.

  A strange feeling kept nagging at the back of her mind. It was trying to imply something. Something crucial.

  Nina tried to close her eyes and think hard. But it didn’t help.

  That night, she couldn’t sleep. Even though her captor hadn’t left, he did not return to his room. She waited for a very long time. She was so used to talking to him, it felt unnatural not to.

  Finally, she couldn’t stay awake anymore. She slid into an uneasy sleep.

  CHAPTER 28

  “I warned you before, Mrs. Bhupati,” his deep tone growled into her ear.

  He had her pinned against the wall with her legs wrapped around his waist. Only this time, he had somehow managed to remove their clothes.

  She felt him moving inside her in strong, steady strokes.

  Instead of fighting him off, Nina wrapped her legs tighter around his waist and moaned.

  “You are loving this, aren’t you?” he asked with a cruel smile on his face as he watched her. The buzz-cut, the scars, and the stubble which gave him a dangerous aura, now appealed to her a lot. Her body hummed in pleasure as she took in his face.

  “Your husband will like it even better when he gets to see us like this.”

  Nina tore her eyes away from his mesmerizing face and looked at the blinking, red light of a camera set up in the room.

  “No! No! Stop! Don’t do it!”

  “The recording or this?” he asked, increasing the intensity of his thrusts. He leaned forward and kissed her hard on her lips.

  She moaned once again, holding him, unable to let him go.

  He pulled his lips away from her. “Should I stop?” he whispered in her ear.

  “No, don’t stop,” she whispered. It felt so good. Their hot breaths mingling. Skin sliding on skin. The friction and the pleasure. It was addicting.

  It was also building up to something.

  “Oh God,” she moaned, closing her eyes and feeling every sensation heighten to a pitch.

  He let out another cruel laugh.

  Nina jerked awake.

  Her breathing was unsteady, and her heart was pounding inside her chest. This time it was not from fear. Her entire body felt hot and restless. Her core throbbed and she could even feel a slick wetness between her thighs.

  Oh my God!

  What kind of messed up person has sexual dreams about their captor? Especially with someone who wanted to destroy and kill their husband?

  Nina placed her hands on her hot, flushed cheeks to cool them down.

  Her legs were entangled in the blanket. Pushing it, away, she got down from the bed and began pacing in her room.

  Her body was still humming from the dream. And the dream had felt so real. She knew most of the feelings were from their last encounter, when he had held her against the wall and kissed her roughly, to teach her a lesson.

  At that time, she was terrified of his touch. But in her dream, the similar touch invoked pleasure.

  It was one thing to do things for survival, but to actually dream about it, and get aroused with it was beyond sick. Guilt and self-disgust tore at her.

  Nina tried to reason it.

  Maybe she was getting those dreams due to stress and also because of the recent revelations. Dreaming didn’t actually mean that she was attracted to her captor in reality or wanted him in any way.

  Yes, that was it. Stress, not attraction.

  Some of her guilt was alleviated with that reasoning.

  Nina continued to pace around the room. She stopped mid-stride when she heard footsteps and the door to her room opened.

  It was her captor.

  Her recently cooled cheeks began to heat up rapidly once again.

  “Breakfast,” he said, watching her with an expressionless look.

  Her eyes swept over him.

  He was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and shorts. She knew he had worn similar clothes for the last three weeks, then why was she finding them fascinating now?

  She tried hard, not to let her eyes drop to his muscled arms. The arms that held your hips still while he drove into you.

  She sucked in a breath. “W-where is the breakfast?” she asked, her voice catching slightly. She didn’t see a tray in his hands.

  “Upstairs.”

  “Oh.” She felt stupid when she said that. But she didn’t know how to break the tension and awareness she felt towards him. And she was pretty sure it was just her who was feeling it.

  He continued to watch her with his expressionless look, probably finding her entire demeanor and sudden awkwardness weird.

  He looked at her for few more seconds before turning and leaving her room.

  Nina sighed in relief when he left.

  Oh my God. What’s happening?

  It was definitely the dream that must have thrown her off, making her feel self-conscious around him. But at the same time, she also knew that after Khan’s revelations, the way she viewed her captor was also beginning to change.

  She was beginning to empathize with him more. She even wanted to find out whether that carefree, happy-go-lucky man was still inside him somewhere.

  And more than that, she badly wanted to demand information he had uncovered about Suraj. The information that apparently led to the deaths of his family and her kidnap.

  CHAPTER 29

  Gaurav slid an omelet into a plate and placed it in front of his captive.

  Curiously, since the time she had come up from her room, she had kept her eyes lowered. Even her body language hinted at being uncomfortable around him.

  Was this the same woman who had been talking to him for the past one week?

  He found it strange. He wondered if this was another act or part of her plan.

  If it was, he somehow wasn’t enraged or offended by the fact.

  “Don’t you like it, Mrs. Bhupati,” he asked.

  Her eyes flew up to his face. She looked at him for a couple of seconds before lowering her eyes once again. He could see the color of her cheeks and ears redden slightly.

  Interesting.

  “It’s very good,” she murmured. “You are a good cook. Do let me know if you need my help in preparing the meals.”

  Once again, Gaurav found it strange listening to her voice while watching her in person.

  In his mind, her voice had become an identity of its own. That was Nina for him. The moment he heard her voice as she spoke to him through the walls, everything within him calmed. He felt peaceful during those moments, despite everything happening in his life.

  He felt close and connected to that voice.

  And since that voice belonged to the person in front of him, it was difficult to hate her or feel anger towards her.

  “Help me wash and clean up after,” he said in answer.

  She nodded.

  She helped him clean up after lunch and dinner as well.

  TWO DAYS LATER, when GAURAV opened the door to her room, Nina Bhupati had a determined look.

  “I’ll make the breakfast this morning,” she said.

  It took him a while to process what he heard as he was busy staring at her. With the sun rising behind her, she looked breathtaking.

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Well. Because I just hang around doing nothing while you cook meals for the three of us.”

  “Do you know cooking?” he asked.

  There was a pause. No. But I’ve watched you cook yesterday,” she said. “It didn’t seem very hard. And I’m a quick learner.”

  She was looking at him expectantly.

  “Okay,” he answere
d.

  It was easier said than done, because Gaurav realized Nina Bhupati was a terrible cook.

  An hour later, she scraped the half-burnt portion of the scrambled eggs into three plates. The remaining eggs in the pan were completely charred.

  The bread was also toasted until it was dark brown, a shade less than burnt. As he bit into it, it almost disintegrated into powder. It tasted like ash.

  He poured the lemon juice she had made into a glass to help him wash down the meal. At the first sip, he controlled the wince on his face as he tasted the bitterness.

  And when she took a sip, she grimaced and ran to the kitchen sink where she spit it out.

  “God, that’s terrible. How could you drink that? And we can’t give this to Khan. I’m so sorry,” she said, looking dejected.

  “It’s okay,” he said.

  She continued to look dejected.

  “It’s not bad for a first time cook,” he said. “It could have been worse. The wooden cabin could have caught fire.”

  She laughed, but still looked miserable. “Please, teach me how to cook,” she said.

  He was about to take their plates and head to the kitchen sink, but paused. “Why?”

  “Because I want to cook sometimes, too. It’s a basic skill and I’m ashamed that I never learnt it before. Either I was too poor to have afforded a proper kitchen or even the time to cook. Or I was too rich to be expected to cook. In the last ten years, each time I entered the kitchen, the cooks hovered around me anxiously. So I never learnt.”

  Silence ensued.

  Until then she had only spoken about her childhood. This was the first time she was telling him something about her life as Suraj Bhupati’s wife.

  Gaurav wasn’t sure if he wanted to listen to that part.

  She didn’t say anything else.

  “Please, can you teach me?” she asked.

  He looked at her hopeful face. “I’m not that great a cook myself. But I can show you to make some simple dishes,” he said.

  She smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said, getting up from the chair to stand close to him near the cooking stove.

  He threw away the burnt eggs and toast into the trash and put fresh bread into the toaster. He turned on the stove to make a fresh batch of eggs.

  “Help me with the juice,” he said. “But first, throw away the seeds.”

  That day, upon her insistence, he showed her not only how to make a simple breakfast, but also to make other meals, too.

  Part of his brain knew it was beyond fucked up that he was teaching the woman he had kidnapped, how to cook. But he refused to dwell on it too much.

  ANOTHER WEEK PASSED since Khan had fallen sick. Even though Khan had recovered, Gaurav insisted that Khan take rest from doing any of the chores.

  Which meant Gaurav had to spend more time with Nina Bhupati.

  Each morning, he opened the lock to her door after which she helped in cooking breakfast and other meals. Khan joined them during some of the meals, the rest of the time he ate in his room.

  Gaurav didn’t know what came over him, but one day he asked whether Nina wanted to go out for a walk.

  “Can we walk around the lake?” she asked with anticipation in her eyes.

  Gaurav knew it was risky and stupid for him to have made the offer to go for a walk. Because once they were out in the open forest, his captive might try to escape.

  But each time he had seen her look out of the kitchen window longingly, he felt an ache in his chest.

  “Yes, let’s go,” he said.

  After breakfast, he took her near the lake.

  “God, this feels so wonderful,” she said, breathing in the cool and crisp air of the forest.

  For the rest of the week, Gaurav continued to take Nina for a walk. Mostly around the lake. But sometimes in the forest too. And during that time, they didn’t talk to each other. However, the quiet time they spent together enjoying the nature was something he began looking forward to.

  He felt that because he couldn’t let her out of her captivity until the end of his mission, he would try his best to not make her feel too trapped.

  Gaurav knew his reasoning was skewed.

  Because, no matter how comfortable he tried to make her, at the end of the day, she was still his captive, and he, her captor.

  But he did wonder if that was the only way she viewed him as well.

  Because, sometimes, while they cooked, he caught her having a strange look in her eyes as she watched him. She looked curious.

  He also felt her eyes on him each time he returned from his bath in the lake, or joined her for walks, or when they had their meals together.

  Something inside him hoped she didn’t view him as a complete monster and that he had some redeemable qualities. Because he wanted her to continue with her tales.

  Each night, he lay on the bed, he waited for a long time, hoping she would talk or say something about her life. But she never did.

  CHAPTER 30

  “Get back to bed and catch some sleep, Suraj.”

  Still a few more hours to go before the sun came up. Suraj stared out of the window at the twilight.

  More than a month had passed since Nina had been taken. Since then, Suraj continued to have troubled sleep. “I can’t, Radha,” he said softly, continuing to stare outside.

  “You are going to ruin your health if you don’t get enough sleep. Your blood pressure is already high for the past few weeks. You know what the doctor—”

  “I know!” he snapped, cutting Radha off.

  There was silence in the room.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s driving me insane, thinking of the possible reasons for Nina’s kidnap. Obviously, whoever took her has a personal grudge against me. I’m just sick of waiting for them to strike.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t care what they do to me. I just want Nina to get back home safely.”

  “She will,” said Radha gently. “You know Nina. She’s not the kind to give up easily. She’ll make sure the kidnapper is brought to his knees somehow. She’ll make him drop her home safe and sound.”

  A laugh burst out from Suraj at Radha’s description of Nina. Radha was right. Nina was a fighter. And not in an obvious way that one would expect. She was the kind to win the war and keep her enemy guessing as to what the hell had happened.

  She had outsmarted several reporters by twisting their questions around. She had even outsmarted several established business tycoons and politicians when it came to arguments and strategies. One or two measly kidnappers would be nothing in front of her.

  He smiled, imagining Nina returning and then telling him all about how she had outsmarted her kidnappers and what she did during her captivity.

  Suraj felt a strange peace settle inside him. He would continue to search for his wife, but he wouldn’t worry himself into an early death.

  He got back into the bed and held Radha. “Thank you for the pep talk,” he whispered.

  Radha smiled and held him. Soon, they went back to sleep, their bodies curled around each other, just like they had been sleeping together for the past fifteen years.

  CHAPTER 31

  Nina stared out of the window and knew she was in deep trouble. Her eyes were completely focused on her captor who was bathing in the lake.

  They say that when survival mode kicks in, then the logical part of brain stops functioning, and everything points to three different options—fight, flight or freeze.

  She had gone through the first two. Now, apparently, she was in the freeze mode.

  She didn’t know what to do.

  Even though the threat to Suraj remained, and that too from her captor, she was unable to do anything. Because her mind was beginning to recognize her captor as human. A good human being.

  Even though he had behaved like a monster with her initially, and was cold and cruel to her, she understood the reasons behind his behavior. And she knew there was a different side of him as well. When he took care of Khan, he
was caring and compassionate. When he taught her to cook, or took her for walks, he was considerate.

  As each day passed since Khan had fallen sick, she had even begun to see her captor as a man. A man with an amazingly hot body and with a face she was now terribly attracted to.

  Her captor was only slightly taller than Suraj’s six feet, and had a similar lean, muscular build, yet her captor’s dangerous aura made him seem larger than he actually was. Instead of finding him intimidating, she was beginning to find him thrilling.

  God, Nina. Look away!

  Nina was unable to listen to the warnings her subconscious threw at her. She continued to stand near the window and kept her eyes riveted on the man swimming laps in powerful strokes.

  Everything he did, whether it was swimming or cooking or cleaning or even something as simple as taking a walk, he did it with such intense concentration, she wondered if he was really the outgoing person Khan had described.

  Nina’s thoughts froze when he stopped swimming and began emerging from the lake. Her body grew restless as she took in the sight. And to add to the restlessness, her captor didn’t bother drying his body with a towel. He began walking towards the cabin, letting the cool forest breeze dry him naturally.

  Her stomach flipped at the sight of him as he drew closer. But not out of fear.

  He looked… hot. The stubble on his face, his rugged good looks and his powerful muscular body made him look like he should be on the cover of an outdoor or sports magazine. Her eyes followed him as he continued walking until he reached the cabin.

  She took several deep breaths to calm down before he saw her in her agitated state. Just when she thought she had gotten her heartbeat to a normal rate, her pulse picked up speed once again when the door to her captor’s room opened, and he entered.