Flaming Sun Collection 1: Happily Ever Afters from India Box Set (The Malhotra Bride; Meghna; The Runaway Bridegroom)

by Sundari Venkatraman

  Meghna raised her chin in defiance and looked at her watch. 12.15 am. Bhabhi must be in bed. She was about to step out of her room when her conscience made her scribble a note on a piece of paper for her precious Bhabhi before placing it on the dressing table weighing it down with the opal ring. She left the flat quietly for the international airport.

  RAHUL DROVE THE CAR OUT OF THE GATES with Aisha in the passenger seat. “Where to?” he growled.

  The Leela Kempinski. She named a hotel that Rahul recognised to be near the International Airport. Rahul cursed colourfully as he realised that it should take him at least an hour to leave her and get back home. He was very much tempted to dump her in a cab. But the innate sense of chivalry his father had instilled in him didn’t allow him to leave a lady out on the streets, so late at night. That is, if you could call Aisha a ‘lady’, he thought. And then there was the chance that she might not go back to the hotel but remain right here in Sion.

  He turned to look at her. She had settled quite comfortably against the cushioned upholstery of the passenger seat, seemingly unaware of the upheaval she had created. “What brings you here?” Rahul asked, his curiosity tickled.

  “Why, you, of course, Rahul Darling,” she drawled in reply, fluttering her false lashes at him.

  Rahul gave her a sceptical look before turning his attention back to his driving. “Either something’s wrong with my hearing or you’ve gone crazy.”

  “Not at all, Rahul dear. You heard right. And yeah, you’re also right that I’ve gone crazy. I’m crazy, about you,” said Aisha, her intense gaze fixed on the driver.

  He frowned, his eyebrows meeting in the blackest scowl. “Aisha,” he said quietly, not wanting to hurt her more than was necessary. “I made it very clear to you the last time we met that I’m not interested. I’ve not changed my mind since,” he declared.

  “Come on, Rahul. Don’t be shy. Your mother did warn me that it might be difficult to convince you. She was so right.” Aisha had a look of rapture on her face as she spoke about Rajni. “Imagine, we’ll make such a beautiful pair. We’ll storm the London Society.”

  Rahul shuddered at the mental pictures conjured by his vivid imagination. They were at the gates of The Leela.

  He stopped the car at the entrance and opened the passenger door from inside, without getting out of his own seat. “Listen to me, Aisha and this is final. I’m not and never was interested in marrying you or spending the rest of my life with you,” he bit out. “I—”

  “Have your fling with that immature kid for all you want, Rahul Dear,” Aisha granted her permission very generously, her hand caressing the sleeve of his dress shirt. “I do understand that men’s needs are different from ours. But—”

  Rahul cursed under his breath before getting out of the car swiftly. He yanked the passenger door open and pulled Aisha out unceremoniously. He opened the back door and removing her baggage, thrust it in her arms before shutting both the doors violently.

  “Just get out of my life and stay out. One more step from you that’s out of turn and I wouldn’t think twice before having the law behind you for harassment,” he threatened very quietly before getting into the car and riding away in a cloud of exhaust.

  His quiet words more than anything else convinced Aisha that he meant what he said. She shrugged her shoulders philosophically before stepping inside the hotel. A diabolical smile split her face as she recalled Meghna’s expression before she had run away from the scene. Rahul was going to have the devil’s own time convincing her of his innocence. ‘Well, life wasn’t so bad after all,’ thought Aisha to herself. Her trip to India was obviously not the total waste she had thought it was. A sigh escaped her as she thought of Rahul as she went up the lift to her room.

  Eighteen

  “This is Captain Rathod speaking—”

  ‘Hey, that’s not Sanjay,’ thought Meghna. She pressed the overhead button for the Air Hostess. When there was no response, she called out to the one who was standing further down the aisle.

  “Yeh lady, shut your bloody trap or I’ll blow your brains out.” Meghna was horrified to hear the extremely rude voice near her ear as she felt something metallic press against her temple.

  Could it be—could it be—oh no It was the muzzle of a gun, the light glinting against the metallic sheen. She was terrified to see the unkempt man holding it against her. If his voice had been guttural and grating, his face was worse. He wore his hair long and he had a thick moustache and beard. He was awfully filthy and she wouldn’t have been surprised if she had seen lice crawling over all that hair.

  She gave vent to the scream that forced its way into her throat. She just couldn’t stop it. The next moment she faced the sweetness of oblivion as the terrorist hit her hard against her temple with the back of the gun.

  SANJAY SRIVASTAV’S REQUEST FOR LEAVE HAD BEEN GRANTED, only he had not been able to cancel this particular flight. But luckily for him, Captain Rathod had offered to take his place and now Sanjay was all set to go back home. He was eager to hear news of his sister’s and best friend’s engagement.

  Sanjay was on his way home, planning to surprise his wife. He was smiling to himself as he thought of the way Rahul had been trying to resist the chains of matrimony. It was half an hour since he had left the airport when his cell phone rang.

  Sanjay lifted it to his ear. The call was from the airport. The plane he was supposed to be piloting had been hijacked. He was shocked to hear the news. His first instinct was to call home and reassure his wife that he was safe. He looked at his watch. It was one forty-five. He was sure that Meghna and Rahul would have just reached home.

  Reema picked up the phone on the fourth ring. Did not seem her night for sleep. First it had been Aisha’s visit and now the phone.

  “Hello Sanjay! Aren’t you flying?” She asked, surprised.

  “Hi, Darling. Did I wake you?”

  “Mmm—” Reema stretched. “You did. But anyway, tell me. Where are you? Has your flight been delayed?”

  “No, my dear. I pulled out at the last minute. The plane’s been hijacked, I believe—”

  “What?” screeched Reema. She closed her eyes for a moment in silent prayer. “Sanjay,” her voice came out in a weak whisper. Although she felt sorry for the pilot who had taken her husband’s place, she couldn’t help feeling glad it wasn’t him on the wretched flight.

  “Relax, Darling. I just called to tell you I’m safe. I’m going back to the airport to check on things. What news on Rahul and Meghna? Are they home yet?”

  “Oh, Sanjay, it’s a very long story. Tell you when you get back.” Reema yawned sleepily.

  “Get back to sleep, love. Sorry I disturbed you.”

  “I’m so glad you called, Sanjay. Thank God you are safe. Love you and bye.”

  Reema was in for some more excitement before the night was over. The doorbell rang after about five minutes. Must be Rahul, she thought. She waited for a short while for Meghna to open the door. But when the doorbell chimed once again after a couple of minutes, she got off the bed, throwing a robe over her nightie and opened the door to a very disturbed Rahul.

  “Awfully sorry, Bhabhi. Where’s Meghna?”

  “In her room. Probably fast asleep.”

  “Was she okay when I left?” asked Rahul anxiously, unable to forget her blanched face when Aisha had thrown herself into his arms.

  “Not to worry, Rahul.” Reema hid a yawn behind her fingers. “She was quite calm about the whole thing. In fact, she reassured me that she was quite fine and insisted that I went to bed. Shall I make some coffee? Doesn’t seem to be a night for sleep. Sanjay called a while ago—” But she was talking to thin air. Rahul had gone to Meghna’s room.

  He knocked softly on the door which opened at his slightest touch. He had a strong premonition of disaster. He pushed the door further to walk in. Funny. Neither the fan nor the air-conditioner was on. He switched on the light to find the bed empty, the covers undisturbed. Maybe she was in
the bathroom. “Meghna,” he called softly. No response. “Meghna,” his voice rose as panic squeezed his heart in his chest, his breathing disturbed.

  He had inadvertently switched on the fan when he had put on the light. A paper fluttered in the sudden draught of air caused by the fan. He picked it off the dressing table where it had been weighted down by the engagement ring he had given Meghna that very evening. He didn’t like what he saw. The note said:

  Bhabhi dear,

  I’m joining Sanjay on his flight to Dubai tonight. Don’t worry about me. I’m quite okay. I just feel this tremendous need to get away. Everything’s over between Rahul and me as you saw for yourself. Will be back with Sanjay. Hope that Rahul leaves town by then. Love you, Meghna

  “Goddammit,” swore Rahul with a vengeance. This was what he had been afraid of. Her mood hadn’t been alright when he left the flat with Aisha. But then he hadn’t wanted to discuss anything in front of the other woman. Rahul swore again as he left Meghna’s bedroom, closing the door behind him with a crash.

  Reema gave him a startled look as she saw him storming out of her sister-in-law’s bedroom. She had been sitting curled up on the sofa waiting to have coffee with the two of them.

  “The little fool. Why couldn’t she have waited for me to get back? A couple of hours I turn my back and she ups and leaves. Don’t I deserve a hearing at all? Do I get hung without even getting a chance to explain myself?” Rahul ranted and raved, his frustration building up by the second.

  “Rahul,” Reema’s voice was confused. “What’s it? Is Meghna asleep?”

  “Asleep my foot. Please read this, Bhabhi.” He thrust Meghna’s note close to Reema’s face.

  “But—” Reema had a bewildered look on her face. But when she saw the black frown on Rahul’s face, she buried her face in the letter, finding it safer, only to let out a horrified shriek as she came to the end of it. “Rahul,” her voice cracked as she hugged the note to herself, tears streaking down her face.

  Rahul had moved to the window, wondering whether he should follow his foolish young fiancée and her brother to Dubai when he heard Reema’s strangled cry.

  He turned around to find the even-tempered, calm Reema in a state. He rushed across to her and shook her hard as she tried to speak while no sound emanated from her lips. She only made a keening noise as she sobbed her heart out. He put his arms around her to pull her close. He pressed her face against his shoulder rubbing her head roughly, hoping to calm her down. He couldn’t understand what had brought on the spate of weeping.

  “Bhabhi, please calm down.” He brought his own temper and frustration under control. “I’m sure Meghna’s okay. It’s only two days. They’ll both be back—”

  Reema didn’t allow Rahul to complete the sentence as she shook her head vigorously. “Rahul, Sanjay called to say that his plane was hijacked.”

  Rahul stared at her. Was she hallucinating? Too many hours without sleep could do that to anyone, he thought. How could someone call from a hijacked plane? He shook himself from his reverie and spoke again softly. “Bhabhi, let’s get this clear. Sanjay phoned?”

  Reema nodded her head while the tears flowed faster. Rahul was totally confused. She had been quite calm when she opened the door for him earlier. There had been no phone call since. He would have heard otherwise. Sanjay had obviously called earlier to tell her what?

  “Bhabhi, what did he say? That his plane’s been hijacked?”

  “Yeah, Rahul,” Reema found her voice. “Sanjay had cancelled going on the hijacked plane by chance. That’s why he called to assure me that he was safe. But—” Light dawned on Rahul’s dismayed face as he understood the reason for Reema’s tears. Meghna was probably on the flight that Sanjay had missed. A tremor ran through his body as for a moment he imagined the scene on the hijacked flight.

  The phone rang as if on cue. He pressed Reema on to the sofa before running over to pick up the receiver. It was Sanjay. “Where’s Meghna?” he barked, the anxiety coming across the wires.

  “Sanjay,” Rahul’s voice almost broke with the strain, “I think she’s on the wretched flight.” Panic rose in his voice as he further enquired, “Any further news?”

  Sanjay’s voice sounded cracked as his hopes died with Rahul’s answer. “Nothing good. They’re terrorists, I believe. They’re keeping us in suspense till further notice.”

  “Tell me exactly where you are. I’ll come over.” Rahul turned to look at Reema pathetically as he listened to Sanjay’s instructions before disconnecting the phone.

  “You go ahead, Rahul,” said Reema with false bravado. “I’ll be fine. I’ll pray for Meghna’s safety.” She gave him a small reassuring smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  Rahul popped into his room to change out of his formal wear into a pair of jeans and t-shirt and left the flat, closing the door quietly behind him.

  Nineteen

  Meghna woke up with a pounding headache. It was quite dark inside the plane with minimum lighting. She closed her eyes tightly to get her bearings while she felt her temple with her right hand. A trickle of blood had dried and her hair was plastered to the spot. ‘Why haven’t I died?’ was her first thought. But then she was no defeatist. She recalled the incident that had led to her fainting with pain. She looked around slowly, her heart beating hard. Rahul’s betrayal was the foremost thought in her mind despite the circumstances.

  She understood that the aircraft was still. All the passengers were in their seats, quiet. Some were awake, looking frightened out of their wits and the others were asleep, although just. But no one moved. All this Meghna noticed without raising her head too much. That one beating was enough for a lifetime.

  Two wild looking men were walking up and down the aisle, their rifles raised on their shoulders, a fearful sight. Somewhere a baby cried and the mother hushed it up in a hurry.

  They appeared to be terrorists and seemed to be playing a waiting game. Meghna looked at her watch surreptitiously. It was past 5.30 in the morning. They should have landed at Dubai airport at 3.50 IST. But they were obviously in the middle of nowhere.

  She wondered where Sanjay was. Somebody else was apparently piloting the aircraft. Reema had specifically mentioned this flight. Meghna shook her head in confusion.

  Her thoughts switched to Rahul. She automatically straightened her shoulders even in her crouched position. She wondered whether he was still with that Aisha in her hotel bedroom. She tortured herself with the visions that thought conjured up. How could he do this to her?

  Her eyes misted over as she thought about their candlelight dinner. She had been on top of the world. And Rahul Rahul had seemed so much in love with her. Was it possible for someone to fake the kind of love he had shown her that evening? He was evidently an excellent actor. He had even planned their wedding to the T.

  Why had Rahul never said anything about Aisha? Meghna couldn’t recall his ever mentioning the name. ‘Maybe because he hadn’t felt her worthy of mention,’ said a small voice from inside her. She squashed the voice in a hurry. She preferred to believe her own eyes. She had seen the way Aisha had thrown herself into Rahul’s arms. She had done it with the total ease of familiarity. And Rahul had not exactly protested. She, Meghna, could recollect clearly that he had placed his hands on the other woman’s shoulders. And nobody would be foolish enough to come down to Mumbai all the way from London if she hadn’t been sure of her lover. Meghna added two and two and arrived at twenty-two.

  How he had wooed her so patiently, teasing and cajoling her along the way, while he had appeared to be fighting his reluctance at commitment! Meghna’s face reddened as she recalled the lecture she had read him on trust and faith. Maybe he had been laughing at her all the while.

  In a way, Meghna was better off than her fellow passengers who were getting quite frantic with the passage of time. Meghna was quite immune to the tension around her, as she was in a special kind of hell that had been created by her own overactive imagination.


  RAHUL AND SANJAY SHARED YET ANOTHER CUP OF TEPID COFFEE as the minutes crawled by. It was ten am. Eight hours since the flight had been hijacked. They had stopped talking altogether, each man in his own hell.

  Sanjay kept answering Reema’s calls patiently, which came in every half an hour, reassuring her that ‘no news was good news’. Reema blamed herself absolutely. Her instinct the earlier night had been to check on Meghna personally. If she had but seen Meghna’s face once, she would have realised that something was amiss. But she had taken her sister-in-law at her word. How she wished—to no avail. It was all water under the bridge. It was too late now to brood over ifs and might have beens.

  Rahul was angry first with Aisha for coming over and spoiling his life. Secondly he blamed himself for escorting her to her hotel without talking to Meghna first. But, he swore - he didn’t seem to be doing much else - he had believed that Meghna was home anyway and safe. He was going to return in a couple of hours and explain the whole thing. And he had returned, only to find her gone.

  She knew that he had always loved her. He had even told her so that very evening, dammit. Didn’t she have any faith in him? What of the lecture she had read him on faith and trust? Rahul’s eyes glittered with anger and frustration. They were bloodshot from the lack of sleep and the nagging fear over Meghna’s straits.

  He turned around to look at Sanjay, his closest friend and Meghna’s brother. His heart went out to him. He went over and put his arm around Sanjay’s sagging shoulders and said, “Don’t worry so, Sanjay. I’m sure she’s alright.”

  Sanjay raised his troubled dark eyes to his friend. “Do you think so? We have to live in hope, I suppose. Little impetuous fool Couldn’t she have had a little more trust in human beings? She thought that you, Rahul, you, of all people, who’d betray her. How stupid could she get?” His eyes were damp with unshed tears. The anxiety was beginning to tell on his face. “Her flight was totally unnecessary. How I wish she had met me! I’d have slapped some sense into her.” Sanjay was anxious and at the same time furious with his sister.