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

by Sundari Venkatraman

  Ranveer noticed Chanda’s silence and immediately understood Shikha’s effect on the scene. He wondered how to get rid of the older woman. It was obvious that she was quite drunk and getting belligerent.

  Ever the gentleman, Ranveer said, “Could I get you something to eat, Shikha?”

  Shikha looked into his brown eyes and so wished that they could get away from the rest of the staff. She knew better than to suggest it. “I’d love to have some chicken wings,” she said.

  “One batch of chicken wings coming up,” said Ranveer before going back to the food counter.

  Shikha looked down at Chanda’s bent head, her gaze quite malicious. “Are you shocked?”

  Chanda looked at the older woman. Her right eyebrow rose as if to ask, ‘Why?’

  Shikha gave her a mean smile as she said, “Well, you did hear me say that the party was boring. But then, my dear, I don’t think you realise what big egos men have. Ranveer expects me to tell him that the party’s great and I was just pandering to his ego. No one knows better than I how to handle men,” she insisted.

  Chanda nodded her head wisely, refusing to say anything. It was obvious that she was being lectured by an expert.

  “You don’t know how experienced I am at handling the species. They all think so big of themselves. Believe you me when I say that I’ve worked as a secretary to some of the best in the field. All they want to hear is how great they are,” said Shikha, a cynical twist to her thin lips.

  Chanda nodded again, not quite knowing what to say. She even wondered whether she was required to contribute to the conversation as Ranveer walked back with Shikha’s order.

  “Thank you so much, Ranveer,” purred Shikha as she took the plate from him. She rose on tiptoe to kiss him on his right cheek, leaving a red lipstick mark on him. “You’re the best boss ever.” Her fakeness was obvious to anyone who was within hearing distance.

  Chanda kept her face straight with great difficulty. She wondered whether Ranveer saw through his secretary. If he didn’t, then he wasn’t the man that she had imagined him to be. Her lips drooped a little as her disenchantment grew.

  Ranveer waited for a while as Shikha managed to eat a couple of chicken wings. Then he said in a quiet voice, “I’ve ordered a cab for you. It must’ve arrived by now. I advise you to leave immediately.” His voice brooked no argument, or so it seemed to Chanda.

  Shikha raised her startled gaze to Ranveer. She had not expected that, of all things. “But why, Ranveer? The night’s still young and I was just beginning to enjoy myself—”

  “You’re too drunk to stand straight. Just do what I say,” he said, before moving away from her, his hand at Chanda’s elbow, guiding her away from the scene.

  Shikha stamped her foot hard, on the verge of a tantrum. But she didn’t stand a chance as Abhi held her elbow firmly as he guided her out of the office.

  Chanda’s respect for Ranveer grew. The man did know what he was doing. A small smile broke out on her tense features as she slowly relaxed. Ranveer excused himself to go to the washroom. He got rid of the red stain on his cheek and Chanda was glad to notice that when he returned to her side.

  The party went on into the wee hours of the night. It was 1.30 am when Ranveer suggested that they leave. Chanda was quite glad to oblige as the day had been quite long.

  She went down in the lift with him and was quite impressed to see his BMW. She smiled innocently at Ranveer as she said, “That’s a lovely car.”

  Ranveer grinned in reply as he opened the door for her. “Yeah, I agree. It’s a dream.”

  Chanda got into the plush passenger seat as Ranveer walked around the bonnet to get behind the wheel. The car purred at his touch and took off smoothly. Chanda loved the speedy ride to his house especially as there was no traffic to slow them down.

  They reached his row house in CR Park. The portico light was on as Ranveer drove into the compound to park it below the awning. Chanda liked what she saw. She got out of the car before Ranveer could get to her side and walked behind him to the door. She was surprised to see him take a key out of his pocket to unlock the door. Someone usually stayed up to open the door at her home if anyone was out late. But Ranveer’s family was different, it seemed.

  “Everyone must be asleep, I suppose,” said Chanda, speaking her thoughts aloud.

  Ranveer swung the ornate wooden door open before turning around to look at her askance. “What? Who’s everyone?”

  “Your family, of course. Who else?” asked Chanda as she walked behind him into the spacious living room. Her gaze admired the comfortable sofas arranged neatly. She also noted that the whole place had a rather bereft look.

  Ranveer stopped midstride and turned around to look at Chanda. “Don’t you know anything about me?” he asked, never having expected to face such a situation. When he had invited Chanda to his house, he hadn’t imagined such a complication. Everyone at the office knew that he lived by himself. It had never struck him that Chanda could have believed otherwise.

  Chanda looked at Ranveer, her black eyes wide and innocent. “Like what?” she asked, still wondering where his family members were.

  “I live alone. I’ve no family. My adopted parents live in the USA,” said Ranveer, laying down the stark facts. He wondered what she would do now that she knew that they were alone in the house.

  Chanda’s large black eyes opened wider as her mouth opened in a big, “Oh, I didn’t know that. I had no clue.”

  ‘How can I stay here then?’ She wondered, not having the courage to put the question into words.

  Ranveer looked at the innocent face in front of him. It was obvious that the news had been a shock to her. He wondered what had made him suggest that she go home with him in the first place. They didn’t even know each other well. But then, that was the very reason why he wanted to spend time with her. He wanted to know her better. And doing that in the office was next to impossible!

  “Well, Chanda, it’s like this. I was keen that you stay back for the party and couldn’t think of any place else for you to spend the night. I didn’t bring you here under false pretences either. I just presumed you were aware of my single status. You’re absolutely safe here. There are four bedrooms in this house and you can choose the one furthest from mine. There’s a lock too,” he added for extra measure. But Ranveer’s face was quite serious. He didn’t want Chanda to feel threatened.

  Chanda nodded her head hesitantly. There was no choice, it seemed. She was stuck at Ranveer’s home for the night. She wondered what her parents would have to say about this. Meera’s serene face floated before her mind’s eye. Her mother had an extremely calm demeanour and was excellent at accepting situations for what they were. She never got ruffled ever and kept their family together. Of course, she had the full support of her husband Mohan, who was always as cool as a cucumber. Chanda knew that she could talk about this situation with her parents quite honestly and that was the reason why she accepted it for what it was.

  “I suppose there’s no other choice,” she said as she smiled hesitantly at Ranveer.

  He was totally relieved and quite glad to see that she threw no tantrum. His respect for her grew some more.

  “Come on then, this way,” Ranveer guided her to the corner where a wooden staircase took them upstairs. “The bedrooms are all on the first floor,” he said as he led the way, switching more lights on.

  Chanda had just her handbag with her. She hadn’t carried the overnight bag that she had packed as she had believed that she wouldn’t get to stay back till the end of the party. She mentally shrugged her shoulders as she followed Ranveer up the wide staircase. The smaller hall on the first floor had four doors around, two on each side. Ranveer pointed to the door on the far right and said, “That’s mine. You choose any one of the others.”

  Chanda moved towards the door closest to them on the left side. It was diametrically opposite to Ranveer’s room. He moved forward to open the door for her. It looked simple, with the décor i
n cream and brown. Ranveer walked in to open the floor length curtains that were covering the French windows leading to the balcony. Chanda was thrilled to note a number of trees outside the window.

  “My parents stay in this room when they visit. You might find some nightwear and other stuff in the cupboard. I see that you aren’t carrying anything.”

  Chanda nodded shyly before saying, “Yeah! Thank you Ranveer.”

  Ranveer hesitated at the door, “Well, good night then. Sleep well! Feel free to get up when you will. It’s quite late and tomorrow’s a holiday. See you in the morning when you get up.”

  Chanda said, “Good Night!” as she watched him leave.

  She felt like an intruding child when she opened the wardrobe to see some clothes hanging there. But then, she didn’t want to sleep in her coral dress. She found a pair of pajamas and matching top that belonged to a slim but tall woman. She laid them on the bed before walking into the attached bathroom.

  It appeared that a lot of planning had gone into setting up the bathroom to make guests comfortable. There were new toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap and shampoo in the shelf beside the washbasin. There were fresh towels on the rack next to it.

  Chanda decided to have a shower before going to sleep. She switched the water heater on before brushing her teeth. As she looked at herself in the mirror above the wash basin, she noted that her cheeks were red with colour. Her black eyes were shining in excitement. She had never seen such an expression on her face before now.

  What the hell! Life was getting to be exciting and she could feel her heart beating rapidly. Ranveer was obviously a gentleman and wouldn’t misbehave. And he had as good as told her so in that many words. Chanda felt quite safe and looked forward to getting to know the man some more.

  Fourteen

  Meera was like a cat on hot bricks from the moment she got up in the morning. She impatiently waited for Mohan to wake up before she reminded him, “We have to go to the astrologer today afternoon.”

  Mohan looked up at his wife in amusement. He hadn’t even got out of the bed when she made the declaration. He grinned slowly as he teased, “Should I get up to brush and have tea or shall I directly get ready to visit Vidyasagarji?” he asked, tongue-in-cheek.

  Colour ran up on Meera’s cheeks as she blushed like a new bride. She gave her husband a flustered look before saying, “I’m sure your day will go absolutely well now that you have begun it by pulling my leg.”

  Mohan got out of bed and went to pat his wife on her cheek. “Don’t worry so, Meera. I am sure the astrologer has some good news for us,” he reassured his wife before going into the bathroom.

  Meera stepped out of their room to see Ram and Lakshman going down the stairs. They were her eldest sons. The other two were named Bharat and Shatrughan to complete the foursome from The Ramayana. The tall, muscular young men turned around when they heard their diminutive mother’s footsteps. They stopped and waited for her to join them, smiling at her red face.

  “So, what did Pappa tell you today morning? You’re all red,” greeted Ram, a teasing look on his face. He absolutely adored his mother.

  “Your Pappa will have a great day as he has started it by teasing me,” she declared without rancour. She didn’t mind Mohan’s teasing, but in fact, thrived on it. All their five children were sure of it too and joined in the banter that was just fun and never turned hurtful.

  Lakshman hugged his mother, always the quiet one. He was a man of few words and showed his affection through his hugs rather than words. Meera was very proud of her kids. Was she glad that they had left their village to settle down here in Jaipur! All the boys had had basic education and their own careers, quite independent.

  While Ram was almost twenty-nine, no one talked of getting him married as the whole family as one was keen on having Chanda settled down before finding brides for the boys.

  The men sat down at the dining table while Meera buzzed around them, pouring the tea brought in by Shyamlal, the loyal servant who had moved with them to the city. He lived with his wife Panna and their two children in the outhouse that was close to the compound wall at the back.

  Ram and Lakshman had been fighting over the newspaper pages when Mohan entered the room. Out of deference to their father, the two sons put the pages back together neatly before handing the newspaper to him.

  Mohan looked at his elder sons with a smile on his face before asking, “Where are Bharat and Shatru?”

  “Both came in quite late, Pappa. They’re still sleeping,” said Lakshman.

  There were no particular strictures followed at home. All tended to wake up quite early in the morning, by about 6 am. The family usually spent their morning in the large dining room, reading the newspaper, having tea and breakfast and generally lolling around, spending time together. They had a lot to talk about as each one was in a different line of business. While Meera and Mohan had dinner by 7.30 pm sharp, the boys ate when they pleased, quite late at times. So, the mornings happened to be family time.

  Ram was the replica of his father, only taller. He also had the same tendency to tease mercilessly. “Bharat and Shatru went for a late night film, Pappa. They came in at about 2.30, I think,” he said. He so enjoyed playing mischief.

  While Mohan was a very easygoing parent, the one thing that he didn’t approve was the boys getting home later than midnight. In fact, the kids called it ‘the Cinderella syndrome’ behind their parents’ backs. Mohan was quite obsessed with this and told his sons off if they got in late. But, that never stopped the boys from telling the truth. They never even thought of lying to their parents, never having felt the need for it.

  Ram had a devilish grin on his face when he saw the twins enter. Yeah, Bharat and Shatru were twins and identical ones at that. Not that the family ever got them mixed up. In fact, they could find a dozen differences between the two while strangers tended to get confused all the time.

  When they caught Ram’s look, the twins immediately knew that they were in for a lecture from their father. Mohan frowned up at them, or was trying very hard to. Only, he had too much love for his sons, especially the twins. He did his best to keep a stern expression on his face when he asked, “Where did the two of you take off last night?”

  Bharat replied honestly, “We went to see London Paris New York, a new film Pappa.”

  Shatrughan was not far behind, “It was such fun. Ali Zafar has not only acted, he has also sung—”

  Mohan interrupted Shatrughan with a raised hand that stopped the young man in mid-flow. “That’s not the point, is it? You both know I don’t like you going out late at night. You should have gone for an evening show,” he insisted.

  “Aww, Pappa, all our friends were going for the late night show. We wanted to go with them,” said Bharat in a pacifying voice. He knew, just like the rest of his siblings, that Mohan’s bark was way worse than his bite.

  Mohan nodded sagely. “Next time, tell your friends that it makes more sense to go for an earlier show. Don’t know why the theatres have to run these late night shows!” he muttered on an aside. “Even better, bring your friends to me and I’ll advise them about not going out late at night.” It never bothered Mohan that he was making suggestions that would never be taken seriously. He had an opinion and he gave it out, clear and loud. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t approve of late night outings and he made his opinion clear. Now, it was up to his sons to take it or leave it. It was never an issue that they didn’t follow his dictates.

  Bharat and Shatrughan smirked at one another before pouring themselves tea while Ram gave them a ‘thumbs up’, a grin breaking out on his face. It didn’t seem to bother him that his plan to drag the twins into trouble hadn’t worked. There was no malice in him, just the urge to tease.

  A loud discussion broke out about the railway budget that had been announced and each man had a strong opinion and was insistent on being heard. Meera watched them all indulgently as she sat down to eat her breakfast. The men had all f
inished eating the hot parathas that were dripping ghee.

  She thought of Chanda and a small frown marred her countenance. She so missed her youngest child. But then, both Meera and Mohan had always made sure their children had all the freedom possible. They had seen some of their friends and neighbours sending their children abroad for studies and careers. Yeah, even their daughters. That’s when they had decided to give Chanda an opportunity to go to another city to complete her studies. And after all, it was just Delhi and not America or Australia.

  IN THE AFTERNOON, Meera and Mohan set off to meet the astrologer. Mohan had left the running of his shop to his manager for the day and had taken the whole day off. Their appointment was for 3 pm.

  They arrived at Vidyasagar’s residence at 2.45 pm, quite anxious to find out what he had to say about Veerendra and his horoscope. They waited for the astrologer to come out after his siesta. In fact, theirs was the first appointment for the afternoon.

  Vidyasagar came out to sit on his divan before inviting Meera and Mohan to make themselves comfortable on the chairs across the table in front of him. An assistant brought forth a couple of almanacs and a new sheet of card paper in a roll. The astrologer opened the roll and spread it on the table in front of him. “This is Veerendra’s horoscope. You are very lucky to have this man for your son-in-law,” he declared.

  Mohan and Meera looked at each other before turning in Vidyasagar’s direction. They waited for the astrologer to explain himself.

  “Due to the position of Surya and Guru on his horoscope, Veerendra has an excellent career. He will succeed at everything he does. In fact, all he touches will turn to gold. He is very intelligent and in that you can see the hand of Surya. Guru’s influence suggests wisdom. He should be either a teacher - a college professor maybe, or he should be involved with computers. He must be quite tall, at least six feet in height. There is one thing that I noted. He will never live with his parents. He must be staying separate from them since— hmm—” Vidyasagar studied the horoscope some more. “at least his teenage,” he declared.