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

by Sundari Venkatraman

  Was it only a few weeks since he set eyes on Chanda? Ranveer couldn’t believe it. It seemed as if she had been a part of his life forever.

  Ranveer decided then and there that he would get in touch with his birth parents in the village and go forward with getting his marriage annulled. But before that, he wanted to see Chanda once again and reassure himself that their feelings for one another were genuine.

  Ranveer couldn’t wait for Monday morning to come fast enough.

  Twenty-eight

  Lakshman opened the door to Chanda’s bedroom. It was late in the evening on Saturday. The family had left her alone after lunch as it was obvious that she didn’t want to be disturbed. But all of them had been surprised when she hadn’t come down till now.

  The room was in darkness as Lakshman looked at the bed. Seeing that Chanda wasn’t there, he turned towards the light switch when he noticed that she was sitting at the window. As he walked towards her, Lakshman was shocked to notice her posture. She looked defeated as she sat there, her knees drawn to her chin while her face was buried in them. Her small body shook now and again as sobs overcame her.

  He walked to his sister silently and placed a hand on her head, stroking it fondly. Chanda raised startled eyes to see who it was. Seeing her favourite brother, she fell into his arms, crying.

  Lakshman held her tight, not saying a word. He waited for the tears to abate before pulling her gently towards the bed. He made her sit down before taking a seat next to her. Again, he willed her to talk with his very silence.

  Slowly the story came tumbling out. Chanda didn’t leave anything. She told him how she had always kept away from boys and later men, believing herself to be a married woman. She said how she met Ranveer and couldn’t help the growing attraction right from first sight. Once her sorry tale was over, she looked at Lakshman with red-rimmed eyes.

  “I love him, Lakshman. I can’t go back to become Veerendra’s wife. How can I? All these years there was no news of him. Now suddenly after I meet someone I love, his father turns up after Mamma and Pappa go to an astrologer who has a lot to say about him. Why? Why me?” She smote her forehead before Lakshman could stop her.

  He took her hand and held it tightly as he hugged her. He thought hard, not saying anything. Lakshman was a man of few words and when he spoke, it usually struck a strong chord with the listener.

  Chanda put her head on her brother’s muscular shoulder and waited for him to come up with a solution. She was confident that it would be in her favour, just as it had always been since childhood.

  After some time he told her, “I’m sure you can take a week off from your college and work, can’t you?”

  Chanda looked up at him, her dark eyes searching. What did he want her to do? Not that she had an argument. She was just curious. She nodded as she said, “I think I can.”

  “Tell you what? Why don’t you take a break from everything while Ram and I sort out things here? You go to Mount Abu and just chill. Who do you want to go with? The twins or Mamma-Pappa?” He stopped to answer his own question, “I think Mamma-Pappa is out of the question as Surendra Uncle is here just now. Do you want to go with Bharat and Shatru?” He looked at his little sister, love overflowing in his heart. He had adored her from the moment she opened her eyes for the first time.

  Chanda looked at Lakshman steadily as she asked, “Will you go with me?”

  “I’m sorry Sweetie. I’ll be best off holding the fort here. This thing needs to be sorted out before we decide what to tell Veerendra’s father. I wish that he hadn’t been dragged into the picture at this stage,” he said, echoing Chanda’s thoughts. “But then, it’s already done. Ram and I will set out to find the errant Veerendra and set the record straight. You—”

  “Will it be expecting too much to ask to go on my own? I don’t think I’ll be good company for the twins. You know they love fun and just now I’m not in the mood for it,” said Chanda. She felt strongly that she wanted to get away from everyone. She wouldn’t have minded Lakshman’s company as he knew how to keep silent. Chatter was one thing she couldn’t stomach just now.

  While Chanda’s family was very close and loved one another absolutely, each one also knew how to give the others their space.

  “You must go alone if that’s what you want, Chanda.” Chanda blushed when he said, “Give me your Ranveer’s contact number before you leave. I’ll only get in touch with him if and when it’s absolutely necessary,” he smiled, looking at her red face.

  Chanda nodded her head. It all sounded so simple. She only wished that the next week was already over. What a weekend! And she had expected to spend it in Ranveer’s arms.

  Chanda pulled at Lakshman’s elbow just as he got up. “Lakshman, can you give me another SIM card? I don’t want Ranveer to call me when—.”

  Lakshman nodded his head in understanding. “Of course! I’ll put you on a flight maybe tomorrow? Or do you want to leave today?” he asked.

  “I don’t want to fly. I think I’ll go by bus,” said Chanda as she mentally planned her trip. She was glad that she had something else to focus on. She felt a mite better that she had transferred her problems to her brother who was more capable of sorting things out. She knew he was an expert at that.

  A small smile broke out on Chanda’s face as she moved forward to hug Lakshman. “You know something? I must be the luckiest girl on earth. To have such parents and brothers, especially one such as you Lakshman,” she said, meaning every word.

  Lakshman hugged her back before saying, “Do you need help with your packing? It’s bound to be very cold out there. And promise me that you’ll not worry too much? I’ll ensure that you’re free of Veerendra and get hitched to this Ranveer. That is, if Ranveer’s also keen to wed you.”

  A wide smile broke out on Chanda’s ravaged face as she knew that Lakshman never made a promise that he didn’t keep. She nodded her head through the tears of affection that sprung to her eyes.

  Lakshman wiped them away before saying, “That’s one thing I can’t stomach, Chanda. I know you’re feeling emotional and all that, but please don’t cry. I don’t think Ranveer can handle it either,” he said, tongue-firmly-in-cheek.

  Chanda laughed softly, quite sure that Ranveer would never be able to handle it. It seemed that Lakshman could already sense how the other man was.

  She decided to call Parth at the office and inform him of a family emergency and the need for a week off. She wouldn’t call Ranveer. While she knew that he would want to know what had happened to her, Chanda decided that it would be best if they kept out of touch until everything got sorted out. It would be nice to go up to the hills. They always had the ability to bring a sense of calm.

  Her parents weren’t too happy at the turn of events. But the understanding folks that they were, they realised that not all was hunky dory and agreed to let Chanda go on the trip. They let Surendra believe that Chanda had to get back to college when she left the next day afternoon. She had a new phone number that was known only to the family and it had been quite easy to wangle the leave of absence from Parth.

  Chanda set off on her journey into the hills, a backpack carrying all the stuff she would need. Lakshman saw her off at the bus stop and reassured her that he would take care of everything and keep her posted on the various developments.

  RANVEER WALKED INTO THE OFFICE on Monday morning, a small scowl on his face. He had still not heard from Chanda and was quite irritated. He knew that her family was important to her and all that. But was she being fair to him?

  He thought back on their last meeting. She had cuddled up like a kitten in his arms. What had happened now that she couldn’t call him even once? Or even pick up his call and just say ‘hi’? Ranveer was quite disgusted.

  He had forgotten all about his plan to go back to his village, see his family and annul his marriage. That didn’t seem to be the priority just now.

  One hour later, he was surprised to see that Chanda was not logged on to the office LAN.
His scowl grew heavier as Shikha walked in just then.

  “Hi Ranveer, how was your weekend?” she asked, her voice extra cheerful. She had just heard from Parth that Chanda was on leave for a week. That meant that she had Ranveer all to herself. It was one of those Mondays when nothing could go wrong, it seemed.

  “I’m kind of busy, Shikha. Did you want something urgent? You can always—”

  “Talk to Abhi, I know. That’s what you tell me and I’ve heard you, every time,” said Shikha, quite boldly. In her cheerful mood, she didn’t realise that her boss was feeling anything but. She went to seat herself on the edge of his large table and said, “I don’t need anything. I just came to ask you whether you’re aware that Chanda, you know the kid from that college, is on leave. Don’t quite know about the kids of today. They really think they can get away with anything. In my days as a trainee—”

  Ranveer drowned out her voice further as he tried to understand whether he had heard her right. Chanda wasn’t coming to work for how long? He was ready to burst a blood vessel. He got up from his chair and told Shikha sarcastically, “I’m sure with the new week beginning and all that, you do have some work to do. If you can’t find work, do tell me soon. It’ll help me decide whether the company can afford to keep you or not.”

  Shikha’s jaw dropped as Ranveer walked out of his office.

  Twenty-nine

  Desperately seeking privacy, Ranveer went to the conference room that was the furthest away from his cabin. It had a large table in the centre and could accommodate twenty people comfortably at one go. More than anything, it offered him the solitude he sought. It was one of the two rooms that had walls not made of glass. He couldn’t care less if it had been booked by any of his staff. They could always manage to have their meeting in the smaller one at the other end of the office.

  He lifted the landline and dialled Abhimanyu’s extension. It lifted on the second ring and Abhi said, “Yes? Abhimanyu here.”

  “Abhi, can you come over to the large conference room?” said Ranveer, hanging up immediately. Abhimanyu arrived there in a few seconds. He walked in and closed the door behind him, catching the stormy expression on Ranveer’s face even from afar. When he moved closer, Ranveer indicated that he sit down.

  The moment Abhimanyu sat down, Ranveer began, his eyes staring unseeingly at the white board on the wall, “Abhi, we’ve known each other since ten years. I think you’re the only friend I have. I—”

  Abhimanyu interrupted to ask softly, “Is something the problem, Ranveer?”

  Ranveer turned to look at Abhimanyu and the latter was shocked to see the anger in the younger man’s eyes. “I don’t quite know, Abhi. You’re probably aware that Chanda and I are seeing each other,” he said, on a different tack.

  Abhimanyu nodded, waiting for his boss to continue. “Do you by any chance know that Chanda’s on leave this week?”

  “No, I didn’t know that. Has she informed you?”

  “She told Parth. I got to know about it through—”

  “Shikha,” said Abhimanyu, surprising Ranveer. The latter raised an eyebrow questioningly as Abhimanyu said, “I guessed as I noticed that she was in a jubilant mood before she went into your office. Five minutes later, you’re here and obviously upset.”

  “Upset’s putting it mildly. I wonder what reason she gave Parth. If it was some major problem, I’m sure she’d have told me.” Ranveer was reassuring himself more than informing Abhimanyu. His very confidence was shaken up on getting the information through Shikha that morning. He had been sure that Chanda was in love with him just as he had fallen for her charms. He had even been ready to go meet his family and set right the wrong in his past life. Her disappearing like this seemed very strange.

  “Do you want me to talk to Parth?” asked Abhimanyu. When Ranveer made no objection, he dialled Parth’s extension and said, “Hi Parth, Abhimanyu here. How was your weekend?” He gave Parth ten seconds to reply before asking, “Do you know why Chanda’s off this week? A family emergency?” Abhimanyu looked at Ranveer as he continued to talk on the phone. “Nothing terrible I hope. Did she sound okay or—.?” Abhimanyu nodded and realising that the other man couldn’t possibly see him, said, “Alright then. Okay, thanks. Catch you during lunch.”

  Abhimanyu told Ranveer, “She didn’t sound too upset says Parth.”

  Instead of calming Ranveer, the answer appeared to inflame him further. Hot colour ran up his cheeks as he did his best to hold back his temper. Losing it right now was just not fair to Abhimanyu. If Chanda had been in front of him, Ranveer would probably have blasted her. Shikha would have definitely received the boot at that moment.

  Abhimanyu watched his friend calmly, not saying a word.

  A couple of minutes later, a huge sigh shuddered out of Ranveer. He turned to look at Abhimanyu and asked, “What do you think Abhi? Chanda seemed decent. I thought I could trust her. I—”

  “There’s no reason for you to change your mind, Ranveer. Chanda is as decent as they come. Don’t come to any conclusion in a hurry. There’s obviously some kind of a problem. Why don’t you—?”

  “Why the hell couldn’t she have called me?” roared Ranveer, getting to his feet in a fury. He wanted to smash something. “I have no pride. I called her, so many times. Her bloody phone’s switched off.” He was totally frustrated and a mite worried, although he didn’t want to admit it even to himself.

  Abhimanyu had no reply to this. He so wished that Chanda had called Ranveer and told him the reason for her absence. They obviously had gotten quite close over the past few days.

  Ranveer calmed down with great difficulty and walked back to sit in the chair he had just vacated. He took a few sips of water and also a couple of deep breaths. He looked at Abhimanyu. He trusted his second-in-command. Not only that, he valued Abhimanyu’s advice.

  “What do you think I should do Abhi? I want to rush over to Jaipur and find out what the hell’s happening. At the same time, I’m not hundred percent sure about Chanda.”

  “You mean you don’t know whether you’re in love with Chanda. Is that it?” asked Abhimanyu.

  Ranveer shook his head vigorously. “It’s not about my love for her. I’m not sure that she loves me enough. If she did, she wouldn’t do this to me. Would she?” It was a call for reassurance.

  Abhimanyu didn’t say anything as he didn’t know enough to dispel his friend’s doubts. Instead, he asked, “Will it be so difficult to wait the week out?” That’s what Abhimanyu would have done. But then, Abhimanyu was quiet and calm by nature. Ranveer being a go-getter, sitting back and waiting for things to happen was just not acceptable to him.

  He had been toying with the idea of confiding his life story to Abhimanyu. That’s what he had started to do in the beginning and got sidetracked.

  “Abhimanyu, you’re my best friend. I’ve a secret that I’ve not been able to share with anyone. I’m married,” he said baldly. There was just no other way to say it.

  A small smile broke through on Ranveer’s tense face when he caught the astonishment on Abhimanyu’s face. His expression was priceless. Abhimanyu was always composed, dependable and stoic. In all these years, Ranveer had never seen the older man ruffled by anything. Even now, when absolutely shocked, Abhimanyu didn’t utter a word and waited for his boss to continue.

  “I don’t quite know whether my marriage will hold up in a court of law.” Another deep sigh shuddered through Ranveer. “I got married to an eight-year-old girl at the grand age of thirteen. I know the custom’s ancient, but believe me when I say that my family’s extremely old school. I wasn’t given a choice. In fact, when I told my mother that I didn’t want to get married, she cited the reason that I was too young to understand.” Ranveer’s voice was bitter as he recalled pleading with his mother. She hadn’t thought that he was too young to get married.

  “In the end, I just ran away. I tried to get away before the ceremony, but could only do it after the deed was done.”

  It
was a wonder Abhimanyu managed to keep his jaw from dropping as he heard the bizarre tale from Ranveer. The Ranveer Singh he knew was a computer whiz kid who ran the company almost singlehandedly, paying the salaries of fifty-plus employees - totally acceptable in the twenty-first century. The same man was the victim of child marriage was mind blowing. Never for a minute did Abhimanyu believe that Ranveer could be spinning him a tale. Ranveer was quite honest and he had never heard him tell a lie. Okay, he hadn’t talked about his marriage, but that was an omission and he couldn’t quite blame the young man for that.

  “I was lucky that Dave and Jane took me under their wing. At first, I was too ashamed to tell them the truth. But over the years, I had to tell them why I’d run away from home. You know the rest of it,” he said, his shoulders hunched, as if the whole world rested on his manly shoulders.

  Abhimanyu had never seen a defeated Ranveer before. Even at the beginning, when the company was floundering for funds, doing badly on the stock market, Ranveer had always been cheerful and confident. Today, he appeared shaken.

  “You haven’t lost faith in Chanda, have you?” asked Abhimanyu, getting to the crux of the matter. He realised that was what was bothering Ranveer and hence the crushed look.

  “I don’t quite know what to think. I haven’t known her long, but I know she’s too straightforward. I don’t think—”

  “There you have your answer. I feel you should give her some space and wait the week out.” Even as he said it, Abhimanyu was sure that Ranveer wouldn’t be able to do that. It was just not him to sit back and wait for things to happen.

  “Tell me something Abhi. What happens if I take this week off too? I don’t give a damn about the gossip that might spring, so let’s not go there. Otherwise, do you think the company will fall apart if I stay away for a while?” He was joking, of course. He had structured the management in such a fashion that it could function independently of him.