by MV Kasi
“The workers’ area,” his deep voice explained. He also explained that the workers could meet and rest there.
Sabitha took in the details of the large temporary structure the Singhams had built next to the project site. She was still surprised at the generous gesture Abhay Singham had extended to the Prajapatis. They were to share the canal and manufacturing units.
She had heard the offer had been extended to the Senanis as well. However, the Senanis had apparently declined.
“These are our office quarters.” Dev Singham had led them out of the workers’ area to a semi-private space. Two large rooms were built right next to each other with a common wall.
Sabitha frowned. “Why are we away from the workers?” she asked.
“The workers won’t be able to relax with us breathing down their necks all the time,” he answered coolly as he led her to one of the rooms and opened the door.
Sabitha saw a decent-size office along with a small semi-private bed and bath at the back.
“This is my office,” he said. “You have a similar one next to mine.”
She gave a curt nod and was about to head there when he stopped her. “I need to speak with you,” he said and went into his office, expecting her to follow him.
She turned to Dhruv. “I’ll be right back,” she told him. “Meantime, check the set-up of my office and see if anything is needed.”
She then went into Dev Singham’s office.
He was waiting for her. “Be seated,” he ordered, indicating to a chair while he sat on a throne-like leather tufted chair.
A soft click of the door indicated it had closed automatically behind her, shutting them both from rest of the world.
“What’s the matter, Singham?” she asked. “Too delicate for outdoor work? You need a bed inside your fancy office for your beauty rest?”
She knew it was childish to snipe at him, but his entire demeanor grated on her nerves. He was acting as though he was in charge, and she was his underling who was there to work for him.
A sneer formed on his annoyingly perfect face “I can afford it, Prajapati,” he said while eying her coffee-stained clothes with disgust. “But don’t worry, I won’t send you the invoice for all the luxuries I put in your fancy office.”
Sabitha’s jaw clenched. “Whatever this entire project is costing, you know damn well that the Prajapatis are pitching in their fair share.”
“Yeah, yeah. We’ll see how long before you ask for a small loan.”
She refused to dignify his taunt with an answer. “What did you want to talk about?” she demanded.
He opened a drawer and pulled out a few papers from a file and placed them in front of her. “Go through these documents.”
She frowned at the papers in front of her. “We already finished signing the necessary paperwork a few weeks ago.”
“Just a few more simple additions about our workers’ schedules. Read them and approve it now, so I can confirm by end of today.”
She continued frowning at the papers. “I’ll call my lawyer and ask him to take a look at it first.”
“That’s not necessary. These are just informal documents you need to be made aware of. Your signature is not required. You just need to convey the message to your people.”
She shrugged. “Maybe, but I’d still prefer someone other than me to look at it first.”
He was quiet. And then, slowly his eyes scanned her face before falling to the documents in front of her.
He did that a couple more times, until his eyes slightly widened as though he figured out something shocking. “Damn! It is true, then. You are illiterate. You can’t even read or comprehend a simple—”
Before he could finish, Sabitha stood up, and whipped out her gun, and pointed it towards his head. “Don’t push your luck, Singham,” she said in a menacing tone. “Or your brains will be splattered all over your fancy office desk. I’ll just call it an unfortunate accident.” She let a small smile play around her lips. “Although, personally, I think it would be a very fortunate event.”
She saw his hands clench. The next moment, he grabbed her wrist, and she was shoved back into the chair. “Don’t ever point your weapon at me again.” He looked pissed as he came around the desk towards her.
Sabitha watched him impassively. “That’s going to be hard. Because each time you open your stupid mouth, I’m tempted to draw my weapon. Sometimes, not even that. Just your mere presence is enough.”
He leaned closer, putting his face barely a few inches away from hers. She could smell the familiar and subtle cologne. “Well, darling,” he said. “The feeling is mutual. However, I suggest you control yourself. Or your people will soon have to resort to begging or fleeing your province.”
Sabitha placed her palm on his chest and pushed back, shoving him away from her before getting up from the chair. Immediately, she rubbed her hands on her thighs, wiping away the feel of him.
“You don’t have to worry about my people,” she said coolly. “I will. Just keep your mouth shut when it comes to my personal things. Unless you have something to discuss about our official work, don’t communicate with me.”
She picked up the papers from the desk and strode to the door, opening and shutting it behind her. She felt his burning glare all the while on her back.
CHAPTER 4
Dev was agitated.
He was tempted to either go on a rampage with his axe, or break open a scotch bottle at nine-thirty in the morning. Just so he could maintain his cool and not strangle her.
Sabitha Prajapati brought out the worst in him.
He could hear her voice through the office walls as she softly questioned one of her men who read the document aloud to her.
What was Abhay thinking when he had asked Sabitha Prajapati to personally oversee the project on behalf of the Prajapatis?
Dev was fine when the offer was extended to the Prajapatis. But what he hadn’t expected was having to work with her on a personal basis. He had expected the Prajapatis to hire someone on behalf of them to oversee the set-up.
He took a deep breath to calm down.
Sabitha-bloody-Prajapati.
Every encounter with her always had her ridiculing him and riling him. She was also the only woman who had the power to mess with his head.
His temple throbbed where she had pointed a gun at it a few minutes ago making him recall the first time she held a weapon and similarly threatened him.
It was quite ironic. Because at that particular time, he had been celebrating the occasion of getting all the necessary approvals for this very project.
***
ONE YEAR AGO…
Dev splashed water on his face to remain awake.
It was only ten at night, but he was damn tired. The past week, he had been working long hours to finish some critical tasks within his units while also balancing his evening and night hours socializing with the high-profile bigwigs in the city.
Since Abhay was not easily accessible and preferred to stay in the family home, most of the social interactions were carried out by Dev.
Dev didn’t mind. He knew Abhay had his hands full trying to maintain peace within the Singham province.
So it was mostly up to Dev to build and strengthen the Singham network. He used his persuasion skills, his natural charm and the skills he learned from business school to achieve that purpose. As the result, he already knew most of the bigwigs personally and was also able to pull the necessary strings to get the jobs done.
He was just glad his and Abhay’s hard work was going to pay off.
Singham province was soon going to have the necessary projects to bring in water and employment to its people.
Abhay, in his usual style, decided to celebrate the occasion by having a quiet evening at the Singham Mansion. For a change, Dev had wanted to do the same as his older brother.
But just as Dev was about to drive back to Singham Estate, he had been ambushed.
Kritika, a well-k
nown actress he had been dating for few months had come to his office. He had been canceling their dates over the past few weeks due to his workload. And so, she had insisted that she join him at the Singham Estate.
Dev had never brought any of the women he dated to the Singham Estate. He preferred to keep both those worlds apart. But this time, he had made an exception and agreed.
Since he hadn’t wanted to take her to his ancestral home or the Singham Lakehouse, he took her to one of the five cottages within the Singham Estate.
Big mistake.
This particular cottage held other memories from seven years ago which were clouding his brain. He felt a strange kind of unease, but was determined not to recall that deceptively innocent face with striking multi-hued brown eyes.
“De-e-v-v. I’m waiting, baby. Come out soon,” a seductive voice of a woman called out from the bedroom.
Dev sighed again as his doubts about having to spend a weekend with Kritika grew stronger. Until then, Kritika and he had been meeting for only a few hours at a time. Like all his dates, he took her to a few social events with him, after which she took him to her place where they spent pleasurable time in her bed. He usually left soon after. And like his usual dates, they hadn’t had an opportunity to talk much since he was busy socializing with other contacts at the events.
But now, after having spent time with her in his car while driving from the city to the Singham Estate, he realized they barely had anything in common. In fact, he found the one-sided talk about various topics of gossip, partying and shopping, quite annoying. She was also too clingy.
Even though he had made it quite clear that he didn’t do serious relationships and only dated casually, she was still planning events months into the future.
He groaned. He was going to let Kritika know it wasn’t working out. It would be awkward as hell as he would have to accompany her on the drive back to the city.
With that thought in mind, Dev opened the bathroom door and strode into the bedroom.
Shit!
Kritika was sprawled over the bed in a seductive pose wearing lingerie that revealed way more than it covered.
“Do you like it, Dev?” she asked with a sultry smile that earned her millions of fans across the country.
Dev slowly grinned. “Love it.”
I’m such a bastard. I’m definitely going to hell because of this.
And to hell with those other memories. I’m going to enjoy myself and create new memories here.
Those were his last thoughts before he took up her tempting offer.
Dev should have guessed it was easier said than done. Because, fifteen minutes later, he was having a tough time.
“Dev! Oh my God! Dev! You are the best, Dev! The best!”
What the hell?
Never in his twenty-six years did Dev have any performance issues. Closing his eyes, he tried hard to focus and to shut out the annoying noises. But as soon as he closed his eyes, those damn thick-lashed, vivid brown eyes flashed in his mind along with the memories.
Kritika’s moaning and groaning continued to get even louder and dramatic. “Oooh, Dev, you are the man! Take me like you can’t help yourself!”
Had she always been this way? Making such fake noises?
Shit, this is torture. And why the hell am I feeling guilty because of those bloody memories?
A minute later, unable to bear it any longer, Dev moved away and sat up.
“Baby, why did you stop?” Kritika whined with a practiced pout.
“Listen, Kritika. I’m sorry, but this is not working out. I think we should take it easy—”
Before he could finish speaking, Kritika began screaming. The sound was so loud and shrill that he thought his eardrums would shatter.
What the hell?
He realized a few seconds later that she wasn’t looking at him, but at something behind him. Before he could turn to investigate, he felt a sharp object placed under his throat.
He froze immediately.
Kritika continued to scream, making his head throb.
“Shut up,” a soft command was issued by a vaguely familiar woman’s voice.
Immediately, Kritika stopped screaming, only to break into terrified muffled sobs.
Mindful of the knife at his throat, Dev slowly drew the blanket next to him and threw it over Kritika, covering her nearly naked body. The next instant, he was grabbed from behind and thrown into the chair and held down by two burly men.
Sabitha-bloody-Prajapati stood in front of him with a small smile playing on her face as she twirled a red and green jeweled knife in her hands.
It was almost like she had been conjured there because of his memories of her that night. He almost didn’t recognize her since he hadn’t seen her up close for nearly seven years. But her thick-lashed, vivid brown eyes remained the same. He also recognized the small diamond nose ring and her long hair she wore in a similar plaited style as before. But the soft, rounded cheeks of a teenager were gone. They were replaced by prominent high cheekbones. And unlike the traditional clothes she had worn the last time he had seen her, she now wore a cotton shirt and khaki-colored trousers.
Even though he hadn’t seen her in person over the years, he had felt her constant presence in his life as she tried to make it a living hell.
He recalled how his favorite horses were stolen, his bikes and cars were burned down or blown apart, and she had also ordered several other petty things to be done that drove him insane. In turn, he had also ordered her vehicles to be blown up, and destroyed her personal property until Abhay had intervened and asked him to stop.
“Heard you were in the neighborhood, Singham. Wanted to say… hello.” Although her voice was soft and even, he heard the underlying taunt like a loud jeering.
When he didn’t say anything, her smile grew infinitesimally. “I just wanted to be polite, you know, considering how we might be family pretty soon,” she said, reminding him of the recent alliance.
In order to end the decades-long feud between their provinces, Neelambari Prajapati had sent a wedding proposal between her niece, Anika, and Abhay.
It only took a day for Abhay to accept the proposal while Dev had mixed feelings. On one hand, Dev was still not ready to forgive or forget the past, but on the other hand, he knew the people of their respective provinces badly needed peace to be restored.
And so, Dev had some of his men investigate Anika Prajapati thoroughly in order to check the validity of the proposal. So far, he hadn’t found anything suspicious. In fact, whatever he had found about Anika Prajapati made him think she might be the right fit for his brother.
Anika Prajapati was a soft-spoken, well-educated woman whose career as a medical doctor led her to helping and healing people—unlike the savage in front of him who only either injured or destroyed.
A woman’s muffled sobs broke through Dev’s thoughts. “Please. Please don’t hurt me. Please. Please…”
Dev knew there was no one near Kritika. Sabitha Prajapati and her two men were the only ones who had broken into the cottage. And right then, they were busy surrounding him to be bothered with anything else. Nevertheless, he knew Kritika’s fear was real.
“Let her go,” he said quietly, keeping his eyes locked on Sabitha Prajapati’s face. “Her car is outside and she can leave on her own. Your enmity is with me.”
Sabitha Prajapati smiled, but her smile was brittle and didn’t reach her eyes. “How very noble of you to say that, Singham. One would think you were used to saving damsels in distress.” Her eyes turned even harder. “But we both know the truth, don’t we?” she asked softly, reminding him of how he had ruined her elopement with her boyfriend.
Before he could say something, she turned towards the bed. “Get out.”
As soon as the soft order was issued, Kritika scrambled out from the bed. She was still in her lingerie, but she didn’t bother throwing on any other clothes. She simply grabbed her purse and ran towards the door to get out.
&nb
sp; Soon, he could hear the sound of the engine as the car started and then the loud squeal of tires as she hit the accelerator before driving away from the cottage.
Sabitha Prajapati continued to twirl the jeweled knife in her hands, watching him. “Seems like the rumors I heard about you are all false, Singham. For a supposed playboy, your technique in bed must have sucked. In fact it must have sucked so badly, the poor woman couldn’t wait to get out when I interrupted your lackluster performance.”
When he didn’t respond to her taunt, she strode closer to him while running her eyes impassively over his naked body.
She stopped a foot away and held her knife to his throat. He felt the blunt edge of the knife pressing into his skin as she slowly ran it from his throat in a downward path, until she stopped an inch above his groin. Despite his feelings, his body began to get painfully and fully aroused.
A small smirk formed on her face as she watched his arousal. “I wonder what would happen if I cut this offending thing off,” she remarked. “I’m sure I’ll be doing the female population a favor. And also… the Singham bloodlines will have to continue only through your brother. Not a bad idea, huh?” she taunted softly.
When he still didn’t reply, she moved the knife back up and nicked his throat.
He felt the sting but refused to flinch.
He continued to watch her as she ran her finger on his throat and brought it closer to her face. “What do you know,” she continued taunting softly. “The great, purebred Singham blood looks just like a commoner’s blood.”
Dev felt the simmering rage within him rise rapidly. “You have crossed a line with this,” he told her in a menacing tone. “I have left you alone all these months because of the possible union between our families.”
Listening to his threat, her smile turned lethal and she placed the knife back at his throat. “There is no line to cross, Singham. It’s always been a war. Even if the wedding takes place, it will continue to be a war between the both of us. Just because you are losing, don’t whine and hide behind our families.”
