The Runaway Bridegroom Read online

  Shikha nodded her head wisely, her permed locks bouncing around her face. “That’s my girl. You should take your studies seriously. All the best!” She smiled widely, only this time it was the most natural smile that Chanda had seen on her face.

  A relieved Chanda managed to get out of the washroom in one piece. Whew! That had been close. She needed to be more careful not to visit the washroom alone.

  AT ABOUT 6 PM, the chat icon popped up on Chanda’s screen. “Shall we play TT if you’re done for the day?”

  Chanda wondered how they were going to get away with playing TT in the gym room with Shikha present in the office. But then, she was just Ranveer’s secretary and not Chanda’s keeper. The chat screen flickered again as Ranveer said, “Chanda!”

  “Yeah, I’m done. Let’s go.”

  “See you at the gym in ten minutes.” The chat went off. He was obviously a man of few words.

  Chanda packed her bag and went to the gym on the floor below. She had managed to find out the location during lunch. She kept her fingers crossed that she wouldn’t meet Shikha. She needn’t have worried. Shikha and games didn’t go hand in hand. Ranveer arrived there a couple of minutes later. There were a few others at the sports facility, playing games and using the two treadmills. The gym was large and quite classy. While it was enclosed completely with the heater turned on mildly, the long windows of plain glass gave a wonderful view of the garden below with a number of trees that reached up to the level of the fourth floor.

  Ranveer placed his backpack next to Chanda’s bag on the long bench that was provided for that purpose. “So,” he said, “all set?” His brown eyes turned velvety with the smile that sent a glow to Chanda’s heart. Her answering smile was just as enthusiastic as she nodded, her ponytail bouncing at her nape. She had tied up her hair as she intended to play hard. Ranveer’s smile turned into a grin seeing the determined expression on her face. It seemed that Chanda never did anything in half measures - whether it was watching a movie, checking out the counters at Dilli Haat or playing a game of table tennis.

  Ranveer wondered if and when she would pay him that kind of dedication.

  The next couple of hours were the best in Ranveer’s life. Chanda was a quick learner and she kept him on his toes. He enjoyed teaching her and now they were playing a tough game. She moved around like quicksilver and Ranveer almost drooled at her moves. The attraction he felt towards her was too powerful. He wondered whether she felt anything for him at all. A small sigh escaped him as he missed yet another serve that Chanda sent his way. He was obviously distracted.

  Chanda looked at him in concern. Was he bored playing with a novice? She checked her watch to see that it was almost 8 pm. It was time she left. She looked at Ranveer and said, “I think it’s better I left, Ranveer. The curfew is 10 pm on weekdays.”

  “Have dinner with me,” said Ranveer. He just didn’t have the heart to part with her.

  Chanda nodded her head but insisted, “If you’ll let me buy the meal.”

  Ranveer smiled at the innocent face in front of him. She was really a baby. He wondered whether she would ever notice the attraction he felt for her. He decided to let her get away with it this time round and said, “Okay, your treat.”

  Chanda smiled as she excused herself to go into the washroom. She was sure that she wouldn’t be plagued with Shikha’s company just then.

  But where was the woman? It was a wonder that she hadn’t turned up as Ranveer had been here at the gym for quite a while. Chanda didn’t know that Ranveer had pretended to leave the office and made sure that Shikha left the premises before stepping into the gym. He was quite tuned into his secretary’s malicious nature and he didn’t want Chanda tainted by that.

  Chanda had a quick wash and applied some light makeup before stepping out. Ranveer was waiting for her and they left the building to go find dinner.

  Twenty-two

  Ranveer dropped Chanda at her hostel just a couple of minutes before 10 pm. She watched him driving away and felt a sense of being abandoned. She went up to her room and was glad that it was one of those rare times when all her roommates were already fast asleep.

  She had a wash and quickly changed into her pajamas. She quietly let herself out into the balcony and closed the door gently behind her. The weather was quite cold. But Chanda felt soothed by it as her body felt hot. She realised that her attraction to Ranveer had multiplied many times over and her body craved his touch.

  Chanda tucked her arms around herself as she felt her nipples tighten as she thought of Ranveer. They had sat quite close to each other at the crowded restaurant, his thigh resting against hers. He hadn’t appeared to be all that disturbed by her nearness. She had been so conscious that swallowing her dinner had been a difficult task. She had taken small bites of her portion, pretending to eat and listening to him talk. Not that he had said much, but then, that was typically Ranveer. She didn’t mind his silences and she knew that he was very much with her mentally. Chanda was the chatterbox, but tonight, her brain had totally scrambled and she couldn’t form the sentences that would have made any kind of sense.

  Chanda stared at the sky, not quite seeing the waxing moon or the stars. She could see Ranveer’s handsome countenance in her mind’s eye. What made him tick? It was apparent that he was single. It was also very obvious that he liked being with her. But did that mean that he would be interested in her for the long haul? Did it matter? She had been married to Veerendra at the age of eight and that was supposed to have been until death had parted them. And see what had happened!

  All these years, Chanda hadn’t gone out with men on dates, had thought it was wrong to feel attracted to someone and had never got very close physically to any male other than her family members. But now that she had spent time with Ranveer and got to know him a little more every day, she couldn’t help dreaming of a future with him. Would that be possible?

  A deep sigh shook Chanda’s very being. It had been barely an hour since they parted company and she already missed him. She couldn’t wait for the morning when she would be seeing him at work. She wondered how it would feel to be kissed by Ranveer. She had noticed that his lips were dark, those of a smoker. While it was obvious that he smoked, he hadn’t done so in her presence. What would it be like to feel those masculine lips on hers? Chanda felt goose-bumps all over her body.

  Tch! She wished she had a little more experience when it came to dealing with men. How could she show Ranveer that she was attracted to him and she would like to be kissed? Chanda didn’t sleep very well that night as her mind went through many scenarios where Ranveer held her close and kissed her.

  RANVEER REACHED HIS ROWHOUSE and parked the car on the portico. Dinner had been good only he hadn’t tasted much of it. There had been a space crunch at the crowded restaurant and he had been forced to sit extremely close to Chanda, their bodies touching. Ranveer had had a difficult time concentrating on his food. Surprisingly, the usually effervescent Chanda had been very quiet. Had she been upset with the seating arrangement?

  Ranveer was totally attracted to Chanda and was keen to take their relationship a step further, only he didn’t know how. The couple of women he had dated had known the score. They had been closer to him in age and had been on the lookout for some fun. Chanda was different from them. For one, she was very young and innocent. She probably would want to enter a relationship for keeps. But was he ready for it? And there was his marriage - true that it had happened when he had been barely thirteen and will not hold up in a court of law. But there was the moral commitment. He had married that kid in a religious ceremony. That needed to be nullified before he got into a serious relationship with someone else. What a snarl!

  While the physical chemistry with his former girlfriends had been good, the way he vibed with Chanda was a class apart. They got along so well mentally and he so enjoyed her enthusiasm for life. More than anything was her honesty. That definitely was a rarity these days. She tended to speak her mind. While Ran
veer had been shocked in the beginning, he had got so used to it now and looked forward to her comments. He could trust her and that hadn’t happened since Dave and Jane.

  Ranveer turned around restlessly on his huge double bed. Sleep had become elusive since Chanda came into his life and it was high time he did something about it.

  MOHAN HAD FINALLY MANAGED to convince Choudhryji that he should send Surendra over to Jaipur. A couple of days later, Mohan went to the station to pick up his daughter’s father-in-law. Surendra had visited Jaipur just once and that had been many years back. He very rarely left his village.

  He was astounded to see Mohan’s bungalow. It appeared like a luxurious palace to him. Mohan’s sons had all grown up so much. The respect they showed Surendra brought tears to his eyes. He had expected them to be hostile after the way Veerendra had treated their sister. But the boys were all so generous and nice. Surendra’s eyes searched the surroundings for his daughter-in-law. She had been a lovely child and he was sure she must have grown up into a beautiful young woman. But he couldn’t see her anywhere. And he felt that he didn’t have the right to enquire about her.

  Meera was extremely forthcoming. She explained to Surendra that Chanda lived in a hostel in Delhi and studied there. Surendra was amazed. Mohan’s family appeared to have progressed so much. Veerendra had had no education and leaving home had kept him away from the farm that belonged to the family. The boy wasn’t trained to make a living. Surendra’s lips drooped. He was worried that Veera would be no match for his educated wife now. He wondered how an astrologer would be of help at this point. When Mohan gave them so much hope when he visited their home, Surendra was all pepped up and looking forward to some kind of a breakthrough. But now, seeing how Chanda’s family lived an altogether different lifestyle, Surendra wasn’t so sure.

  Would they be able to accept Veerendra even if they found the boy?

  Twenty-three

  It appeared as if Lady Luck favoured Ranveer today. Just a few of his staff were left at the office at 5.30 pm. Being a Friday evening, it seemed that each one had his own agenda. Ranveer saw that Chanda was logged into the office LAN. He looked up when Shikha walked into his office.

  “Hey Boss, what’s up! Do you’ve any plans for the weekend?” Shikha did her best to sound cheerful while her whole body was boiling with the indifferent treatment meted out by Ranveer. He, of course, had been his usual self, only her expectations had increased with the tales that she had spun to Chanda.

  Ranveer thought for a couple of minutes before carefully framing his reply. “Yeah, I do.” He didn’t elaborate much to her annoyance. Nor did he ask her what her plans were.

  This was the limit of rudeness, she fumed within. Just as she was about to spring her next question, Abhimanyu walked in. She wasn’t aware of Ranveer’s clear-cut instructions to Abhi - to interrupt whenever it appeared as if Shikha was getting personal with her boss.

  “Hey Ranveer! I’m planning to leave now. Is there anything you wanted done before I go?” He didn’t wait for Ranveer’s reply before he turned towards Shikha. “Hey Shikha, looks like you’re ready to leave. Can I give you a lift somewhere?”

  Shikha was extremely tempted to tell him what he could do with his offer. Abhimanyu and his terrible sense of timing! She looked desperately at both men, wondering how to handle the situation when Ranveer suggested with a smile, “That’s just perfect Abhi. Shikha’s leaving and I’m sure she’ll appreciate a ride. I’ll take a while here. You go on and have a great weekend, both of you.” One would believe that Ranveer wished that both Abhimanyu and Shikha would spend the weekend together.

  Shikha gritted her teeth and gave Ranveer a saccharine smile before walking out of the cabin, her head held high. Abhimanyu winked at Ranveer before stepping out right behind her.

  “Why don’t you leave me alone?” she snarled at Abhimanyu, her light brown eyes sparking venom. If looks could have killed, Abhimanyu would have fallen down dead right then.

  “Do you really want me to?” asked Abhimanyu softly, his intelligent eyes looking directly at her. It appeared as if he delved deep within her soul.

  A film of frustrated tears formed in Shikha’s eyes as she lowered her gaze in a hurry. It looked like she might have to settle for second best. Should she?

  Abhimanyu waited patiently for her to come to a decision. After a couple of minutes, Shikha raised her eyes to his face before saying, “Want to party?”

  Abhimanyu grinned as he offered his arm to her and the two walked out of the office building.

  Ranveer sighed deeply as he realised that there were just two other people left in the office besides Chanda and himself. He walked over to Parth and Sanjay. Parth was busy explaining something to Sanjay. The two of them didn’t notice Chanda who was sitting quietly in front of her computer on the opposite bay.

  Ranveer clapped Parth on his back as he asked, “Hey, you guys are working too hard for a Friday evening. What’s up?”

  Parth looked up at his young boss and grinned before looking at his watch. “Is it that late? I didn’t realise,” he said as Sanjay gave a quiet sigh of relief. He had been wanting to leave since the past half an hour as he saw the rest of the staff going one by one. But Parth had been teaching him something new and he hadn’t want to stop him. Now, it looked like the big boss was giving them permission to leave.

  “Yeah guys! It’s Friday. You’ve all been working so hard throughout the week. Now get out and have fun,” Ranveer said jovially. They would never have guessed how serious he was.

  Both the guys were out within five minutes. Ranveer watched them go before walking over to Chanda. She raised her head to look up at him with a shy smile. “At last,” said Ranveer, a happy sigh bursting forth within him as he sat on the work station next to her computer screen. Chanda wondered what he meant by that.

  Ranveer bent down to place a finger on Chanda’s chin to raise her face to his. “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?” he asked, his voice a whisper.

  A flood of colour burst forth on Chanda’s cheeks as she lowered her black eyes, too shy to look within his velvet brown ones. Ranveer placed his lips on her forehead, his own eyes closing as a powerful emotion shook him. It looked like he had been waiting for this moment of privacy forever.

  It was a couple of minutes before the two of them sprang apart guiltily when they heard the door open. It was the security guard checking that everyone had left the office before locking up for the night. Ranveer got up in a hurry to raise a hand and called out, “A few more minutes, Devji, I’ll inform you when we’re done.” Dev saluted him before leaving, closing the door behind him.

  Ranveer turned to look at Chanda. She had packed her shoulder bag and got up. It was obvious the moment was lost. A shuddering sigh burst forth from Ranveer as he looked at her. She was still red and refused to meet his eyes.

  “What would you like to do?” he asked Chanda. She looked up at him, her black eyes shining with excitement. Her voice shook when she replied, “Anything you say,” in a whisper.

  In the end, they decided to go to Ranveer’s home. A voice within Chanda warned her that they would be alone there. But she wanted to throw caution to the winds, just this once.

  Twenty-four

  Neither of them spoke a word as Ranveer drove his BMW to his house. There was a lot of traffic anyway and the driving required all of his concentration. He didn’t notice Chanda giving him surreptitious looks from the corner of her eyes.

  While Chanda felt shy with Ranveer, she was also totally enamoured by him. Just a few days back she had been wondering what it would be like to be kissed by Ranveer. It looked like she was going to find out soon. A fine tremor shook her body as excitement flowed within her. Her pulse beat a powerful tattoo while she impatiently waited for them to reach his row house.

  Ranveer opened the door and tossed his bag impatiently on the table near the entrance while shutting the entrance door at the same time. He took Chanda’s bag and put it down bes
ide his own and turned towards her. The next minute he had pushed her up against the wall and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

  His heart beat hard and fast as he did his best to control his raging libido. He had to keep reminding himself that she was very young but the come-hither looks that she had been tossing him over the past few days were finally making him come apart.

  Chanda raised her hands to place them on his shoulders. His muscles felt rigid and she ran her hands soothingly over them without even being aware of what she was doing, but it felt good. She could feel Ranveer’s hot breath and the slight rasp of his hair roughened cheeks on her neck and the combination excited her too much. She brought her hands down to his back to gather him close.

  Ranveer shuddered with the myriad sensations that flooded his system as he felt Chanda’s soft body close to his own. He lifted his head to look down at her. Chanda opened her eyes to see Ranveer’s handsome face so close to her own. She couldn’t resist going on her tiptoes and placing her lips to his masculine cheek. Ranveer felt her soft lips against his face and melted. He lifted her bodily and carried her over to the sofa and sat down, placing her on his lap.

  Ranveer traced the perfect oval of Chanda’s soft face with his index finger. Chanda savoured the sensation, her eyes closed. The black eyes opened suddenly when she felt his finger trace the shape of her lips. His touch was erotic and Chanda couldn’t resist kissing his finger. Ranveer smiled as he removed his finger and replaced it with his lips.

  He pressed his lips ever so gently against Chanda’s rosy mouth. And he continued to study the outline of her lips with his tongue now. A fine tremor shook Chanda’s body as her nerve-endings woke up with a vengeance. She had never been kissed before.

  Ranveer raised his head to look at Chanda. Unable to meet his sharp gaze, Chanda buried her face on his broad chest. She could feel his heart thudding heavily and realised that she was affecting him almost as much as he did her. Her arms went around him as she settled more comfortably on Ranveer’s lap.