The Curse of That Night (4 page)

Chapter 6

Malvika

Her heart was pounding. The elevator stopped on ground floor and she scrambled out as fast as she could but fortunately not sprawling onto the floor. She raced towards the wide glass door that opened up automatically... she felt relieved, very much. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

No man had ever affected her the way Abhijeet Raichand did, and she could not figure out why. Was it for his looks? Power? Or something else? She didn’t know. She was not able to figure out what led to her irrational behaviour. She breathed an enormous sigh of relief. What was that all about? Leaning against one of the walls of the building, she valiantly attempted to calm down. She shook her head. Her mind came back to senses and when she could think normally again she headed for the car.

As she left the office behind, she was feeling foolish and embarrassed as she tried to replay the meeting in her mind.
Okay, so he is very attractive, confident, commanding – but on the other side he seemed to be arrogant and cold. He might be arrogant but then he has every right to be. He has accomplished so much at a very young age.

While cruising towards her home, her mind continued to wander. She was consumed by the curiousness for what could have made him so driven to succeed. She was driving cautiously today, something that rarely happened. She had this feeling that someone was asking her to. It was Abhijeet, with his bright eyes.

“Oh God! What is happening to me?” she shouted, trying to obliterate his thoughts from her mind.

But, she didn’t know that her life would change completely until Abhijeet himself asked her out. It came as the biggest shock of her life, exciting though. And of course, she said YES!

Abhijeet stood up from his seat, glancing at her who stood up with him. Her heart was pounding as her stomach refused to stay still. She made her way around the table, her eyes unable to meet his. His arm reached around her, pulling her in for a hug. If anything could make her feel safe, it was a hug from him. He leaned in as she closed her eyes. She was prepared for it. She knew that it would happen someday, but today! She didn’t have a clue. Her first kiss…

‘Kiss me, damn it!’
she implored him. She was paralyzed with a strange, unfamiliar need, completely smitten by him. She kept on staring at Abhijeet’s lips, mesmerized and he was looking down at her, his eyes darkening.

‘I am in your arms, kiss me please!’
she thought, loud enough for him to hear.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and gave her a small peck on forehead. He reached for her hand brushing the strand of hair off her cheek. His thumb rubbed softly, caressing her earlobe. His fingers supported the back of her head, she leaned in and firmly yet seductively he placed his lips onto hers. She felt him quickly inhale, pulling the air from her own lungs. He pulled her body closer and embraced her, holding her tightly against him. She could even feel the race of their hearts as one.

It was gentle, but captivating, like a mixture of sweet root-beer and salty ocean water. Mesmerized lips pressed together time after time, transporting them to yet another world. Heavy breathing and dancing tongues brought a fiery heat to the cold ocean air. With just the two of them there, the rest of the world disappeared.

Desire ignited the world around them as they were lost in a sea of lust and love. It was a spicy, powerful combination that sent waves of passion, crushing them. The rest of the world was engulfed in their lustful burning flames as the kisses grew more urgent.

As their lips pulled apart, a gentle breeze fluttered over her body extinguishing the desperate heat and desire for more. Their breathing came out in short, desperate gasps. The intensity had washed away. The rest of the world was slowly coming back into focus.

She looked into his eyes and the only words escaped her mouth were, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” was all he said.

The club was loud and hectic, full of people out to get trashed. As she gulped her fifth glass, she knew it was not a good idea on top of vodka.

“So, what now Malvika?” Smriti shouted at her over the noise.

“I love him a lot Smriti,” she said.

“Of course, Malvika. I know that,” Smriti smiled and she put her arm around her shoulder.

Whoa. Head spin!

She needed to grab the back of the chair. Vodka based cocktails, not a good idea.

“You ok?” asked Smriti.

She made her way to the washroom, staggering through the crowd. She vomited a lot and came back.

Her phone rang.

‘Abhijeet calling’, flashed on the screen.

“Hello,” Malvika shouted.

“Where are you Malvika?” Abhijeet asked.

“Hello? Abhijeet?” she yelled. There was loud music behind her and the pitch of her voice was high too.

“Malvika where are you? And what’s that noise?”

“Well, partying. Friends insisted. What’s up with you?”

“Nothing. Was worried about you a little,” Abhijeet said.

“Hey! I have an idea why don’t you join me over?”

“Yeah sure,” said Abhijeet.

“Ok. And I will not make you stay longer. We will leave after a while, I promise,” she said.

“All right will be there in fifteen minutes,” he said.

She waited at the bar for what seemed like an eternity and eventually returned to the table. She made her way through the crowd again. She was beginning to feel nauseated, her head spinning uncomfortably and she was a little unsteady on her feet.

Her vision had been affected and she was really seeing double of everything.

‘Why did I let myself get this messed up?’
she wondered.

“Hey, beautiful! You ok?” it was Abhijeet. He was quick, real quick!

“Abhi!”

Her stomach heaved and her body, no longer able to tolerate the alcohol, made her vomit.

Abhijeet had one arm around her while the other was holding her hair from falling on her face. Finally, it stopped. She vowed silently that she will never ever drink again.

“Come on, I will take you home,” he murmured.

But, she was not in her senses and asked Abhijeet to let her drive the car. Abhijeet did the biggest mistake of his life by letting her and this landed up both of them in the hospital, injured.

“Malvika
ji
, your medicines,” said Darsh.

“Thank you,” she said half opening her eyes.

“You will be ok soon,” Darsh said smiling.

“Who is she?” she noticed a girl may be seventeen, standing besides Darsh.

“Oh, Malvika
ji
, this is Aarti, my sister,” he said.

Chapter 7

Aarti

Bare skin collided with cold, hard pavement as a young girl walked through the streets. It was a blistering cold November day, a day when you just step outside and a chill runs down your back. But even on such a day, on the sidewalk, there was a girl, barely seven, who was wearing just a thin coat over a raggedy sweater. Her hair was matted and dirty by sleeping on the streets and her face was filled with grime. She wore thin pants with plenty of patches and a few holes here and there.

As she finally reached her destination, she pulled a blanket with intricately woven designs from her small backpack. She laid it on the ground and took out a mug. This was the daily life of poor Aarti, a homeless orphan. His brother used to work for
Maalik
, collecting rags. And she secretly used to go to a market area and beg for money. She kept it a secret because her brother Darsh didn’t want her to do that. He wanted her to study and become successful and rich. She loved him and thus was just trying to help. Such tolerance and maturity at this age was surprising indeed.

But today seemed like her lucky day. She was next to a departmental store and a long black car pulled ever. The wind was blowing so hard and Aarti hardly noticed the car parked in front of her. It wasn’t until a hundred rupee note landed in her mug that she looked up.

The first thing she saw was elegant black shoes, polished so clean she could see herself. As her eyes travelled up the figure, she saw tailored black pants and an expensive looking business suit. Then she finally reached the figure’s head.

“Use that money to buy some clothes and food,” he said and then he went through the revolving doors and disappeared from sight. She was happy, too happy!

“
Sahib,
I am too poor. How can I give you such a huge amount for admission in this college,” said Darsh.

“If you want admission, you need to pay full fees,” said Registrar.

“But,
sahib
I come from but way below poverty line and I can’t afford your fee. Please
sahib
I want my sister to study
sahib
,” begged Darsh.

“You have proof? Documents? Anything?”

“Aaaaa… no,” said Darsh.

“Then go to a court and bring them, don’t irritate me. I have important work to do,” retaliated Registrar.

“But
sahib
,” Aarti watched her brother begging for fee concession and was thrown out of the office.

Aarti had prepared really hard for the IIT exams. She wanted
to be an engineer. And after two years of dedicated study and efforts, one week before the exam, dengue got her. She was admitted in a government hospital and was too heavily medicated during the exams. She could barely keep her eyes open let alone giving an exam.

But, her other entrance exams were considerably better, and she got into ICS, New Delhi. After the results came out she was a bit disappointed. IIT was their only dream. Though Darsh didn’t let her know it but he was disappointed too.

She stayed locked up in her room for a few days, but then it got better and she stopped thinking about it. Her brother was proud of her and that’s what mattered.

But, her luck had something else in store for her. Though she got into one of the best engineering colleges of Delhi, yet another problem awaited her. MONEY. Now, arranging such a huge amount of money for admission was next to impossible and arranging for a BPL card at such a short notice was not feasible without the help from a tout.

But, she got admission. All thanks to Abhijeet Raichand, who came to her rescue. A helpful soul.

It was her first day of college…

She dropped the idea of taking a bath as she was already late, dressed quickly and stepped out of the room. It took her another few minutes to find the class. The door was closed. She knocked at the door.

“May I come in sir?”

“Oh yes. Come in,” he said.

She looked around to find an empty seat. The classroom was full and the front row looked overflowing. Being studious was the part of her personality, so she too looked for an empty seat in the front but in vain.

As she looked for a seat, a girl waved her hand from the last bench. She flashed a smile and climbed up the steps to take a seat with the so called backbenchers!

With this, she started her journey of becoming a Computer Engineer. She was glad, cheerful. Proud actually. Smiling.

But, lady luck had something else in store for her… this smile, this joy, this happiness was short-lived…