Chapter 35
Kamya and Avanti were at tenterhooks when even after an hour Keshav and Sahil failed to return and neither was answering their phone. Avanti even worried more because the intruder was still at large and though there were guards around and Keshav wouldn’t do anything impulsive, she didn’t really trust anyone. Just as she contemplated going downstairs to look for them, the front door clicked open with the tune of the disarming of the alarm, and even as Kamya and she looked on, both men walked in dripping with sweat, their clothes hanging in torn rags on their bruised bodies and it looked as if they had just rolled in mud or been run over by a mudslide… Avanti and Kamya didn’t move from their place and then the men shook hands before walking into their respective rooms.
What the hell just happened…? Avanti and Kamya as if jerked up from their reverie, they rushed behind their husbands. Avanti entered the bedroom to see Keshav locked in the bathroom and the shower was running. She made the bed ready to hit the sack and hoped Keshav would share what had transpired between Sahil and him. Finally the water stopped running and Keshav emerged from the bathroom with the white bath towel wrapped around his firm hips, water dripping from the crevices made by the deliciously toned abs. Avanti’s fatigue just disappeared as the roots of arousal fixed firmly in her belly the butterflies in her stomach threatening to violently flutter off even as she stared at the beautifully sculpted specimen before her and he was…hers… her dearest husband… She had worn a silky pyjama set and was glad for her choice and the pink colour brought out her skin tone highlighting her curves, if the molten look in Keshav’s eyes were to be believed. He also looked happy as a side smile played on his luscious lips and she wondered if he had settled the past with Sahil and if they had reconciled…
She sat up on her knees as he came closer hands on his hips. She wanted to fulfil a desire she had only dreamed about for a long time now and though she was a novice at expressing carnal desires she knew he would know it. She tentatively raised her hand and loosened the knot binding the ends of the towel and it slipped down his legs revealing the full mast salute of his member the shining tip inviting her. She touched his throbbing manhood even as he sucked in an audible breath and when she looked up at his face in the semi darkened room, she saw him staring at her with hooded eyes. His hands were fisted along his sides and she could see he was trying to stay in control… It thrilled her that she had that reaction from him and got bolder as she grasped him completely. He grunted and his hand drew the fingers through her hair holding her head even as she bent towards the waiting appendage. The fragrance of his body wash clouded her senses and she could feel her wetness pooling at her apex…she only hoped she could last that long. She moved further closer and licked the liquid pearl adorning the head indicating the red-carpet for her entry. She licked him from his tip to the base and then back up as she traced the hard rod waiting for her to take the next step… and ready she was!. She looked at him as she gradually took him into her mouth and almost gagged half way through. She saw the concern in his eyes but she wasn’t giving up. She adjusted her mouth…opening it wider and taking him in diagonally and then moved out dragging her tongue along and then as he gripped her hair pushing her back, she welcomed him again…the slow hesitant movements became faster with every try and her eyes watered even as she kept going. Her jaw ached and her scalp hurt where he inadvertently pulled at her hair. But the pleasure she derived from the act, from the way he struggled to rein in his passion- filled growls echoing in the room… she knew she would shatter anytime.
“Avanti…I …I am… it will be… soon…” He panted as he whispered and tried pulling her head away but she would have none of that and held his hips as she continued enhancing her tastebuds. Suddenly he stiffened inside her mouth and screamed her name reverberating through every object in the room as he sprayed out his release in her welcoming mouth…even as she swallowed some of it and the rest overflowed out of her mouth along its rims and on to her neck wetting her silky top… even a she hugged his hips her orgasm claiming her last ounce of sanity. She licked the still taut tip even as he slumped over the bed and dragged her along with him. They lay still for a while till she could feel his heart beats steady.
A little while later she freshened up and as they lay together in bed, fully clothed in comfortable cottons, Avanti stared at the ceiling fan and the patterns made on the ceiling by the lampshade. Keshav held her closer and said. “Avanti… every time I look at a shadow, I get this strange feeling…” He probably was watching the shadows playing on the ceiling just like her…
“…What is it Keshav…?”
“…Uh… it’s like… every time I face the light the shadow is right behind me… so is my past…”
Avanti moved up on her elbows. “…What happened tonight with Sahil…?”
“…Avanti…” he turned towards her and pulled her back into his arms and she looked up into his eyes. “…Avanti…I… Sahil told me everything… about… my…my father…” His voice choked up and she held him knowing he would need all the strength he could muster to let it all out. “…He… that man… he tried to… Oh God…Avanti… how could he do that…? To Sahil’s mom…Rama aunty…? To anybody…and what did… he do… to us…? What was our fault Avanti…?” She saw the wetness on his cheeks as he shed out his woes. “…Avanti… till date irrespective of the fact that…. He was an …absentee father…I didn’t really hate him… in fact after my diagnosis I pitied him… because at that phase of his life he was all alone… he died… a lonely death…and now… after knowing …. Oh God…I am hating him… I despise the man… how could he do that to us… Avanti… how could he…? I… I … struggled all my life because of his mistakes…” His grip around her tightened and she held his face, wiping away his tears. He was hurting badly but he needed to vent out. “…Avanti…that man destroyed everything good in my life…. My mother…my only friend… parental figures…my legacy, the family business and … even …my… my health… why did I have to take after…him… his rotten gene pool…? Avanti… I…feel disgusting for… the way I reacted… to Sahil every time he held out an olive branch…”
She brought his head closer and kissed him on his head even as he rested his forehead against hers. “…Keshav… stop hating your father… remember… we don’t choose our parents…and your father…whatever the kind of a person he was… he loved you and Kamya in his own way… he just couldn’t show…”
“…Avanti…?”
“…I am serious Keshav… what has happened in the past has shaped you to be the man you are… you are not your father Keshav… remember that. He was weak… because only the weak resort to stupid measures to show their might… you turned out the way you are…in spite of him. Keshav…my baba was proud of you for a reason… he knew your father too… yet he loved you enough to hand over his daughter…that says a lot about the kind of person you are…Look at how you handled Rohini… she called me all weeping and was so grateful Keshav… you should have heard her…” Keshav chuckled and she held his close as he dug his head in the crook of her neck. “… So, just let go Keshav and forgive your father… he is no more now and let him not affect you anymore… it’s us now, Keshav… you, me, Kamya and her family…Nirvi, Naman…we are all family…Keshav…and we are together…that’s what matters…”
Keshav nodded in her neck and she rubbed his back soon hearing his light snores vibrating along her neck. She smiled even as sleep took over… she was thrilled, Keshav finally had the closure he deserved.
The next morning Kamya and Sahil left for the airport after breakfast promising to comeback soon after her final round of interviews and thesis submission. Kamya was in tears as she hugged Avanti and Keshav but Avanti knew she was ecstatic too since the two men in her life were finally on talking terms. Sahil and Keshav shook hands and Avanti hoped the next time they met they would hug each other as old friends. She promised Kamya that once the dust settled over the ongoing project, she would bring Keshav to Delhi to talk to Sahil’s parents about the wedding. Finally, Keshav left for work too making her promise that she would look after herself and stay safe.
The next two days passed uneventfully and Keshav even extracted the blooms from the green house… and now they were being processed. The formula was almost ready and the pharmaceutical world awaited with bated breath for a supposed miracle drug that delayed the onset of degeneration in the brain. Today was the D-day for the mixing of the formula with the bloom extracts and Avanti couldn’t hold up her anxiety. She accompanied Keshav to Vedshastra and waited with him for the closed lab doors to open. Keshav seemed remarkably calm but she was all nerves. There was only one way she could relieve her stress and so on her insistence Keshav asked the driver to drop her in her music school promising an update to her as soon as he got the news.
Avanti couldn’t focus on the ongoing proceedings of the special workshop that had commenced in her music school. She walked along their corridors watching the innumerable pictures of all their alumni adorning the walls. At one time she wanted to feature there as well… but somehow in the last few years that ambition had weaned away and she wanted to continue teaching. She smiled looking at the pictures and right then her phone buzzed. She excitedly took the instrument out wondering of it was Keshav calling her to give her updates but unfortunately true-caller indicated it was from Silas multi-speciality hospital where Keshav was admitted when he had inhaled the gas… but why were they calling her…? She checked the time it was 3PM.
“…hello…?”
“…Is that Mrs. Keshav Goyal…?” a woman spoke at the other end.
“…Um…yes… who is this…?”
“…Well ma’am I am calling from Silas multi-speciality hospital and we were working up on the protocol for the upcoming clinical trial for Mr. Goyal staring next month…”
This was news to her. “…um…Ok… so what you want…?”
“…Ma’am, Mr. Goyal’s medical reports are incomplete and some of them are yet to be submitted… they are urgent so please arrange them to be delivered to the hospital before 4PM today after which the super specialist panel will disperse… it’s extremely important Mrs. Goyal…”
How could she do that in an hour…? Avanti spoke in a trembling voice. “…um… have you spoken with my Husband…?”
“…Ma’am his phone is unreachable… hence we called the next number listed here…”
“…um…ok… I will get it to the hospital…”
She disconnected and dialled Keshav’s number. But as told he was unreachable. Oh goodness…she remembered. Today he was to get his old phone instrument from Akshat after formatting and restoring data… Did Keshav forget to put in the SIM card…? Or was he in the Lab by any chance…? She tried calling Akshat but he wasn’t answering and she remembered he always kept the phone on silent mode whenever he was in Vedshastra meetings…
She waved to Rahul who had attended one of the workshops and asked him to accompany her home. She then texted Keshav that she was rushing home to deliver the reports to the hospital and that Rahul was accompanying her. She booked a cab and in the next ten minutes she was on her way. She tried constantly calling Keshav but he was still unreachable. Her phone buzzed with Rohini’s incoming call.
“Hey… Rohini…whats up…?”
“…Hey Kamya called…she gave me the good news…I am so thrilled Avanti… whatever it was that girl deserved happiness…thank you for everything…”
“…Oh Come on Rohini… we are family…By the way I hear traffic around you…where are you…?”
“…Oh…I am standing outside the optical store… it faces the highway…”
“…What happened all OK…?”
“…Oh yes yes… everything is just fine… actually my Parminder is a bit clumsy… he had a bad fall and broke his glasses… as you know he doesn’t fancy contact lenses and is using his spare pair of glasses. So… here I am getting this one replaced…”
“…oh …ok…” Something about that man didn’t sit right with Avanti. He was an athlete for crying out aloud …how could he be clumsy? But so far as Rohini was happy, she had to accept his presence too.
“…Ok…Avanti…?” Rohini’s voice got her out of her thoughts. “… I called you to invite you out for lunch… this time in a better restaurant with a better mood… what say… I have things to share…some good news actually…”
“…. Um Rohini… I am a bit caught up for the next few days… there is some pending work at office…I will call you one of these days to fix a time…”
“…Ok…fine then… I will be waiting for your call… remember my news is very important…” Rohini giggled and Avanti smiled as she disconnected. Parminder must have proposed to her and she must have accepted…
Finally, they reached the building compound and she was relieved to see the guards on duty outside the perimeter and a couple inside. She had updated Rahul about the series of events and he often called her from the time he had landed in Mumbai… she had a doubt Keshav had put him to the job of keeping tabs on her!!
She hurried into the elevator and Rahul realised he left his phone back in the waiting cab. He suggested she go ahead while he followed her immediately. She asked him to visit the D’Souzas on his way since Mrs. D’Souza had made pie and was waiting to hand it over to her. She didn’t know how long it would take for her to return from the hospital and it was better the pie rested in her fridge and make a good desert for tonight…hopefully to celebrate the successful making of the complete formula.
She exited the elevator on the fifth floor and saw the guard outside the house was missing. But his bag pack was still there which meant he had gone to relieve himself. She felt bad for the guy. It must have been so difficult to sit at a confined place for hours together…she didn’t want to wait more…it was nearing 4PM and she had to rush to the hospital. She cross checked the doors… nothing was out of place. Relieved, she pressed in the codes to deactivate the lock and the alarm and walked in closing the door behind her and putting in the codes. She knew Rahul would be here in another ten-fifteen minutes or so meanwhile she would get the reports ready.
She walked into the living room and froze immediately knowing she was not alone. What the hell was happening…? She looked down at the floor and saw a pair of legs jetting out from under the couch… she didn’t have to be a genius to know it was the outside guard. Oh God… was he dead…it would be on their conscience… She would never forgive herself.
She then heard the man before she saw him emerge from the shadows. “So…Avanti…” His familiar voice bellowed as he moved out but half his body was still in the shadow. Without a doubt it was her attacker form the other day. Her heart ran full throttle… what did he want from her? “…So, we finally meet…again…”. He emerged out of the shadows completely and she gasped as she recognised him the thick glasses perched up on his high nose with a bandage on his head and wrist… Parminder stood gleefully grinning as he veiled a knife. “…Its high time… we have this conversation… don’t you think so…dear would-be daughter-in-law…?”
Was it dooms day for her…?
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