Almost a week passes by. I indulge my mind into as much work as possible. Though bhai objects, but I assured him that I can handle and I am doing fine. Days go by, but the nights are hardest. I am unable to suppress my pain anymore and cry on my pillow to sleep. The hurt doesn't fade, yet I'm trying to get used to it.
I meet Riya on the weekend and catch some time with her. It seems that even she is getting married to some engineer. I am happy for her. I avoid speaking about my pregnancy. Good that my loose clothes don't show anything. It feels as if I am cheating on Zacharias by disclosing it to the whole world, except him. Well, only if Tina has been close-lipped by now and refrained from disclosing the truth to him and rest of the family.
If given a chance, I wouldn't have spared a second from telling him. After all, he is the one that deserves to know about them first. I also feel guilty from hiding this news from my in-laws. But I had no other option than to go discreet. That was the only way I could protect my kids from the danger lurking on my head. At least I am at peace here, far away from the psycho blackmailer and stalker who had successfully managed to turn my life into living hell. Still I get startled whenever my phone alerts me of any kind of notification. I try to remind myself again and again that I am far away from him and he would never be able to reach me. That thought alone helps me to stay calm and composed.
It had hardly been a week for me working at the company, when my family decided to have a family vacation. They had initially cancelled it knowing that they have to be in New York for Khristina's wedding, but at my unannounced arrival, they decided to carry on with the initial plan so that we all can tour again as a whole family. And now, here we are, in the valley of the great Himalayan range that is known for its beautiful pristine and natural beauty-Kashmir. A valley with a unique culture that keeps you intrigued throughout your journey. From Srinagar to Sonmarg, and Gulmarg till Pahalgam.
When we first landed at Srinagar I felt a sense of peace. Nothing felt more soothing than letting my fingers glide through the chill waters of the Dal lake while enjoying my vacation with my family on a Shikara boat. This beautiful lake is surrounded by a variety of deciduous trees which promises a colorful show in the fall season.
We rented a houseboat during our stay. Watching the water glimmer under the sunlight during the sunrise and sunset is a mesmerizing view in its own. The sun rises at 5:00 and sets at nearly 8 in the evening giving its tourist enough time to enjoy the valley, the people and the cuisine. We have a lot of fun in the snow having snow fights and making snowman at Sonmarg.
Unfortunately I get tired too soon and not to forget my parents getting more overprotective on me.
"Adiva Be careful... Adiva, do this, don't do that....Adiva, don't tire yourself....Adiva, eat this eat that..."
God, as much as I love them, I am really getting exasperated by their over protectiveness and to top it all, I am missing Zacharias terribly. Sometimes I start crying in the middle of nowhere. My heart missing him, my soul yearning him and my body craving for him. Damn these pregnancy hormones make me cry for every small thing. As if my babies are missing their father who doesn't know about their existence yet.
I guess Tina has not yet disclosed anything about my pregnancy or else, if not for me at least he would have come for the babies. It seems that either Tina had really kept her promise, or Zacharias really doesn't want to care about me anymore. That thought itself pierces my heart causing more fresh tears to make their way.
I miss my family in New York. I wonder how they all are doing. I especially miss my cute niece and nephew. I wish they were all here with us on the trip. I am sure they would have fallen in love with this place.
It's the nature of this valley and its people the captivate you with its beauty and hospitality. It's our fourth day here, and every one of us are already bewitched by its beauty. We have been here before, but every time it makes us feel as if we are seeing this for the first time. That's the magic of this beautiful snow capped mountain valley nestling a variety of terrains, ranging from lakes, snow capped mountains, coniferous kissed hills to glacier fed rivers.
On one hand there is this wild beauty and on the other, fields of saffron and orchids of apple awaiting their full bloom and a variety of flowers that are the show in itself. Its true though, Kashmir is really a Paradise on earth.
As our parents decide to take a nap during the afternoon we three siblings climb the Shikara traversing the mirror like lake, reflecting the immense snow covered mountains for a stroll by the bank and some "we siblings time" as I quote Ziya's words.
"Teddy, when is Zacharias gonna come or are you planning on going back with us?" Bhai inquires, as we stroll amidst the beautiful Shalimar Garden and the lake, watching the boats sail by.
"Why, tired of me already?" I counter, in a teasing manner, tightening my shawl around me.
"God, no!" I raise my eyebrow.
"Then?"
"Its just that, judging by his possessiveness, I didn't expect for him to leave you for so many days it's just not like him."
'I thought so too bhai....I thought so too...'
"He is busy, that is why he is unable to come sooner..." A lie escapes my lips.
"Or he might have already boarded the flight to bring his wife back..." Ziya suggests.
"Oh really? Then pray tell me wonder woman, how do you know that? Did he personally call and informed you?"
Ziya shakes her head. "No, I saw him in my dream that he was..."
"Urgh! Not again!" We groan in unison raising our heads towards the sky.
"Hey...hey....Don't you both dare to ignore my dreams." She blocks our way, standing in front of us with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.
"Aww...Isn't our sister a little prescient now?" Bhai teases, pulling her cheeks. She slaps his hand away, making him laugh.
"Sir, would you like to take some pictures?" A local camera man strolling around, interrupts our fun-filled banter. His Kashmiri dialect remarking his tone.
"No. We already have our own camera." Ziya snaps at him, earning an admonishing look from our brother.
"Apologize. Now!"
One thing that's never tolerated in our family is, disrespecting elders or impairing one with your words.
Realizing her mistake she turns towards the man and apologizes.
The man smiles. "It's okay. It's not like you are the first one to say that. But we tend to know the perfect way of capturing this beautiful scenic views..." He shrugs.
"Is that so? Then we would be glad to acknowledge your skills" His face lights up at bhai's reply.
We pose for some pictures before he requests us to wait for him promising that he will be back with the photos within 10 minutes.
"Take your time" Bhai dismisses him.
We amble down the bank as we wait for the man to get our pictures having random talks, mostly teasing Ziya and enjoying her annoyance a little too much.
"It's already been 15 minutes and he is still not here" Bhai murmurs, looking at his watch.
"Let's wait for five more minutes." I suggest.
"Yeah, it's not like he's going to run away with our photos..." Bhai glares at Ziya, giving her 'you are incorrigible' look.
"I'll just go and look for him. You two can wait here?" Bhai speaks after another five minutes.
"Sure, no problem. But please come back soon."
"Don't worry, I'll be back in a couple of minutes." Bhai walks away leaving us two to ourselves.
"Api look, there are so many fishes on this side." Ziya grabs my attention pointing her finger exuberantly towards the lake.
Taking a step forward, I bend down a little and watch the fishes swimming at the surface of the lake, grabbing and nibbling the breadcrumbs thrown by the passers by.
"I want to feed them too."
"Okay, but for that we need to buy those breads." I point towards the vendor across the street.
"I'll go get them."
"Wait." I hold her wrist. "Do you have money?"
"Yeah I have some in my pocket." She answers, patting the pocket of her coat.
"Okay, but be careful."
"Don't worry Api, I will." I smile at her retreating back as she bounces happily towards the vendor.
A young man in his mid twenties approaches me with the camera hung loosely around his neck as soon as she leaves.
"Yes?"
"Ma'am would you like to take some pictures?"
"No thanks." I turn him down politely before turning my attention back to Ziya who happily waves at me as the vendor hands her the bread.
I wave back but I find her not looking at me but behind me, her features quickly contorting into horror. Before I can turn around and make out anything, a cloth is slapped over my mouth and I feel myself being restrained and pulled behind. I try to fight flailing my legs, my screams muffled but he is quite quick to drag me into a van parked at the roadside while flailing a gun at the people. The passersby watching the whole drama unfold in front of them, but none coming forward to help me. I find myself losing consciousness as I struggle to keep my eyes open. I watch Ziya shouting and running towards me and the bread falling on the ground through my drooping eyelids as I am being pulled and dumped into the vehicle.
"Come on, move." The man yells..
"You got the right girl?"
"Yes, look at the photo and her."
"Good, remember no room for mistakes or else Boss is gonna kill us."
"I know...I know man, but I admit she is quite a sexy piece. I would surely love to get a taste of her."
"Go ahead. If you're inviting a brutal death for yourself then who am I to intervene?"
"Is she so important to him?"
"More than you could think about it. He doesn't want a single injury on her body."
"Who...."
I listen to my kidnappers through my semi conscious state, my body feeling heavy, that I can't even lift my finger, forget about the fight. Judging by the Hindi accent, they are not kashmiris but a much similar accent that I have heard in North India. Before I could hear more, my body loses the battle and I fall into deep unconsciousness.
I wake up to a warm and comfortable dream, lying on a soft bed, wrapped up in strong arms. The room swaying gently as if we are in a boat rocking through the strong waves. It seems a storm is brewing outside, yet I feel safe inside, wrapped in those strong arms. A delicious weight pressing me deeper into the mattress. We are rocking together, moving with the flow, like lazy waves we lap at the shore. I snuggle deeper as I revel in that feeling.
Cold tendrils of consciousness reach for me from afar trying to pull me from my dream, but I am not yet ready to let it go. It feels too good here. I don't wanna wake up.
The rocking continues developing new sensual sensations replacing the languid feeling. Strong arms caress my skin, moving from my cheeks to my neck, to my breast before resting on my stomach.
The rocking increases building a pressure and waking a hunger in my core turning my body come alive. The tide builds but it's not outside, it's inside me. I moan.
A deep chuckle caresses my ears. I arch my back and I am awarded with a hard, hot skin sliding over skin. The hunger becomes unbearable and the rocking turns insistent. I pant and moan again in frustration. I reach out in need to hold something. My fingers tangle in soft moist curls.
A hint of musk drifting over my senses. I find the Harsh tendrils of reality finally stripping my comfortable dream.
Opening my eyes, I'm awarded with the sight of the most beautiful pair of chocolate brown eyes that I've fallen in love with so much. Zacharias hovers over me. He is inside me yet he ceases to slow down or slip out of me. Instead, he cups my face and rocks his hips with that lazy rhythm, that engenders beautiful dreams and frightening realities.
Sucking in a breath, I tense.
"Shh...." he kisses my lips, never ceasing his movement. The dream fades away and the reality comes crashing down on me as my memory starts coming alive hitting every scene in front of me like a brick. The last one I remember is getting kidnapped. I remember very well that I was being kidnapped and thrown into a vehicle. I still remember those kidnappers talking about me.
Is it that I am still dreaming? Cause Zacharias here in front of my eyes and holding me in his arms while making love to me can only be a dream that I long to see it turn into reality. I sure am dreaming. I am still in my deep sleep cause what I am seeing in front of me is not a possible reality.
A tear slips from my eyes and runs down my temple. He is quick to wipe them off. I shake my head.
'He is tormenting me in my dreams. Why is he inflicting so much pain on me, when he knows I can't live without him?'
"Why can't you come back to me in real? Why can't you love me like I do?" Lifting my hands, I caress his dreamy face looking at him longingly.
"Why?" His beautiful features contort in confusion. "Why do you always come in my dreams and torment me? Why can't you be in real? Why can't you come back to me? Please stop this punishment already, hmm?" My voice chokes.
"You know I can't live without you, then why are you punishing me in the worst way by keeping me away from you? Please come back to me already...I need you...I miss you so much that it hurts. It's hurting me to be away from you." I sob. I don't want this dream to end.
"Shh...Baby I am here.... I am right here...." I hear his voice as I'm pulled into a tight embrace and I clung into that familiar warmth.
His movements that had ceased before, return with intensity, as he rocks his hips in rhythm. One hand moves between us, caressing my belly before finding my clit. His palms rub my sensitive nerve vigorously making my body jerk in reaction.
"Come..." He commands, strumming my clit, while simultaneously moving in and out of me. "Come love, come for me...." He says again and like always I convulse around him panting and digging my nails into his shoulders as he kisses me.
We both come together violently breathing hard and shuddering in each other's arms before he slips out of me. He holds me until the very last aftershock has passed. It's then that the reality hits me.
This is real....This is not a dream..
"Where am I?" I scan my surrounding and recognize my temporary bedroom in our rented house boat. But I have to be sure this is real.
"Where you should be....In my arms..." I hear him say.
I look towards the window it's almost dark. "What time is it?"
"Go back to sleep..."
"How did I get here?" They Drugged me. I hardly remember what they were saying. I can't remember anything after.
"I fetched you..."
"How did you find me?"
"Easily."
Gripping my hair, he pulls lightly, bringing my focus back on him.
"This is not a dream."
"No it's not."
"You are really here.."
"Yes I am..."
"You hurt me.."
"I am sorry..."
It's at this point that I break, and all my pain and hurt turns into a repleted anger. I push him away with all my might. He doesn't fight and let's me go. Hot angry tears fall down my cheeks as I hit him with all my might throwing punches after punches on his chest and he takes it without complaining.
"Why?" I scream as I hit him. "Why did you hurt me? Why are you here? You kicked me out of your house, out of your life, then why are you here? I told you everything, yet you didn't trust me. Now what more do you want? Are you not done with hurting me? How much more are you going to make me suffer? Tell me..." I break and fall into his chest and he is quick enough to engulf me in his arms.
"Shh...Calm down my love, Its not good for your health...." He keeps on caressing me, encapsulating me tightly in his arms. "I never left you...I was always there for you and I always will." He speaks after some moments, caressing my back.
"Yet you kicked me out of your house." I mumble against his chest.
"That was one of my ways to protect you."
"Protect me?" I look at him raising my head from his chest.
"Hmm...." He caresses my face by pushing the tendrils sticking on my forehead. "It was a trick to make him think that I had fallen into his trap. And for that, I had to drive you away from there."
"So this was all the part of your plan?"
"Yes..."
"You could have just told me like I did.."
"Then I wouldn't have been able to get the reaction that I wanted. We had to make it as real as possible." I frown at his words.
"You could have told me afterwards. You had enough chances to explain me, yet you made me suffer by making me think the worse."
"I would rather explain it to you when you are in front of me instead of explaining it to you on the phone."
"Then why did it take so long for you to come back to me?"
He takes a deep breath before speaking. "I had to make sure it was safe before I bring you back."
"Is it safe now?"
"No."
"Then, how?"
"I'm gonna protect you. I'll make sure he won't be able to reach you.."
"What about that video?"
"He was bluffing all the time and he just had the audio recording."
"And I got played in his hands."
"It's not your mistake love. That bastard really had carved his plan very well.."
"What are we gonna do now? What if he again comes back after me? And what if he already knew about my location, and indeed it was him behind my today's kidnapping?" A shiver runs down my spine at that dreaded thought. Zacharias tightens his hold around me.
'He wouldn't have known that, right? Cause Zacharias had taken all the precautions about my safety before sending me here. So, its not possible for him to know about my whereabouts.'
"I'm scared" I admit.
"I'd never let anything happen to you. Ever." He says the last word with so much finality.
"I'll take care of everything. You don't have to worry about that. We've already caught his alibi ."
"Who is he? Do I know him?"
"Her." I look perplexed. "It's her"
"And you probably might know her."
"Who is she?"
Zacharias pulls his phone from the night stand and taps something before a picture appears on the screen. I gasp as I look at the familiar face.
"She is the one?"
"Yeah. She was the one working for him. She stole my project and provided him with all the details for developing a spy camera that was specially designed for the army. Those bastards used my own project over me..." He grits his teeth angrily.
My jaw drops open at his revelation.
Fixing his gaze on me, he kisses me tenderly on my forehead. "I am sorry I couldn't protect you properly, that I had to drive you away from home like that. Only if I could explain, then you would have not gone through so much pain. We couldn't have come so close to losing our babies." My eyes widen at his last sentence.
"You knew?" Taking a long breath, he sighs, before nodding his head.
"I got a call from Dr. Martha and as soon as I got to know and without wasting a minute, I directly flew to you. I hope you got checked yourself with the doctor."
I nod my head. "The very second day of my arrival."
"Good"
A thought crosses my mind. "Zacharias, why were you so persistent about me not attending the party?"
"Cause you were in danger." He provides me with a cryptic reply. And I don't bother to push him more on it. Cause if he is not telling me something, then its for my own good.
I rest my head back on his chest. "Just so you know, I am still mad at you."
"Hmm.....And I am furious..." he speaks.
I raise my head and give him a confounded look. "Why?"
I have a reason to be mad at him but what did I do to make him furious?
Raising his perfect eyebrow his repeats my question. "Why? You dare to ask me why?" Moving his hands from my shoulders, he moves down cupping my breast. "A little birdie informed me that my wife had been playing detective to protect her friend a couple of months ago.."
I go pale under his hold with my dented eyes. "I-I"
"Yes?" He raised his head looking at me with those calm eyes that are brewing a storm beneath them.
"Aahh!!" He pinches my overly sensitive nipples hard between his thumb and forefinger.
"Do you have any explanation for that?"
I am scared of his extremely calm and composed behavior.
Gaining some courage, I instead retort. "Who told you? Igor or Tina?"
"No, they are too loyal to tell me anything..."
"Then?"
"Malcolm king. Does that name rings a bell?" he speaks, tugging my hairs behind, making me look at him.
"M-Malcolm? How?"
"He had been to my office a couple of days ago and accidentally spilled the beans informing me that Adiva had been of great help in protecting his girlfriend and rescuing her parents. I didn't knew you were playing wonder woman behind my back."
Shit! I am so dead now..
"Za-Zacharias... I-I can explain.."
He tilts his head, looking at me ferociously. "I am waiting.."
"I-I couldn't wait and watch her miserable condition, not after watching her go through so much pain. I-I just wanted to help her and her parents.." I answer meekly.
"Then you should have fucking informed me." His voice suddenly rises to an octane making me flinch. "Who gave you the permission to put your life in danger? Did you realize how perilous that was? Jesus! Anything could have happened to you. Did you even realize the gravity of the situation? Adiva, those were highly dangerous criminals that you thought of dealing with. You not only dared to defy me by putting your life in danger, but you fucking hid it for me. Had it not been for that boy, I would have been still kept in the dark and you were never planning on telling me, right?" He growls angrily.
"I-It's not like that....I-I just didn't wanted to make you worry about the matter that I thought was trivial."
"Was it now?" He gives me that scary look and I am quick to shake my head.
"B-Besides Igor w-was th-the one who help-helped me wi-with everything. I-I just delineated him the situation. I-I didn't pu-put my-myself in any dan-danger. I took Igor's help. He was the one wh-who was at the forefront." I stutter terribly.
"Oh you don't have to worry about him he is already being punished.." I give him a disbelieving look.
"You-You punished him? Why?"
"For being your partner in crime and yes, Khristina too."
"Khristina? She didn't do anything. She didn't even knew anything until recently. Why her?"
"For hiding your secret from me, that alone makes her your accomplice."
I feel so guilty right now and they are punished because of me. It was all my fault for hiding such a big thing from him yet I dragged them both in it.
I look at him through my lashes. "Are you gonna punish me too?"
He kisses my lips. "Yes, but not today."
I blow out a slow breath of relief and rest against his chest trying to relax and soak up in his warmth. I don't want to think about tomorrow or day after. I don't want to think that I was kidnapped not less than a couple of hours ago by some unknown men for some unknown reason. I just want to live in this present knowing that he is here with me, holding me in the cocoon of his arms.
Enjoy Reading!!!