The red file sat burning a hole into his desk. He didn’t touch it. He couldn’t. He hated that file more than he hated his father. The more he came to know Naina, the less he believed its contents.
He still remembered being called to his father’s obnoxiously opulent office one fateful night. Bar hopping with Shiv had been his favorite pastime after dragging his feet the whole day in his father’s many businesses.
After his best friend and girlfriend of six years had jilted him and disappeared, he had drowned his sorrows in liquid. It was the only quick fix solutions that worked…at least temporarily till he woke up the next day and felt the same ache squeeze his chest mercilessly.
Obviously papa dearest wasn’t too overjoyed with his son’s destructive pursuits, so he found the most unworthy bride for his errant son.
Dropping the red file onto his lap, he had bragged about how hard he had to work to find him a fitting wife. When Varun had refused to look at it, the distinct sound of his infamous whip cracking against the floor had been enough motivation for him to not only read the damn file but also agree to marry the skinny and gaunt looking girl called Naina.
Naina.
The first thing he had noticed about her were her eyes – huge and sunken but it was the spark he had glimpsed in their depths that compelled him to seek her eyes. He had been disgusted by the things he had read about her in the file but he couldn’t deny the innocence that peeked at him everytime she looked at him.
From the first night he found her curled up on the king sized bed, her parted lips blowing light bubbles as she breathed in her sleep, he couldn’t turn his eyes away from her. Despite the incriminating words of the file etched in his mind, he found himself thoroughly fascinated by his petite wife, Naina. Even the name intrigued him so much so that he had tried saying it aloud several times after the first night they made love. Sex. It had been sex. There wasn’t love involved.
He had wanted her. It had been as simple as that. And that need translated into action when he found himself in bed with her the night he had boxed himself into exhaustion. Her scent had invaded his nostril and spread through his veins – she had smelt of earth and spices. Unable to resist the lure, he had buried his head into her dark tresses and then her neck.
She had moaned, the sensuous sound stirring a desperate craving inside him. With his eyes closed, he had let his fingers glide over her form, and finally when he had looked into her eyes and entered her, he couldn’t resist dipping his head and taking her soft lips in a earth-shattering kiss.
And he had submitted to her since then, first his body, then his heart and finally his soul. He was nothing without his Naina.
So, the thought of even touching that vile red thing distressed him a great deal. He long suspected what was in the file was pure fabrication to get him to screw up his marriage as he had his relationship with his mother and his girlfriend. For some reason, his father had hated his guts…hated him.
He needed Naina to confide in him about her past; he needed to see for himself how different the reality was from the fabricated lies lining the sheets of the file.
The only other person to have read the file was his estranged friend Shiv.
His intercom buzzed, and he snapped it up, relieved to shift his eyes away from the file.
“Clara…”
“Sir, there’s a friend here to meet you. Shiven,” she said.
Varun clenched and unclenched his fists a couple of time before responding. “Send him in. And hold all the calls for the next hour.”
“Yes, sir.”
Varun mentally prepared himself to be civil to Shiv. Naina would have his head on a platter if he misbehaved with Shiv or better yet punched him. He wanted so badly to knock his chin off his rigid face.
“Still want to fight me,” Shiv said walking in.
Varun raised his brows and Shiv chuckled and pointed to his hands that were balled into tight fists over the table.
“Do you blame me if I want to?” he said, Shiv’s off-hand remarks annoying him.
“Come on then. Let’s get it over with,” said Shiv, slipping easily into a boxing stance. “Get your gloves out. I’m sure you have a couple a pair in this fancy office of yours.”
Varun was tempted to just do it. Get the gloves and beat the shit out him for even thinking of touching his wife.
His wife. He had promised Naina he would try and trust her. For that, he had to first learn to trust his friend again.
“What? Not interested?” he teased, punching the air with his fists.
“Cut the crap, Shiv. I didn’t invite you here to bond,” snapped Varun.
“Funny how both husband and wife tell me to cut the crap on the same day.”
Varun was instantly alert. “You spoke to Naina?”
“Yes. And you should stop doing that.” Shiv pointed towards his hands that were still clenched tight.
Varun stood and shoved his hands into the pockets. He could feel the tension in his shoulders.
“This is not easy for me, Shiv.”
“I know. For what it’s worth. I’m sorry for what happened. I’m not going to explain myself. Any excuse would seem lame after so many years,” said Shiv with enough sincerity in his voice to convince Varun.
He simply nodded. “You realize we just can’t get back to being friends?”
“You weren’t the only one who suffered, Varun. So, make that a yes.”
“Why did you do it?” asked Varun before he could stop himself.
When Shiv stared at the table without replying for a long time, Varun felt uneasy.
“Why her? Of all the girls you hung out with, why my wife?” Varun swallowed the lump in his throat and demanded to know.
Shiv met his eyes, and they stared at each other for few tense moments. He finally shrugged and shook his head.
“She is Naina,” he said as if that explained it all.
Varun felt his blood boil because he understood perfectly what that meant.
“She is mine, Shiv. Mine,” growled Varun, taking a threatening step towards Shiv.
His eyes challenged his friend to disagree, and his hands lay fisted in his pockets ready to punch a hole into his friends face if he so much as indicated an interest in Naina.
“You are an idiot!” said Shiv, shocking Varun. “If you really knew how much she loves you, you wouldn’t be standing here growling mine, mine like some alpha werewolf.”
That shut him up for some time. And soon, both of them sat glaring at the red file.
“I thought he had burned it,” said Shiv.
Varun nodded. “He burned it in front of my eyes.”
“Is there anything about your father that you can believe?”
Varun was beginning to have a headache.
“Apparently not. Unfortunately, I’m his son. That’s the only truth.”
Shiv sighed. “Does Naina know about this file?”
“No. And I would like to keep it that way.”
“It’s all bullshit anyways,” said Shiv. “What do we do now?”
Varun looked at Shiv. “Now we find everything we can about Yashvi Singhania right from the time she left the city ten years ago.”
“I have someone who can dig that up,” informed Shiv. “We find her, then what?”
Varun sighed and dragged his hands down his face.
“I honestly don’t know, man. She hated her old man when she had come to meet me eight years ago.”
“I didn’t know she had,” Shiv sounded surprised. “What did she want?”
Varun looked at his shoes and shook his head. He raised his eyes to meet his friend’s.
“She wanted me to leave Naina and marry her.”
“Shit!”
“Yeah.”
“What did you tell her?” asked Shiv pointedly.
Varun glared at him. “What do you think?”
“Humor me!”
He rumpled his hair and sank into his office couch.
“I don’t remember exactly but it definitely wasn’t yes,” he admitted sheepishly. “All I remember is being piss assed drunk.”
“And you say she left the city crying that you chose Naina over her?” he asked recalling their telephonic conversation less than an hour ago.
“That’s what her father says. But, I honestly don’t remember much about that night. And I don’t really care to remember either.”
“Right. It’s better to let the past remain in the past,” agreed Shiv.
Varun snorted. “Don’t you think it’s a bit late for that.”
“I don’t count as past.” Shiv shook his head. “And Varun, do you think its Singhania who is somehow delaying the release of Naina’s latest book?”
Surprised, Varun looked at his friend.
“I forgot to mention it. Yes. He hasn’t said it in so many words but I’m darn sure he is already put things in motion to hurt Naina.”
“Slimy bastard!” cursed Shiv.
“Find his girl so we can slip him off our backs for a long time, Shiv.”
“Got it, buddy!”
**************
Great news my wonderful friends - With this chapter I complete 50k words this month, thereby slaying the NaNoWriMo JustWriteIt Dragon! Thank you for keeping me motivated with your lovely comments.
Since this story is really doing well *ahem* I want to use this momentum to complete it in time to enter it into the Wattys.
And for quality purposes, I need to take a two day break and organise the last few chapters to tie up all the loops in a way that satisfactorily answers all your questions. I have literally been writing non-stop without much planning and it's not good for the story if I continue like that. So, the next update will be after Wednesday, unless I come up with a stellar chapter before that and I can't wait to share it with you :)
Please keep your comments coming, I love when you are all as involved in the story as I am. That is the biggest motivation for any writer.
Thank you once again for all your support.
Neeru <3