Chapter 34

According to the Oxford dictionary, a baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. Inadvertently, it can also be used as a contraption for smashing things, hitting or threatening people or objects that seem to be in the way.

For Suraj it was the former as he went on a smashing spree. His secretary Shub Malik stood far away in a cornerwatching in horror as the pristine and expensively decorated pent house suite which was intact a few hours ago was now completely destroyed. Finally, Suraj thoroughly spent, threw the bat landing right where Shub stood and walked to the door on the opposite side. Shub released the breath he was holding since an hour and gulped many times cursing the day he took up the job. He then dialed the number which he had kept ready on the cell phone and gave instructions to the clean-up crew to finish cleaning as soon as possible.

In the bed room Suraj paced restlessly like a mad animal, unable to calm the turmoil in his head. He plonked on the bed breathing fire and wringing his hands in frustration. He fished out a cigarette from the pocket of his jeans but crushed it away before it could reach his lips. His eyes turned to slits and he clenched his teeth as he recalled the message his spies had brought to him.

Princess Nandini is at Taurus. She is staying in a flat provided by the company. At present she is with Yuvraj Abhimanyu.

The moment the news reached him, he lost his sense – complete and absolute sense. All he saw was deep dark red.

Abhimanyu - he hated the name as much as he hated the man. Since childhood he had heard tales from his mother about how his cousin had usurped his inheritance, his dreams and even the love of his father whom he never saw. Suraj got up and went over to the cupboard, pulled out a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a large drink. As per tradition he should have been the Yuvraj. He should have been the heir to the vast Vilaspore fortune, but then came along Padmini who begot his enemy and thus changed his fate. His uncle and his wife had destroyed his life. He downed the contents of the glass in a single gulp then threw the glass on the wall opposite and watched it break into a hundred pieces. But now things had got worse than he expected.

Nandini!  He could sense her slipping away from his grasp like fine sand.

His eyes took a far away look as he recalled the first time he had seen her. It was during a formal party at the Jaypore palace and she, a girl of merely fifteen floated around the guests like an angel. He had followed her wherever she went, had mustered enough courage to go speak to her but he was devastated when he had seen the interaction between her and his nemesis. That was when he had made a strong decision, come what may he would not let Abhimanyu have her. He had almost succeeded - almost but again the twisted fate played against him. He wanted to kill Abhimanyu he thought but he shook that option away. He shouldn't die so easily, he decided. Abhimanyu needed to be tortured every moment of every day for the rest of his life. The nail on the coffin will be when he would gain Nandini. His final prize!

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The car came to a stop. The driver glanced through the rear view mirror at a sleeping Nandini. He got out of the car and came to stand beside the window.

"Rajkumari sa, " he called gently at first rapping on the glass and when she did not respond he called out a bit louder.

Nandini opened her eyes and looked at him groggily. She looked around and stretched a bit. "We reached so soon?" she asked in astonishment. It seemed just a few minutes since she started from Taurus. She got out of the car dragging her handbag behind her. Then she sent the driver off telling him to come a bit early the next morning. The man simply nodded and gave a look at the apartment before getting into the car and driving away. Nandini sighed knowing full well what the look meant. As a loyal staff of the family it was expected of him to behave that way. Who could blame him? Since generations he had been told about the glorious days when the Jaypore royals ruled a part of Rajputana and now their descendant was reduced to such means. He was boggled and somewhere along she was too.

Pressing her lips into a thin line she hung the bag on her shoulders and walked toward the dimly lit cellar. The watchman who was absent all this while appeared suddenly out of nowhere making her jump.

"You are very late madam! All the others have come long back," he said giving a toothy grin.

Nandini did not reply and continued toward the lift and jabbed the button with more force than necessary. The watchman followed her and stood right behind continuing the one sided conversation. "A new girl has come in the evening," he said bobbing up and down. Her ears pricked a bit but otherwise she remained silent. "So more friends for you eh!"

The lift came to a stop and Nandini opened the doors without the slightest enthusiasm. Before closing the doors she looked at the watchman. "I am not here to make friends," she said and pressed the button for the second floor. On the journey up however she thought about the actuality of her situation. Growing up she had no friends, acquaintances - yes but friends like the ones where one made plans for shopping and movies and for frolicking around parks discussing about boys were absent in her life. She had considered Josh to be her friend but he obviously wanted something more and Bethany was as good as not being there. Uday knew the important aspects of her life but could she confide in him as a friend – maybe not.

She let out a breath as the lift stopped on the second floor. Nandini walked to the door of the flat where she was staying and knocked on the door. It was almost nine thirty and Nandini was completely drained. The door opened wide and she walked in not noticing who had opened it.

"Well, well, well . . . what a pleasant surprise!" Nandini turned to see a familiar face and her heart almost dropped down to her feet. Shit! It was at times as these Nandini felt extremely proud of her lineage. She had learnt how to keep a straight face and it had now come in handy. Instead of replying to her Nandini counted to ten and turned to go to her room.

"I am speaking to you! What are you doing here . . .  princess?" she spat the last word.

Getting no reply and thoroughly irked by it Roopa went on with her probe. "Has your father kicked you out of the palace?" she goaded.

Nandini stopped walking and turned sharply. "Don't ever speak about my father," she said pointing a finger at her. "Don't speak to me either," she added after a moment.

Roopa ground her teeth in fury. "And who are you to say that? You have no power here, you do not belong here. You have always played with Abhimanyu years ago and even now you are doing the same thing. I will not let you ruin his life anymore."

Nandini's heart hammered in her chest. "What . . . did you say?" she asked slowly the blood in her veins going cold.

Roopa's lips curved upward and her eyes narrowed with a victorious gleam. Taking one step at a time she walked toward Nandini wanting to gloat it on her face. "Did you think that I don't know anything? Abhi and I discuss everything. He told me what happened and how you destroyed him. He wants his revenge and I don't blame him. He hates you Nandini."

The casual way with which the woman said Abhimanyu's name sent shivers through her whole body. A tiny speck of something that she did not understand worked its way to her stomach wanting to make her retch so badly. On top of that a green monster roared inside her twisting its ugly head around her heart for good measure. Nandini did not know what made her more furious, the baseless allegation and the interference or the way in which Abhimanyu's name was uttered. But then why should she bother if anybody took his name. It was common for people to use names, it was for this purpose that names were given to a person. She was about to reply when the other two inhabitants of the flat appeared from their rooms.

"What is all this noise?" asked Geeta looking from Nandini to Roopa. She then touched Nandini's arm gently. "Are you alright?" she asked with concern looking at the latter's white face.

Mala in turn looked at Roopa who stood with her arms crossed staring at Nandini in anger and disgust. "What happened?" she asked hoping to find some juicy detail.

"Nothing, I was just surprised to see her here," said Roopa with a scoff.

"You know her?" questioned Mala as she eyed Nandini.

"Yes I know her. She came to Vilaspore once and tried her best to entrap Yuvraj Abhimanyu. But unfortunately it did not work because I was there. Now she has come here too."

Mala's eyes grew wide as she heard and believed the lies spewed by Roopa. Turning to Geeta she said in triumph. "Didn't I tell you that she is not what she seems? What a blot to womanhood! How can someone behave so cheaply."

"Very easily," continued Roopa. "This one especially has delusions. The first time we met she told me she was a princess."

Hearing this Mala clutched her stomach laughing out loud. "P-Princess? What a joke!"

Geeta was not the least liking the discussion and before Nandini could say anything Geeta jumped to her rescue. "It has been a long day girls. I think we should get back to what we were doing." Then looking specifically at Roopa she said, "I don't know what problems you guys have amongst you but here we do not encourage such talks and actions." Then holding Nandini's hand she half dragged her to their room.

Once inside, Geeta shut the door behind them locking it for good measure. Nandini stood in the middle of the room her chest heaving up and down in anger. She took out her phone from the handbag and dropped the bag with much force onto the floor. She dialed the number of the one person who was responsible for the mess.

Abhimanyu picked the call on the third ring. "It is not necessary to call me every now and then to inform me of your existence," he rasped in irritation.

"What is she doing here?" asked Nandini not bothering to comment for his earlier observation.

"What is who doing where?"

"Don't play with me hukum. You know what I mean."

"No . . . I do not know what you mean. Unfortunately I haven't yet mastered the art of reading people's mind. When I do you will be the first to know."

"The woman from Vilaspore, what is she doing here in this flat?" bit out Nandini in exasperation.

"I don't feel the need to explain all my actions to you, or do we have such a deal, if so then please enlighten me!"

Nandini breathed in deeply. "If that woman is not gone from here by tomorrow then I will return to Jaypore House and nothing can make me come back," she said with a finality.

Abhimanyu remained quiet for few seconds. "What is the problem if she stays there?" he asked.

"You ask her that yourself. You can do that can't you . . . as you both are so close that you share all aspects of each other's lives!" Nandini balled her fists, her nails digging into the soft flesh of her palm. The fury inside her spiraled on hearing his words.

"What the hell are you talking about?" the force with which he asked her made her realize that the question had found its mark.

"Don't try to fool me! I don't care what you do in your personal life but you have no right dragging me into it. You hate me fine . . . but who gave you the right to discuss that with your staff or should I say your mistress?" she shouted and hung up not waiting to hear from the other side.

Nandini stormed to the bed and sat on it getting angrier by the minute as Roopa's words kept running in her head. How dare she talk to me like that!  If it was under other circumstances I would have taught her a lesson,  fumed Nandini. After several minutes she managed to calm herself and her breathing returned to normal.

"Is it true?"

Nandini lifted her head to see Geeta standing in front of her with a puzzled expression. In her anger she had forgot that Geeta was present in the room. She sighed remaining quiet and not knowing what to say.

"You were speaking to Abhimanyu sir. I-I am confused! Who - who are you?" asked Geeta pulling a chair and sitting down. "If you want to answer please answer truthfully otherwise . . . otherwise . . . just let it be, but please don't lie."

"I don't know what to say. I am not at liberty to say much except a yes or a no," replied Nandini looking away.

"You were speaking to sir?"

"Yes"

Geeta gulped praying fervently. "You know sir from before?"

"Yes"

The prayer increased in intensity. "A-are you after him i-in a . . . a bad way?"

Nandini smiled at the question. "No, I am not."

Geeta grinned getting up from the chair, relief clearly visible on her face. "I don't need to know anything else. Don't worry about those two, they will stop after some time."

Nandini nodded her head relieved that Geeta hadn't asked any other questions. She was genuinely starting to like her. Maybe this is what friendship and friends felt like.

A/N: Hi everyone thank you all for your support during the hard times that i faced. You all were so supportive and I feel blessed for having such wonderful people enquire after my family. Everything is returning to normal. Please excuse as I have been quite out of touch with my story. Well things will fall into place soon. Love and love

Noreen