The Accidental Wife (4 page)

The Long & Short of It

N
aina braced her arms on the edge of the rose petal strewn mattress of the antique four-poster bed and scrutinized the man sitting between her and freedom. He stared right back, his sturdy chin resting on tented fingers, his eyes filled with such intense anger and indignation it made her insides tremble with fear. But she didn’t look away, she wasn’t a coward.

Deepika had not only deceived this guy, she had pulled wool over her own friend’s eyes. She had told her that Rihaan Mehta, doctor par excellence, was fat, short and ugly. While in fact he was just the opposite—tall, well-built, and incredibly good-looking—the kind that made one’s throat run dry and pulse go pitter-patter. She’d also been told that he was ‘a nose in the air SOB’ who was too full of himself.

Naina wasn’t exactly sure if that definition was true. So far his behavior seemed perfectly appropriate under the circumstances. He was angry as hell and truly justified to be so; after being cheated by the girl who had promised to become his wife.

Haaye is ladki ne mujhe kahaan phasa diya?
(What kind of soup has this girl landed me in?)
Why didn’t I consider everything before I agreed to take her place? He’s not going to let me go anywhere.

Her heart thudded wildly when her restless fingers came in contact with the silken petals.
Good Lord! What if?

She glanced at him. W
hat if he’s a rogue, a degenerate who preys on women? How could Deepika have taken the chance to place me, her friend, in such a situation? How could she do this to me?

Naina tried hard to deduce his intentions. But Rihaan’s expression had become inscrutable and she didn’t like that at all. She hoped, as Deepika had told her, that he was a cold-blooded automaton, who was completely immune to the allures of the female sex. At least, she hoped he remained that way till she got herself out of here.

“I can’t wait forever, woman. Get on with it!” Rihaan’s voice rang out sharp like a bullet, startling Naina out of her musings.

“What do you want to know?” she asked.

“Everything from the beginning. For starters, where is Deepika?”

“She has run away, absconded. Eloped with her lover.”

Rihaan looked perplexed. “Eloped? I don’t understand. Why would she advertise in the matrimonial? Why did she insist on me coming here and signing on the marriage certificate? She could have as well completed the whole farce and then fled. Why the in-between?”

Naina interlaced her fingers under her thighs to keep them from trembling. She couldn’t make sense of the situation herself, though she was trying her best. If she could paint a sympathetic picture of Deepika, perhaps then this man would feel kindly towards her and let her go?

“Deepika is…you know, a sentimental sort of girl. She didn’t want to participate in the ceremonial wedding and take the
saat pheras
with you. It held a lot more significance to her than a piece of paper. Then she’d have felt ‘really married’ and it would have been harder for her to leave. So she asked me to take her place and I helped her out.” She hoped he bought the ridiculous explanation.

***

“So in effect
you
are my wife and not her. It seems like she has done you in as well as me,” Rihaan said feeling strangely amused.
What a bloody anticlimax!

“Maybe, if you wish to say so,” Naina retorted. “But I’m not planning to stay and carry it through. I was absolutely serious about not marrying anybody, and most definitely not you!”

She then had the grace to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I know this whole situation is very crazy and upsetting. You got the hard end of the bargain. You were the unlucky scapegoat.”

“What the F***!” What? Me, a scapegoat? Rihaan Mehta, the brilliant sought-after neurosurgeon has been made a royal fool by a mere slip of a girl! How had he been so bloody naïve?
“I can’t believe this! You and your friend deliberately plotted to trap me in this mess!” Rihaan exclaimed, springing out of his chair and moving menacingly toward her.

She shrunk back, ducking away from his long reach. “Please calm down. It wasn’t my idea. Really. It was Deepika’s and you just happened to be available. You just wanted the label of a married man and didn’t really want a wife. She didn’t really want a husband.”

Turning away from her, Rihaan leaned his forehead against the wall in an attempt to control his rage. He had to know the rest of the story, and that wouldn’t happen if he got carried away by anger.

He swung back and saw her sitting on the bed, her sensible jean-clad legs crossed over feigning an appearance of nonchalance, though her frazzled nerves were betrayed by her pursed lips. Decidedly, she possessed much more courage than that rotten Deepika.

She cast a wary glance his way. “Deepika is really a very stupid girl. She made the mistake of falling in love.”

“Oh…so falling in love makes someone stupid?”

“Yes. Especially if you fall for a man like she did. A loser! A spoiled, rich brat who thinks he’s all that! Who drives around in flashy cars making girls like her swoon! He promises them the world, but in truth he can’t earn even a decent day’s living. I hate such men!” Her face was flushed and her eyes sparkled with fiery emotion.

Rihaan was glad that he didn’t belong in that category; he’d definitely not want to be a victim of her spite. “So why didn’t she marry him?”

“Because she couldn’t. Her parents don’t like losers. But she was in too deep and that creep was pressuring her; so were her parents. They were beginning to get suspicious. She had rejected several excellent matches, each one better than the previous and she knew she couldn’t continue doing that forever. She was in a bind.”

Naina fidgeted with the tassels of a heart-shaped cushion. Rihaan waited patiently.

“Then Deepika had a brilliant idea. She pretended to succumb to her parents’ wishes but stipulated that she’d choose her own groom. She couldn’t risk agreeing to one of the matches they’d chosen, ‘cause if she had they’d be subjected to endless ridicule and ostracized by the entire community. Her parents agreed. She placed an ad online and found you.”

Naina smiled at Rihaan. “You were heaven sent. Perfect credentials, stinking rich doctor, a neuro something or other, and best of all you lived outside the country.”

“A neurosurgeon,” he corrected, “and no, I’m not stinking rich. I work very hard for what I have.” He was feeling worse than ever, wishing he had taken better precautions instead of acting so carelessly.

She shrugged her delicate shoulders. “That’s beside the point. I wonder why Deeps preferred that fellow over you.” Her gracefully arched eyebrows met together in a frown. “Perhaps that’s why they say love is blind. I’ll never let it happen to me though.”

You can’t predict the future, Ms. Naina,
he smiled. She seemed to strike off on a tangent easily. “You were saying…?”

“So she found you, or you found each other. You didn’t balk or ask questions when she asked you to come over here. Her parents didn’t complain, rather they were delighted with her choice, and more so when they met you in person. She even applied to get the marriage certified and registered, thus assuring her parents she was indeed serious. So, to not find her sitting in the
mandap
must have come as a tremendous shock to them.”

“Aren’t they losing face now?” Rihaan asked.

“For all practical purposes, their daughter Deepika is married. I’m quite sure very few besides you and them noticed the switch. Therefore, if they keep it to themselves, everybody will think that their daughter left with her husband and is living happily abroad. She’ll probably own up in good time.”

It took several moments for Rihaan to absorb the information before he erupted. “Wow! Amazing, and as you said, brilliant. I’m stumped! Would have never come up with that myself. But what I want to know is, did she ever think about how
I
will feel after all this?”

Naina looked distinctly uncomfortable. “She didn’t, at least I don’t think she did. She…she called you a snooty bastard who really didn’t want a wife. A maid or a robot would have served the purpose equally well. So I don’t think she felt bad about it.”

Rihaan was fighting hard, very hard, to keep his emotions in check. The gall of the girl to treat him so shoddily. After all he’d gone through for her. And
this
woman to be so casual about it all! She seemed as bad as her friend. Were all females this heartless?

“All right, Ms. Naina. You seem to have analyzed the situation to perfection. Your friend and her immature adolescent romantic illusions. Me, the handy dumb unsuspecting
snooty bastard
push-over, and even her parents with their hopes for a secure future for their daughter now permanently dashed. So tell me, how does an insightful, candid and intelligent girl like you allow yourself to be ensnared in this unholy mess?”

Naina chewed on her lower lip. “Uh… As you’ve seen for yourself, Deepika is very persuasive and an excellent actress. She told me her sob story laced with plenty of added
masala
and I felt sorry for her. I didn’t know her that well, but I didn’t have reason to doubt her. She was my roommate for a short time and I’d never seen her do anything so drastic before.”

She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. “She also painted you in the most inglorious terms, saying you deserved to be taught a lesson in humility. So I went ahead, thinking I was doing my friend a favor. But now I know I was horribly wrong and I feel terrible about it.” He saw her sling her bag over her right shoulder and begin inching toward the door again. “I hope you can get over this, move on, and find yourself a girl who is truly deserving of you Rihaan. Sorry…”

“Sorry
isn’t enough. I
demand
compensation!”
Rihaan stood in her way again and brought his hands down hard on her arms.

“Compensation?” she squeaked.

“Of course. Compensation for my troubles…for the humiliation I’ve suffered at the hands of your friend, in which
you
had a major role. I want my marital rights and I’ll extract them tonight with great pleasure from my beautiful wife,” he said tersely dragging her to the bed, his usual restraint swamped by a state of extreme indignation. After all, he had married her observing all the traditional rituals and norms. And she was far more desirable than any girl he had ever met.

***

Terrified eyes took in the rose-strewn mattress. Her worst fears were about to be realized. “You want me to spend the night with you?”

“Yes I do. And perhaps many more to come. I’m sure I’ll have no regrets!” Flinging her down on the bed, he began to fumble with the buttons of his
sherwani,
cursing aloud when they refused to cooperate.

“You’ve gone mad!” Naina screamed, managing to wiggle out from in between his knees. She rolled to the other side and jumped off.

But he proved equally nimble. Blinded by insane anger and an overwhelming desire to extract revenge, he yanked her into his arms and held her tight, seeming to derive wicked pleasure in seeing her squirm. He felt particular malice toward her, she knew that, but how could she calmly participate in this consummation?

***

Tears trickled down her cheeks but he didn’t care. She deserved the pain. Knitting his fingers through her scalp to hold her head steady, he bent down, aiming for those lips that’d been bothering him for quite some time.

Then suddenly it struck him. Something was missing. “Where is your
sindoor
and the
mangalsutra
I tied around your neck?”

“I…discarded them.”

“Why…why would you do that?”

“Because they hold no meaning. You…you thought you were placing them on Deepika; while I…I was just going through the motions. I believe marriage is a convergence of two hearts; a journey embarked on mutual understanding. I don’t even know anything about you.”

“Convergence of two hearts…puerile romantic crap!” He pushed her away. “Get out of my sight now!”

“I’m sorry…” Whimpering with relief, she ran to the door and struggled with the bolts.

“No, not that way!” He stopped her, realizing there were plenty of people still in the house and they were planning on staying up all night.

“Then which way?” she asked, before heading to his first floor balcony and peering down at the abandoned yard. She had swung her legs over before Rihaan caught her arm.

“It’s at least ten or twelve feet down. Too dangerous. You may break your back or worse, split open your skull,” he said, his medical instincts coming to the fore.

“I could do it if you give me a hand. Please?” She turned to look beseechingly at him.

He reluctantly nodded, finding no other practical solution.

Holding her firmly with both hands, he gingerly lowered her down so she could jump safely to the ground. He followed, scrambling after her as she raced to the back exit.

He took a quick glance around. The sky was inky black and the streets completely deserted. It was past one a.m. in the quiet, upscale South Delhi neighborhood. “I can drop you home…”