The Marriage

Episode 5

#TheMarriageEpisode5

#RhituparnaChakraporty

#Disclaimer: This is an original work of fiction. Any relation to any person or organism living or dead is purely coincidental. This story cannot be published, copied or reproduced elsewhere without the consent of the author Rhituparna Chakraborty. This is a work of imagination with no intention to hurt anyone.

Saanchi screamed. Neeraj and Kushal came running. Saanchi quivered. Kushal brushed his head in utter dismay and said, ‘ What the hell!’ He looked at Saanchi, pulled her hair tightly and said, ‘ YOU KILLED HIM. DIDN’T YOU?’ He shook her with full force and pushed her. She fell on the floor and her forehead started bleeding. Just then Chopra and Mushtaque came in. Chopra sweated profusely, his cheeks turned red. He rubbed his eyes and face and said, ‘ Who killed Bhalla?’ Saanchi was there sitting in the corner, her forehead bleeding. She was shocked. Kushal again went near Saanchi and was about to hit her again, when Mushtaque said, ‘ This girl is sly. She looks innocent but she isn’t. I am sure she killed Dewaan and now Bhalla.’ Kushal fumed with rage and pulled Saanchi’s hair, when Mushtaque said without any expression on his face, ‘ Boss, we have to hand her over to the dealers tomorrow. She is , as it is, not fair and lovely. If you ruin her face today, she will look ugly.’ Neeraj hugged Kushal and said, ‘ Mushtaque is right. We will need to dress her wounds.’ Kushal yelled and said, ‘ CAN’T YOU SEE, SHE HAS BEEN KILLING PEOPLE.’ Neeraj laughed and said, ‘ You think this puny girl can kill anyone? Bhalla died in an accident. The hairdryer fell in water. This girl might have pushed him and he might have fallen in the bathtub. I had told Bhalla to wait till tomorrow. But, he did not have any patience. Moreover, she does not have the guts to kill anyone.’ Mushtaque smiled wickedly and told Kushal, ‘ Neeraj seems to have a soft corner for this girl.’ Kushal looked at Neeraj with jealous eyes and said, ‘ I hope Mushtaque is not right Neeraj.’ Neeraj looked wide eyed and Kushal and said, ‘ You are doubting me? Me? What did I not do for you? I risked my life for you and you are doubting me? Oh! So, do you find Mushtaque more appealing now?’ Kushal slapped Neeraj tight. Neeraj stood there shocked. His eyes became blood shot. He clenched his fists. He wanted to hit Kushal, but he knew, with Mushtaque as Kushal’s bodyguard, he could not do that.

Saanchi sat with her knees bent towards her chest, looking at a blank spot. Her wound in the forehead was bleeding. Mushtaque called the hotel staff to come with the first aid box. The hotel nurse sat beside Saanchi to clean her wound. Saanchi sat there like a statue. The nurse cleaned the wound and put a first aid plaster on her wound.

Chopra took out his cigar and started smoking. Neeraj had left the room. Kushal looked at Mushtaque and said, ‘ We can’t leave her alone in this room. She seems like a murderer. You will have to stay with her tonight’. Mushtaque nodded. Chopra said, ‘ Where on earth did you get this girl of all the girls under the sun? She must have killed Dewaan and Bhalla. I can’t take the risk of taking her to the dealers. What if she creates a fiasco there?’ Kushal went to table near by, took out some powdery stuff from his pocket, put them on the table and sniffed the powdery stuff and with blood shot red eyes, went near Saanchi. Saanchi crawled back, sobbing. She begged, ‘ I did not kill anyone. Please let me go.’ Kushal knelt down, brushed Saanchi’s hair, he was about to pull her hair again, when a bullet suddenly went past Kushal barely missing his head, breaking through the glass window. Kushal gasped. Mushtaque ran out to see who did that.

After some time, Mushtaque came back. No one was there. Kushal stood there shocked. Bhalla sat on the bed sweating, appalled.

Kushal said, ‘ Somebody is after us. We need to wind up this project fast and get out of here.’ He looked at Mushtaque and said, ‘ Stay with her.’ Kushal then looked at Chopra and said, ‘ You stay with me and Neeraj in our room today. We can’t take any risk. Tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. we start from here, drop her at the island with the other girls, you pay us the money and we go.’ Chopra said, ‘ This girl is risky business. Only our dealers can handle her. Pheww. You are right. I will stay in your room tonight.’

They left. Mushtaque locked the door of the room where he would be staying with Saanchi. Saanchi was still seated on the floor. She cried so much that there were no tears left in her eyes. Mushtaque sat on the sofa beside the bed. He dialled room service and asked them to bring food to the room. Saanchi sat there on the floor right in front of him, looking at a black spot. Her cheeks were stained with tears, the wound on the forehead hurt, her messy hair looked worse and her head hurt, her eyes were puffy with dark circles. Room service arrived. Mushtaque went and got the food. He put the food on the table. He put some steamed brown rice, some steamed broccoli, and sauteed spinach on a plate and put a bowl of noodle soup beside the food with a spoon and went near Saanchi. He put the plate in front of Saanchi and said, sternly, ‘ Look girl. I have no personal enmity with you. I am doing my job. Once we hand you over to the dealers tomorrow, we are all set. It will be better if you eat this because if you faint on your way to the dealers, you wouldn’t even know where you are going. Have this and get some sleep. Saanchi looked at Mushtaque with her puffy eyes and nonchalant expression and said softly with her ripped apart voice, ‘ Why don’t you shoot me?’ Mushtaque smiled coldly and said, ‘ I would have done that had boss told me. But, you are supposed to be supplied to the dealers alive. I can’t kill you, neither can I let you die.’ Saanchi looked at a blank spot and said, ‘ How are my parents? Are they alive or you guys already killed them?’ Mushtaque smiled wickedly, took out his phone and told Saanchi, ‘ Call your parents and hear their voice. But, one word from you, my associate will shoot them.’ Saanchi hurriedly dialled her mom’s number. Her mom received the phone and said, ‘ Hello’. Tears gushed out from Saanchi’s eyes. She heard her mom saying ‘ Hello.’ From the backdrop, she heard her dad telling her mom, ‘ Who is there on the phone?’ Mushtaque snatched the phone from Saanchi, disconnected the phone and said, ‘ Now, have your food.’ Saanchi was about to faint when Mushtaque bent and held her and said, ‘ I told you. You eat this or tomorrow you won’t even know what would happen to you.’ Saanchi tried to sit up. She sipped some soup. She realized she was famished. She ate the rice, the veggies and gulped the soup at one go. Mushtaque gave her one more serving of food. Saanchi voraciously ate whatever was there on the plate. Saanchi looked at Mushtaque. He constantly monitored her. She told Mushtaque, I want to change my clothes. Mushtaque said, ‘ You can change in the bathroom but don’t try any trick.’ Saanchi went to the bathroom, changed into the only pair of pajamas and tshirt she had. She then quietly got up on the bed. She was so tired that she did not know when she fell asleep.

Mushtaque sat there on the sofa ensuring Saanchi did not try to escape. Come morning, everyone got ready to go to the dealers. Mushtaque walked closely with Saanchi to the reception area of the hotel. Kushal, Neeraj and Chopra just arrived. Kushal had a bad injury mark on his forehead. This was not there before. When Mushtaque asked what had happened, Kushal said, ‘ While we were fast asleep, all of a sudden, the flower vase in our room, fell on my forehead. Mushtaque said, ‘ Why didn’t you call me boss?’ Kushal said, ‘ Couldn’t afford to leave this girl alone. Hence.’

They all boarded two luxurious cars and left for the dealers’ place. It took them 3 hours to reach the location. The place was heavily guarded with armed men. There was a thorough checking. Suddenly Kushal saw something. Neeraj carried a gun in his bag. Neeraj never carried guns. How come there was a gun in his bag?

To be continued……