The drive to the Singham Estate was a blur. The roads were bumpy, and each time a pothole caused her to bump into the man sitting next to her, she began trembling and cringing away from him..

The roads got better along the way, and they drove past tall gates which had a large golden carving of a roaring lion’s face. Several people watched as she was escorted into what people referred to as a mansion. She kept her head down most of the time, not wanting to see any of their faces. She had received enough hostile stares and threats for the day.

She was given a lavish meal inside a heavily-decorated room, after which she was left alone. After a couple of hours had passed, she became restless. She was sick of waiting and feeling like a lamb before the slaughter. So braving it a little, she decided to go out of the room.

She stepped into a corridor and saw no one, but she could hear faint conversations from a room that was at the end of the circular corridor.

She slowly tiptoed towards the voices, and waited outside, listening in.

“You beat a woman?” She heard Abhay Singham’s deep voice thundering at someone.

“She’s not a woman!” The other man’s voice contained anger and outrage. “Sabitha Prajapati is a crazy psychopath who started it all. She attacked me, and things got out of control, and she ultimately stabbed me in my leg!”

“Why would she attack you?”

There was a chuckle. “Sabitha Prajapati fancies you, big brother. Last night she sent a message, inviting you to come alone to discuss security and something personal, apparently. I was suspicious and went there in your place. She’d planned to seduce you, probably to convince you to marry her instead. Unfortunately for her, I caught her in the act and…she attacked me.”

There was a loud noise of smashing banging something against a table. “I’m sick of hearing about you two. And this is not the first time!”

“But she…”

“She’s family now whether we like it or not.”

“You can’t take her side. You are my brother!”

“I’m on your side, but I also married her cousin. There will be several instances you’ll have to see her and interact with her. So trying to kill each other will not get us closer to what we want to accomplish here.”

“But I hate her!”

“Then fucking pretend. No one is asking you to like her, but if you mess up our plans, I’ll kill you myself.”

There was a sullen silence. “Fine. Whatever.” There was the sound of a chair being dragged. “So tell me, dear brother. What do you think of Anika Prajapati?”

There was a pause. “What about her?”

There was a chuckle. “You know, you should have read the file I had an investigator prepare about her.”

“As I said before, I give a shit. She is just a means to an end.”

There was amused laughter. “I believe you. I recall you saying you’d marry her even if she were the ugliest woman in the world.”

“You already know what is at stake when it comes to marrying her.”

“True, but I just find it incredibly amusing you were prepared for an ugly hag whereas Anika Prajapati turned out to be…” There was a loud whistle.

“I still give a shit about how she looks,” an irritable reply came. “As long as she follows my orders, she can do whatever the hell she wants.”

“Huh. Knowing the track record of Prajapati women, I somehow doubt it.”

“If she doesn’t listen, then I’ll have to simply get rid of her, and make it look like an accident. Our people will understand, especially if I were to marry the Senani girl next.”

Listening to that, Anika trembled. She turned and ran away from there. She was almost hyperventilating when she reached her room.

Abhay Singham was a monster!

My god! How am I going to survive this place?

As soon as she went inside, she shut the double doors, and stood with her back to the doors, catching her breath. Until then, she hadn’t realized the possibility of her falling into the fire from a frying pan.

Her body shivered at the new revelation. She had thought everything she had experienced and witnessed at the Prajapati Estate had been her worst nightmare, but this topped it all. If she didn’t do as her supposed husband ordered, she would be killed, and her death meant the death of everyone she loved.

Gathering whatever leftover courage she had, and ignoring the heavily decorated king-size bed on a raised dais, she walked to the far end of the room, where a living area was set up with a daybed next to the window. It looked comfortable enough, and also safe enough.

She slowly lay on her side, giving in to the overpowering need to rest, and be lost in a state of denial. As she delved into sleep, she just hoped she wouldn’t have a repeat of the nightmares.

 

*****

 

Anika slowly began to gain consciousness. She had been in such a deep sleep, she still felt groggy and confused. It was dark, and she was suspended in the air, and moving towards the large king-sized bed. Her heart began to thud as she realized someone was carrying her.

She gasped out as her body hit a soft mattress.

“You will not sleep anywhere else apart from this bed. Do you understand?” the man’s deep voice demanded.

She didn’t move. She shrunk away from him, and curled up her body tightly, expecting him to hurt her.

“We are married. If you don’t behave accordingly, it will not end well for you. You will stay here until I order otherwise.”

She shut her eyes tightly ignoring his words and willing her mind to sink back into darkness.

“Answer me!” he roared.

Her body trembled. “Okay,” she whispered.

She continued to keep her eyes shut as she heard him move around the room and felt the mattress dip as he slipped into the bed next to her. She braced herself expecting a hand to grab her close, to brutally violate her, while claiming to take what was his by legal right.

But the hand never came.

After a lot of tensed moments, she heard the man’s breathing deepen. Only then did her terrified mind relax to be able to slip into an uneasy sleep.