“A true leader should also be brutal when required to maintain peace.”

The next morning when Anika woke up, she recalled Devasena’s words. She didn’t necessarily agree with that statement, but she understood Devasena’s perception. Maybe during that time, the laws of the land were different. In current times, a person did not go on a violent rampage simply because the other person was in the wrong.

She heard the whirring sound of the treadmill. Minutes passed, and then she heard a thud followed by a grunt as he punched a bag. She slowly got out of the bed and moved quietly. She tried to peek through the window and gasped at the sight in front of her.

The man was kicking a punching bag. His broad back and long legs were rock solid with powerful muscles, making her realize that if her plan didn’t go accordingly, he was strong enough to break her like a toothpick. She watched him for a few more seconds, and moved away from the window to lay back on the bed. She tried hard to convince herself she wasn’t scared of him.

Who was she kidding?

She pulled the blanket partially over her face, and went back to the position she was in all night.

He was in the bedroom closet, getting ready, when she finally opened her eyes, and sneaked away into the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she stared at her reflection with disgust.

What the hell are you doing! Do you want to remain here all your life? Do something. Get out there and execute the plan!

With that pep talk, she stepped out of the bathroom. He was buttoning up the cuffs of a long white pristine shirt. She had often seen him in three-piece formal suits, too.

“Are you going to keep staring or will you talk?” His voice was deep and gravely.

She shuddered, but luckily he missed her reaction as his eyes were downcast while he continued to button the cuffs. During the past month, she had observed quite a few things about him.

Abhay Singham was aloof with everyone in the household. No one relaxed when he was around. They feared him quite a lot, but along with that fear, there was also a healthy dose of respect and awe they felt for him. They even kept saying he was a rational man who listened to their requests and helped them as much as he could. Considering that according to him, she was his wife, she supposed she should expect some amount of the same respect when it came to her wishes.

With that thought, she got back her voice that was stuck in her throat.

“I-I wanted to ask you about something since yesterday. I even waited for you last night.” Her voice was too soft, but he heard her.

He raised his head, and his intense eyes hit her face as he studied her. His jaw clenched at whatever he observed on her face.

“Then why didn’t you?” he gritted out.

"You had blood on you," she whispered.

He raised an eyebrow. "Never saw blood before Doctor Singham?" he asked, stressing the doctor.

She bit her lip. "Yes. But not on someone who had just… just… " she trailed off, not wanting to say killed or murdered.

"Well?"

“You looked… upset last night,” she whispered.

His mouth twisted. “Do I seem like the cheerful kind the rest of the time?”

The sarcastic comeback sent a faint bolt of irritation through her. “No, I have never seen you smile or laugh, but usually you are not that upset or angry.”

He sighed as though he was resigned to the fact that he had to listen to what she had to say. He also began massaging his neck while waiting for her to finish.

Feeling a little bold, she moved closer to him. It felt uncomfortable and unnatural, but she had to try. “You…uh…look tired.”

“Because I’m tired as hell,” he replied gruffly and then looked at her. Slowly his eyes narrowed as he watched her shrewdly. “What do you want? This pretense of giving a damn about me is annoying.”

“No, not pretense. I would like to know what you do all day?” she asked, sticking partially to the truth while her genuine curiosity made her even braver.

“What else? Kill and cause mayhem everywhere,” he replied nonchalantly.

Her lips trembled, but she pressed them together. The blasted man was deliberately trying to scare her away, and he was almost succeeding.

“You are with a laptop most mornings, and I heard you speak on the phone about funding some technology-related products. I-I know you do other things. Normal things.”

He arched an eyebrow and gave her a slow sweeping look. Starting from the top of her hair to the bottom of her feet, lingering for a few seconds on her lips, and also her chest.

His cruel mouth twisted. “Ah. I almost forgot you are a doctor with a sharp brain in that cowardly body.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” She had wanted to snap out, but her voice came out as a croak. “Please, I want to make my life easier here and adjust to this place and you. Tell me more about yourself.”

He gave her a long drawn look. “I might not know much about you, my dear wife, but one thing I do know is that you hate my guts, and would give a damn about knowing more about me.”

“N-no. I-I don’t hate your guts.” It took a tremendous effort on her end to say those words because they were a lie.

She did hate Abhay Singham—for marrying her, and for telling and showing everyone that he owned her. He more or less had her trapped in this grim life.

He watched her with a strange glint in his eyes. “Has anyone ever told you that you are a terrible liar?”

Yes. All the time. Her mom, her stepdad, Myra, and even Nathan. People always caught her whenever she lied. That’s why she barely lied, but when it came to self-preservation, she needed to whatever was required of her, to get out of the hellhole.

“N-no. I’m not l-lying. I don’t hate y-you. I want to begin adjusting and make my life easy here.”

His nostrils flared, and he wrapped his fingers around the nape of her neck and jerked her close. There were only a few inches between their faces.

Her heart thudded so loudly and hard that she thought she'd pass out, but she recalled her resolve. She was done being scared. She needed to come out of the entire debacle with her guns blazing. She winced at the metaphor that was almost a pun.

Abhay Singham’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. Then slowly a smile or rather a smirk appeared on his face. “Prove it,” he challenged. “Prove to me that you don’t hate me or fear me, and that you want to adjust to this life.”

“H-how?”

Letting go of her neck, he shrugged. “You were the one who just said you didn’t hate me and wanted to adjust. So show me.”

She stood with an uncertain look causing a gleam to appear in his eyes.

“You know what I think? I think you are scared of men in general. You seem to be that type.”

She somehow knew he was trying to goad her, but she still felt the need to defend herself. “I’m not scared of men. What do you mean by that type?”

“The type who thinks being with a man is dirty or sinful. I think they call such people frigid or cold.”

She felt insulted. “I grew up in the U.S. I dated plenty of men.”

“Really? Romantic dates or play dates?”

“Romantic dates,” she snapped.

He stared at her, until her bravado died and she began to fidget with discomfort. “Bullshit. I bet you would tremble and run screaming if a man tried to kiss you.”

“Of course not. I-I’ve kissed plenty of times before and enjoyed it.” She was lying, but she hated the way he was painting her as a pathetic loser who was scared of men or intimacy.

“Prove it.”

“What?”

“You said you kissed plenty of times before and enjoyed it. So prove it.”

“B-but…”

“You also said you didn’t hate me. So kiss me and prove both those points.”

“I-I…”

He raised an eyebrow, probably waiting for her to breakdown or back down. She didn’t want to. She really did want to prove to him, she wasn’t a silly frightened girl he imagined her to be.

Taking a deep breath, she moved closer to him, until there were barely any inches between them. His eyes continued to watch her, but he did not move.

Clumsily, her mouth brushed his chin and then the lower lip. She cringed, not only because she was trying to kiss a man whom she hated, but also because she knew she was a terrible kisser. She hadn’t had enough practice, or rather, she barely had any practice.

But luckily and surprisingly, the effect of her kiss was a desired one. Abhay Singham didn’t scorn or make fun of her kiss. He stiffened against her and went completely still. Barely a couple of seconds later, his long fingers held her chin in a firm grip.

He pulled her closer and pressed his lips to her’s in a deep kiss—a burning hot and wet kiss that instantly heated her entire body. She felt stunned by her body’s primal response even as she opened her mouth for his possessive invasion.

She might have started the kiss, but Abhay Singham took charge, and took it to a whole new level. He grabbed her hips with his large palms and with a few long steps pushed her on top of the bed. She gasped into his mouth at the impact as her back hit the mattress. Her body came alive as something sizzled deep inside her.

His lips met hers aggressively while he shoved her legs apart, letting her feel his erection on her core. Her body trembled with need for the first time instead of fear. Involuntarily, she began grinding against him to reduce the ache that started deep within her core.

He was a murderer, and he married her against her will. He kept her caged in his world, and yet her body came alive in his arms. He kissed her hard. and then pulled at her bottom lip, before moving to kiss her ear and her sensitive neck. His hands explored her now sensitive chest playing with her nipples as she came even more alive.

She began to moan and greedily explore him with her fingers. She traced his muscular chest, going over every impressive ridge that she recalled seeing during the mornings as he exercised.

Her fingers slowly slid down from his abs towards his hips, where she encountered something hard.

He froze.

“Fuck,” he groaned into her mouth, and immediately one of his hands wrapped around her wrist, to stop her from exploring further.

“Bloody hell!” he cursed and rolled away from her.

She felt a keen loss and also disappointment as he got up from the bed. He was breathing heavily like her as he removed something from around his waist.

Slowly her muddled brain began to focus on the object he held in his hand.

A gun! He was removing the holster from around his hips and placing it on the nightstand.

He watched her now rapidly paling face and slowly a sneer formed on his. “What’s the matter, my dear wife? Not that eager anymore after seeing one of my toys?” he taunted.

No sound emitted from her terrified brain.

He shrugged. “Just as well. I don’t need your inexperienced kisses or moves. So you can go back to pretending you are asleep like always.”

Anika felt hurt. No, not hurt—she was pissed off. She knew it was stupid to feel that way, considering he had a gun that was less than three feet away from him, and she was sure he knew how to use it very well.

But she rose up onto her knees. “Listen to me, Abhay Singham. You were the one who forced me into this marriage. You were the one who is forcing me to lie in your bed each night. And for your kind information, I’m not stupid. I felt your obvious arousal at my inexperienced kisses and moves. So save your big-bad-wolf and cocky attitude. And also, yes, I wanted something. I’m sick of not being able to do something significant with my time here. I want to set up a small clinic within the estate to be able to stock up medications and continue to help the people here. Knowing how you are a control freak, I need your help and permission first.”

He froze at her outburst, and she saw his jaw clench, and she didn’t know if it was in anger or frustration. She was betting more towards frustration as she could see his obvious and most likely an impressive arousal.

“This was definitely a mistake,” he muttered under his breath and strode out of the bedroom, slamming the door shut.

 

*****

 

Anika stayed back in the room, feeling confused. Shaking her head off the weird thoughts that were taking up space in her mind, she spent some time on the computer, before going down to meet with the people.

Lakshmi smiled at her. “Abhay has asked all of us to help you set up a clinic in one of the rooms at the back.”

Anika’s heart leaped, and she felt her lips continue to tingle from the kiss. “That’s good. Show me that place.”

They spent the rest of the day cleaning the area, making it completely sterile. As they worked together, she overheard some conversation.

“That man deserved to be killed after what he did with our crop.”

“Yes, he was apparently the same bastard who also messed with the fish pond, poisoning it. That’s why Meena had a reaction a few weeks ago.”

“What happened last night?” Anika could not contain her curiosity anymore. She was willing to risk receiving another threat from Abhay Singham.

“A Senani dogs that had set fire to the barn were finally hunted down.”

“I’m glad Abhay killed those animals this time. They had set the barn on fire last year, too, and got away.”

Anika winced at the casual manner people spoke regarding taking a life—the life of a human. Being a doctor, she found that completely unacceptable. She just could not understand how everyone, including the young impressionable minds in the area, accepted and justified the act of killing.

Unfortunately, she was bound to the man who was responsible for most of the killings.

Later that night, when he returned home early, surprisingly she didn't shrink away in fear. She kept eying him secretly as he prepared for the bed.

"Oh my God, I'm so shallow!" she thought, when her eyes kept going to his lips and then his body as he took off his suit jacket.

She tossed and turned, willing herself to sleep, before he returned from the shower. Soon it was too late, as he came out in just pyjama bottoms, exposing his impressive chest. He was drying his wet hair with a towel and missed seeing her gawk.

Or so she thought.

"What is it now?" he asked, still continuing to dry his hair.

She jumped at being caught. "N-nothing. I just wanted to thank you… for the clinic."

He didn't reply. He threw the towel away on to a chair, and turned off the lights, before sliding into the bed, next to her.

She felt awareness thrum between them and felt confused. She still thought and knew he was a monster.

But the monster she was married to—was slowly growing on her.