Gaurav was furious.

He knew his captive was a shrewd and manipulative woman, but still, his body came alive like he was a fucking horny teenager. He was beginning to think that maybe Vikram was better suited to stay in the house, right next to her room. She wouldn’t be able to drive Vikram crazy like this.

What the hell was so special about her?

Granted she was beautiful. Okay, more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen. But she was the wife of his enemy, who was evil and corrupt. Some of the evilness must have seeped into her over the ten years of their marriage.

How could he be so shallow? And why was he so tempted to take up her offer?

As soon as he felt her lean, soft, and curvy body brushing against his, he had almost lost his mind. He was only a few seconds away from tearing their clothes off and taking her against the wall.

To the hell with her!

He grabbed a fresh set of clothes and a towel before heading to the lake for a bath and swim.

As he walked through the corridor, he couldn’t hear any sounds coming from the captive’s room. When he had planned to abduct her, he picked the cabin in the forest specifically, because there was no one around for kilometers.

He had expected the captive to be constantly crying or banging on the door and windows begging to be let go. So far, none of that had happened.

Gaurav shook the thoughts of the captive away and took a deep breath. The air outside the cabin felt crisp and clean. He loved coming to this place. The first time he had been here was during his carefree years, when life was simple.

He had visited the cabin with his friends during a holiday. Vikram, a couple of other friends, and he had come to spend a relaxing day in between their cross-country motorcycle biking.

He had liked this particular place so much that he had come back again a few more times. During the last visit, the owner of the cabin had mentioned to him about selling it at a throw-away price. Gaurav had immediately taken up the offer.

A smile covered Gaurav’s face as he recalled how his mother and sister were horrified when he brought them to this place. They tried to make it as homey and comfortable as possible, but still, it wasn’t a place for them to stay beyond a day or two. Even though the place barely had any decent plumbing inside the house and got very cold during the winters, he still loved it.

Six months had passed since his mother and sister were gone. It still hurt like hell, but he was able to recall the memories with them without going to pieces.

He shed his clothes and jumped into the cool water of the lake before beginning to take laps.

While he tried to relieve his body’s lingering frustration through swimming, memories of seeing her for the first time played through his mind.

It wasn’t in person. He saw her for the first time on the television.

 

“Heyyyy… I was watching that!” said the outraged voice of his sister.

Gaurav had changed the television channel. He preferred to watch sports or news. He was preparing for the most important exam of his life and wanted to take a break.

“Come on, T. You are glued to the TV, always watching some silly serial or the other. This is my turn.” He surfed through the channels trying to see where the Formula One racing was being covered.

“For your information, G,” she said, stressing the G part. “I was watching the news channel.” Her voice came out haughty.

Gaurav raised his eyebrows and laughed.

“Seriously, I was.” She jumped towards him and snatched the remote away within a split second.

Damn, he should have been more prepared. Especially because he was used to being in a tug of war over the TV remote with his sister.

She changed the channel to the one she had been watching. Surprisingly, it was the news channel. However, it was not the one he watched to catch with current affairs, but the channel that was more gossip than the news.

 

“…Mr. Bhupati, are you happy that your son is entering politics like you?” a reporter asked.

There was a smile on one of the most powerful leaders in the state’s face. “Of course. It makes me very happy.”

“Are you okay that your daughter-in-law is not from a political or a business background?” the reporter probed.

“I was from a humble background, too. I’m proud to have raised a son who looked beyond such things. We are one among the masses, no matter what position we hold in the government or society.”

The camera zoomed in on the young couple. Suraj Bhupati was smiling. He was often featured on television next to his father. Surprisingly, some of his speeches and the causes he took up sounded intelligent and thought-provoking.

Everyone knew Suresh Bhupati was grooming his son, Suraj, to be a political figure to be reckoned with. They all thought that Suraj’s surprise elopement would impact his political ambition or at least make him less popular in the masses.

“Wouldn’t it have been easier if you married someone similar from your background?” a nosy reporter asked.

Gaurav agreed. It would have been much easier had Suraj Bhupati married someone from another powerful family. Most people— including Gaurav—knew who was actually lined up as the prospective bride.

“Easier, yes. But one look at Nina, and my heart just knew. It was love at first sight,” said Bhupati Jr. grinning into the camera.

“Aww…” Shruti sighed.

Gaurav snorted. “You need to stop watching your daily T.V soaps. There is no such thing as love at first sight.” The comment got him another sofa cushion thrown in his face.

Gaurav laughed. “Can we please end this torture and change the channel now? You can watch it later. I’m sure they will cover this news for the entire month.”

He snatched the remote back from his sister’s hands and was about to change the channel when his finger froze. Until then, Suraj Bhupati’s wife had never shown her face or spoken to any of the reporters.  Whenever she was on TV, her head was bent down or facing away from the cameras.

But now, she stood next to her husband, smiling into the camera.

Gaurav vaguely heard a giggle from his sister.

“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Shruti asked.

“What?” Gaurav was still staring at the television screen.

“The girl, Suraj Bhupati fell in love with. Nina.”

He dragged his eyes away from the screen to look at his sister who had a satisfied grin. “She’s all right, I guess.”

Shruti burst out laughing. “There’s no such thing as love at first sight? You should have seen your face just now. Too bad she’s already married, and you cannot get her to fall for you like you do with all the girls.” There was a smirk on his sister’s face.

Gaurav shook his head before changing the channel. “You are too young to know that it’s not love Suraj Bhupati felt when he saw that girl for the first time.”

That earned him another pillow at his head. “I’m not that young! I’m only four years younger than you! And I know it’s definitely love!”

 

Shruti was too innocent and grew up sheltered to know the difference between lust and love. Like most men his age, Gaurav did find Nina Bhupati extremely attractive.

That was until he grew older and learnt to see people beyond the superficial surface.

Nina Bhupati could be the most beautiful woman he saw, but she was possibly harboring the ugliest heart and soul inside her.