Chapter 59
Heart Of The Beast
Tigers laze in midday sun
their very essence shared,
for when they're caring for their kind
their fangs are seldom bared,
but should a danger threaten those
that tigers hold their own
they'll give their life to then protect
all those who share their home.
This beast of beauty, strength and power
with independent streak
is emblem of a lifetime's love
where power is also meek.
A tiger's heart both fierce and kind
depending on the need
lifts them above all earthly beasts,
brings honour to their breed
Courageous, fearsome, gentle beasts
no other can surpass,
but just remember, it's their world,
...and Tigers Don't Eat Grass!
~ When the lioness meets her lion all the house cats vanish ~
Nerissa Irving
"You are such a manipulative b***h Asthu", Sojal smacked her back fondly. "Any doubt", Astha winked at her. "Look at the gal of you, you don't even feel sorry for the poor man", she shook her head in mock anger. "Told you, I can do anything to possess what I love the most", she showed her dimple in a winsome smile. "I guess so, no one could look at the innocent wide eyes and know what are you planning in your mind?", she snorted.
"You wanted the book so you pushed the poor boy out of the line". They were standing in the line, waiting for the fifth Harry Potter book in the series. The books placed neatly at the nearby rack were less and the people gathering around to buy were more. Astha was crazy about them, she had arrived early in the morning to buy it but it seemed even her early arrival didn't matter, because there was a huge crowd of people of every age and gender lining up to obtain the book.
When she had seen that only one book was left and the person standing infront of her had been rubbing his hands with glee she had thought of only one thing that how to prevent that person from obtaining the only Harry Potter book left in the store.
So her wicked mind on full mode, she had taken out her face gel and had secretly slipped it a little on the floor near that nerdy looking boy. And when the time had come to move his feet, she had pushed him a little and his feet had slipped on the tiled floor and the poor boy had went horrendously cart wheeling down on the floor...
Astha had then successfully obtained the last copy of the Harry Potter book...
"What did you say", Shlok turned on his heel to ask, his face showing a multitude of expressions, from shock to horror to confusion. "I told you that I could be pregnant again, maybe I am already pregnant with the way we had our marathon session", she declared innocently batting her lashes. "But how could that be possible, you were taking pregnancy control pills, didn't you", he asked outrage to his core.
"I was not", she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "What do you mean by that princess, you specifically asked the gynaecologist infront of me to prescribe you the morning pills", his momentary shock was turning into anger. "I did, but I never ate them, not even once", she confessed, looking at him with a wicked smile on her face.
"And can I ask you princess that why in the name of God did you do that", he asked clenching his jaw so tightly that bones had begun to show through the skin. "Now I come to think of that, maybe I did it on purpose", answering silently, she dragged the chair and sat on it, putting one leg over the other in a calm manner.
"What purpose would it have served you to fall pregnant again, can I ask that princess?", angrily he pinched the bridge of his nose, his blood pressure was rising at seeing her calm and careless manner. Didn't she know what she had done?, he looked with disbelief at her composed manner, while she was leaning on the back of the chair in a relax pose after shaking him up hard with her announcement...
"Everything, I told you I can do anything, be anything to possess what I love", she answered flatly. "Even falling pregnant", he clicked his tongue disapprovingly. She shrugged her shoulders in a devil may care attitude and he blew his top off. "What have you done princess, how could you be that obstinate?", dragging her up from the chair he shook her so hard that her teeth rattled.
"That's because you are not the only one in the world who is manipulative, I could be too", she flicked a careless finger at his collarbone. "God princess, you are so headstrong, what should I do with you, you don't even know what have you done, you could be pregnant again", he gave a frustrated groan and leaving his tight hold on her arms he turned away from her towards the window. "Yes, I could be, and now I wonder maybe I already am, because these exactly are the days, where there is a great chance of me being pregnant again", she answered serenely.
"How dare did you do this to me princess?", he punched the wall, loosening the plaster with his angry fist. "Very easily, I gave a lot of thought a to this and I came to realize that however much I have to act selfish to gain your love I would do so and if I want to be truly at your side then it won't matter how much I have to fall low if the end result could be having you", she explained in a solemn voice.
"Okay then as you wish, I'll see if you are pregnant or not in a little time and I swear princess that if you are not pregnant again, then I'll personally send you to your mother's place together with Abhi", he pointed a finger towards her in warning.
"And what if I am pregnant again?", she asked, sensually moving a naked leg on top of the other. He swallowed, momentarily at a loss of words as his gaze followed the movement of her leg. Then as he saw her looking at him with a knowing smile on her face, his gaze hardened removing all traces of sensuality from it. "Then I'll marry you", heaving a deep breath he dropped the bombshell. But it had no effect on her, whatsoever. He frowned at seeing no change in her expression, she was still smiling that strange smile of hers. Then it dawned on her that the little minx already knew what would be his answer.
Because it was her plan from the start, to leave him no option but this...
"There is a very beautiful saying Mr. Shlok Agnihotri that fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me, so you can damn me all you want, because it seems to me that you are fooled twice by me", Astha gave a tinkling laugh which had the effect of pouring tinder on gasoline. Gnashing his teeth he made a move towards her, but like a gazelle she leapt up from the chair and started backing away towards the door.
But here she made a huge mistake as she forgot to remember that she had locked the door at her behind when she had came in the room to seduce him...
"Now run princess, as much as you want", he said darkly as her back hit the wooden door with a thud, with him now leaning towards her at her front. She ran a nervous tongue over her lips as her gaze moved from his huge and gleaming naked chest to the menace dripping from his eyes. "Why would I run, you already lost", she looked at him from beneath her half-closed lashes, while her heart tripped a beat inside her ribcage as the corner of his one lip lifted in a threatening smile.
"Now come to think of it, your seduction this time was also a part of your plan", he lifted one eyebrow in inquiry. "You specifically came for this didn't you", he narrowed his eyes. "Maybe, maybe not, keep on thinking and breaking your head husband-to-be", gathering courage she ran the tip of her finger over the muscles of his bulging chest in a suggestive move. He didn't stop her, infact she could feel a slight hitch in his breathing...
"You can't resist me can you", Astha smirked. "And why should I resist you princess, is there a reason for that", Shlok in turn nudged the tip of her nose with one finger, leaving her gob smacked. This was not the answer that she was expecting. "Not the answer that you expected princess, did you think that I would be feel flustered because of that question", he said mockingly and then with one hand he snapped her hanging jaw shut. "No...I...that's not...what", she sputtered and he leaned closer, shutting her up effectively with a hard kiss on her open mouth.
Before she could react and put her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss, he had already broken the contact. "Go on princess, Abhi would be waiting for you", he smirked at seeing her dazed look. "Seems we are in a contradiction here princess, it's really you who can't resist me", he whispered hotly in her ear.
"And it's you my dear husband-to-be who can't lie well", she put a palm over his chest to distance herself from his spine-tingling presence. "Maybe and maybe not", one brow lifted in an arrogant poise he turned her towards the door. "Off you go then princess, Abhi would be waiting for you", she halted in her tracks as a well of joy burst open inside her heart...
Shlok had called their son from his given name, either it was by mistake or he really was opening up his heart to accept his son. She looked back at his face to see his reaction, but it was somber, not a hint of a taunting smile was lighting it up. "Princess, Abhi would be waiting what are you looking back at", he chided, waving a hand infront of her face. "Ah...Um...nothing", her face lit up with such a brilliant smile that he sucked in a breath.
"If you are not going to get out in a minute princess I would take it as you wanting another session with me here", he warned in a suggestive tone. But when she didn't respond to his threat but when on smiling at him with those twinkling eyes he took a threatening step towards her.
Instead of backing away she closed the distance between them by taking a step towards him and then rising on her tiptoes anointed his mouth with a smoldering kiss. Before he could react she was back on her feet again. "Going, going", she giggled at seeing his flabbergasted expressions and then fled out of the door at once, with his devilish cursing following her steps...
NEXT DAY
"Avdhoot has escaped", one of Shlok's henchman confessed bowing his head guiltily. "What have you done, how could you let him escape so easily?", Shlok was shouting. For the first time his men had seeing their boss losing his cool. "We didn't know he would try to run, his health wasn't good so we thought in his weak state he won't ever try to escape", the second henchman piped in. "He could be faking his weak health, so you could let your guard down, didn't you two give a thought to this", he said bitterly.
"But...boss", the first one tried to hold his place in the argument but Shlok let out such an enraged roar that he stuttered to a stop. "Find him as soon as it is possible, otherwise you two would be found in a state where no one could recognize you", he said dangerously through a clenched jaw.
His temples were beginning to throb and his bloodshot eyes were seeing red. The two men shivered as they had never seen Shlok in such anger. They knew how ruthless he was and how merciless he could be so trembling and fearing their own hide they headed out at once, determined that they would find Avdhoot and drag him here by his collar...
When they had brought Avdhoot's daily dinner in the dungeon, they usually opened up his hands and feet, walking him to the adjacent bathroom while one of them stood outside the door and then bringing him out in the dungeon again to serve food. But on the day of his escape he was in such a weak state that they had let their guard down at seeing him walking pitifully to the bathroom. But the thing that they had forgotten was that Avdhoot had been also a mastermind gangster.
He had taken advantage of their carelessness and had broken through the vent, whose nuts he was loosening a little by little everyday. On the final day he had been able to loosen all nuts and opening the vent he had escaped through it.
The only thing that had surprised them all was how he had managed to fool the security posted at the entrance gate and how on earth he had managed to escape through the barbed wire surrounding the walls of the villa. It was impossible yet there had been no sign of him inside the villa and not outside too. They had even checked many kilometers of area surrounding the villa but it seemed Avdhoot had vanished completely off the face of earth...
Shlok was famous for holding out till the end and not losing his cool ever even in the worst scenario that was possible but now he was slowly losing his patience and on top of that he had gotten the news that Astha had went to meet her mother together with Abhi. It was her first meeting with her mother after the birth of Abhi.
Her mother was insisting on meeting her and even had thrown a tantrum claiming the suspicion that her daughter was probably a captive. To erase her suspicions Astha had decided to go and meet her mother. She had asked permission from Shlok asking him to go with her but then hadn't insisted as he had been hesitant to go with her...
Shlok was now regretting giving her permission to go because before Avdhoot's escape news had reached him she had already left the villa in the car. He was afraid that she would somehow come to harm because Avdhoot was on prowl and his sixth sense was warning him that he would try to meet his daughter in every possible way...
"Boss, boss we have found Avdhoot's escape route", one of the two henchmen was running towards him. Shlok could feel the goose bumps rising on his arm at the hint of fear lurking behind the man's voice. He had an eerie premonition that what the henchman wanted to tell him, he already knew it. But to clear his suspicions he asked thinly that what had happened. And the answer that the man gave him, didn't surprise him one bit.
"Boss we have found footprints in the car garage. We couldn't find them because the car standing there was covering them up", he said breathlessly. "And...", Shlok's heart was sinking at seeing as his worst nightmare seemed to be conjured up infront of his eyes.
"And if we are sure that they were Avdhoot's footprints, then he would be hiding in the trunk of the car which is en route to choti bibi's mother's place", he swallowed nervously. Shlok staggered back although he had already realized what had happened but the blow was still hard to deal. His henchman made a sound of distress and took a step towards his boss, who seemed to be bowing before his eyes as if he was carrying tons of luggage over his back...
All this time when they were searching for Avdhoot in vain he had been hiding in the boot of the car. Still inside the villa and they hadn't known. "How could he be so careless", Shlok thought hunching with agony...
Cold sweat had pooped up on his forehead, and his asthma attack seemed to be around the corner as was indicated by the wheezing sounds that had started to come out of his lungs like the whistle of an old engine. He supported his trembling frame by placing a hand on the back of the chair. He won't bow or break in a moment like that, he thought. He had never given in and he won't give in now, he though with determination and gathering his scattered wits stood tall again.
"Prepare a car for me, we have to leave as soon as possible and tell the other boys to follow us in another car, it's code red", as his commanding voice reached the ears of his henchman he bowed his head before him in respect, Shlok was again the boss, the undefeated gangster, strong like a mountain and courageous like a warrior...
"He won't be defeated again by his past, history won't be repeated again", he thought as his face lit up with the sunlight coming from the parted curtains at the window, saluting the determination etched deeply in the angles and planes of his face. His roughly hewn jaw was clenched tightly like a warrior preparing himself before uttering the battle cry and the light shining in his dark eyes was turning his pupils to a topaz color. The color of beast's eyes that knew how to defend his own...
His heart beat furiously in his chest, pumping with adrenaline. His fingers curled into his palms like the talons of a lion preparing for attack. "Not this time, I won't let you", he bared his teeth in a beastly snarl. "Avdhoot Kirloskar I am coming", his growl had the echo of the king of jungle, his dark dishevelled hair that waved majestically in the breeze were the mane of the lion...
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Anupamaa
Cricket
