Shackles of Desire - Chapter 20

One day ago - Jaipur

Ishani crossed the road and then stopped on the pavement. Her tears had dried up long. She looked up and Ram’s eyes meshed with her. The next minute she looked away and started to walk in the opposite direction.

She started to walk away from him.

As if in automation, she fetched her phone out from her bag and booked a taxi for the airport. The taxi arrived in a matter of minutes and the moment she stepped everything just rushed in. Somehow the car reminded her of all the times she had been with him.

But just as the memories started to flood her mind, something hardened inside her.

The taxi started and she closed her eyes.

For all these years, she had held something close inside her heart, which had been the central most part of her existence.

Veera!

And now that was gone.

He had managed to destroy each and every memory she had of him.

The taxi stopped at the traffic light and she opened her eyes.

All she wanted to do now was get out of this city.

Ishani looked out of the window and impatiently watched the traffic lights changing one by one painfully slow. She again closed her eyes and tried to drive the thoughts out of her head but somehow that seemed an impossible task. Irritated, she opened her eyes again and let go of the futile attempt. Staring out, she tried to concentrate on the different people going to their pre-planned destinations.

Are these people sure they will reach their destinations?

What if they land up somewhere else?

What if someone betrays them?

Her mind had just started to go on the tangent when suddenly the taxi jerked to life. Distracted, Ishani sat up straight and looked ahead on the road. Slowly the traffic started to shed and they were back on the way to the airport.

The moment she reached, she walked to one of the counters and checked with them about the next flight to Delhi and luckily managed to get a seat on one just 2 hours later.

Wallowing away 2 hours was definitely an issue but she would do anything to get out of this city as soon as possible. As she sat down at the waiting lounge, she looked around and then flicked her phone out. Plugging her headphones, she tapped onto her favourite music.

But somehow that only reminded her of him.

Irritation and anger filled her mind as his face slid through her thoughts. Totally vexed, she pulled the headphones out and switched off the music.

A man standing at the coffee counter in the lounge picked up his coffee and then flicked out his phone. Dialling the last number in the call list, he waited for the caller to answer.

“She is here at the airport.”

“Is someone with her?” the man on the other side of the call asked.

“No, she is alone. Should I capture her now?”

“No! Don’t lay a hand on her right now. Let her reach Delhi. We will take care of her once she is here. Have you checked nobody is watching her?”

“No, there is nobody watching her.”

“Are you sure? Not even Sangawat’s men?”

“Nope, nobody.”

“Good! Have you got the tickets on the flight she is on?”

“Yes!”

“Good! Follow her but don’t do anything until I instruct you. Don’t do anything stupid,” the man on the other side of the call warned.

“You can be assured, Boss. I won’t do anything.”

Disconnecting the call, the man walked to the nearest bench and sat down, and fixed his eyes on the woman sitting with an angered and irritated look on her face.

However unbearably slow, still the 2 hours passed and Ishani boarded the flight. She closed her eyes and summoned every bit of Mahadev present inside her. Seeing his celestial presence, she looked at him with pleadingly.

Please!

Suddenly she felt her phone vibrate. She fetched it and looked at the caller ID.

Annie!

Dammit! She didn’t want to answer but she would have to.

“Hello!”

“Hey what’s up? How’s it going? Hope you are alive and didn’t kill anyone,” she heard her friend say with a laugh.

Ishani inner turmoil just increased at her words as they hit home terribly.

“Ish!”

“Yeah, I am here.”

“Are you okay?”

She could hear the concern in Annie’s voice and that almost undid her but somehow Ishani controlled her instincts to spill everything. She didn’t want her friend panicking.

“I am fine, just a little tired. Listen I’ll call you back once I reach Delhi.”

“Okay take care and don’t forget to call me,” she heard Annie say as she disconnected the call.

Ishani switched her phone off and shoved it inside her bag. Another two and a half hours and she would be in Delhi and then she can work everything out without any hassle.

But you don’t have the NGO anymore, neither the haveli; her mind reminded her.

Rage started to boil inside her as the past events filtered through every cell of her head. There was nothing she could do to stop those memories.

That face suddenly took the centre stage of her memories and every instinct of hers just fired up. She jerked her eyes open and faltered. She was still in the flight.

Dammit! Get a grip! She scolded herself.

The only one who could calm her mind now was Mahadev. She switched on her phone and then put it on flight mode. Opening her music player, she selected the folder with his songs. The music blasted through her mind the minute she plugged in the headphones into her ears. Slowly as the music filtered through, she started to calm down and after some time fell asleep.

The man sitting behind her got up and pretended to straighten his back as he watched her. Seeing her sleeping, he relaxed and sat down.

Ishani suddenly felt someone shaking her shoulder. Startled, she opened her eyes with a jerk and realised that it was the air hostess.

“We are about to reach Delhi. Could you switch off your phone?” she said with a smile.

Delhi was the only thing that Ishani’s mind registered in the whole thing.

Finally, Mahadev!

The girl kept looking at her patiently and then gestured towards her phone. Ishani nodded and switched it off and started to look for her seat belt. As she tightened it, her mind started to think about the various complications that can arise from the muddle she was in.

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