Free The Dowry Bride by Shobhan Bantwal Page A

imagined.
    “I told him it was an office problem and someone on my staff delivered an emergency report.”
    “I don’t believe you, Kiran. I know there’s a policeman in your drawing room.” She might as well be direct in her accusations. Even if she was helpless, at least he wouldn’t mistake her for a fool. She’d never tolerate being labeled dimwitted.
    “Damn it, Megha! There is no policeman.”
    “Then prove it!”
    “Quit acting like a brat, will you?” He sounded thoroughly annoyed. “You’ll just have to trust me.”
    Standing there in the bathroom, Megha speculated. If he wasn’t telling the truth, he’d have been nice and persuasive instead of angry, now wouldn’t he, at least in the interests of gaining her trust? She gingerly unlocked the door and opened it a crack. “Kiran, if you’re lying to me, I swear I’ll get even with you.”
    “Fair enough.”
    “I won’t forgive you for pretending to be my friend and then turning me in.”
    Kiran nodded gravely. “I understand. Now come out and see for yourself.”
    Very slowly, she opened the door all the way and stepped out. “I’ll tolerate open hostility any day, but I will not put up with back-stabbing, Kiran.” She pointed a finger in his face and glared at him for a moment. “I detest two-timers.”
    Kiran stood aside and motioned her to go out and look for herself. After making sure the flat was empty save for the two of them, Megha returned to the alcove outside the bathroom where Kiran still stood, with his arms folded across his chest. “Satisfied?” he asked. He didn’t seem so irritated anymore.
    She nodded grudgingly. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.” He hadn’t been lying after all. She felt foolish and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry from relief. She couldn’t blame him for being cross with her. She had behaved like an ungrateful little brat.
    To her surprise, Kiran chuckled, his eyes glinting with amusement. “Suspicious young lady, aren’t you?” When she shot him a quelling look, his chuckle turned to a hearty laugh. “Can’t blame you, I suppose. If I were in your place, I wouldn’t trust anyone either.”
    “Glad to hear that.”
    He gestured toward the bathroom, looking even more amused. “Now that you’re somewhat convinced that I’m not a two-timing back-stabber, you may want to go ahead and wash up.”
    With her head held high despite feeling embarrassed about acting so churlish, she swept into the bathroom and shut the door with a decisive click. Well, he could laugh all he wanted! She wasn’t ready to trust him completely yet.
    A nice long shower was exactly what Megha indulged in. Accustomed to a more austere lifestyle, she had never used a shower before and it took her a couple of minutes to figure out how it worked. Once she got it started, the spray of warm water felt like heaven. Hot water without having to heat it on a wood fire in a big brass cauldron? How wonderful was that! And then not to have to scoop it out of a bucket with a mug and pour it over one’s head? That was pure luxury.
    Putting every other thought aside for now, she lifted her face, closed her eyes and delighted in the water raining over her and flowing down her body.
    The soap was deliciously fragrant. The sheer lavishness of the modern tile-and-marble bathroom made Megha feel weepy again. So foolish—to cry over a simple bathing routine—but her nerves were frayed and the tears came easily. After a while she washed the cut on her foot, which stung from the soapsuds and continued to bleed a little. Her scratches and bruises burned under the hot water.
    But otherwise the shower was marvelously soothing. Even better was getting that awful grime and stench off herself. She used large quantities of Kiran’s shampoo to wash her hair and spent a long time in the bathroom trying to speculate and strategize. But for the life of her she couldn’t think of a plan of action. Right now, all she wanted to do was lie down