Bound by Revenge (The Singham Bloodlines) Read online

  The woman next to her sat still, without uttering a word while the SUV drove away from the airport

  Unable to bear the eerie silence, Anika cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself properly. I’m Anika Patel. And you are… ?”

  The woman turned towards her with a clenched jaw. Anika was almost sure she wouldn’t get a reply, but the woman surprised her by answering.

  “Sabitha.”

  “Nice to meet you, Sabitha. How are we related?”

  Sabitha looked at her with mild surprise as though Anika was supposed to know about her already. “Cousins. Our fathers were brothers.” Sabitha had a slight accent, and her voice held no emotion as she spoke about their fathers.

  Sabitha had said ‘were’ brothers, meaning, Sabitha had lost her father, too. Maybe in the same accident as her father did.

  Anika took a moment to suppress the sadness of their loss. “I’m glad to meet you, Sabitha. Hope we become friends while I’m here,” she said softly, meaning every word.

  She only got a cool nod, making her wonder if she had inadvertently done something to offend her cousin. But another voice inside her head kept questioning why Sabitha wasn’t thrilled to see her when their aunt obviously made it seem like her presence was badly needed and wanted.

  “How old were you when the… accident happened?”

  “Five,” came in a curt reply.

  Anika wondered if Sabitha ever had a conversation that was more than a monosyllabic response.

  “I was almost six when my mom told me that I would never get to see my dad again.” Anika’s eyes welled up with unexpected tears. Embarrassed, she looked out the window.

  There was another stretch of silence. Anika then decided it was best to remain silent until they reached home.

  With the SUV powering smoothly through the roads, Anika’s eyes drooped as sleep threatened to overtake her. But she didn’t want to fall asleep until she had met her father’s family. Her family.

  She continued looking out the window as doubts overtook her again about the impromptu trip. The restlessness that had been hounding her for a while was still there. Then she reminded herself that the place she was going to was a part of her life…her roots.

  They spent over an hour in silence before she attempted to start a conversation again. “How much longer to get home?”

  “One hour.”

  “Thanks for coming to the airport this early in the morning. You didn’t have to. I could have taken a taxi to the house.”

  “Neela wanted me to.” Sabitha had a strange tone when she said that.

  “How is our grandfather doing?”

  “Better.”

  “That’s quite good. I’m really looking forward to meet Aunt Neela and our grandfather.”

  Sabitha turned and looked at her for a couple of seconds with an odd look. “You won’t see them until later today. Catch some sleep before you meet them.”

  “Oh, I’m not too tired to meet them right away—”

  “Neela said she would see you in the afternoon.” Sabitha said like it was an order from her aunt.

  “Oh. Okay.” Anika started to feel tired. Maybe it was a good thing that she’d meet everyone after she was well rested.

  Settling into the comfortable leather seat, Anika let sleep overcome her. Just as her eyes drooped, she stared at the large tattoo on the driver’s neck. Even in her dazed state, the tattoo looked familiar. Before she could analyze further, her brain began to check out.

  Her weeklong double shifts were beginning to catch up with her.

  *****

  She woke up to the pleasant sounds of birds chirping. She sat up and stared groggily outside.

  The SUV had stopped, and she could see the men unloading her luggage. It was still almost dark, and she could only see the vague details of a large majestic house. Before she could look around and take in her surroundings, Sabita’s firm voice interrupted her.

  “Follow me.”

  They passed through two large white marble columns that rose up to the three-story house. The men pushed open a heavily carved, tall wooden door at the main entrance, and took her luggage inside.

  She could not register much on the inside. Her cousin strode across a huge open living room, and climbed a flight of stairs, and then walked along a hallway, until she stopped outside a door.

  The men followed behind with the luggage, and placed her bags neatly against a wall.

  “You’ll be staying here until—” Sabitha stop abruptly and cleared her throat. “Until you choose to remain here,” she finished.

  Anika nodded taking in the surreal surroundings.

  “Anything else you need before I leave?” Sabitha asked.

  “No.”

  “I’ll get going then. Someone will be here to inform you, and prepare you to meet with our grandfather and Neela.”

  Anika nodded. “Thank you.”

  Sabitha and the men left, closing the doors quietly behind them.

  Even though she wanted to explore her surroundings right away, she decided to catch a quick nap, and freshen up before her meeting with her family.

  CHAPTER 4

  Anika woke up to an insistent knocking.

  “Come in.” Her voice was groggy.

  A young girl peeked in and slowly walked inside with a shy look.

  “Hello.” Anika smiled at the girl.

  “They asked me to help you get ready, madam. Neelamma will start to receive people in an hour.”

  Anika found that odd.

  “I don’t need help in getting ready. I’ll be out in thirty minutes.” Although her mom and stepdad were doctors, and she and Myra grew up with nannies and maids, they weren’t accustomed to people offering to help them get ready for a simple meeting with family.

  The girl stood uncertainly for a few seconds before she nodded and left.

  Anika stepped down from the bed, slowly looking around the room. She had been too tired to notice the details before, but now she observed everything. She had slept on a traditional four-poster bed in a large room with high ceilings. The walls gleamed with the antique oil paintings with various subtle pastel colors.

  The antique clock against the wall indicated it was eleven fifteen. Sabitha and the girl whose name she had forgotten to ask had told that her aunt received her guests at noon. She found the appointment system to be odd within the family members, but didn’t want to read too much into it.

  Pulling her stuff out of the suitcases, she quickly got ready. She gave herself one final glance in the mirror before stepping out of the room.

  She had chosen to wear traditional clothes out of respect to her grandfather, even though she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the slightly revealing clothes. Growing up in the West, she was used to wearing leg-baring or even shoulder-baring clothes. But the traditional clothes, although modest when it came to shoulders and legs, usually showed a good amount of bare midriff. Maybe the next day, she could wear her usual. She was quite relieved to see Sabitha in cotton trousers and a blouse that morning, indicating that people weren’t very conservative with the dressing.

  She walked towards a window and took in a breath of fresh air to calm her nerves. The hint of greenery she had seen on her way from the airport was replaced with an endless brown landscape.

  Outside the window, she could hear the noises of bustling activity. There were vague hums of excited conversations. Curious and oddly nervous at the same time, she took another deep breath, and walked out from her room.

  The first thing she saw was the indoor balcony which ran along the inside of the house, overlooking the center area. She walked to the railing and looked down to the ground level, to see if anyone was gathered inside the impressive-looking living area.

  It was mostly empty with only a couple of maids cleaning the various antique pieces adorning the room. To one side, she saw a large dining room where Sabitha was speaking to an elderly man in a wheelchair.

 
That must be Grandfather.

  Anika hurried down the stairs, her shoes making enough noise to indicate her arrival. Sabitha looked up and nodded to her in acknowledgement with a dispassionate look.

  Taking a deep breath, Anika ignored the growing discomfort that threatened to envelop her, and kept her eyes trained on the elderly man in the wheelchair.

  “Hello, Grandfather,” she greeted quietly, feeling her heart tug at the gaunt and shriveled face of her father’s dad.

  The man in front of her must have suffered greatly, having lost both his sons and his wife in an accident. She could even understand to some extent, why he had shunned his son’s wife and daughter during his grief. Her aunt had mentioned that he had lost his voice after his paralysis attack many years ago.

  At the moment, he was watching her with a confused look on his face.

  “That’s Anika,” Sabitha explained to him softly. “Uncle Yashwant’s daughter.”

  Sabitha’s words made her grandfather’s eyes come alive.

  Anika couldn’t make out whether it was with happiness or anger. Her mother had told her a few years ago that Anika’s father’s family was not happy about their eldest son marrying a girl they had not chosen or approved. It was one of the main reasons why they did not want Anika or her mother to visit them after his accidental death.

  “I’m here to see you, Grandfather. I hope you are doing well.”

  Her grandfather grunted in response.

  A few minutes of awkward silence ensued. It was shattered by the sound of a heavy door creaking open.

  “Send her in!” A familiar voice of a woman boomed from above, resounding loudly within the living room.

  CHAPTER 5

  Anika felt something build up in her stomach, making her feel a little queasy about the entire situation. She turned to look at Sabitha, but her cousin, as usual, was expressionless.

  “Come.” Sabitha went up the stairs, but walked in the opposite direction of the room that had been offered to Anika that morning.

  As soon as they reached one of the doorways, Sabitha stopped short.

  “Go. She’s waiting for you.” Sabitha indicated to a partially open door.

  “Aunt Neelambari?” The queasiness continued..

  “Yes.”

  “Aren’t you coming inside?” Anika asked Sabitha when she saw her cousin turn away.

  Sabitha stopped and turned back. “No.”

  “Sabitha, please. Can you stay for a few minutes—”

  “I’m not allowed inside. You’ll have to go in by yourself.” Anika saw her cousin’s eyes flare. For the first time, there was some emotion on her cousin’s face.

  Rage? Sorrow? Anika didn’t know. She was too worried about herself to analyze her cousin’s reaction.

  Her rational mind began to reason. Come on, Anika. It’s just your aunt. You spoke to her on the phone and like her.

  Her aunt had convinced her to travel to India to meet her terminally sick grandfather. But her grandfather didn't appear to be ill, at least not in the way she had imagined him to be. She had expected a bedridden man with whom she would have a tearful reunion with.

  Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage and walked into a dimly-lit room.

  As her eyes adjusted, she noticed it was a large suite with multiple rooms. The doors of the other rooms were firmly shut.

  “So, you are finally here.”

  Anika jumped when she heard her aunt speak.

  “Aunt Neelambari?” Anika couldn't find her immediately within the almost dark room.

  “Yes,” an impatient reply came. “Come here. Come closer to me.”

  Anika blinked several times until her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. She saw the outline of a woman seated in what appeared to be a rocking chair with her feet propped up. Slowly, she went towards the woman, and stopped next to her.

  “Kneel down.” The order was thrown sternly, raising her hackles. Anika decided to ignore her reaction, attributing it to her aunt being eccentric, rather than rude.

  As soon as she knelt down, she felt her aunt grab her face. She also felt her aunt’s eyes peering at her, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.

  “Jaya!”

  “Yes, madam," a meek reply from a woman came from somewhere.

  “Open the curtains!” There was excitement in her aunt’s voice.

  There was a shuffling of footsteps, and then the noise of curtains being opened sounded in the room, followed by a blinding light.

  Anika flinched as the bright light hit her eyes, which had just adjusted to the dim lighting. She tried to move her head, but she was still held within her aunt’s firm grip.

  Slowly she opened her eyes, only to see a shockingly similar image of herself.

  Her aunt looked just like her.

  Or rather she looked just like her aunt. The resemblance was eerily uncanny.

  Her aunt had a pale face which still looked quite youthful. She also had liberal streaks of gray in her hair, making her appear regal. She wore a heavy, ornate sari that had weaves of gold and magenta in it.

  Neelambari let out a booming laugh. “By God, this is happening now for sure!”

  Confused, Anika simply stared at her for an explanation.

  “Jaya! Open the balcony doors. Tell the people to gather outside right now!”

  “Yes, madam!” The maid opened the balcony doors where noise from a crowd was heard.

  Jaya hurried outside the room. Anika could hear noises from several footsteps going down the stairs.

  “What is happening?” Anika asked her aunt. “I thought Grandfather called for me because he was on his deathbed. I-I just met him. He seemed fine.”

  Her aunt ignored her words. She didn’t let go of Anika’s face. Her eyes roved over each and every feature with a satisfying smile that bordered on maniacal.

  The crowd outside became deafening.

  Anika wondered what was happening even as some instinct warned her to pull her face away and run out of the place.

  Her aunt’s hands slid down over her arms. Gripping them tightly, she stood and pulled Anika up with her. “Come. They are waiting for you.”

  “Who?”

  Ignoring Anika’s question, her aunt pulled her towards the open doors leading to a balcony, until they stood staring down at a large crowd.

  “Thirty years!” Her aunt’s voice boomed even louder. “Thirty years of my penance is about to pay off. I stand in front of you today, because we finally have a way to break the curse!”

  Her aunt’s voice was commanding. The crowd fell silent as they listened to her in rapt attention. “Anika Prajapati will soon become Anika Singham and continue the Singham bloodlines!”

  As soon as her aunt finished saying those cryptic words, there was a deafening roar from the cheering crowd.

  CHAPTER 6

  “What is Singham? What are you talking about?” Anika’s heart thudded loudly as her uneasiness began to turn into a full-blown panic. Her aunt ignored her questions as she was still turned towards the crowd, addressing them.

  “I’m ending my penance today to step out of the house for the first time in thirty years. And my first place to visit will be…the Singham temple.”

  There were loud murmurs. Anika saw her cousin, Sabitha, among the crowd. Sabitha was watching her with another mysteriously blank look.

  Her aunt turned away from the crowd to finally look at Anika. “Come.”

  Anika followed behind her aunt, not because of the regal order, but to know what was happening, and why she was being involved in something that had to do with so many people.

  Her aunt walked towards the door, and stopped short of the doorstep, with one foot raised above the floor. Then taking a deep breath, she stepped outside the room.

  Anika walked behind her, until they stood in front of the wheelchair where her grandfather was watching his daughter with tears in his eyes.

  Neelambari bent down to touch his feet. “I have broken my penance, Pa
pa. I will now restore our family line. There will soon be a Singham heir in the Prajapati household.”

  She turned towards Anika. “And your granddaughter will make it happen.”

  Anika had heard enough. “Tell me what is happening. Who are all those people? And what is Singham?”

  “Not what? Who?” Her aunt replied and walked over to one of the ornate sofas and sat down with her arms raised on top of the high armrests. She was watching Anika with immense satisfaction.

  “The Singhams have been—and are still—the most powerful, influential, and prosperous families in this province. “

  “Okay. But what have I got to do with them or any of it?” Anika asked, getting impatient due to her gut feeling that was ringing several warning bells inside her.

  Her aunt’s smile grew. “Everything, my love. The current Singham heir, Abhay Singham will make you his wife in two days.”

  “What?” Anika was sure it was some sort of a local joke she didn’t understand or get.

  “You heard me. The fearless and ferocious Abhay Singham will soon be your husband. Your life is honored that he agreed to have you bear his heir and continue the Singham bloodlines.”

  “What are you even talking about?” Anika frowned as anxiety began to take over.

  “This land has been cursed with a drought for the past thirty years. People are dying every day, and the only way to break the curse—is if a woman from Prajapati or Senani families bore an heir to the Singhams.”

  It had to be a nightmare. Who talks about curses in this day and age?

  Anika took a deep breath to calm her nerves and also her need to burst out with a rude response. “I appreciate that you think I can somehow help with the drought, but I’m only here because you said grandfather is sick. Unfortunately, I might have to cut short my trip—”

  Her aunt laughed. “How polite you are, my love. I was expecting fireworks and explosion. It’s also very sweet of you to think we are going to offer you with a choice.”

  Anika felt her body stiffen as she listened to the underlying veiled threat. “I don’t appreciate being threatened. I’m leaving right now. You don’t have to drop me off anywhere. I’ll call a taxi.”