Bound by Revenge (The Singham Bloodlines) Read online

  The woman who had been shouting at her followed her out of the kitchen. “Where do you think you are going? How dare you move about like it’s your own home?”

  "I just wanted to see outside."

  "The Singham Mansion is not your home. It does not belong to a Prajapati!"

  “This is her home. She is a Singham now.” The deep, chilling voice that interrupted them, made Anika freeze. It sounded so much like Abhay Singham’s voice, but she didn’t have to turn to know it wasn’t him. She had spent too much time over the past week staying inside her luxurious prison, simply listening to him while she closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

  “Dev… I was just… her family is the reason…” The woman’s voice trailed off.

  “Do you have any idea what Abhay would do if he found out you are talking about the families and the feud?”

  Anika slowly turned to look. The man who spoke was Dev Singham. She had seen him on the day of her wedding, and also heard him speak the night when she had eavesdropped on the conversation between him and his brother.

  The woman kept arguing, refusing to give up. “You know why Abhay married her, Dev! But she is acting as though she is a cherished bride and not our enemy. She is trying to take over this house and all of us. She might even spy on us to give information to Prajapati. They'll attack and murder us in our homes—”

  “Malini, one more word, and it won’t be Abhay who’ll kill you.I will.” Dev’s voice, although dead calm, held a lot of menace. Instead of being scared of Dev as she did with his older brother, Anika found his defense of her encouraging. Could Dev be an ally?

  Malini was watching Dev with a sulky yet scared look. She threw another look of hatred towards Anika before walking away.

  “Thank you, Dev.” Anika smiled tentatively, not knowing what to expect from Dev Singham.

  Dev’s expression changed instantly. From the cold menace, his face transformed to a friendly one with an easy smile. “Don’t worry about what Malini says. It’ll take time for our people to get used to you.”

  They are not my people.

  “It’s okay, I understand,” she said, even though she had no clue why the people in the Singham household were angry.

  “You will understand them slowly, Anika, but make sure you don’t tolerate disrespect from any of them. Let Abhay or me know if anyone speaks to you in that tone again.”

  Her heart thumped as she heard those words. Dev sounded like a logical person who understood people and respected them. He really could be her ticket to freedom.

  “Are you going out?” she asked. She saw he was wearing a business suit. It looked odd against the various antiques and also the tall intricate carvings of the Singham house. No not house… mansion.

  Dev smiled. “Yes. I’m heading back to the city. Boss’s orders.”

  “Boss?”

  He laughed. “At least he behaves like my boss most of the time. I’m sure you already discovered by now that Abhay is quite bossy.”

  Anika didn’t return the smile. She couldn’t, even though she tried to force herself.

  Anika didn’t find her situation amusing. She was being threatened, more or less at gunpoint by Neelambari. Each day Anika worried and feared for her family. And each night, she suffered from worry and fear for herself. She was worried she would be raped by her husband who either threw orders at her, or behaved like he was disgusted by her.

  Dev looked at her face and ran his fingers through his hair. “My brother is not that bad, Anika. You’ll get used to him,” he said softly.

  She nodded. “Dev… before you go. Can you tell me where is the library?”

  Dev broke into another easy smile. “Wow, another bookworm! My brother was the only one in this house until now.” He laughed in amusement. “You’ll find the library on the same floor as your suite. I’ll send someone to escort you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Pleasure is all mine, Anika,” he said. “And welcome to the Singham family. I guess I’ll see you in a few weeks. So take care and send out a word to me if you need anything.”

  At his offer, she broke into a genuine smile.

  Waving a goodbye to her, he left.

  A couple of moments later, a uniformed man came towards her and escorted her to the library. She slowly walked into the library, staring at the rows and rows of books that lined the almost forty-feet-high walls.

  Oh shit. How am I supposed to find the rest of the journals here?

  She spent the next three hours just looking through the catalogs with the list of books. She had to find the remaining parts of the journal that she had been reading, since the previous week. It was written beautifully by a woman named Devasena, who was married to a Singham.

  Devasena was a well-educated person, and she led a fascinating life. The first journal and almost three-fourths of the second one as well, contained the details of the Devasena’s girlhood adventures. Devasena was one of the outliers who was trying to make her mark in the obviously male-dominated household. Towards the end of the second journal, details about Devasena preparing to marry a man she had never met were written evocatively.

  Anika could not understand why Devasena was looking forward to marrying a man she had never met, purely for the sake of family duty. Devasena had also written about how her would-be husband had a reputation for being brutal, while invoking swift justice.

  Just reading about Abhimanyu Singham and his deeds was terrifying. But for some reason, Devasena had written about his brutal acts as though they were something to be proud of. The journal ended the night before Devasena and Abhimanyu’s wedding.

  Anika was desperate to find the next volumes. Devasena’s situation seemed so similar to hers when it came to marrying strangers who led a violent and brutal life, yet the feelings they had towards their respective husbands was vastly different.

  “Tomorrow, I will be married to Abhimanyu Singham. I feel blessed by the chance given to me to secure the prosperity of the lands for generations to come. I will stand next to the man who has been destined to me through the hundred-year-old tradition. Together we will serve and protect our people. I will be Devasena Singham tomorrow.”

  Anika felt the enthusiasm and eagerness that Devasena had felt towards her marriage.

  Did Devasena lead a happy life? Or was she killed shortly by her brutal husband after the marriage?

  Anika badly wanted Devasena to be okay.

  CHAPTER 16

  Anika was still going through the list of library books in the dozens of catalogs spread around her, when she felt a prickling sensation on her neck. She looked up and her eyes met with an angry pair.

  “Why are you hiding here since this morning?” Abhay Singham demanded.

  “I-I like to read.” It had to be very late at night if he was back.

  He threw the book in his hand on a chair next to her. “You were supposed to spend time outside, so people know you are still alive.”

  “I tried.” She mumbled the words.

  “And?”

  “They said…they weren’t…I mean…they… they…” Anika’s tired brain wasn’t able to process, how to let him know in a diplomatic manner, that his people hated her, and didn’t want to deal with her.

  He loomed on top of her with a thunderous frown as he waited for an answer from her.

  Luckily there was a knock on the door that interrupted them.

  “Abhay!” A strained female voice called out to him, visibly shifting his expression. His frown morphed into alertness, and he strode out of the room. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she followed behind him out of the library.

  He went down the stairs, towards the ground floor, where a group of people had gathered. People parted as he neared, and Anika could see a small girl lying on the floor wheezing.

  One look at the girl’s splotchy, red face, Anika knew what was happening. Knowing there wasn’t a lot of time, she ran back upstairs, towards the bedroom and straight into the closet where her
suitcases were.

  She pulled her medical pouch out of one of her bags and rushed out, clutching it as she ran down the stairs.

  By the time she made it downstairs, the girl was coughing, and her skin was turning blue.

  Anika pulled out the liquid medication from the pouch. She pushed aside the people who were trying to make the girl drink more water. A few of them resisted, but she pulled the glass of water from their hands and poured it on the floor. “Stop, and move aside. She is having an allergic reaction.”

  Not bothering to wait for their reactions, she measured the medication and poured it into the girl’s mouth. “Swallow,” she told the girl in a calm, gentle voice.

  The girl looked at her and then tried to swallow the medication. But the look on her face made it clear that she was unable to swallow. With the next hacking cough, the medication spewed out.

  “What are you giving her?” A voice of a woman demanded. “Are you trying to kill her?”

  Anika recognized the voice from this morning. It was the same woman who had taunted her earlier that day. Murmurs grew around them, but Anika ignored them. She filled up the medicine into an inhaler and placed it over the girl’s mouth. When the girl began to breathe, Anika looked at the people hovering too close.

  “Move back. She needs some fresh air.”

  She hoped the girl would be able to breathe freely soon, but her symptoms seemed to be getting worse. She checked the girls pulse, and it was dropping.

  “We need an ambulance, now!” Anika told the people. She looked around frantically and saw Abhay Singham standing a few feet away, yelling into his phone.

  The girl’s coughs grew weaker, prompting Anika to pull out an adrenaline shot from the pouch. She grew up with severe food allergies, and knew exactly what the girl was going through.

  “She is going to kill our Meena,” someone in the background cried, but Anika ignored the remarks. She knew what she was doing. She adjusted the girl’s sleeve and drove the needle into the shoulder, releasing the medication.

  “Breathe,” she told the girl. “You’ll be fine in a few minutes.” She pulled out the second shot, just in case the first one didn’t work immediately. She placed the inhaler to the girl’s mouth, watching her closely, and feeling relieved to see the girl’s skin returning to a normal color.

  People began to hover over the girl again. “Please, step back. She needs air.”

  For a change, the people around complied, but she felt someone closing in on her again, and standing right next to her. “I said she needs to breathe! Move away!” She placed a hand on a leg, and pushed a little, but the person didn’t budge.

  When she looked up, her eyes met with Abhay Singham’s. Her palm froze on him for a moment before she jerked her hand back.

  “The doctor will be here in a minute,” he stated calmly.

  “S-she will be fine. She just had an allergic reaction, most likely food allergy.”

  Abhay turned to one of the elderly women who was standing next to the girl by her feet. “Did Meena eat anything new today?”

  “No,” replied the woman.

  “What did she eat?” Anika asked.

  “She ate prawn curry and started coughing a few minutes later.”

  Anika frowned. “Are they farmed or sea caught?” she asked.

  “Farmed,” Abhay replied quietly. “I think I know why she had this reaction.”

  Before Anika could ask him to explain, an older man carrying a bag, hurried towards the girl. “How is she?” he asked.

  Anika saw him remove a stethoscope from his case.

  The older woman began to explain what had happened with the child. She also mentioned that Anika had helped.

  The doctor smiled Anika. “Thank you for helping,” he said. “Have you read about dealing with allergic reactions?”

  “Yes."

  "That's great. I could use a lot of help here. I'm always short of people who are willing to help the injured or the sick. Maybe I can train you with some basic emergency techniques if you are interested."

  "No. That's not necessary," Anika replied.

  "Oh." The doctor's face fell. "I thought you would be interested. Abhay always helped when required, and I thought… "

  Anika shook her head. "No, I meant the training is not necessary, Dr. Rao. I'm already qualified."

  "Oh." Dr. Rao's eyes lit up. "Do you happen to be a nurse by chance?"

  "No. I'm a—" Anika broke off when she saw Abhay Singham's impassive face.

  Tearing her eyes away from the intimidating man's face, she looked at the eager face of the older man. "I'm a doctor. General medicine.”

  There was a stunned silence in the room.

  Then Dr. Rao broke into an excited grin. "That is such great news!"

  Anika smiled back tentatively.

  The doctor's eyes fell on her medical bag, placed on the ground. "So you didn't just give the girl some vapor to ease her breathing?" the doctor asked, looking confused.

  "No, I gave her an adrenaline shot." Anika gave him the details about dosage.

  “Oh… but how did you have the adrenaline shots handy to give the child?”

  “I have food allergies, and sometimes I have similar reactions.”

  Anika felt Abhay Singham's eyes on her. Until then, while she was dealing with an emergency, she had almost forgotten everything except for saving the girl’s life. She was back to the reality as soon as she felt his glare.

  Instead of thanking her, Abhay Singham looked pissed at her.

  Surprisingly, he directed his pissed-off gaze towards the doctor. “Dr. Rao, does Meena need to go to the hospital?”

  “No, she is fine now.” The doctor packed up his case and stood up.

  “It was my pleasure to meet you, Dr. Singham.” The innocent words of the doctor made her wince. Yikes, is that my new identity?

  “Take Meena inside and send up dinner to the suite,” Abhay instructed someone.

  He then directed his gaze towards her. “Let’s go.”

  When she stood rooted to the ground, feeling uncertain, his frown grew in size. He grabbed her wrist and tugged her towards him. The grip on her wrist wasn’t hard, but she felt the burn as he led her up the stairs to the master bedroom. He shut the door behind them as soon as they were back in the suite.

  Anika felt paralyzed when she saw the rage on his face. She cowered, expecting him to lash out at her about something or the other.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you had food allergies? You could have died if you ate something by accident while I was away.”

  She was so shocked by the unexpected question and statement, she stopped trembling. “I-I check before I eat anything.”

  “How?” he demanded.

  “I’m only allergic to food color, and I noticed no artificial colors have been used in any of the dishes here.”

  His frown softened. He was about to say something but stopped when they heard a soft knocking.

  “Come in,” he said out loud. And then he looked at her. “Have dinner and sleep here and not in the library.”

  She nodded slowly. He looked at her for a few tense moments before striding out of the room past the woman who was rolling in the food cart.

  The woman began to set the dishes on to the dining nook. After she was done, instead of walking away with the cart, she stood up and looked at Anika with a smile on her face.

  “My name is Lakshmi. I want to make you your favorite dish tomorrow.” The woman smiled sheepishly.

  “Thank you, Lakshmi. I liked the beetroot chutney that was made a few days ago. I would love to have some more tomorrow.”

  Lakshmi smiled again and left.

  After dinner and a shower, Anika laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling. So far, she had three potential allies—Dev, Dr. Rao, and Lakshmi. They seemed nice, but she didn’t know whether any of them would dare to cross Abhay Singham, to be able to sympathize with her situation and help her.

  That meant, apart from build
ing allies, she also needed to work faster on getting her family to safety.

  CHAPTER 17

  The next morning, when Anika went down to the kitchen, she saw a couple of smiling faces. Tentatively, she smiled back.

  “Dr. Singham, where would you like to have your breakfast?”

  Anika looked at the girl and recalled seeing her last evening. She had been standing close to the other girl who had the allergic reaction.

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to join some of you. That is if you haven’t had breakfast already.”

  The girl’s smile widened. “Sure. I’m Sonu by the way. I usually have my breakfast at eight in the garden.”

  “That sounds great, Sonu. Let me know what I need to carry from here.” Anika saw several large dishes laid out on the humungous kitchen island. She hadn’t had a chance to explore the mansion yet, but she was looking forward to it.

  “Oh no! You don’t have to carry it. I can bring them, and we have several helpers who can do it as well.”

  “I insist.” She smiled at the visibly surprised girl.

  She wondered why the girl looked so surprised when she insisted on helping. The people in the house addressed the man she was married to, by his name. The people here were considered part of the household rather than help. It was a complete contrast to what she had noticed at the Prajapati household. There was a clear expectation of deference when it came to Neelambari and Sabitha. In fact, she couldn’t imagine her aunt or cousin asking their maids and other help to call them by their first names.

  Did that mean, the man was not as much of a monster as she expected him to be?

  How bad could he be if his people addressed him by his name?

  With that thought, her mind eased a little. Picking up the tray with a few dishes placed on top, she followed behind Sonu.

  They sat near a part of the garden that offered a spectacular view of a fountain with a large lotus pond. There were other vivid colored flowering plants around it. Combined with the sounds of birds singing, it was very peaceful.