Chained

By Mehek Bassi

Love : One of the strongest emotions
Money : One of the deadliest powers
Fame : One of the most poisonous drugs

When fame overpowers trust, when money rules the relationships, will the true love survive?
Will Arjun be able to drag himself out of the pool of guilt, for killing his wife, Shiya?
When the superstar Rehan, is dragged from riches to rags, will he be able to live the life of a common man, again?
Is patience, always worth it?
For how long can you wait to re-unite with your lover?
What if the wait is as long as three decades?
Will they be able to change their fate, or they’ll forever remain ‘Chained’?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Notion Press
• Release date: Mar 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9789382447955

Book preview

Chained

Can you escape fate?

Mehek Bassi

Notion Press

5 Muthu Kalathy Street, Triplicane, Chennai - 600005

First Published by NotionPress

Copyright © Mehek Bassi 2013

All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 9789382447955

This book is sold subject to condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold or hired out, circulated and no reproduction in any form, in whole or in part (except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews) may be made without written permission of the publishers.

This book has been published in good faith that the work of the author is original. All efforts have been taken to make the material error-free. However, the author and the publisher disclaim the responsibility for any inadvertent errors.

This book is dedicated to the most inspiring

And loving couple in my life, my parents!

Thanks for everything!

Acknowledgements

Since this is my first book, so it’s going to be a little long. Please bear with me!

To start with, first of all, I bow to the almighty Kanha-ji, whose teachings guided me, and the infamous maxim from Sri Bhagwad Gita, ‘Karma kar, phal ki chinta mat kar’, always inspired me and kept my hopes high, throughout the book-writing process. Then, thanks to all the elderly people at my home, for blessing me, my grandparents, and everyone else!

Then, a special thanks to my parents, my father Dinesh Bassi, who instilled in me the habit of reading; the ultimate source of inspiration in my life, a self-made man, who taught me to always believe in yourself and your work. My mother Kiran Bassi, who would always make sure I was eating enough! Without you, I would not have been able to do anything mom, let alone writing freaking fifty thousand words for a book!

Gurleen Gill, my friend and a motivator, is the first person I would thank, who is behind my courage to start with this book. Harshvardhan Singh Sachdev, for encouraging me to revive my dead project (surprise!),Aakash Saxena, my mentor, my first critic and my ultimate support throughout this book; I thank you from core of my heart (literally!). Garima Dua, for helping me formulate the character of Razia Sheikh. Anjuri Mittu, for not contributing at all for this book, but for sorting out my mind every time I had creepy thoughts. For every time helping me out when I was on the verge of crying, or puking, or on the verge of puking while crying. I love you…

Thanks to my brother Ankit, who never believed in me, and who would always say that I can never write a book, your discouragement encouraged me to do this! And I know, deep within you’re so proud of me, I love you too…

Thanks to Jenil Gogari, for always being the ultimate support and a great listener! Then, Greha Lodaya for correcting so many grammatical errors and in the end, reviewing it like no one else did! Mayur Sharma, Nishita Salia, Moulshree Tripathi, Jinee Goyal, Mehak Sharma, for guiding and keeping my hopes high! Manjot Sagoo, Arshita Arora and Ekta Mittal for simply being sweethearts! Lastly, Riddhi Kumra, for being Riddhi Kumra (your phone call, did it all!).

Thanks to my teachers , Surmit Sir, for guiding me, Barjinderma’am for always blessing me, and all the Kundan-ites and Genconians who wished me luck. Sorry if I missed out anyone!

Then to Notion Press, for simply being AWESOME! Had you guys not been there, everything would have been so tough and messy.

Lastly, to that one person, because of whom I started writing poems and sonnets, and subsequently, this book too; the one person who taught me that life is not a bed of roses and not every story has a fairy tale happy ending.

Some stories are simply meant to remain incomplete, forever…

Vo pyaar hi kya jo dobara ho jaaye,

Vo dil hi kya jo kisi ek ka na ho paaye,

Mohabbat karna to koi unse seekhe,

Jo juda hoke bhi ek doosre ko bhula na paaye,

Pyaar ka matlab to koi unse puche,

Jo door reh ke bhi kisi aur ki taraf na jaaye,

Dil mein us ek ki tasveer jab hamesha ke liye bas jaaye,

Usi ek ke intezaar mein jab saari umr beet jaaye,

Jab aankhein band karke bhi bas usi ka chehra nazar aaye,

Koi us paagal ko yeh samjhaaye,

Ki vo pyaar hi kya jo dobara ho jaaye…

--Mehek Bassi

Prologue

21st November, 2015

It was Saturday morning and as usual, Arjun had nothing much to do, he was sitting idle on the balcony of his room, surrounded by a beautiful hanging garden with water dripping from the earthen pots, a mild rainfall, and with a hot coffee mug in his hand, staring blankly at the sky, random thoughts flowing into his mind.

‘What went wrong? How did he come so far? Without her, life had been difficult, every single day passed as a challenge. His each breath was causing an unbearable pain in his heart. Pain of being alive, without her, and with every second of his life he cursed himself, for he killed her…’

With a teardrop in his eye, and a heavy heart, he moved inside, and opened the drawer. It was now two years since she left him. He looked at her photograph. She was still alive, in his memories, and his heart. She was always there with him.

With her picture in his hands and millions of things going on in his mind, he could not stop himself. He screamed out loud, hugged her photograph and begged her to come back. Told her that life without her was miserable, he begged for forgiveness. Every day of his life had become a suffering now. He was not only used to her, but obsessedby her, and now when she was away, he could nottolerate even a single second of isolation. This empty life was killing him, and he wanted freedom, from everything.

He somehow gathered the courage to stand up and look at her picture. The morning just passed away in her thoughts, bright sun was shining overhead. It was afternoon, his mother called him for lunch. He simply did not feel the need to eat anything, he just wanted to get absorbed in his bed and sob, and this was his annual routine. On every 21st of November, he would isolate himself from everyone, for this day was special in every sense for him.

Every week he would bury himself in work and on weekends, he would drown himself in either his bar or pool of her memories. His friends, colleagues, parents, all failed to convince him, to get married again.

He was becoming an insomniac, he could hardly sleep. Work was what he did, every second, and he had made his life so busy that he simply did not require any girl to keep him company. Her memories were a company enough. His parents were worried, they tried talking to him, counselled him, they told him it was not his fault, but he was lost in the guilt of killing his own wife.

‘Arjun, come out, enough now son. Come out for lunch, and look who has come to meet you. Open the door, son’ said his father, beating his knuckles on the door, but Arjun was lost in his own world.

‘Later Dad…’ he said with watery eyes and quivering voice, digging his face in the pillow.

His father opened the door of his room, saw him with his head buried in the pillow, he sighed, ‘Son, for how long are you going to live like this, and punish yourself? You are nearing your thirties now and we understand you loved her, but now…’

‘Dad, you know its 21st November today, please leave me alone’.

‘I’m sorry. We are waiting downstairs; Mr. Khurana and his family have come to meet you. His daughter, she wants to meet you too. He has come with a proposal, for your marriage’ his father stressed on the last word of the sentenced, and it threw Arjun out of his senses.

Arjun got up in disgust and left his home, he was always reluctant, to even talk about having another girl in his life. His wife was his first love, and he could never forget her. Nobody in the world could take her place. She was amazing, she was perfect, and she was the only one who was made for him. He had promised her that he would be with her till the last breath of his life, and now he was fulfilling that promise.

Arjun left the house, and went to that place again. It was a sunny morning, with birds chirping, a cool breeze blowing his hair, the gentle warmth of the sun, caressing his body. He was walking with his head held down, in sheer despair. The same sound surrounded him from the past two years.

Nurses busy with their jobs, doctors rushing here and there, some sweet cries of newborn babies, and some excruciating mourns of people who lost their loved ones. Some crippled patients being carried to hospital for treatment, while some dead bodies, being carried away. The very contrasting environment was his abode from the past two years now. It was the Hospital where his life was residing, her heart was working, but her body was numb, she was in comatose.

‘Hey Shiya, happy anniversary baby… see, its exactly two years, that we’re married now. Nobody understands me, since the day you’ve left, I’m paralyzed. I told you to never leave me alone and you know I’m so dependable, then how could you…?’ His voice cracked and tears gushed out from his eyes.

‘It’s been two years now baby and I can’t bear this long distance relationship anymore. Sweetheart, please, come back, please, wake up baby’ he held her hand gently and kissed it. He could feel her bones. She was becoming pale and weak.

She wasn’t answering him from past two years now, but still every time he visited her, he always asked her so many questions, as if she was listening, with full consciousness, as if she was awake. But in the end, he had to answer himself to his satisfaction. He got up, kissed her forehead, kept the bunch of white orchids on the bedside, with a note displaying:

‘Happy Anniversary, baby!

I miss you so much, Shiya.

Arjun is incomplete without you’

It was 4pm already, and he was supposed to go to the temple for prayer. Arjun was an atheist, but Shiya believed in God, and with her incurable sickness, he was forced to pray as well. He went to the temple every Sunday, to beg for Shiya’s well-being. Although he was sick of this routine now, but he never missed it. God seemed to be his last and only hope.

But even God wasn’t answering his prayers. Shiya was numb and unconscious from the past two years. Her family had lost all hopes of her recovery, but Arjun had one single ray of hope, that she’ll come back, because she promised him that till her heart is beating, she’ll be with him.

Arjun got up, saw his sweetheart, took a deep breath and started walking out of the hospital. He raced his car, reached the temple, and spent hours recalling everything that happened on that fateful day.

He reached home, late in the evening. His parents knew that asking questions or talking about anything can irritate Arjun. His mental state was out of control, and today, he wasn’t in the mood to talk about anything at all.

He ran to his bedroom, banged the door hard and went into the balcony. He remembered Shiya’s 19th birthday, where after the party they went to a hotel and Arjun give her the most beautiful surprise. In that balcony only, they had their first kiss.

It was a beautiful place, and it was a beautiful weather back then, it was a December evening. Cold and foggy, and it was a perfect time to have their first kiss. He recalled her red, blushing face after they kissed. She could not even look into his eyes properly, while he could not take his eyes off her.

She was looking gorgeous that day, with a sleeveless black one piece dress beneath Arjun’s jacket that protected her from cold, and hugged her fragile body so warmly. Her eyes were mesmerizing, with only a fainted tint of black eyeliner and a fine streak of Kohl on her waterline, her huge bright eyes, looked so magical. Her lips, with little shade of light pink lipstick, and a natural pout, looked so perfect. She wore no makeup, and she was looking no less than a princess that night! He fell deeply in love with her.

Arjun was tired of everything, his eyes were so red and puffed up, and they were paining. He needed some sleep. He lied down on his bed, closed his eyes. He could see Shiya smiling, laughing, and running after him with a bowl of face-pack!

‘Come here you idiot, or I’ll pour it all over you!’ her sweet voice echoed in his mind, and he got up with a jerk!

He opened the cupboard, took out a briefcase where Shiya was buried for two years now. He had kept all their memories, her diary, her photos with him, their all videos together, everything in it. He opened the briefcase that he had closed two years ago, with a vow that he’ll never open it until Shiya comes back. But tonight he just could not stop himself, for he wanted to submerge into Shiya once again.

He wanted to drown in the memories of his love, to the times where he could see her smile. He mustered his strength and forced himself through his tears to open it. His eyes wandered to the photo album that spoke more than he did recently. He moved on to the bunch of CDs, some captured those special moments, some her voice, the voice that her fans worshipped, a voice that plucked the strings of million hearts. His hands then strayed onto the scattered letters that they wrote to each other. Every time he scrimmaged through them he felt closer to her, so close that he could sense her inside him.

The feelings were overwhelming. His mind replayed everything, all the special memories and the feelings since the blissful day that he had seen her for the first time, nine years ago, his love at first sight…

Contents

Title

Copyright

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Part 1 The Rising

Love at First Sight

Journey of Life

The Commitments

Mother Marvellous

Mystery Unveils

Romancing the Rains

Possessive Fame

Part 2 The Stardom

Rehan — The Rock-Star!

Saga of Squabbles

The First International Vacation

The Concert

Demise and Disguise

Return of the Prodigy

Something is Fishy!

Blemish of the Past

Revisiting the Past

Part 3 The Atrophy

Connecting the Missing Links

What Goes Around, Comes Around

Back on Track

Celebration Time

Unearthing the Dead

The Final