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Word Count : 3000

Song : Labyrinth | Taylor Swift |

https://youtu.be/xTXsKMXUi7w

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33  |  The Harley Hog

Mahadevan stepped into their bedroom and walked towards the four-poster bed erect in the middle of the room.

Scrolling through the WhatsApp group Anirudh's Karate mentor had created a week ago, he perused the latest message that had popped up on the screen while waiting patiently for his wife who was showering inside the bathroom.

Scrunching the skin sandwiched between his brows, he clicked his tongue. The academy had conveniently postponed the orientation program to the next day morning without any prior notice.

Shaking his head, he wended his way towards the wireless charger kept on the bedside nightstand to put his phone on charging. He then turned around and walked in the direction of the closet.

Closing the closet door behind his back, he rotated his neck and stretched his shoulders and arms to release the stress accumulated in his body. He then unclasped the watch around his left wrist and started sauntering towards his side of the closet when his eyes fell on the pale pink linen dupatta with grey borders sprawled on the diwan.

A faint and quick curve of his lips graced his face as he picked it up from the diwan and brought it towards his face, inhaling in the familiar fragrance of vanilla mixed with citrus along with exceptionally subtle notes of watermelon.

The very fragrance that was enough to heavily intoxicate him for the rest of his life and beyond.

But then his ears quirked up the moment he heard the faint sounds of the shutting off of the shower. Rapidly aiming the delicate piece of pale pink fabric in his hand back onto the diwan, he hastily turned around to move forward with the initial task he was here for, just when the silver bathroom door handle gyrated in its axis.

The door opened and she slowly walked out.

Clothed in a white bathrobe, water droplets dripping down her slender neck, she was gently patting her hair with a towel to dry it. His eyes followed that one drop of water which slithered down the lobe of her right ear onto the supple curve of her cheek, eventually skidding down her pale sylphlike neck and ending its life at the base of her covered swells. The stark contrast of her wet, heavy, twilight black and wavy strands against the backdrop of the white robe created a sight ethereal enough for even the heavenly creatures to peer at. But what stole most of his attention was her exposed left shoulder and the clavicle— pale and lissome yet supple, courtesy of the loose bathrobe.

His hands began to tremble, cheeks and jaws heated up while taking up a deep shade of rubicund.

And just then, it happened—at the drop of a hat.

Dark brown swirls of the formidable earth met against their twilight black counterparts of the indomitable night sky.

His breath hitched and so did hers.

The pulsating organ in his sternum raged with an abnormal pace in its confines and so did hers.

With one flutter of her eyelashes, she sprinted towards her side of the closet, grabbed the first piece of clothing that touched her hands— a black pashmina shawl with golden borders meant for the winters, wrapped it modestly around her shoulders and chest and then stood there like an awkward rock, her bashful eyes down-casted on the floor.

He cleared his throat the moment he felt his pants tightening up. "I apologize." Whispering so, he hurriedly grabbed an Egyptian cotton towel and dashed towards the bathroom door.

Just when he was about to enter the bathroom, he declared in a state of rush without turning back, "Anirudh's Karate Academy orientation program has been postponed to tomorrow morning. Karim might be reaching here anytime now. Please inform both him and Vijay Bhai about it."

"Okay." She hesitantly breathed out, her eyes still looking at the floor.

And then the bathroom door violently collided against its frame causing Hinduja to exhale loudly.

An hour and a half later, Mahadevan found himself sitting next to his brother-in-law, son, and chief of security, all of them patiently cooling their heels for his wife.

Anirudh who was no longer dressed in his Karate Gi, crouched his plump body sheathed in a dungaree and t-shirt to the front to get hold of the potato wafers stationed on the center table.

"Oye, Potato circuit! No more junk for the day!" Vijaypath Rao bellowed out loudly while catching hold of the toddler from his shirt collar.

"Brat" The toddler's father muttered.

Karim on the other hand looked rather confused. 'Interesting nickname.'

Within the next few moments, Hinduja entered the living hall causing the male population in the hall to straighten up their backs. Unfortunately for Mahadevan, the moment his gaze fell on her, all the things that had transpired in the closet flashed right in front of his eyes.

And there it was, that tight feeling knocking at his pants again. Alert of his surroundings, out of nowhere, Karim's eyes fell on his boss's lap, on the gradual protrusion forming up in his pants.

The poor guy almost had his eyes bulging out of their sockets. He hastily glanced at the boss's wife, then turned around to glance at her brother, the Commander who was trying to subdue the crotchety toddler sitting on his lap.

Oh, the holy heavens!

He expeditiously picked up the plate of potato wafers from the center table and placed it right on top of his boss's crotch.

Anirudh scowled at Karim, seeing him snatching away the plate of wafers and stationing them on his father's lap.

Feeling the weight on the region between his legs, Mahadevan immediately averted his gaze from his wife and looked at the plate of wafers on his lap. Eyes enlarged, he then angled his head towards Karim and offered him a thankful nod. Karim nodded back.

Unknown to all this, the brother, sister, and toddler trio continued with their respective actions.

"Alright everyone, I had something to discuss." Saying so, she made herself comfortable on the sofa opposite to the four of them. Seeing her, Anirudh flailed his arms and legs around, wanting to go to her.

"Here, handle your potato on your own!" And the said little potato was handed over to his mother by his maternal uncle.

A few wet kisses and giggles later, the mother-son duo finally shifted their attention back to the three grown males in the room. "Alright everyone, I had something to discuss."

The three gown males quirked their ears up in attention; the one on the extreme right adjusted the plate of potato wafers on his crotch area.

"The thing is that the news of our marriage is yet not out in the public." Saying so, she pointed out at each one of them, "So, obviously, none of us can be seen together in public places which includes Anirudh's Karate Academy as well."

Vijaypath sighed. "How long are you both going to continue like this molu?"

"Until the end of this month." She promptly replied.

"And you both will announce your marriage after this designated period?" Vijaypath shot back glancing at Mahadevan.

Mahadevan nodded, but for some reason, when his gaze shifted towards his wife, the expression on her face caused him to knit his eyebrows together— a mixture of deep introspection along with a hint of a barely perceptible lopsided smile.

The knots between his brows turned even more intense.

"But why?" He heard his brother-in-law questioning his wife.

Hinduja came out of the trance she was in, "It's obvious, Bhai." She paused, adjusting Anirudh's left leg properly on her lap. "Who are you?" She questioned.

"I beg your pardon." Vijaypath looked on with confusion.

Hinduja rolled her eyes. " I mean, what's your position? Where do you work and what do you work as?"

Vijaypath Rao shrugged his shoulders. "I am Commander Vijaypath Rao, Retired. I work as the chief CVTS Surgeon in the Vedayangam hospital chain."

"And?" Hinduja probed further.

Vijaypath frowned and then it suddenly dawned upon him, "Oh yeah! I also happen to be the Managing Director and the Chief Medical Officer of the Vedayangam Hospital chain courtesy of that oldie! He is himself relaxing up there in the skies, while here I am, battling a bunch of money-minded ancient midgets every day in the hospital, preventing the hospital chain from turning into a money-hoarding business! Tsk-tsk-tsk." He clicked his tongue thrice while shaking his head.

"Exactly." Hinduja then directed her finger at her husband, still not meeting his eyes after the closet scene. "Who is he?"

"Mahadevan Dogra, my brother-in-law and also the President and Chairman of the Dogra Corporation," Vijaypath answered within a second.

Nodding her head, Hinduja pointed her finger at Karim. "Who is he?'

Vijaypath sighed. "He is Karim Khan, the chief of security at the Dogra Corporation."

And then, she finally pointed her index finger at herself. "Who am I?"

"Hinduja Rao Dogra, my sister and his wife." He said pointing at Mahadevan. "You also happen to be an Indian Administrative Service Officer, presently serving as the Sub Divisional Magistrate of the NCR region. Happy?"

"Precisely." She mockingly smiled back. "And as of now bhai, I am involved in the investigation of the Maia's month abduction case."

"What!?" Vijaypath Rao shot up from the sofa as if his buttocks were stationed on volcanic lava. "When? How? And why hasn't Bakhtawar informed me about these developments till now?" He fired out questions one after the other.

Hinduja massaged her glabella in irritation. "I asked him not to. Sit down now. Don't act like those star plus brides whose would-be-husbands leave them on the altar on the day of the wedding. You hate them anyway."

Mahadevan and Karim glanced at each other, clearing their throats in the process.

Vijaypath Rao shot daggers at his younger sister with his eyes while settling back on the sofa.

Meanwhile, the toddler let out light snores in his mother's embrace.

"Can we now come to the main point?" Mahadevan interrupted.

"Yes, we can." Hinduja answered. "My main concern is that all of us are in influential positions and while you three are known figures, I am a civil servant, currently involved in a high-profile case. If at all, our relations with each other come in front of the public, it will be a huge mess. The weakest point of us all..." She looked down at the kid dozing off in her arms. "Anirudh; Disclosing our marriage in the public eye is equivalent to putting Anirudh's safety in jeopardy. And, in no way, I will let that happen, ever. Secondly, the moment my relationship with Dogra Sahib will be out in the civilian world, I will have to go through names like Gold-digger, opportunist, and slut no matter what."

"As if I would let that happen to you." Mahadevan placidly remarked, crossing his right leg over his left one sophisticatedly, the dark edge in his voice well veiled under the calmness on his visage. 

Vijaypath smirked while Karim maintained a poker face.  

Gulping the knot down her throat. "You will not do anything." She ordered.

"Try me." He challenged.

Staunchly meeting his blank dark brown eyes, she reiterated, "I repeat, you won't do anything. Just give me time till the end of this month to prepare well for this because after that you can announce our marriage whenever and however you want." She concluded, still staring right through his cloak of nonchalance. "I assure you, nothing will go wrong at that time."

The other two men agreed after some contemplation.

Mahadevan sighed, offering a quick nod at the end.

"Hence, tomorrow, we all will go separately in different cars to drop Anirudh at the academy."

Each of the men nodded once again.

"Dogra Sahib will leave with Ani and Karim bhai in his mode of transportation." She then shifted her focus to her brother. "You will go separately in your car and I will drive mine." Saying so, she got up from the sofa, ready to leave the living room with the tiny sleeping figure in her arms.

"The orientation starts at nine a.m. tomorrow. Dogra Sahib and Karim Bhai along with Anirudh will reach the venue at sharp 8:45 tomorrow. Bhai, make sure you reach the venue at 8:50. Okay?" She asked.

Vijaypath nodded.

"And I will try to be at the venue by 8:57. Yeah?"

Vijaypath scratched the stubble on his jawline. "But, Mahadevan and Karim will both go there as circuit's parent and guardian respectively. What excuse will we both make?"

Hinduja shook her head again. "Simple bhai. Don't disclose that you are Dogra Sahib's brother-in-law. Just say that you are his friend. Both of you are known figures so it won't be that unbelievable. Right?"

"What about you?" Mahadevan probed.

Gently patting Anirudh's back, she replied, "I'll say that I am there to check out the Academy as I too have a daughter whom I want to admit in the academy. Clear?"

"Chalak lomdi" Vijaypath commented.

Karim tried to suppress the smile emerging on his face.

Later in the night, Mahadevan stepped out of his study and ventured into his son's playroom, only to witness the uncle-nephew duo dozing off in the weirdest possible position.

He clicked his tongue.

Almost immediately, a beautiful image popped up in his mind. Closing the playroom door behind his back, he marched straight towards the master bedroom.

Vaulting over the threshold of their bedroom, he found her going through some files on the bed. With great hesitation, he finally cleared his throat to gain her attention.

She looked up, meeting his eyes.

"I apologize for what happened at the closet today." He mumbled.

Hinduja chuckled. "Don't apologize. It's nothing to feel sorry about."

He offered her a faint nod and then continued with the purpose he was here for. "Can we go for a ride now?"

"Sorry?" Hinduja looked on with confusion.

"A ride; a bike ride to be precise." He cleared.

"You have a bike?" She quizzed back in amusement and surprise.

"Well, I do." He smiled.

"But at this hour?" She hesitated. "Also we are not supposed to be seen together."

"Inu, it's dark outside and we will also wear helmets. No one will recognize us. And much to our luck, Vijay Bhai is here with Ani. He will be safe."

Hinduja examined the offer made by her husband from every angle with much consideration.

"Alright, let's go."

Mahadevan grinned.

For reason, it looked comical to her.

To witness a man who smiled in front of none but grinned in front of her like a Cheshire cat was ... well... amusing.

Fifteen minutes down the line, he saw her coming out in a tracksuit and a pair of Converse shoes while he was dressed in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, jacket, and biker boots.

Bolting the door of their penthouse apartment behind their backs, both of them took the elevator on the other side of the corridor specifically meant for Mahadevan's use. He pressed the button meant for the ground floor section while she stood behind him surveying the chic interiors of the elevator.

The elevator began with its motion, dropping them on the ground floor at the end.

As per what she was aware of, this particular well-lit section filled with the most luxurious automobiles specifically belonged to the man walking in front of her. He guided her through the long rows of cars, finally ceasing his movements in front of a long secluded room.

"Wait right here." Instructing so, he unlocked the doors of the room and entered inside.

She wanted to peek inside but she didn't.

And then she heard a distinctive roar—a low, deep-throated, somewhat syncopated vibration. Within the next second, she witnessed her husband emerging out of the long hall-type room on what looked like a bike, a shiny black beast of a bike— a Harley Davidson to be precise. Mahadevan's head on the other hand was covered by a biker helmet.

She gazed at the entire scene with intrigue.

Ceasing the movements of the Harley right in front of her, he handed over a much smaller-looking helmet to her. "Hope on." He voiced out.

Gliding the helmet down her head, he helped her to clasp its strap. She took a roundabout around the back side of the Harley and got up to settle on the backseat.

He slowly maneuvered the Harley out of his vehicle base on the ground floor, finally finding himself under the envelope of night sky.

"Hold me tight." She heard him instruct.

She tilted her head up to gaze at the vast expanse of jet-black, rain-washed sky shrouding the entire city under its silky veil.

No one would recognize them in the darkness of the night, right?

For once, she wanted her wishes to win over her self-imposed restrictions. She wanted to let go just this once, and so she did.

Securely wrapping her willowy arms around his waist, she shifted closer to him. All of a sudden, the air current in her surroundings took on a sudden tempo, causing the hair branching out from underneath the helmet around her head onto her shoulders and back to flow wildly. She felt his shoulders tighten as the Harley-Davidson Road Glide they were settled on roared through the bright city lights of Delhi.

Peace gradually weighed on her shoulders instead of perturbation.

She smiled.

And, unknown to her, he did too.

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