1 The Queen of the Hearth Part 1

ItIt was difficult for Jasvinder (or Jassi) to imagine how much her life had changed in just two years. As a gold medalist honours graduate in English Literature from one of the best colleges in Delhi University, she had envisioned a very different life for herself than the one she was being made to live right now. She was the champion of women rights since her school days, and now she was tending the hearth in the home of a god-forsaken remote village of Haryana she had never heard of earlier. She was a wife of a 55-year old man who bought her from her abductor to be his sex slave. Yes, sex slave! She was bought for that purpose. For all the others in the family and extended family, she was just a 'slave' whom they called 'daughter-in-law'.

When her ex-beloved had invited her to his flat on the night of the graduation day, she was flummoxed! At the age of 21, she had her share of crushes and one or two passing affairs during her teenage years but this time, she was sure that she had met someone with whom she wanted to spend her whole life. When her beau came to her in a limousine in a three-piece suit, it was like a dream come true for her.

Brought up on a diet of Hollywood movies and TV shows instead of grandma's stories, she had never imagined her prince or knight in the shining armour to come to her riding on a white horse. Instead, she wanted a western touch to the scenario where her beloved would come in a limousine wearing a smart three-piece suit and a bit of a little fruit-scented lip balm to make the parting kiss linger on her breath for hours after the special moment. Ranjeet (Renny) had honoured her wish and made her dream come true.

Renny was a few years older to Jassi. He had an agency of Apollo Tyres which must be doing very well - considering how much money he used to spend on her. Every day of the four months she had been together with Renny, he had been full of new surprises - from gifts to dresses to shopping sprees to amusement parks to trekking with friends to sudden swimming challenges.

He never drank, never smoked - and was too perfect.

This was the sign that Jassi missed. 'Too perfect' screams deception but alas, she was too naive then.

When Renny had invited Jassi to his flat and promised her a night she would never forget, she could not resist. She had no one to answer to at home. Her uncle, who had been paying for her studies and upkeep, used to see her once a year during summer vacations. Her parents had died in an accident long ago - perhaps when she was about five years old. The uncle was a friend of his family and used to say that he did not know anyone on both sides of her family and no one ever came to claim her. The uncle was kind and loving but his family could not accept her presence. For them, she was just an unwanted liability. To avoid the drama, the uncle had admitted her to a boarding school.

In the beginning, he used to come and see her every month. Then as the years went by, the number of his visits every year dwindled until he only visited her once a year. Every month, he used to put some money in her account though.

Jassi was an intelligent girl. She adjusted well and focussed on studies. During summer vacations and winter holidays, she used to go to stay at one friend's house or another one and managed to excel in whatever she did.

When Renny came into her life, he was like a soothing balm to her gaping wounds. She got so blinded by her infatuation that she missed all the warnings of the disaster that would soon claim her whole life.

That night, when Renny took her to his flat (after the dinner and the movie), he rang the bell. The door was opened by his servant. Jassi smiled at him but he who looked at Jessi with a sneer and contempt. It hurt Jassi but she did not let it mar the expressions on her face.

'Perhaps he thinks that I am a girl of a questionable character coming to the home of a bachelor at 10 pm in the night. Not his fault though. The lack of exposure to the outside world limits one's perception of others', she reasoned. She decided not to ruin the moment and ignored him. Second mistake she made. She should have run then.

When they entered the room, a man was already sitting on a sofa. Though he was wearing a suit and a tie, it was clear that he was not used to such clothes. His shoes were shiny but he seemed uncomfortable in them too. When Renny saw him, he stiffened a bit. But the next moment, he beamed at him.

"Mr Rajeshwar! So, you made it here, huh? Are you here to give me the money I requested?"

"Sure Sir." The man gave Jassi a head-to-toe look. Jassi's insides trembled but she held her ground and returned a cold, indifferent stare.

Renny caught her expression.

"It's alright. She will soon be my wife. We can discuss finances in front of her."

He gave Jassi a re-assuring loving look and clasped her hands a little.

Jassi relaxed. It meant a lot to her that Renny introduced her to his business associates as a fiancee. He had always been a perfect gentleman. The gesture showed that he was a genuine person. The third time, she made a mistake in judging a person, a mistake which sealed her fate forever.

The man gave some bundles of Rs 2,000 notes to Renny. The servant had already been asked to leave. Renny carelessly threw the bundles to Jassi and asked her to count the money while he could bring some tea and snacks for his guest. What a trust he placed in her!

Jassi counted it to be Rs 12 lakh. Renny returned with teacups for everyone. As she sipped on her tea silently, Renny was saying to the man,

"Mr Rajeshwar, you have a fine choice but I know I am the best dealer in Delhi."

She saw Mr Rajeshwar's face lit up as her eyes grew heavy.

"You are extremely tired, my dear. Come here", Renny said in her ears as he came a little closer to her.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep on his shoulders.