Chapter 21: A Morning Visitor

It was a credit to Madhuri that she did not scream or run away to find her daughter’s future father-in-law standing at the door. Vikram also didn’t show any surprise at finding his future samdhan standing in his son’s flat wearing only his son’s shirt.

“Good morning, Madhuri.” He said “I was hoping to see Rohan before he left for his meeting.”

Madhuri smiled “Good Morning, Vikram ji, please come in. Rohan is taking a shower.”

“Thank you.” Vikram came in. Madhuri closed the door and came over “Please take a seat. He might be a while. He takes time in the shower.”

“Yes, I know.” Vikram said. He sat down in a sofa chair.

“Of course, you would know.” Madhuri said “It’s just ... I mean ... would you like some tea?”

“Not just yet, but...” Vikram looked at her “Madhuri, please sit down.”

Madhuri sat down on the long sofa near him. She looked at him.

“Look, Madhuri, we are not children.” Vikram started “You and I are both adults. You have been a beauty queen and a model. I have been in business for so long that I have seen a lot of stuff already. I have even been judge on many beauty contests. We don’t have any reason to be embarrassed.”

“Well, I am not sure I would agree.” Madhuri smiled “I hung my dress in the bathroom or I would...”

Vikram shook his head “Madhuri, I am not as stupid as I look. I notice things other people don’t notice. I knew sooner or later, Rohan was going to acquire you.”

“You did?” Madhuri’s eyes opened wide.

He nodded “You are a stunning woman, one of the most beautiful women as you have proven. I have seen how Rohan looks at you. He likes you and I knew he was going to have you. And why not, as his mother-in-law, he has every right on you.”

“Oh.” Was all that Madhuri could say.

“I knew that he was going to take you in hand,” Vikram continued “I don’t know what took him so long. Frankly, I think he made the final decision to marry Manushi, who is a delightful girl, after deciding that he would have you in his possession as well.”

“Possession?” She looked at him though she knew what he meant.

Vikram smiled “His mother and I divorced when he was young. I have brought him up and given him guidance in his adulthood. Therefore, I am privy to more information about his character and style than most fathers know about their sons’ sex life. He is a strong, dominant man, but not cruel. He likes to possess things but does not abuse or damage them. If he is dating your daughter then I can guarantee that she is his possession and now you as well. I have no issues with either.”

“You don’t?”

“I have lived most of my life adult life in America. I know the good and bad that’s there to know about sex.” Vikram said “When you make as much money as I do, you get to know a lot about sex because one is interconnected with the other. In your case, Manushi loves him, so there’s no harm in a wife belonging to her husband. You yourself being in your position will look after him and want to make him happy. And I know that he can make you happy.”

“How do you mean?”

“Madhuri, don’t take me wrong, but when you have a lot of money, people treat you differently.” Vikram looked her right in the eyes “When Rohan started getting serious about Manushi, I did a thorough investigation into your family.”

“What?” Madhuri’s jaw dropped.

“Rohan doesn’t know about it, but I know all that there is to know about your family.” Vikram nodded “I found out that you are an upper middle-class business family with your own issues, like every family does. But the main thing that I was interested in was that while you don’t have a lot of money, your family is not very money-minded. That was all that I needed to know to make sure that Rohan wasn’t making the wrong decision.”