Tuesday, November 1, 2016

THE GIRL WHO LOVED A SPY (free sample chapter)


THE GIRL WHO LOVED A SPY (free sample): Heena had always wanted to be a dancer. She knew she was beautiful. The boys in her village had made it easy for her to get this impression. They were always following her, singing songs to impress her, asking her to accompany them to Aligarh to watch movies. Once she realized the perks of being beautiful, her ambition skyrocketed. She would ask her lovers to get her beauty creams, clothes, and cosmetics. In return, she hung out with them and sometimes even allowed them to touch her. Before she was sixteen, Heena had broken off relationships with three boyfriends when she realized they didn’t have any money left to spend on her. Her only requirement was money because with it, she knew, she could stay desirable all her life. She liked getting the attention of men.

When Hakim visited her home and someone told her that he was from Mumbai, she liked him instantly. His age did not matter because he was someone who had money and lived in the right place. She was overcome with the desire to go with him and make a new future. She already loved Mumbai, even though she had never been there. She knew Mumbai had colour, a beautiful sea, and lots of money. When she heard that Hakim had promised her father a sum of ten lakh rupees as meher, she was ecstatic. With that kind of money, she could buy her own house in Mumbai and live happily.

Looking at Hakim’s eyes and seeing the way he looked hungrily at her bosom, she immediately knew what he really wanted. It would be easy. By that point, she had slept with many men. Hakim was her way out, and all she needed to give him in return was her body. She’d married him without any further thought. He would take her to Mumbai with dignity and give her money to be happy. She made up her mind to stay with him for six months. It would be long enough for her to figure out how things worked in Mumbai. After that, she could start dancing in films. Soon, she would be a huge star.

When Heena reached Mumbai, her dreams were shattered. Her rich husband was a pauper here. She had to live in a stinking chawl and share two small rooms with two other women and ten children aged six to eighteen. The women were much older than her and chewed pans endlessly, not talking to her. After winning Hakim’s confidence and becoming his favourite wife, with whom he spent all his nights now, she’d informed him about her plans to dance in the movies and learnt that she couldn’t succeed. No matter how hard she tried to please him, Hakim said he would never give her permission to pursue her dreams. He said: ‘Dancing in the movies is a cheap thing to do.’ That made her dislike Hakim to such a degree that she started thinking of ways to get rid of him.

One afternoon, she met Imran. She had gone to the hand-pump in front of the chawl to fetch water for her bath. He winked at her and she smiled.

Then she walked up to him. ‘Don’t you know that I’m married?’

He laughed. ‘Yes, I know. I’ve watched you from the moment you arrived as a bride six months ago. But I am surprised… what are you doing spoiling your life with a loser like Hakim?’ Imran went on to say that he was twenty-three and had a job that paid him fifty thousand a month. He said she was beautiful and had a great voice. His lips were dry when he said this, and she watched him lick them again and again to keep them moist.

Heena looked at him closely. He had green eyes, a wide jaw, and an athletic, six-foot body. He wore a shirt with its top button open that fell loosely over his blue jeans. His teeth were white when he smiled, and his hands were long and powerful. She wanted to be held in his arms; she wanted to be told that she could be a dancer. ‘I want to be a dancer in the movies. Can you help me?’

Imran smiled. ‘Yes. I know a few people in the film industry. I can talk to them. Yes, we can make you a dancer in the movies.’

That evening, she quietly slipped into his small room and gave herself wholeheartedly to him. She knew he would get addicted to her charm.

* From, "The Girl Who Loved a Spy". To read more, order the latest from here at Rs 150: http://amzn.to/2dEUHRh

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