THE SEDUCTRESS
He knew the very second their eyes locked that she desired him. And that she was his type, the adventurous one. No, they had never met before, never knew of each other’s existence until now. He crossed the whole length of the sprawling lobby, looking at her, smiling his mischievous smile. She took it all in shamelessly imagining what lies beneath his well-tailored shirt.
‘Shall we?’, he said.
‘Sure’, she replied swinging her laptop into its bag and got up to lead the way.
Her room, then. By leading, she had decided. Words were redundant when intention spoke louder.
She slid the card to light the room, dropped the bag on the floor but refused to let go of his lips that had stayed on hers from the time they alighted from the lift. His hands were where she wanted them to be feeling her up. She held him against the wall with her body while her hands searched for his zipper.
She knelt.
His moans egged her on.
He pulled her up, cleverly, not wanting to end too soon. His wet tongue played with her earlobes while his fingers efficiently unclasped her brassiere. She gasped in anticipation as his hands searched for more. Each clothing was discarded hurriedly.
They collapsed on the bed, she on top, when he let out a cry.
She unrolled away to find him clutching his chest, face contorted in pain. She ran to the bathroom and returned with a glass of water.
There he was! A stranger, in her bed, naked, dead.
She thumped on his chest in an attempt to resuscitate him, but failed miserably.
“Damn you! You cannot die on me like this.” She yelled, “I don’t even know your name!”
She gathered her wits and put on her clothes hurriedly. She debated on whether she should call the police or check out and leave. But that wouldn’t be possible. Siddharth was coming to pick her up.
All she wanted was some excitement before returning to her dreary life. ‘How the hell did this happen?’ She wondered.
Just then her phone rang. ‘Siddharth calling.’
“Ah! The devil himself…If he comes here, I’m doomed.” She said aloud.
She had to think of something. Quickly.
After a few minutes, she ran down towards the lobby and spotted Siddharth standing near one of the elevators.
“Siddharth…” She shouted.
Looking at her panic stricken face, he said, “What’s wrong, Nisha? Why are you running like this? And why aren’t you answering my call?”
She clutched at her bosom and started sobbing. “You won’t believe what happened just now!”
Siddharth held her close and asked her to continue.
“I was packed and waiting for you, when there was a knock at the door. Assuming it was you, I opened it. But, I was shocked to see this dishevelled drunk man. He pushed me inside and tried to force himself on me…” She hiccupped.
A crowd of onlookers had now gathered around them in the lobby.
Nisha continued, “Then, I just pushed him towards the bed. He had shed all his clothes and it was really horrifying. He’s still up there…”
They went to the room along with a few staff from the hotel.
To their astonishment, there was no one in the room.
Everyone looked at Nisha in bewilderment. “But.. how is this possible…” She gaped like a fish.
“It’s alright, Nisha.” Siddharth cooed. “Let’s go home now.” He apologized to the staff and escorted a dazed Nisha towards their car.
“So I’m assuming the meeting for the charity ball that you were organizing didn’t go well? And you had a little more than usual to drink, hence all this drama?” He said.
“No Siddharth, the meeting went very well. I have been in talks with many sponsors too, hence I had to stay back here. And please believe me, that man was real. Very real.” She closed her eyes and sighed at the thoughts of what she had experienced.
They drove the rest of the distance in silence.
The next morning, a parcel awaited Nisha as soon as she woke up.
She opened it and on sighting the contents, she hurled the package towards the other end of the room. In sheer panic, she paced her living room.
‘Who would do this? Why? If Siddharth comes to know…’
All these thoughts gave her a headache. ‘Why didn’t I be more careful? All because of that sexy stranger! Urghh…’
She had to discard the package and wait for another message from whoever was doing this. Pictures of her and the stranger making out were surely taken by someone with a motive. Besides, she couldn’t do anything else except wait.
“If only I had controlled my desires…” She kept saying. She thought about her marriage to Siddharth. A business arrangement. He bailed out her father’s sinking business in exchange for her. At that time, she had readily agreed even though he was 10 years older to her. She couldn’t fathom living on the streets if she refused the offer, as she was so used to luxury.
It worked for both of them; she got her lavish lifestyle and he got a trophy wife.
But all hell broke loose on the first night of their marriage when Nisha realized that Siddharth had erectile dysfunction. She simply couldn’t stay with him for the rest of her life.
So they came to a mutual agreement. Siddharth offered 50 percent of his shares of his company in exchange for her silence on his condition. They signed a contract of five years. A clause of an exclusive relationship with him for this duration was also added. Nisha readily agreed, as separation from him wouldn’t benefit her in any way. Besides, she was confident of her seduction skills to satisfy her needs.
She smirked at the thought of an ‘exclusive relationship.’ She had her first fling merely three days after her marriage. She wasn’t amongst those who could be tied to a single man for the rest of her life. 10 years older to her or not, erectile dysfunction or not, she wasn’t planning to be faithful to him, ever.
He tried all sorts of medicines to satisfy her needs, but wasn’t successful. Few months later, he even stopped letting her coming close to him except when they were in public. And even if he did engage her, it was just limited to foreplay.
She was tired of his patronizing ways. Her flings kept her satiated. She was very careful with all her escapades except yesterday.
The ringing of the doorbell brought her to the present.
Anticipating a message from the one who had sent those pictures, she opened the door. But it was just the cook.
She spent the entire day, restless. She couldn’t concentrate on a single thing.
At dinner, Siddharth asked her, “Nisha, are you alright? You seem distracted.”
“Huh? No… no… I was just thinking about that man from yesterday. Did I imagine him?”
“Relax, enjoy your dinner.” He smiled.
But, Nisha was panicking. She couldn’t sleep at all.
The next morning, Siddharth asked her to come into his study. On entering the study, she paled. He was angry. Very angry.
“So you cheated on me!” He yelled.
Nisha was at a loss for words. “Umm…. I can explain. It’s not like that…”
“Shut up! I have had my doubts since long. And I hired someone to help me confirm that last evening.”
Realization dawned upon her and she gasped.
“Yes, he’s a wonderful actor, isn’t he?” Siddharth smiled. “And how much I enjoyed seeing you squirming the whole day, yesterday!”
He placed some documents on the table. “Now sign these. You will be returning those shares to me. You had my name, my money, but that wasn’t enough for you. Now you shall spend the remaining two years of our contract as I wish, or you can leave penniless. The choice is yours.”
“Please don’t do this. I’m sorry. I promise it will ever happen again. Don’t deprive me of my security blanket. Please Siddharth.” She tried to convince him, but in vain.
She continued, “What if I tell the whole world about your impotency?”
“No one would believe you. You have stayed with me for 3 years already. And besides, don’t forget what will happen if your pictures of last night go viral? Your reputation will be destroyed. Imagine the headlines, Nisha Mathur caught in an affair. People will sympathize with me.”
Nisha knew he was right. She sighed. “Just give me some time to think…”
An hour later, she messaged Siddharth. Let me seduce you tonight. Tomorrow I will sign whatever you ask me to.
As the night rolled in, Nisha was ready. A three course meal was set on the dining table with a few scented candles adding to the ambience.
Siddharth was surprised at the exquisite arrangements made by his wife. She also looked stunning in the little black dress that she was wearing. Together they had their meal, not talking much, just sizing each other up.
“You have no idea what I have in store for you.” Nisha said in a husky voice and pulled him into their room. “It’s time for dessert,” she said smiling slowly. With a snap of her fingers, the lights in the room dimmed and Ellie Goulding started singing ‘Love me like you do…’
She looked at her husband, he wasn’t all that handsome, but he was fit. Her fingers itched to touch those taut muscles on his chest. Without wasting any more time, she grabbed him into a kiss. With her fingers in his hair she pulled him closer to her until she could hear his beating heart, and kissed him deeper. Tongues entwined and the minty taste of the drink that they had, made her heady.
She fumbled with his shirt and he somehow managed to undress her. They both fell onto the bed, with her on top of him. She left a trail of kisses on his face, from the hollow of his neck to his muscular chest. Heat pooled between her legs and she moaned in ecstasy.
She looked at him lying beneath her and smiled. She was the dominant one here, the one in charge. She kissed him on his lips again, he moaned.
An then he yelled in pain clutching his chest.
She rolled over from him and looked at him thrashing in pain until he went silent.
There he was! Her husband, in her bed, naked, dead.
She laughed viciously. Planning her husband’s seduction and death was no less than an adventure!
She looked at the needle and syringe that contained potassium chloride, which she stabbed directly in his heart.
His death due to a sudden heart attack wouldn’t be difficult to believe considering he was already suffering from high blood pressure.
She lauded herself for her smartness. Nisha Mathur, widow of Siddharth Mathur and his only living relative was a billionaire.
A billionaire seductress who could now have whatever or whoever she desired.
Author’s note: Potassium chloride is one of the drugs used in the execution of inmates on death penalty in America. (For more information, visit this site: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/cd49a818-5645-4a94-832e-d22860804779)
It causes a burning sensation when injected in the veins and interferes with the rhythm of the heart causing cardiac arrest.
It is an essential chemical for the functioning of various organs in the body, but an overdose is fatal and undetectable at autopsy.
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