Samaira Reddy, the girl in the big house, the Bade Sahib's daughter, only wants one thing and one person...a life with her childhood sweetheart, her Rags.
Raghav Cherukuri has always been known as the driver's son. And has also always loved his Sam, the girl he can never have and never forget. And so, he leaves her and his life in Hyderabad behind.
But now, Raghav is back. A Chief Officer in the Merchant Navy, he is the success he’s always wanted to be. And yet, he has failed.
Samaira is meeting the ‘perfect groom’ her family approves of…A man whom Raghav can never be.
Can it finally be their time to be together? Or has their happy-ever-after passed them by?
This novella was previously part of the anthology Something Old Something New.
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Read an Excerpt from My Heart's Regret:
“So, where does that leave us?” she asked.
“Nowhere, Sam,” he exhaled. “That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
“Bullshit.” Anger, hurt, frustration, a whole gamut of furious emotion swept through her. She turned to him and balled her hands in his shirt, yanking him forward. “You have no business giving up on us, this way. You have to give us a chance.”
“Sam,” His voice was gentle and so were his hands as they pried hers from his chest. He cupped the back of her head and pressed a kiss on her forehead. “We never had a chance. Our families would never accept this. I’m your driver’s son, for God’s sake.”
“You’re the man I love.” With a low groan, she grabbed his face and kissed him.
Raghav froze in her arms.
She poured years of pent up emotion into the kiss and the bloody statue she loved so much still didn’t respond. Humiliated tears pricked her eyes as she wrenched herself out of his arms and stood. There was nothing left to do but accept defeat. Raghav may love her but he didn’t want her in his life.
Sam forced herself to turn her back on him and walk away.
She’d made it a bare two feet before she was grabbed from behind. He pulled her flush against him, her back to his chest and buried his face in her hair. It took her a moment to realize his tortured breathing and harsh gasps were not desire but tears.
He was crying. Slow, silent tears that wet her hair and soaked through her shirt.
Her heart breaking, Sam turned and wrapped him in her arms. They held each other, fierce and unyielding, the past and present swirling together to form a protective cocoon around them.
“God help me,” His tortured whisper destroyed her. “But it kills me to let you go.”
“Then don’t,” she whispered back. “Please, Raghav.”
He kissed her then. His lips melting against hers with a mix of passion, fury and need. A dam burst inside her and Sam rose to meet his kiss with all the love and desire bursting through her.
Her hands fisted in his hair, pulling him impossibly closer. Soft, mewling sounds escaped her. He swallowed them as he tilted her head back to deepen the kiss.
His hand crept up and clasped the soft mound of her breast, just as a distant sound shattered the moment and its poor illusion of privacy.
They pulled apart, chests heaving, the sound of their harsh breaths mingling and spreading until it felt like that was all she could hear.
In the distance, his mother appeared on the verandah outside their room. She waved to him frantically, screaming at the top of her voice.
“Raghav, come fast.” Her panicked shout had him running even before she was done.
Samaira closed her eyes in despair. This nightmare of an evening wasn’t over yet.
About the Author:
Shilpa Suraj wears many hats - corporate drone, homemaker, mother to a fabulous toddler and author.
An avid reader with an overactive imagination, Shilpa has weaved stories in her head since she was a child. Her previous stints at Google, in an ad agency and as an entrepreneur provide colour to her present day stories, both fiction and non-fiction.
