Malaal Ongoing G

Malaal-Chapter 29

Published On Tuesday,Sep 01, 2020 05:59 AM GMT-06:00

CHAPTER 29

“How dare you hit him!”, Rashi shouted on his face, her eyes radiating pure rage. Jigar looked at Ishan, who laid in shock on the floor.

“Rashi, he was getting too close, I mean-“, he stammered.

“Too close?”, Rashi questioned. She stepped forward, and pointed at Jigar.

“He wasn’t too close. He was exactly where his place is. And yours isn’t.”, she said and smiled.

Jigar looked at her in confusion. He was oscillating between hope and despair.

“What are you saying Rashi?”, he managed to ask, not understanding one bit of what was happening.

“Nothing.”, Rashi said angrily. She turned to Ishan.

“I am sorry on his behalf. I am very sorry.”, she told Ishan, the man who had been with her almost always. Ishan nodded.

“It’s okay Rashi. Don’t be sorry.”, he said and looked at Jigar with resentment.

“Rashi-“, Jigar was saying as he wanted an explanation over her behaviour. His heart was slowing down by the moment, he could feel his world slipping away from him again.

“Let’s go Ishan.”, Rashi said and didn’t even look at Jigar.

“Rashi what are you-?”, he asked as he went after her. Rashi and Ishan went outside and sat in Rashi’s car.

“Rashi wait!”, Jigar cried as Rashi closed the windows. She didn’t look at him even once.

“Rashi!”, he shouted again as the car sped away.

“Why are you behaving like this.”, he said, more to himself and tears rolled down his cheeks. It was hard to believe or even think that Rashi didn’t really care about him. That she still again hates him. Rather, she never stopped hating him. He couldn’t understand one bit of what was happening.

“Maybe she’s just angry. I mean, I hit her best friend, anyone would behave like that.”, he tried to convince himself. He wiped his tears and stood up.

“Jigar.”, he heard Kokila’s voice from behind. None of the Modis talked to him, as per his own wish, but Kokila needed to speak.

Jigar looked at her with moist eyes.

“Jigar, I think what Rashi did was deliberate. She made you believe that she has forgiven you but at the last moment she pulled out of hit. Maybe, for revenge.”, she said slowly and looked at him with sympathy.

Jigar’s heart broke, it wasn’t ready to accept that Rashi could do such a thing. “She won’t.”, his mind kept telling him. He looked at Kokila with irritation.

“You and your conspiracy theories. You never liked Rashi before and now that she’s totally modern and independent, you despise her even more. Isn’t that exactly why you are putting such a blame on her?”, he asked her.

Kokila looked at him with wide eyes. She steadied herself.

“Jigar I am not maligning her or something. Why would I? Even I love her, and although she is opposite to my ideals, she has a right to do whatever she wants. I just wanted to say that she has a lot of disappointment and pain inside her. And that’s why she is-“, she was saying when Jigar gave her a disapproving look.

“Please stop it Kakiji. Please. Please stop interfering in this.”, he said and looked away.

Kokila had enough. She crossed her hands.

“Okay. As you wish Jigar. But remember, you have hurt me today. Don’t come to me or any of us when you are all alone. I hope you never find yourself alone, but I know that you will.”, she said and left.

Jigar looked at her displeased aunt going away, and doubted his own behaviour for a moment. But what was done was done. He loved Rashi. He trusted her. She won’t break his trust.

But he forgot that years ago, someone had trusted him, and he had broken her trust completely.

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Jigar saw Ahem sitting on the hall couch working on his laptop, while Gopi was talking to Meera on the phone in a childish voice. Hetal was sitting with Baa, and as soon as they saw Jigar, they turned their heads away.

“Ahem, I am handing over the Delhi project to you, talk to the clients on phone okay.”, Chirag instructed.

Ahem was surprised. “But that was supposed to be done by Jigar, isn’t it?”, he asked.

Chirag smirked. “Yeah, but he’s not part of us now, as per his wish.”, he said and looked away. Ahem kept quiet while Jigar looked on sadly.

Hetal was worried internally as she could see that Jigar had cried. She had no idea what had happened, only Kokila and Jigar knew it.

Hours passed. Jigar was roaming in the hall, waiting for Rashi since eternity, while the rest of the family looked at him every now and then.

“Devarji, please relax. She will come soon.”, Gopi said, when Kokila glared at her. Ahem held her hand.

“Yes bhabhi. She’ll come. I have to talk to her about something.”, he said and his voice started to break. His fears that Rashi and him won’t be together anymore were elevating.

They heard the sound of her car outside.

“She’s here!”, Jigar said out of excitement. He literally ran towards the door, when he suddenly saw something that made him lose his balance. He steadied himself somehow.

Ishan walked in, with an almost unconscious Rashi in his arms, her hands wrapped around his neck, and head softly tucked to his chest.

“What happened to her?”, Jigar asked as he tried to touch Rashi. Ishan pulled away.

“Nothing, she’s drunk. Less than her usual though.”, he said and started to walk towards her room.

“What! But she hasn’t recovered yet.”, Jigar shouted from behind as he walked towards him.

“Exactly. She hasn’t recovered yet.”, Ishan said with a deadly voice and everyone immediately understood what he meant. Jigar stopped in his tracks.

“So if you want to talk to her, do it tomorrow morning.”, Ishan said as he walked into Rashi’s room and shut the door tight.

Ishan put Rashi on the bed, and like most nights, he looked at her and prayed for her well being. But nothing had reduced her pain all these days.

“I am sorry Jigar. But please leave my life. I don’t want to fall for you again...please go.”, Rashi mumbled under her breath.

Ishan sighed. “How can she trust feelings, emotions, relationships so easily, after what has happened to her. He hurt her beyond repair that day, and she blames herself for having loved him in the first place. All these years, she had put up a mask, a wall to all her emotions to avoid expectations and pain and now, entry of this Jigar would bring her back to zero. Back to be broken. She fears that.”, he thought.

“Revenge was never her choice; they have invited trouble themselves by coming and staying in her life again.”, he said and went to sleep on the couch.

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