Chapter 16

Bloomie

@bloomie

Part 16 [MEMBERSONLY][NOCOPY]

He waits for her to circle again. Taking the chance, he grabs her hand and pulls her to himself. Shree and Chotu look at each other in shock………………………..

She crashes against his chest. She would have punched the guy if she hadn’t recognised it was Arjun. His hand automatically goes to her waist to steady her. Their eyes lock with each other.

Arjun: Janvi ke kamar par chaabiyon ka…

Riya furrows her brow: sir mujhe kuch sunayi nahi de raha hai

Arjun mv “aur kitna paas lau ise?” Shrugging his thoughts aside he leans to talk into her ear.

Arjun: room locked hai Riya, mujhe chaabi chahiye (he turns her and holds her shoulder) Janvi ke kamar par gucha hai (Riya nods) go!

She mingles with the dancers again. Twirling near Janvi, she accidentally crashes into her slipping off the keys. Riya apologizes profusely. She shrugs it off with a smile. Riya continues dancing and passes the bunch to Arjun.

Arjun rushes to Janvi’s room.

Here, the time of the engagement arrives.

Kinjal: are maa kaha hai? kabse dikhayi hi nahi de rahi

Jignesh: aa jaayengi Kinjal tum rasam toh shuru karo

Kinjal feels weird: aap kya keh rahe hai? unke bina kaise? Kaha hai maa?

Arjun: yaha

All eyes turn to his voice. Kalki Devi was standing beside him. She smiles and comes forward for the rituals. The ceremony is completed successfully with hundreds of questions in the minds of the family members and ETF officers as well.

Barring Kinjal, they all gather in a room to make sense of what had happened.

Sumit: maa, aap subah se thi kaha?

Kalki glared at Janvi: mujhse kyun? isi se pucho

She fidgeted nervously.

Rishab: kya matlab?

Rathore skips over the family drama: Rawte, kya chal raha hai?

Arjun: Kalki Devi kahi nahi gayi thi, isi ghar mein thi, Janvi ne unhe apne room ke sandook mein chupa kar rakha tha, kyun Janvi?

They all stared at her in shock.

Rathore: aur tumhe ye sab kaise pata chala?

Arjun: tum par humle ke baad ya baat toh saaf thi ki koi ghar ka admi hai, Riya ko jo ring mili thi us par tel ke nishaan the. tab mujhe yaad aaya ki jab hum puch tach kar rahe the toh Janvi apne cravings ke kaaran aachar kha rahi thi, haath se, mera shak yakeen mein tab badla jab tum sab ki rings mein se sirf uske bowl mein tel paani ke upar tair raha tha

Rathore glares at him: toh tumne ye baat usi waqt kyun nahi batayi?

Arjun: kyunki mujhe na motive pata tha aur nahi Kalki Devi ka pata, maine uske room ki talaashi li toh sandook ke baahar garam kapde rakhe the, ab itni garmi mein, sweater kise chahiye? andar ye behosh mili

Rishab(shocked): lekin tumne ye sab kiya kyun?!?!

Arjun: paise ke liye

Rishab: what?!

Arjun: tumhari maa ki aadat ho gayi hai, vasihat baar-baar badalne ki, bahu ki pregnancy ke upar

They exchange confused glances.

Kalki Devi: subah mein ise zevar dene gayi thi tab mujhe iske cupboard mein ek davai ki bottle dikhi, abortion ke liye, tab mujhe pata chala ki badi bahu aur Zainab ka miscarriage apne aap nahi hua, woh isi ne kiya tha, taaki vasihat ka bada hissa Rishab ko mile

Rishab(shocked): lekin tumne ye sab kyun kiya? maine kab kaha tumse ki …

Janvi: tum kabhi bolte bhi nahi! jab dekho tab apne bhaiyon ki ha mein ha milate rehte ho! agar unke bache ho jaate hai toh saari jaaydat maa unke naam kar deti

Rathore sighs and looks at Riya. She moves forward.

Riya: you’re under arrest! Forced miscarriage and abduction!!

Arjun and Riya dropped Janvi at a local police station and finished formalities before heading back to office.

He looks at her from the corner of his eyes. She was unusually silent. Playing with the loose ends of her hair, she stared out the window. He wonders if she was again exaggerating or was really upset?

Arjun cleared his throat: chai piyogi?

Riya turns to him: mujhe chai nahi pasand

Arjun: hmm uh, woh waha… us ladke ko behosh kiya tha na tumne? Uska kya hua?

Riya: mujhe kya pata? Pada hoga wahi

Arjun remains quiet. She points to a stall.

Riya: woh raha chai waala

Arjun slows down: tumhe nahi peeni thi na?

Riya: aapko peeni thi? dekha isliye kaha

Arjun: oh

She shrugs and looks away again. Arjun stops for a cutting. Maybe it would help him think better. The vendor brings him a glass. He sips slowly unsure of what to do or say next. Riya was still silent, lost in her own thoughts.

Arjun sighs: main… mujhe random aurat par tumse zyaada bharosa nahi hai

Riya looks at him, processing what he said. She stares at him for a few seconds before looking away again.

Riya: toh fir daanta kyun?

Arjun grips the glass in his hand mv “ye itna mushkil kyun hai?”

Arjun: woh… gussa aa gaya tha (she doesn’t respond, he sighs) tum kya chahti ho Riya? (irritated) main kya bolu tumse?

Her eyes moistened: aapko kyun kuch bolna hai? main lagti kaun hun aapki?

Arjun mellows down immediately: Riya aise mat bolo, aisa nahi hai

He sees wetness in her eyes and curses himself. Arjun exhales deeply. He keeps the glass on the dashboard.

Arjun: Riya I… I don’t have anything against you, bas usne pati kaha toh mujhe Roshni ki yaad aa gayi aur upar se woh keh rahi thi ki main tumhara pati hun toh gussa aa gaya

Riya: toh us par kyun nahi nikala? Mujh par kyun?

Arjun feels dumbstruck.

Riya: bol deta na ki ye meri patni nahi hai, kya ukhaad leti woh? Aap bhi na kabhi- kabhi had karte hai, seedha sa raasta tha lekin nahi, aapko mujhe daant kar cheezon ko complicate karna hai…

Arjun: main…

Riya: us din inquiry mein bhi aap aadhe-adhure jawaab de rahe the panel ko, mujhe toh samaj mein nahi aata, maana ki aap angry young man ban kar ghumte hai lekin galat insaan par gussa nikal kar kya faayda? Pathan ko chodo, panel ke saamne gadbad ho jaati toh? aur aaj bhi unko bolne ki bajay mujhe suna diya, aapko apni biwi se zyaada pyaar hai ya fir apne gusse se?

Arjun just stares at her

Riya(irritated): ab aap mujhe aise kyun dekh rahe hai?

Arjun: uske baad ab jaa kar tum non-stop bol rahi ho

Riya pretends to be offended: aapko main kya koi bolne ki machine lagti hun?

Arjun drinks from the glass: well… zyaada farak nahi hai (she squints at him) par tumse baat karna utna bura bhi nahi hai, baakhiyon se kam na pasand karta hun tumhe

Riya(sarcastically): really?!? Main toh dhany ho gayi ye sunkar

Arjun: tathastu balike!

Riya: shut up! Chai khatam kijiye aur jaldi office chaliye warna aapke sar par Rathore sir ki talvaar ghumne lagegi

Arjun rolled his eyes: are uska radio toh tumse bhi zyaada chalta hai, jab dekho tab Rawte ye, Rawte woh! Huh! Uski toh awaaz bhi tumhari tarah achi nahi hai

Riya laughs: are chaliye na, waha Shree aur Chotu dhang se koi report nahi banate, mujhe hi unke peeche jaana padta hai

Arjun sighs: acha baba, fine!

He gulps down the rest of his tea. He pays the seller and restarts the car.

Arjun: by the way, tumne nahi kaha toh fir us aurat ko aise kyun laga ki main tumhara pati hun?

Riya: actually, main aur Shree aapke baare mein hi baat kar rahe the aur woh dono achanak aa gaye, Shree ne bol diya ki main shaadi-shuda hun, tabhi aap aaye aur… he said something along the lines ki lo, aa gaye toh unhe laga ki aap mere pati hai

Arjun: oh

Riya mv “use toh main chodungi nahi! jab tak is case ki 5 baar report nahi likhega tab tak saari reject karungi, idiot!”

Arjun mv “is Shree ke bache ko toh main chodunga nahi, ekto khud galti karta hai upar se mera Riya ke saath jhagda karwaata hai saza toh tumhe milegi Shree, samjhe ya samjhau?”

ETF office-

Riya and Chotu were in the conference room working on the report.

Chotu: ye Shree aaya nahi abhi tak? Case bhi nahi hai, Arjun sir kya kaam karwa rahe honge?

Riya: pata nahi!

She strikes out the two pages Shree had written.

Chotu: kya hua?

Riya: hona kya hai? ye ladka kabhi nahi sudhrega, Itne errors hai ki pucho mat! abhi khabar leti hu!

Saying so, walks out. Chotu is confused mv “par maine proof read ki thi. Gadbad kaise hai?”

On the other hand-

Shree lay on the ground, sweating. His arms ached as if they were dragging a hundred elephants. He groaned in pain.

Arjun(angrily): Shree!

Shree(startled): sorry sir!!

He gathers all the strength in his body to start pushing the ground again.

Arjun: Zor Se!!

Shree: 124…125…126…

Riya barges in with the file in her hand: Shree kya hai ye…

She stops short seeing him do push-ups. He looks at her desperately.

Riya: ye… ye kya ho raha hai?

Arjun glares at Shree: tumhe rukne ko kisne kaha?

Shree gulps in fear and continues.

Arjun turns to her: 500 push-ups

Riya: kyun?

Shree mv “bhagwan jaane!”

Arjun: maine kaha isliye!!

Riya raises her eyebrow: whatever! Shree! Puri report mein mistakes hai!! firse likh kar do, aaj ke aaj samjhe?

Shree falls down again: kya?!

Arjun: Shree!!!!

Shree: sir, lekin, report toh…

Arjun glares at him and Riya leaves without listening to anything he had to say. Shree curses his fate mv “hey maa Durga, kaha fas gaya?”

Just then Rathore comes there. He is taken aback seeing Shree.

Rathore: ye…ye kya ho raha hai?

Arjun: tum apna kaam bolo

Rathore squints at him: raat ko 8 baje Vikram sir ne bulaya hai meeting ke liye, pahunch jaana!

He waits for Arjun to respond but he doesn’t. Sighing, he leaves mv “pata nahi kab kya chalta rehta hai iske dimag mein”

The next day-

Rathore: team, HJBS Bank ka paisa transport honewaala hai aur uske manager ko uske chori hone ki dhamki mili hai. Commissioner sir ne ye case hume diya hai, aaj dopaher 1 baje van, Colaba mein apne head office se uske Vile Parle ke branch mein jaayegi. Waise toh van bulletproof hai, security measures bhi hai, chaar guards bhi honge, semi-automatics ke saath, password sirf bank ke select officials ko pata hai, van ke 5 km ke radius mein jammer laga hua hai lekin woh chahte hai ki hum additional security provide kare

Chotu: sir, agar password hai toh fir chori hone ke baad bhi van khulega kaise?

Rathore: measures hai Chotu! Hum additional security denge!! Main, Riya, Chotu aur Shree van ke peecha karenge.

Riya: toh fir… Arjun sir, aap kaha honge?

Arjun: jaha mujhe hona chahiye

She raises her eyebrow but he doesn’t say anything further.

Rathore: Hum 12 baje head office report karenge, clear?

Chorus(except Arjun): yes sir!

Riya: Rathore sir, I think hum chaaron ko split hona chahiye, in case gadbad hui toh sab ek saath latak jaayenge, do log van ke peeche aur do log van ke aage would be better aur agar hum route ke traffic cams ko monitor karte rahe hai toh aage aanewaali threat ka andaaza laga paayenge

Rathore scratched his chin thoughtfully: tum sahi keh rahi ho, Shree get on with the cams, hum dono van ke aage honge, Chotu aur Riya, cover the back

Shree opens his laptop but it shuts before he opens completely. Rathore raises his eyebrow.

Shree: sir haath mein (glancing at Arjun) bahot dard hai

Riya: are acha kiya yaad kiya (she retrieves his report form her drawer) tumhare is dard ke chakkar mein firse bakwas report likhi hai tumne (his eyes widen) firse likh kar do ache se

Shree: kya?!? Par maine, maine do baar toh di

Riya(calmly): galat hai

Shree: lekin…

Riya: write it again

Rathore: cams check karne baad! Rawte, Riya, mere saath aao van ki blueprint dikha deta hun

Shree: ha sir par…

He leaves the conference room followed by Arjun and Riya.

Shree: what the hell!!! Tune report dekhi thi na?

Chotu: ha, theek toh thi, pata nahi kyun Ri ko galat lag rahi hai, ek kaam kar firse padh kar dekh, shayad tune koi detail miss kar di hogi isliye woh reject kar rahi hai

Shree groans: ha… aaahh!!! mere haath us khadoos ki toh! (looking up into the sky) bhagwan tum hi mera badla lena us insaan se ek din

Chotu: woh apna dekh lenge, filhaal Rathore sir ka kaam kar warna woh bhi

Horrified, he pushes open the laptop with his leftover strength and starts working…………………….