Chapter 31

Chapter 27-Inder

"What the ..."Inder cursed as he accidentally dropped his glass,his heart nearly leaping out of his chest when he heard the door slam.His daarji had returned home from the office in a foul mood and locked himself in his study,ignoring a very concerned bebe who appeared close to tears.The appearance of his brother ,who was clearly trying to mask his laughter behind a veneer of concern and indifference,did nothing to abet his confusion.

He caught his eye and jerked his head meaningfully.Ten minutes later both of them had made camp in Jaspal's room,the door locked and fortified against nosy sisters.

"Jaspal,what the hell is going on?The old man is creating a ruckus while you're grinning away like a madman."

"Veerji, you're looking at the husband of the chairperson of the Babbar-Brar group of companies."

Inder looked at him flabbergasted.

"What now?"

"She blackmailed Daarji into agreeing to a merger.Long story short, she owns Brar jewellers as well."

"As well?"

"Technically Daarji is the chairman of Brar jewellers.She owns twenty five percent of the company so it's a joint ownership thing now.Plus Brar jewellers is now owned by the Babbar group of companies,so Daarji has to report to her."

Inder started to laugh.He would've paid a fortune to see the expression on his father's face.His brother seemed to be more cheerful as well,which he was thankful for.

"Jaspal, aren't you upset?",he asked curiously.

"I'll admit that part of me doesn't appreciate the merger but it's Gurleen ......and we did have it coming for us.If we hadn't tried to pull the wool over her eyes,she wouldn't have had to resort to drastic measures."

"You have the right to feel upset.The two of you are getting married for heaven's sake.Why can't you just talk it out and be honest?"

"We are business partners.We cannot afford to trust each other."

Inder threw up his hands in frustration.

"What is wrong with you? You were perfectly fine before they finalized this wedding.Then suddenly you decide to become Jassi and start plotting against everyone.If you're scheming, at least do it properly.First you decide to work against daarji,then you agree to get the property from Gurleen and now you're sitting and laughing about your fiance hoodwinking your father.Make up your mind and choose your side already."

Jaspal looked at him dumbfounded.

"Veerji, what if I don't want to choose a side?What if both feel wrong?Daarji said he was proud of me today when I told him about Gurleen agreeing to sign the papers.But at the same time,I didn't want to see her disappointed."

Inder was at a loss.He had never seen his little brother look so lost.Out of the four of them,Jaspal had always been the calmest and most out together one.While Inder had partied and flirted around,his brother had been the one to clean up the messes and keep their daarji out of the loop.It was the same with Jassi.Whenever they'd fought with daarji,their arguments would grow violent with broken vases and torn cushions.While their daarji had never raised his hand on them,the yelling had been terrifying.

Bebe would lock herself in her room and not come out till the yelling stopped.She preferred to pretend that everything was normal and stable.

He winced when he remembered the day Jassi had eloped.The silence in the house had been more chilling than the yelling.No one had dared to utter a word to daarji.It had been Jaspal who'd clinically dissected the whole scenario and convinced daarji to accept her marriage for the betterment of their reputation and to avoid breaking the family.They had all taken him for granted.While daarji threw himself into the business, bebe into maintaining the image of the perfect family and him drinking away, perhaps they'd unknowingly thrust all their burdens on Jaspal.By the time they'd realised it,he had become unreachable, hidden behind an impenetrable wall.

No one knew what the real Jaspal was like.They only remembered the obscure, somewhat unsettling and disturbingly calm boy.Infact, he had never seen his brother express so much emotion till that date and then confrontation with Gurleen.

While he knew it was too late for the family to fix their issues with Jaspal,he hoped that his little brother would find happiness and peace on his own.