Chapter 52

Chapter 50-Gurleen

To say she was furious was an understatement. Once again,he had walked out without listening to her.Annoyed and irritated,she decided she wouldn't stay under his roof even a minute longer and made it towards the door when she realised two things.One,that she was dressed in his clothes and two, that the media would be in to her if she left in this state.Irritated beyond measure,she simply plopped herself on the couch, determined to not enjoy his hospitality and use the spare bedroom.

"You'll end up hurting your back" he said resignedly from the door to his bedroom.

She ignored him.

He sighed,"Must you be so stubborn? There's a perfectly good spare bedroom you can use with a functioning lock,if that's what you're worried about.If you want,I can even call up daarji and Poonam ji and inform them about your whereabouts.

"I'm not a child,"she said through gritted teeth.

"You're behaving like an extremely petulant one now."

"You are the one who walked out on me again.You have no right to call me a child!"

He ignored her and simply sighed.

"It's getting late.Just go to bed."

Growing angrier,she crossed her arms and stayed put.He simply rolled his eyes at her and entered his room,closing the door behind him.She was now upset about being ignored and let out a huff.Her feelings were all jumbled up and she hated the clutter.

"Get a grip on yourself, Gurleen."she muttered,shaking her head as she attempted to untangle the hurt and loneliness pervading her.

He really hoped she would return his feelings at some point and if not,atleast not lead him on.But where did one draw the line between friendship and romance?Was she supposed to keep him at arm's length at all times?

And how on earth did he expect her to talk to him when he decided to shut her out every single time?

She fell asleep on the sofa,dead to the world,and didn't notice the lone figure which materialized in the middle of the night,draping a blanket over her.She woke up the next morning before him and silently packed and left , determined to not give him the satisfaction of an apology for her outburst.

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One week later........

"Be careful Gurleen, don't trust Sunny."her veerji muttered, distastefully eyeing the man who was busy dancing with their associates.

"Who even invited him?"she whispered angrily.

"Even if he's not a business mogul,he is royalty and hence a potential investor."her brother murmured."Try avoiding him.He's clearly displeased about your rejection.And he might use this conclave to force your hand.

She felt glum.The Annual Business conclave, Punjab was held every year in Ludhiana and this year was crucial as her very first one.One wrong step,and their image would go for a toss.As a woman,she was subject to twice the amount of usual scrutiny,hence she couldn't afford to let her emotions cloud her actions.It wasn't long before Jasmeet Ahluwalia approached her.

"Would you care for a dance?"he asked with a faint smile.

Propriety demanded she accept the request but there was only one person she was comfortable dancing with and he had decided to sit the conclave out to attend Prabhjyot's annual day celebrations.She sorely wished to join him but was stuck in the conclave upon Daarji's request.

"I'm afraid she'll have to decline."a singsong voice interrupted them.Gurleen whipped around to find Inder veerji,nursing a wine glass and a confident smirk.

Without waiting for her permission he placed his glass on a passing waiter's tray and pulled her on to the dance floor.She felt a stab of annoyance at the manhandling but pushed it down,knowing her brother in law was trying to help.

As they started waltzing,she heard the shutter of a camera click which she ignored,focussing on what Inder veerji said.

"I hope you're excited for your mehendi tomorrow."

She simply shrugged her shoulders.They hadn't really talked since their argument,neither able to swallow their pride and apologize.

"The two of you should really talk you know.It's obvious you've been fighting.And even if he's in the wrong,maybe you should apologise. Someone needs to compromise."he gently advised her.

Inder veerji was definitely not qualified to be dishing out relationship advice,she thought to herself grimly.No wonder things had tanked badly with Manveer parjaai.After a couple of songs she excused herself,wishing to be alone with her thoughts only to be accosted by Jasmeet again.

"What do you want?"she asked him wearily.

"Just another chance to love you and cherish you."he replied.

To her horror,she once again heard the click of a camera somewhere behind them.The newspapers were going to have a field day with this tomorrow.

"I don't love you."

"But you could,once you get to know me better."

She wanted to strangle him and bury the body somewhere.Managing to control herself,she simply turned and started walking away only for him to catch hold of her hand and pull her towards him.Panic seized her and she kneed him in the groin and ran away hoping to find her brother or Inder veerji before he got to her.Unfortunately the gardens turned out to be a confusing maze and she was soon hopelessly lost.

Tripping over an overgrown root,she plummeted to the ground,banging her head badly before blacking out entirely.When she came to,she found herself staring into a familiar pair of eyes,eyes which comforted her.Simply smiling and clutching his hand,she fell asleep,the exhaustion of the day catching up to her.