EPISODE 21:
Priyanka stood there rapt in surprise! Is this a bad dream or something? She thought to herself as she kept looking at Rajeev talking to Misraji…it took some time for her for the reality to sink in…Rajeev had indeed behaved rudely to her…but why? What happened all of a sudden?
Vikas: Priiiiiiiiiii…..
Priyanka got out of her trance: haan bol
Vikas: kya soch rahi hai, kab se tujhe bula raha hoon…achha bata lunch mein soup piyegi?
Priyanka: nehi bol….
Vikas: PRIYANKA…..tu sun bhi rahi hai kya bol raha hoon? Tu soup piyegi? Layoon?
Priyanka: haan…..
Vikas comes back with a soup bowl and some sandwitches…he really didn't know what was wrong with Priyanka but she seemed evidently upset….
Priyanka khane lagti hai tabhi usse yaad ata hai: Vikas, main ek minute mein ayi…she got up abruptly
Vikas: kahan ja rahi hai?
Pri: Prachi ke lunch ka waqt ho gaya hai, usse khilana hoga...and she left to talk to Rajeev
She was not sure if Rajeev will be normal this time, she kept her fingers crossed…but the more she approached him the more she felt her heart beating loudly…
Rajeev was reading his script with attention…his shoulder was left bare with the bandage on and Priyanka saw drops of blood oozing out…she felt an overwhelming desire to dress his broad shoulders and ease his pain…but…
Priyanka went close to him and said nervously: Prachi ke lunch ka waqt ho gaya hai…
Rajeev looked up from his script, looked at Pri with a straight face and concentrated on the script again: thanks par maine usse khila diya hai
Priyanka's heart beats increased….so that was just not one instance…Rajeev has seriously started behaving with her differently…
Pri couldn't hide the hurt in her voice: tumne ekbaar mujhe bataya bhi nehi? Roz toh main hi khilati hoon…
Rajeev gave her a long stare this time and said with a stern voice: Thanks for caring about Prachi par shayad Prachi ke liye tumhe itni fikr karne ki zaroorat nehi hai…
Priyanka couldn't believe her ears!!!!!!!!!! Is it the same Rajeev who would consult her about everything single thing about Prachi?!!!!!!! She couldn't say anything, she could just let out a feeble "what"?
Rajeev: I think I made myself very clear Ms.Bassi, I m really thankful the way you took care of my daughter but I think I can handle her now, she's my responsibility and now I would appreciate if you leave me and my daughter alone…now if you excuse me, I have some work.
Rajeev went back to his script, completely ignoring a stunned Priyanka, tears streaming down her eyes…
Rajeev had been a little too loud, the people around had turned to see what was going on between them…Aliya had come forward to them
Aliya: is everything alright guys? She said with a frown, intently observing both of them.
Rajeev: Thank God Aliya tum aa gayi, main tumhe hi dhoondh raha tha, Prachi ko lunch karwana hai, chale? (he completely ignored Priyanka)
Priyanka felt like sinking in the ground…she ran away from the place, covering her face to hide the tears that had started to well up in her eyes uncontrollably….
She ran into her van and slammed the door tight, it's been years since she had cried like this, Rajeev's words piercing her heart like a thousand knives…she could hardly breathe as she remembered Rajeev's insult…why is Rajeev behaving like this? And especially after all the softer emotions he showed for her…was she wrong then? Did Rajeev never mean what she understood…
As she remembered the mutual attraction she thought they shared, she felt like her heart bursting out…how could he, how could he do this to her…she thought as she cried…and suddenly it struck her…was it because he knew what Priyanka had done? The thought filled her up with guilt more than hurt… "it must be that…nehi toh achanak aisa behavior" Things seem to fall in place now "but now that he knows I must apologise"… "someday he'll understand I didn't mean to harm him"…she thought to herself as she wiped her tears…
Knock knock….knock knock…there was a loud knock at her van door…she got up, wiped her face and opened the door…Arjun was standing there.
Rajeev was lost in deep thought as he walked with Aliya towards the guesthouse. It's tough to be a man, he knew Priyanka had cried at his rude behavior and he almost had tears in his eyes too, but he couldn't cry… "someday she'll understand I didn't mean to hurt her"…he thought to himself as he wiped his tears that had started to come up in his eyes inspite of his strong resolve…
Arjun: kya hua tere aur Khandelwal ke beech?
Pri: kuchh….kuchh bhi toh nehi…
Arjun: dekh Priyanka jhooth mat bol, maine sab dekha, bata mujhe
Pri (looking down): woh mujhse gussa hai
Arjun: kyon?
Pri: shayad maine jo kiya hai ishliye…
Arjun: kya kiya hai tune?
Priyanka couldn't hold it anymore…she hugged Arjun tightly and started crying, tears of remorse streaming down her face…
Arjun patted her like a small kid and let her cry…he and Priyanka had always shared a special bond like their on screen characters and all knew Arjun was no different from Alekh when it came to caring for his "Naina".
"tum khana bhi khayoge ya fir sochte hi rahoge?" Rajeev startled as he heard Aliya's voice. He had not touched a bit of the food they had ordered for lunch…
Aliya leaned forward: dekho Rajeev tum decide kar lo tumhe kya karna hai
Rajeev: (depressed) nehi, maine decide kar liya hai
Aliya: toh fir don't look so depressed, see u r doing it for Priyanka right?
Rajeev: hmmm…..nothing should happen to her Aliya, this is too dangerous
Aliya: toh fir? Kitna sochte ho tum uske baare mein, kash mere liye bhi koi aisa sochta…(she gave Rajeev one of those love lorn looks)
But Rajeev was in no mood for jokes
Rajeev: shayad usse itne rudely baat nehi karna chahiye tha……
Aliya: achha? aur tum sochte ho tum agar pyar se samjhate toh woh maan jati? Pagal ho tum Rajeev dekha nehi how much involoved she was in the case? tumhe agar usse iss sab se dur rakhna hai toh aise hi behave karte raho, bas investigation khatam ho jaaye toh usse sab kuchh bata dena
Rajeev: woh samajh jayegi na?
Aliya: haan baba, any girl who sees a guy going this far to keep her out of danger will be outrightly impressed with the guy!
Rajeev: I don't want to impress her, I just want her to be safe….
Naina recounted everything to Arjun….
The day before she left for Nawgaon, her cousin Kushal had called her up. Kushal had been working as a freelance reporter for some film magazine, but it was going tough for him, he was always late for scoops and the boss was not happy.
Kushal had called up excitedly.
Kushal: Pri this is Kushal, tumlog shooting ke liye ja rahe ho na Nawgaon?
Priyanka: haan
Kushal: suno mera ek kaam karna padega please
Pri: haan bolo
Kushal: we are making an exclusive feature on Rajeev Khandelwal, mujhe uske saare news chahiye
Pri: array toh usse interview lelo na, I can give you his number
Kushal: hush Pri, listen, this is a bit secretive, we have news that Rajeev is going to take his daughter along
Priyanka had met the kid outside the restaurant and she had even given a ride to both of them, she didn't know what interested him so much about the kid!! She was normal kid, adopted by Rajeev, and there was nothing extraordinary in this…
Priyanka: tumlog uske beti ke peechhe kyon pade ho?
Kushal: array the secret lies there, there is a buzz in the industry that she's his real daughter, a relationship that Rajeev has kept away from the industry!!!!
Priyanka was shocked to hear this…are you sure?
Kushal: haan bhai, aur iss bachhi ka Nawgaon ke saath koi connection hai, nehi toh tum hi socho who takes such a young kid for shooting?
Kushal went on: I am sure he's going to meet the kid's mother, his old flame or something, can be his secret wife too! Just imagine Pri, if I can get this scoop mera toh life ban jayega!
Priyanka: toh mujhe kya karna hai?
Kushal: ohho abhi tak samjhe nehi, I need you to do a little bit of spying on Rajeev and his daughter, just keep reporting me wherever he goes and who he meets…
Priyanka: are you crazy Kushal! You want me to spy on other people's private lives????
Kushal: please Pri, mana mat karna, please, it's a question of my career, Pri please, won't you help me in this? Dekho agar Rajeev ka koi secret nehi hai toh bas baat khatam, aur agar kuchh hai toh I think we sould expose it to the whole world
Priyanka was not comfortable with the idea, yet Kushal was almost like her own brother Pranay, and she was too close to him, not only that her first project Bombay Talking went to her because of Kushal, it was Kushal's contacts that had helped this struggling young model to usher into the small screen…how could she forget that…when she left Delhi alone, it was Kushal who helped her settle down, he was her only refuge in her early days in Mumbai…
And then the bus fight happened…Priyanka was upset about the article in TOI about her, Rajeev and Prachi…and Rajeev had taken it too lightly "tum famous ho toh media mein yeh sab hota hi rehta hai"….his don't care attitude had angered Priyanka and she had sent her first report to Kushal that day…and then she got into it, she almost got caught while she followed him to the jwellery shop…she had to cook up a lie and Rajeev believed it too…but she had actually followed him out of the academy on Kushal's instructions…
She had felt bad about it and she wished she could stop, however she has to admit that she herself was curious about Rajeev's past relationship and his daughter's supposed mother…"so while the whole industry was buzzing with gossip about him and Amna, this is what was happening behind the limelight"
And yet as the days went by Priyanka was more and more convinced that Kushal's hunch was wrong, and finally the day when Rajeev told her everything about Prachi…that he needed to keep Prachi out of limelight because he feared she might be in danger….and that day Priyanka felt the pangs of guilt gripping her tightly, perhaps if she had not leaked out so much information Prachi and Rajeev would not have been in danger…she had wanted to tell Rajeev all about this, again and again, and yet it never happened till perhaps now when Rajeev knows all about it…
Arjun's face grew serious as he heard the whole story: tune thik nehi kiya Priyanka
Pri (more guilty): I know, par believe me mujhe agar pata hota ki this is so serious I would have never done it at any cost…
Arjun: toh article chhap gaya hai?
Pri: shayad nehi, because Kushal was asking for more information the other day also
Arjun: toh fir things are better, Kushal ke siwa yeh sab information kisiko pata nehi…
Priyanka felt a lot better…true, Kushal said the article was still not out, that means none of her spying had been reported outside…she felt a burden go down her shoulders…
Thanks Arjun, fir bhi main usse phone karke ekbar poochti hoon
Priyanka's jolliness came back as she dialed Kushal's number…but as she spoke over the phone her face became serious again.
"Kushal said he had passed all the information to his boss and his team….there are almost 6 people in his team and he doesn't know what each had been doing with the information…" Priyanka declared with a shaky voice…
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
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