10~*NOT just a passionate affair*~Pt 51-24 HOURS -The 1st quarter

November 28^th

^{OSR CHAPTER 51 -} Only 24 hours - The FIRST quarter!

AMRUTHA CASTLE - ROOFTOP

Following a few seconds of inaction, he heard some voices outside - a group of people were walking down the corridors.

'It's THEM!' she nervously recognized two familiar people amongst the bustle 'They weren't supposed to be here till 8:45 pm!' subsequently giving her startled boyfriend a distinct 'shhh' signal to ensure he remained tight-lipped, Jodha retracted her hand from his lips 'It's only 8...' she glanced at her watch 'All my planning down the drain! Did they DELIBERATELY arrive early after I'd told Payal of my decision to come to the party?' frustrated, she let out a low sigh 'And what are they doing in these corridors? On their way to the lobby restrooms?' she paused for a couple of minutes, hoping the commotion in the corridors would clear - but the noises never truly disappeared. It seemed like the boisterous group were just fooling around - traipsing to and fro from lobby-to-party-to-lobby 'Hey Ram!' she felt like slapping her forehead after about five minutes of no success - well aware of the escalating bewilderment on the face of her faithfully silent guy 'Poor thing! I've not told Jalal the ONE MAIN issue I came to speak about -the STALKER! But, I better slip out before we both get caught... party ke baad, I'll have to somehow get hold of him when no one else is around...' with the faint sounds of a few random police sirens blaring somewhere in the distance, the fretful young lady was reminded of another pressing issue 'By tomorrow evening, I have to go to the police station...so, Maan can't know about Jalal and I being together for AT LEAST for another 24 hours! If I linger here for longer, I risk Meera or Renu blabbing everything to those two... I better get out now...'

Looking up to observe the frowns on Jalal's face that'd by now clearly translated into 'What the hell's happening?', an apologetic Jodha folded her palms with an extra-cute 'sorry' look 'I can't clarify your doubts right now...but, I will...just give me some time...please please please... pretty pleaaassseee!'

She waited for a positive acknowledgement of some sort, but nope. No smiles there. Understandably, he wasn't very convinced with what seemed like a curt end to a significant rendezvous that'd barely begun 15 minutes ago!

Deciding to butter-up her flustered guy a teeny weeny bit, the young lady gently held onto his collar thereafter and pulled him down - near her - positioning his ears just beside her lips 'I have to leave now...' she whispered softly - so softly that Jalal had to literally strain to hear every word she was muttering 'I'll exit first... you leave a short while after... I'll explain everything, ok?'

'Huh?' he exclaimed under his breath 'W...wh...'

'Shhh!' she overrode his concerns by continuing to murmur into his ears, her arms still wrapped around his neck 'Till I explain why, don't mention anything about our breakup to others...and for the rest of the party, act like we both aren't together... ' she slowly withdrew her hands from his shoulders

'B...but...' he probed in a low tone, still flabbergasted by the sudden turns of events 'What's with the secrecy?'

Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!'

Jalal fell quiet. He folded his arms, in half-hearted compliance. Well, what other go did he have? If SHE was so sure about her strange course of action - holding her back now wasn't going to help in any way, was it?

So biting the bullet on this temporary interruption, he watched her pick-up her cracked mobile, wave him a 'Bye bye' gesture - and eventually slide out with caution!

'Damn...' he rolled his knuckles in frustration as soon as her shadows vanished from his sight. She'd left - all over again 'Damn...' he thumped his forehead in annoyance. Neither could he do a victory dance to celebrate all that'd just transpired nor did it make sense to wallow in misery when he knew that she'd almost returned to him 'Damn... damn...damn...' he was so close to knowing the reasons behind this mysterious breakup of theirs. So close to punishing her in his own twisted ways for having given him such heartache. So close to imprisoning her waist in his robust clasp. Reclaiming those lips that he hadn't kissed in eons. Readdressing her as 'Hey Jo...I've missed you!' Yet, here he was alone now - unaware of when all that would materialize into reality.

'Damn... damn...damn...' he fiddled with the watch straps. This impasse - this not knowing was bad. Then again, the waxing-and-waning frustrations didn't make much sense either - especially when he could sense that she was WITH him. His Jo had almost come back - like his heart had believed all along. She was at his doorstep. It was only a matter of time before she'd be knocking on his door to re-join him forever

'You've endured agony for three months, Jalal!' he reminded himself, a slow grin consequently emerging on his features 'What's a few more hours?'

THE POOLSIDE PARTY - BESIDE THE PARAPET WALL

Reclining against the tall parapet wall - she cast a cursory glimpse at the unfinished dinner plate balancing on his left palm as he continued to be embroiled in official affairs over phone. Letting out a knowing smirk, she made another lazy scan of the lively engagement party scenes while waiting for her friend to finish his conversation.

Waves of raucous laughter echoed all around as various groups of people approached the end of their dining experience. Butlers hurried about catering to everyone's final drink orders. A vast spread of multi-cuisine delicacies had catered to all possible taste-buds in the gathering. A chocolate fountain cascading in the midst of a large round cake display table was currently proving to be the most popular haunt amongst guests.

'Salim and Sana must be happy with what they've achieved!' she concluded, before realizing that the man beside her had just un-glued himself from his mobile 'Nice party, haan?'

'Yup' Jalal slipped his instrument back into his pocket 'What about you? Done with dinner?'

'Ages go...' she indicated to his plate thereafter 'And what's up with you? Why haven't you even touched the mutton biryani... it was positively delicious...'

Reverting his attention to his meal, Jalal helped himself to another spoonful of rice before going on to justify himself 'I've been busy over phone with Taaya... something official's come up...'

'Something official? Or you're not hungry because of sheer excitement?' noting the emergence of a faint grin on his face following that taunt, Renu quipped sarcastically 'You're not the only one who can SEE, Jalal... we all can SEE too... especially the awkward glances you both keep exchanging every time she passes by ...'

'Oh!' he smirked, hardly defending himself there. Yeah yeah - he'd tried very hard to keep himself distracted all through. In fact, she'd been trying even harder! Still, it was a party. Eyes were bound to meet sometime or the other - and when eyes met, sparks were bound to fly. After all, his favouritest girl in the whole wide world had just returned after three months - the 'staying distracted' was not exactly going to plan!

'And, I heard the buzz!'

'What buzz?'

'That Jodha's engagement has been called off!'

'Oh yeah...I heard that one too!' he admitted playfully 'By the way what's with the exceptional amount of police sirens blaring around the area this evening?'

'Stop acting innocent and stop changing the subject, Jalal...' she slapped his arm 'So, when were you planning to tell me? You both are back together, right?'

'Naaah... we're not together' he mumbled a half-truth - bearing in mind that even he wasn't really aware of the mysterious nature of their current relationship status 'At least, not YET together...'

'Fir, why is your face glowing like a 60w bulb on a power-surge, ever since you've come out of that changing cubicle?'

'Achaa?' Jalal mischievously stroked his jawlines 'Haven't checked my face in the mirror in the past hour'

'Arre baba... what did Madam Singh tell you, then?' obviously, Renu wasn't buying his lies

'Actualllyy' his brows slowly knotted into a sly frown 'That's a very good question, because even I don't know what she'd come to say!' - and the confused boyfriend wasn't even fibbing here!

'Yeah right!' she pooh-poohed him 'And for all that while you both were quietly watching paint dry, hai na?'

'Nope not paint...' he winked 'Actually we were quietly watching my hair dry... which she sorta helped me with, after a while!' marking his bestie's dumbstruck expressions, the prankster returned to finish whatever remained on his plate - guessing that THIS version of events ought to shut her up for a few seconds at least!

'Jalal' she eventually uttered in disbelief 'You... and your stories! Sometimes your sense of humour is just weird...'

'Thanks!' he chuckled, amused by the irony of it all. Here was a lady, eager as a beaver to learn the truth - and yet when he was telling her the 'real' titbits, she kept dismissing them as 'fantasies'!

'Fine...' Renu moaned 'Why should I care what goes on in your life?'

'God!' he sighed, watching her cross her arms in annoyance. There was just no escape from the standard feminine sulk-and-pout routines, was there? 'Jodha has received a weird photo of both of us - of you and I...' he revealed 'So, she felt it was obligatory to inform me ...'

'Oh!' she nodded nonchalantly

'Huh?' it was now Jalal's turn to be surprised - by her apparent composure. He studied his friend for a while, wondering why she didn't have any reaction to what he'd just revealed. It was almost like she had no problem with the suggestive photo whatsoever. Unwilling to ignore his uncertainties, he expressed his frank sentiments thereon 'I expected you to be... at least... a LITTLE taken aback by a potential MMS scandal Renu!'

'Well...' the tomboy shrugged calmly 'It's that stalker, right? What else can be expected of him?'

'Hmmm!' Jalal muttered on a wary note - not too sure about her line of reasoning 'Still... you seem quite cool about it... I mean... is there something else you're not telling me? I heard you in the corridors too, trying to stop Jodha as she came to meet me... I thought you'd be happy for me... but, you didn't sound very happy then...and you don't appear very affected by the photo now...' he took in a long breath, before going on to talk about a small yet troubling thought that'd just reared its ugly head in his psyche 'I've never assumed anything like this before... I always thought you didn't like us as a couple, because you were possessive of me as a friend... but ...' following an uncomfortable pause, he looked up to stare her in the eye 'Renu, am I missing something here? About us? About you and I?'

Offended by the suspicious queries - something the true friend in her had never had to encounter till date - Renu grew wide-eyed 'F**k! Are you presuming that I might be having a 'thing' for you? Ewww Jalal! Don't push me into the same category as the other girls who swoon around you...' she shrugged his qualms off 'I wasn't happy about Jodha coming to meet you only because I feared she might hurt you all over again! I had no idea about her cancelled engagement then na...' taking a few moments to nurse her hurting ego, she grumbled aloud 'Waise, you're NOT MY kinda guy...' her voice steadily dropped to a near murmur 'You're more Jodha's kinda guy!'

Woah! Jalal stood stunned - stunned by all that'd he just heard. He was having both - a 'wow' moment and an 'oops' moment there. So, he decided to be done with the 'oops' before moving on to the 'wow'!

'Hey' he tapped the unhappy girl on her shoulder 'I'm sorry! It was just a small doubt that I wanted to have clarified before it grew into something uglier...' he put his palm up solemnly 'I, Jalal Muhammed promise - never again will you hear such a question from me, ok?' when those antics had managed to get her to look at him again- and with a little less fury in her glares - he resumed with a twinkle in his eye 'Strangely enough... the comment you made about me being Jodha's kinda guy...that's the best thing you've had to say about my relationship so far!' he impishly set his empty plate aside on a table 'Waise, I'm intrigued ... why did you say I'm NOT YOUR kinda guy?'

'Cos you're too egoistic and unforgiving...' Renu shook her head with conviction 'Just like ME...and I can't live with a guy like that forever!' while Jalal flicked his head in genuine surprise, she persevered with her stance 'Oh! Come on yaar... what you and Jodha had was literally textbook love, ok? Suddenly one day she breaks it off and you don't even make an effort to patch things up! True, I never said it aloud...but I was gobsmacked by your decisions...'

'You weren't there in the classroom that day, Renu...so you have no idea what happened...' he shut his eyes for an instant as the ugly memories briefly revisited him 'Anyway...' he sighed 'Despite all my personal grievances, I wouldn't have let her leave so easily...' following a short breather, the man decided to veer away from the upsetting topic 'Ok...let's forget about all that... who IS your kinda guy, then?'

Leaning back on the wall, she looked up at the skies - a faint smile making its way on her lips 'Someone who's posh... classy... gets me everything I want... puts up with everything I do... and doesn't utter a word in protest!'

'Oh! A rich doormat!' he laughed out loud 'Renuka Rao, you're insane...'

'Hey...' she butted-in coolly, not put-off by her best pal's teasing 'That's how my parents have spoiled me for 24 years... why should I expect any less from my life partner? Anyway meri chod... you desperately need to talk to Jodha now...you need closure on this, Jalal!'

'What!' it was time for Jalal to be stunned all over again - what with Renu's unforeseen show of kindness that evening 'I'm dreaming, aren't I?'

'Well...' she responded to his jesting with a dispirited sigh 'I tried to cheer you up for three months and I assumed I was successful too... till I see you now and realize what a TRULY cheerful Jalal looks like... just ONE appearance she makes and you're a different man altogether!' glimpsing down, the downbeat lady picked at a half-broken fingernail 'Much as I still can't stand her - especially the fact that she has to be Miss Perfect all the time...much as I know it's never going to be easy for you with her conservative family and all... I guess I have to swallow the fact and be happy that if I've lost my best friend, it's only to a girl of his dreams!'

'Hey' he had to struggle to curtail his grins - seeing his generally high-and-mighty chum, now looking like a gloomy ten year old 'Find yourself a guy quickly... and we'll be pretty much even!'

'Yeah yeah...'

'And it's my girl you're talking about... so a bit more respect, eh?'

'Whatever!'

'And Miss Grouchy...'

'Shut up' she cut him in, aware that he was having loads of fun at her expense 'Now go help yourself to some desserts before they wrap up the party...'

'Sure' he blinked and vanished as advised, but not before ruffling her hair into a royal mess - something he knew she so hated!

THE BUFFET TABLE

'Are you avoiding Payal by any chance?' asked the wary young lady, as she finished patting her hands dry into a paper napkin

'Nope yaar!' Jodha fibbed not-so-convincingly 'Why would you think so?'

'Just that... you haven't really been talking to her all evening...'

'Kuch bhi...' Jodha smiled nervously, wiping her wet lips with a tissue 'Ab chal... wanna sample the desserts?'

'Nope, I'm full!' Meera gently rejected the offer 'And don't dodge my questions. Why have you been acting strange all day? After Vishal bhaiyya's call you promised to explain everything, but you didn't... I... I mean...even now in the party, you randomly disappear ...your mobile's suddenly cracked... you requested for my mobile, but made no calls...your expressions keep see-sawing from nervousness to ecstasy to frustration to impatience...' she stopped - for an edgy second 'Does all this have to do with Jalal?'

'Hey Raam! Listen Meera...' Jodha exhaled - obviously, this was only a few of hundred doubts Meera had had in the past hour or so 'I'll explain everything... just give me 24 hours, ok?'

'24 hours?' a not-too-happy Meera grumbled. After all, which best friend would be happy to be deliberately left out in the dark? 'Fine... I'll be waiting...'

'Thanks yaar!' Jodha breathed a sigh of relief 'Ok... I'm off to get myself some desserts...' she patted her pal's palm Will join you soon, haan?'

'Ok!'

THE DESSERT DISPLAY

No sooner than she'd left Meera behind and reached the extravagant arrangements on the huge round table, the young lady was left literally agape. My my - the sweet-fare on display was as extensive as it got!

Cakes. Jamuns. Barfis. Puddings. Fruit-salads. Chocolate fountain. Ice-creams. The list was endless!

'God!' she swore, briefly overlooking how 'stuffed' her tummy already was 'Looks SOOO inviting! I wish I could sink my lips into all of it!'

'I know...' his familiar voice softly chipped-in from the opposite end 'Of what I see, that's EXACTLY how I'm feeling too!'

'Huh?' gasping out loud, Jodha peeped over the chocolate fountain to catch sight of him. Needless to say, he was silently sneering - enjoying the flirty undertones of his comment - a compliment intended for her rather than the desserts!

'Such a devil!' biting down hard to stop any semblance of a smile from appearing, she reminded herself sternly 'Don't react Jodha... you can't...not here!' Nevertheless, all those desperate measures managed to stop the smiles, but not the colours on her face from turning red-redder-reddest!

Noting the fresh tints on her cheeks despite the fountain tiers partially blocking his view, Jalal waited for her to glance up at him once more. When she did dart him a quick peek half-a-minute later, he subtly indicated towards the selection of cakes - a dessert he knew they BOTH loved!

'Wanna share?' his eyes quietly seemed to suggest

Cautiously scanning the spaces around her to ensure they weren't being watched - especially by Maan or Payal - the upbeat young lady blinked in reply 'Sure...' she still wished she could've sampled everything out there - but earnestly, her petite belly had no space left!

'Which one?' his gazes skimmed across the available choices of strawberry, vanilla, chocolate and a single remaining piece of blackforest! His eternal love was 'chocolate' - but somehow, he could already guess what her decision would be!

Her eyes mischievously lingered on his favourite flavour for a short while -before subsequently moving over to the last available slice of blackforest 'That one!'

'Not chocolate?' he frowned

'Blackforest!' she insisted with a frisky grin

'Just as I thought!' relenting with a smile, he went on to pick out her preference.

However before he could do so, a boyish pat on the back stopped him in his tracks

'Hey Jalal...what are you up to these days?'

'Oh' he turned around with a diplomatic nod 'Hi Ramesh... nothing much... the usual...'

'Lovely party!' the lively chap remarked, while leaning across to grab the final blackforest slice for himself

'Woah!' a mildly amazed Jalal stared - as the chap aimed to sneak away the unclaimed blackforest. While it wouldn't be decent for two grown-ups to argue over a piece of cake, he couldn't just let a guy swoop in and whisk away his girl's choice either. So, he decided to craftily divert his attention instead 'Arre' Jalal spoke up on a merry note - laying an arm around his classmate's shoulder 'Blackforest chod... you should try the chocolate fudge cake instead...'

'This is going to be fun!' Jodha surmised, intently observing the interesting turn of events from the other end of the table

'Errr... why chocolate?' Ramesh asked sceptically

'Cos I heard it's heavenly! Salim ne abhi fresh batch mangvaayaa hai!' Jalal recommended - all this, while he could sense how Jodha was now lowering her face to hide the giggles taking over her. God! The juvenile stuff they both sometimes got up to!

'Ok ok baba...' the cornered classmate ultimately sighed 'Itnaa keh rahe ho tho...' placing a slice of the chocolate cake on a dessert plate thereon, Ramesh bid his farewell 'See you then!'

'Sure bye...' Jalal waved him off, before turning ahead to his lady who was still busy muffling her giggles 'Phew' winking at her in victorious relief, he grabbed himself a fresh spoon and scooped out a piece of the blackforest. However, just as he'd started enjoying his second spoonful he was interrupted yet again!

'Arre...' Ramesh's voice suddenly echoed from behind 'I forgot to take a spoon and...' his sentence stopped midway. He'd noticed what Jalal was eating - and expectedly, he became displeased at the thought of having been taken for a ride!

'Oh - oh!'

'Oh my God!' Jodha looked away

'Well Ramesh...' Jalal tried to explain - striving not to laugh at the hilarity of their situation 'I... I'm tasting the blackforest now... but, I tell you...chocolate fudge still rules yaar!'

'Whatever!' the guy grabbed a spoon and walked off in a huff

Sportively chuckling away the embarrassment he'd just undergone, Jalal went on to wish his disgruntled classmate 'Have a good night, Ramesh!' not surprisingly, he received no response this time. Shaking his head in defeat, he returned his attention to the more-than-amused girl standing opposite him 'The things I do for you na, Jodha!' he stylishly pushed the plate across with mock-anger

Wasting no further time, Jodha protectively gathered the precious piece of cake that her guy had waged a hundred battles for - lest anyone else arrived to lay claim upon it. Her eyes then twinkled gratefully 'Thanks... my adorable Mr. Perfect!'

Wow! That smile. What a stunner. It melted his heart a hundred times over. How he wished he could just slip away from the maddening crowds and whisk her off with him that very second 'Maybe I should just do it...' he wondered

'Nope' she shook her head, well aware of the mischievous notions running in his mind 'A little more patience baba...' she subtly held her ears in apology 'After the party, I'll...' she stopped - at once. The beautiful smiles immediately vanished. The red hues on her skin instantaneously gave way to deathly pallor. She was no longer looking at him. She was looking at someone else -someplace else. Clutching the plate of dessert, she paced away from the table in a flash - just like that.

'What the...' he swore aloud, shocked by her blunt departure. What was that all about? Did she just leave? Out of the blue? Again? He instinctively spun around, realizing that it was something she'd seen behind him that'd caused her to react that way. He spent a few tense moments closely observing the busy scenes of the party - but all he could see were various groups of people chitchatting and frolicking about 'F**k...' he ruffled his hair in frustration 'What's going on? This crazy behaviour isn't you Jodha! What did you see? Who did you see? Why did you suddenly leave like you'd spotted a madman or something?'

His thoughts froze. Madman! Madman? MADMAN! That was it! It was the madman! It steadily dawned upon him. Her expressions as she scampered off now were the very expressions she'd momentarily exhibited in the cubicle before leaving - and the last he'd seen those expressions were on the night they'd MET THE STALKER!

All along he'd assumed she was 'worried'. All along he'd assumed it was crazy family drama that was keeping her away. He was wrong. It wasn't worry or family threats keeping them apart. It was panic. Horror. FEAR! Fear brought about by the only person capable of instilling dread in her - the stalker!

Finding himself growing more and more frantic, Jalal cautiously let his eyes scour through the crowds once again - but tough luck. He couldn't locate anything out of the ordinary 'Is he around here? Who is it? How do you know him? Why didn't you tell me about this? Did he get in touch with you? Has he been threatening you?' he was jolted 'Bas***d!' his fingers turned numb as he struck upon another disturbing idea 'He's been threatening you to stay away from me, hasn't he?'

'Let me go Jalal'

'Do I look scared to you?'

'This is a conscious decision I've taken, Jalal...'

'I should stop contacting you... so I didn't see the point in giving you my number...'

Clenching the table in anguish as it all came back to him, the disturbed young man analyzed every recent questionable action and statement of hers - one after another - for as long as it took. The subtle pointers. The hidden signals. Her icy stares that hadn't let him read her genuine sentiments. The fact that she'd deliberately shattered his spirit. The fact that she hadn't let him have her number. The fact that she hadn't responded to his emails.

NOTHING added up then. EVERYTHING added up now. They all pointed to ONE thing. She'd wanted him to stay away, by hook or crook - possibly, to keep HIM safe!

'OH SHUT UP and let me think!' a voice in his head screamed at the relentless noises in the backdrop - an irritating drone of police sirens that only seemed to be intensifying with time 'The stalker has gotten to you Jodha! Damn, I never for once guessed you kept me away for the sake of that creep...because I NEVER assumed you'd hide such a thing from me. We've always stood against this guy together - then, why did you keep me in the dark now? And how could you take on such a risk all by yourself!' fuming in near-desperation, he was oblivious to the fact that his body was now leaning against the table for support 'Damn! How much longer must I wait to talk to you about all this... 2 hours? 24 hours? This bloody wait!'

********************

'Jalal come here and look...' Abdul's voice compelled him to snap out of his temporary state of anguish.

It was then that he saw what was happening around him. It was then that he realized the kind of frenzy that seemed to have abruptly possessed the party. Worried murmurs and startled faces abound. Everyone had lined up near the parapet walls, peeping over to catch sight of the ongoings on the roads at the bottom.

The semi-dazed Jalal rushed forth and joined Abdul to investigate the source of the ruckus. When he leaned above the walls to observe the cause of the commotion, he was taken aback. It was mayhem. Police cars. Media vans. Security - and all sorts of other worrying vehicles had surrounded the hotel premises.

'What the hell's going on?'

'Doesn't look good!'

'Has something bad happened in this hotel?'

'Did someone die?'

'My!' Jalal was compulsively drawn out of one worry only to be plagued with woes of a new kind 'When did all this happen?' he turned to an equally anxious Abdul 'Yaar... this looks like a raid of some sort!' the instant he'd blurted that supposition, the grave implications struck them both - in unison. The ladies! With the media around, things could get very ugly. They better warn Renu and usher the ladies out before the building was cordoned off.

'JODHA!' he immediately panicked. He wanted HER to leave - RIGHTAWAY!

***************************

If this made it a worthwhile read, please leave me a comment/like if time permits, as it helps the writer in me to keep going 😳

Note about chapter on page 19