JA SS ...LOVE LOST AND FOUND ...Chapter 3 updated Pg 15 - Page 2

"Bhaijaan, finally you arrived" an excited Bakshi gushed "you missed the wedding, I missed it too, my flight got delayed ... adhambhai did not agree to hindu style wedding and she did not agree to ours, so there was no ceremony, they just signed some papers like a registered marriage I think... reception just started, his new wife is so pretty and she does not wear any make up, if you would have seen her first, you would have wanted to marry her I am sure" she chatted happily "... everyone is asking for you and Javeeda bhabhi has been looking for you the whole time, ammijaan and bhaijaan are super upset" Jalal was ushered towards his family by his sister ... much as he hated the thought of his brother getting married he was forced to attend his brother's wedding, his Bhabhi begged him to come, ...he just could not understand why his brother would want to get married again and that too in a hushed up rush, wonders if his new bride was pregnant, Javeeda Bhabhi is his high school sweetheart ...they were a perfect couple, fitting together in more ways than one ... just the thought of his Bhabhi being hurt made him mad, he had gotten close to her, she was like a mother to him, he had known her for since he was a kid, she did not deserve something like his at this stage in her life, granted that they have no children. "she has a child ... a boy and bhaijaan is going to adopt him, ammijaan and bhabijaan love the boy, he reminds them of you, I have to agree, he looks just like you ..." his sister's voice "bhaijaan, are you listening, ammijaan will have a stroke soon if you don't meet her she is so worried" Bakshi snickered pulling him inside the hall ... the place was filled with children and a lot of people he did not recognize. He runs into his brother, looks around for the bride, no one within his eyesight looked bride like ...tries to talk to his brother who basically tells him to buzz off "Jalal, I don't interfere in your life and I want you to stay out of my affairs ...if I want to enjoy life with two women, then I will, it will be my choice ...you choose to stay single and enjoy life, so buzz off" He looks for his date who had already made it to the bar and walks towards her ... "I can't believe this bhaijaan, you bring one of your floozies for a family function, ammijaan is going to be ticked off, she was hoping you will bring a future Bhabhi, leave her at the bar, she seems to be enjoying the attention" Jalal ignores her comment ...his sister was right, he should not have brought her for the family event, she was an escort to warm his bed for the night... he picked her up from Dubai on his way here...

Amidst tears his mother greeted him ... He hated family functions, everyone was inquisitive about his life, his business, they were more interested in match making ... he ignores them no matter who asks them ..."I hope one day you will also settle down beta, you are too young to be working so much ...look at your brother, he life is doubled with happiness and you have a new bhabhi and nephew" without a choice he listened as his mother spoke ...she continues seriously giving Jalal the you need to settle down lecture ...he had heard it many times, there was a time he thought about marriage but that relationship no longer existed, ...it annoyed him just thinking about it ... Jalal laughs it off his mother was relentless at getting him married and settled ..."and she is so pretty bhaijaan ... she is prettiest person I have seen so far, she does not look like a mother to a 4 year old" his sister cuts in ..."a readymade family eh ...I heard that ammijaan" Jalal laughs "but there is a minor technicality ...that boy is not his blood and that woman will never be my Bhabhi ...my Javeeda Bhabhi is the only person who has that right ... I will do all I can to ..." He stops mid sentence as he as a tiny pair of arms grip his leg in tears, Jalal looks down to see his niece's teary face, Jalal was close to Bakshi and her family, they lived in England and almost every weekend he spent with his sister's family. "what happened princess?" he picks her up, between sobs she explains "that boy" pointing towards the center court "he kissed me and when I told him to stop he said he said no and kissed me again" Jalal looks towards where she pointed a sees a little boy standing by himself looking at the sky, he runs his hands though her curls "come, lets go, I'll talk to him ... no boy should be kissing my 6 year old niece ..." she refused to come with him "I want to stay with ammijaan" she then clings to her mother ...

Jalal lets go and begins walking towards the boy who sees him coming and runs outside, Jalal follows him out of curiosity ...the way he moved seemed familiar and finally catches up with him on the balcony ... "hey, little boy" the boy glared back angrily "I am not a little boy, my maasa tells me I am her big man and when I hug her she tells me she feels safe in my arms ...I take care of her so I am not little" Jalal smiles with a sarcastic smirk pats his head, "Okay big man, let me give you a big man's advice, you just can't kiss girls without their permission... girls don't like it" the little boys gives him a cute crooked smile " but... I want to be like my dad ..that's why I kiss gurls, it makes my maasa mad, she tells me my dad is a ladies man and I want to be like my dad" Jalal gets shocked by his answer "where is your dad ?" the boy frowns and looks away "I don't have a dad, I mean, I have a dad, but he does not know I am born yet" Jalal feels bad, squats next to the boy, lifts him up on his lap and whispers "hey, I am a ladies man too ... And a good ladies man do not go around kissing girls without their permission" the little boy gives him an poor puppy glare as his eyes tears up... Jalal sighed gazing into his eyes for a moment, his heart beat doubles up for a moment, those eyes look familiar ... he looked about 5 years old ...he saw hope and sadness in his eyes as tears rolled down his cheek "Jehangir beta" an old lady comes and takes him away, "beta, your maasa is looking for you" voices fade away ... Jalal watches them ... the tears and the innocent face of the little boy captured his heart ... thoughts he kept suppressed for past 5 years surfaces ... thoughts of having a family and the only woman who captured his heart, the only woman with who he'd want a family had walked away from his life, he kind of forced her out of his life ...due to his own insecurity ...

Jalal walks into the party hall, heads straight to the bar, looks for his escort Anouska a Russian blue eyed blonde, sees her dancing with some random guy, his eyes scan the dance floor there were perfect and no so perfect girls everywhere enjoying the freedom of dancing, drunk men grinding behind them, drinking, dancing, loud music ...Jalal meets up with Abdul, Mirza and few other old friends at the bar "bhaijaan did you meet our new Bhabhi ... She is so pretty ..." Jalal gives him an angry growl "not interested" and he sits quietly in the corner drinking whisky ... watching the girls/women dance, the sway of their boobs and hips enticing him... a few came and tried to pull him in ... he declined ...lost in his thoughts ...his xrated mind dwindles as the music stops "Ladies and gentlemen, the legally newest couple of the hour and the newest vice president to the Khan industries ... Mrs Khan" he had no interest in this wedding what so ever ...he hated his brother for hurting his Bhabhi and the new bride for messing up his bhabi's life... and now he was super ticked off with his brother for that woman his job as well ..giving her control of his business and personal life... "let me introduce Mr Adham Khan and Mrs Khan ..." loud applause, the music starts, he watched as his brother held out his hand for her and gently leads her to the center of the dance floor, she had a beautiful body, busty, slim waist, curvy hips, he could not see her face "stop drooling ...she is your brother's wife man" abdul's voice butts into his thoughts "if you did not force me here I would have been in bed with Anouska living out my fantasies, watching xrated movies and doing the unthinkable" he cuts him off... her face was covered with dupatta, ... music fills the room ... "sawan aaya hai" (ek villain) ... suddenly the music stops ...Jalal sees the little boy he met a while ago pushing his brother away yelling "no ...no... you can't dance with her ... I want to dance with my maasa, you are not my dad ...I don't like you, I hate you" ... stunned silence ... the bride squats down and talks to the little boy in hushed tones ... light was focused on the boy and the bride ...his brother cuts in ... "let the boy have the first dance with his mother ... I'll dance with the first love of my life Javeeda" Music starts again ...they begin dancing, her dupatta falls off her head exposing her face, Jalal's jaw drops he gets up stumbles, falls, abdul helps him back up " ...Jodha ... Abdul, Jodha" he grabs his friend and yells "I finally find her ...never in my wildest dream" ... he grabs a bottle of whiskey and begins gulping it ...Abdul takes it away from him and pulls him out ...Jalal goes out fighting "she, left me, left me and married someone else, now she is marrying my brother" He lights up a cigarette and takes in the night air with a deep drag ...he feels exhausted like he just ran a marathon ...there was something about the whole situation that did not seem right. That boy, his eyes, his face, the instant connection he felt ... was the boy his son,... finally it was coming together in his brain ... the last few weeks of his life with her, "Jalal I'm late" she half sobbed one day ... "no we are not Jo, the movie does not start until 230 and it is only 215, lets rush" he dragged into the movie theater, she looked completely shocked by his response ... Had she attempted to tell him she was pregnant?? Her mood swings, crying, being picky with food...was she pregnant, is that why she left???

9 years ago at Harvard University

He saw her for the first time ... fight, pushing away the advances of her dorm mate who was trying to kiss her ...her eyes pleading for his help, completely anxious ...Jalal separated them and brought her to his apartment ...at age 20 he was super smart, he had just started his own business, invested in a lot of startup tech companies, he had his own penthouse, a live in girlfriend and had just started grad school ...just before the party his friend from India had called and asked him to check on his sister "I am really worried Jalal, she is almost 17, all alone, please help her bhai, she studies in your college and lives in the dorm" he begged ... Jalal was hosting the super bowl party at his house ... super bowl was a very popular event at the university ...lots of food, booze and girls ... kind of celebrating sports, friends and end of first semester finals all bundled into one ... he had not planned to drink ... his friends baby sister was staying in his penthouse that weekend ...but somehow his girlfriend forced a few drinks "it will relieve the stress Jalal" she had insisted "yeah, I know she is only 16 ... she is from India, but it is worse there now than here ...she'll learn the American college lifestyle soon, we have been having sex for 3 years ... You just can't hide that fact ... not that it is any better in India now, just check her into a hotel till the college can solve her dorm issues ..." Jo watched as they argued, Rukaiya walks away and begins dancing with some other guy they begin to kiss, Jo looks away... music was booming through the house and the living room transformed into a dance floor within minutes ...everyone continued to drink, dance and have fun ... Jalal and Rukiaya were back together ... they were the most popular couple of the night.

Jodha walks to the kitchen ...shuts the door to close out the loud noise, sits in a corner reflecting on how quickly her life changed from being a carefree teenager in India to being a responsible teenager, alone in a foreign country, fending for herself in the US, exposed to a life she never dreamed of... Jodha was at the same college as Jalal ... she had won a scholarship ... fully paid by Harvard to do her undergrad studies ...the dorm was coed ...she had roommate issues, her roommate was a french girl, did drugs, had multiple partners had sex in the room ... Jo could not stand the boys that came in and out of her room, stayed in the library most of the times and when she came to shower and change guys tried to force themselves on her teased her "you have a body of a sexy po*n star"... Jo managed to avoid getting into trouble with the boys, talked to the student relations counselor and was waiting for a spot for girls only dorm ...not wanting to trouble her hard working father ... wrote to her best friend Moti about her college life not knowing Moti was dating her brother, that's how she ended up meeting Jalal ... Jalal and Bhagwan das were classmates in India ...Baghwan das had called Jalal asking him to help his sister ...now she was in his penthouse avoiding a very adult party ...finally the noise died down ...everyone left Jalal walked over to Jo ...pulls her up, their lips meet, he tightens his hold on her waist, deepens his kiss, Jo was stunned but responds ...Jalal wraps his arms around her body and picks her up, begins walking while hold her lips captive to his ...Jo hears the door shut, something in her snaps back to attention forcing herself away from lips, slides to the ground, as her feet touch the floor she realizes Jalal had brought her to his bedroom, he was drunk ...and he had no plans of letting go, she needed to get out of this situation before it got out of hand ... "Jalal bhai, let me go" ... His eyes burned with anger "Bhai, I am not your bhai ..."

He held her securely still and shook his head no from side to side then answered "I don't think I can Jodha, I don't think I can, I don't want to, I, I'm afraid I'll never be able to" His voice was pained his eyes were red ..Jo tries to get away but he was strong ... "I did not believe in love at first sight till I saw you" holding her tighter rubs his hands down her back in slow comforting rhythm ...holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world ... "Please Jodha ...let us figure some things out" he pulls her on to his lap ... That's how their lives started ...she moved into the guest bedroom at this penthouse that night to avoid boys at the dorm, he had dumped his girlfriend that night to accommodate her in his life ...Although she was underage, he took her out to bars, drinking, partying, dancing, Jalal was a party animal, threw parties at his house all the time ... "you have to enjoy life Jo..." he insisted ... one such night at their house party ...they were in the middle of the crowd dancing, dirty dancing to hip hop song that had come on, he had moved her away towards the bedroom and continued dancing to the music ...the music changed to "sapna Jahan" and everything changed course as his hands grabbed her butt, lifting her against his waist "Jalal, what are you doing?" she gasped ... "sshh trust me" he whispered harshly, everything happened so quickly ...one second she was telling him to stop and the next she was gripping his hair to keep him from stopping ... she lost her virginity to him that night ... The next morning "Jodha, Jo, I am not going to tell you I regret what happened between us ...I don't know why or what caused me to do that ... I just ..couldn't help myself" he managed to say ... tears swelled and flowed out of her eyes ... "It's okay Jalal, it was partly my fault too, I should not have been dancing the way I was" Shaking his head "no, no, we were not just dancing, we both were drunk, I let my emotions take over" Jo stops him "but I was not drunk, I had only a cup of wine ... and you were not drunk either ... I watched you drink only 2 beers" Jalal had to agree ... "I wanted us to happen ... I wanted you in my life, you gave me what would eventually be mine, I love you Jo" That day she started taking birth control pills, that evening they exchanged promise rings, slipping the ring on her finger he whispered "you will be the only woman in my life Jo I will wear your ring proudly to prove to you that you will be the only one in my life ...I want you to wear this ring as a promise to me that you will never allow another man to touch you" Thus their life began ...Jalal graduated, and began working for wall street while developing his own business, Jo was getting ready to graduate from undergrad. They hid their relationship from both their families ... Jo's family could not afford to visit the US and Jalal's family although rolling in money ...did not really care ...4 years went by quickly

A month before Jo's graduation trouble rocked their love nest ...Jo was stressed out due to finals ... Jalal was busy travelling expanding his business ...meetings, conferences, he had many late night networking cocktails ...lately Jo could not attend as she was busy with finals ... one night Jalal came home tired from work, Jo was in a bitchy mood, "Jalal, my parents are have found an alliance for me, they want me to get married after I graduate" ... He got up walked to the bar, poured himself a drink ...he shaking his head, attempting to get a grip of what she said "can you repeat Jo" Jo explains again the conversation she had with her parents ... Jalal had not expected it "so, tell them about us" Jo's eyes light up "thanks Jalal, they may not agree to it in the beginning but will accept us once we get married" her excitement was cut short by "who said I want to get married, I am only 25 yrs old, I am not ready for marriage Jo ...life is just starting, my business has picked up" Jo was stunned, he pulls her into his arms "common baby, what is the hurry to get married ...I can't help it if your parents want you to be married ...if you want to keep your parents happy then go ahead and marry who they suggest and if you want me ...then you just have to wait ..." He shrugs his shoulders, Jo begins crying pushes him and walks away " what do you want me to do Jo, marry you to keep you happy?" sipping his drink, his eyes holding hers captive ...her face tear stained "I'm not going to tell you what to do Jo, your life is your choice... you understand that right?" His words cut deep into her ... "lately you have become so moody and bitchy ... maybe we need to take a break from each other ... Explore other avenues ..." Jo walks into the bedroom and shuts the door ... She refused to talk to him the next day and when he attempted, "Please Jalal, I have to study for my finals, lets talk about it another day okay?" A week passed by ... Jo continued handing him her cold shoulder "damn it Jodha, can't you understand I want us to talk this over like adults, you are 21 yrs old and I am 25, we are not kids ...we need to think with our heads" grabbing her by her shoulders hissed as she walked towards the door "Jalal, you are right ... Maybe we need to take a break from each other ...now please let me go, I have my last finals today and I can't mess up, I made myself clear to you that and it still stands, if you want ... We can talk tonight, I won't have to stress about school" she turned away from him as he tried to touch her, she walks out...slamming the door behind her. That evening she waited for Jalal, he did not come home, she went to bed at 1 am, lay in bed awake crying ... Jo felt the bed shift when he crawled into bed that night at 2 am fully drunk ... he mumbled "girls, I love girls, girls are fun, they love me, they want me, who the hell wants to get married ... I am not ready for marriage" Jo gets up, helps him undress and settles him in bed... red, pink, purple lipstick marks on his jaw and shirt collar and shoulders ... strong perfume ...flowery/fruity mix of alcohol and perfume... Jo felt like puking, he made himself very clear... Jo packs her bags and by 5am walked out of his house, out of his life...leaving behind a small note tucked under his phone on the night stand

Jalal ... I want you to have everything you want in life, and I am not sure if I'm the one for you any longer, I hope life brings you wonderful things, I love you" PS don't discuss our relationship with my family, they are arranging my marriage and I don't want to ruin anything. Forever and always

Jodha

Jalal woke up, reached across the bed for Jo, he missed her warm body ...it had been over 2 weeks since she spoke to him, although she allowed him to hug and cuddle her in bed every morning, she refused to allow him to fondle "they hurt" she whispered ... he missed her softness, ...she must have left for college ... then it strikes him, she was done with finals, he jumps out of bed unable to recall the events of the past night ... runs around looking for her, calls, no answer, he did not notice the piece of paper neatly tucked under his phone till he picked it up to call her ... her beautiful curvy writing .. after reading the note his heart stopped, he had no idea what she meant, he stood paralyzed looking at the script, he couldn't help but recall his entire life with her in a flash before his eyes ...feels anxious ...what had changed ... picks up his phone and pushed her speed dial number, it rang ...and rang...and rang...finally went to voice mail. What the F**k he dials again, and again, and again ...same thing, voice mail ...everything about the morning was wrong ... recalls leaving her at home the night before when she refused to join him for cocktails at his company IPO ...her eyes were detached, something was wrong ... Calls her again only to be greeted by her voice mail and finally leaves her a message "Jodha, I love you, please call me, it is urgent, I don't know what I would do without you, please call me" ... He tried his best to track her down, she never called back, she cut off all social media, 4 weeks later he went for her graduation with a bouquet of flowers, pink tulips her favorite ...she never turned up for her graduation ...a year later he talked to bhagwan das and enquired about her "oh, she got married, she has a son now" ... She walked away from his life and created a life for herself... looks at his ring, so much for the promise ring' sighs, takes off the ring from his finger and throws it away ... He moved on to become a playboy

Back to present

"Jalal, you are being overly sensitive about this ...you moved on with your life, she moved on with hers ... now she is your brother's wife and you have to stay out of her life" Jalal gives abdul an infuriated look, "are you proposing I give up my son ...he is my son abdul bhai I know he is my son ...and now she is married to my brother ...I won't let that f**ker adopt my son" His eyes went wide with guilt "I am not proposing anything Jalal, I just don't think it is rational to jump to conclusions after five minutes of thinking about it ...she is your sister in law ...you are being completely insensitive" Jalal stubs his cigarette, in that moment he snaps, he was tired and fed up ...he didn't care what anyone thought, he needed to know what the next steps of his life would be ... He needed to talk to her ...he rushes back into the dance hall, the lights were low but he could see her ...she was dancing with his brother ...fury grips him ... He cuts in "may I have this dance with the beautiful bride bhaijaan"

This will be a short 3 chapter story, I had this plot cooking in my brain and had to get it off ... let me know your thoughts ...Prema