Akdha SS- ~A Secret Crush~ #4 [Ch-8 Pg.03] 21.6.18

Chapter-2

They Meet.

"Jodha.. Beta utho.. Tumhare liye ek surprise hai Beta.." The powerful Bharmal was nothing but helpless in front of his daughter. He always had to bend down to her wishes, lest she wouldn't eat anything and lock herself up. She had a habit of throwing tantrums, ones which were liked by everyone in the Singh Mansion.

"Kya hai papa?? Mujhe neend aa rahi hain.. aapke surprise ko postpone karte hain.. okay?" The agitated yound lady pulled up the quilt to cover her eyes from the light that invaded the room, all thanks to her father.

"Beta.. its about Jalal!" That was all Bharmal had to say to make her get up in a mini second. "What?" She asked, her face showing no sign that she was fully asleep the previous second. Her face looking death serious.

Bharmal smiled mischievously, no one knew his daughter better than him. He sat on the edge of the bed, caressing her head.

"Papa!!! What about Jalal??? Tell naa.. dekho ye suspense wuspense mat rakho.. Mujhe gussa aa raha hai." Jodha said and turned her head in annoyance. She just couldn't handle her dad sometimes.

"Beta.. He's signed a movie under our production house.." He smiled cutely, glad to make his princess happy. "What??????" She shouted in the most filmy way and hugged him tightly. "JALALLUDIN MOHAMMED HAS SIGNED A MOVIE UNDER YOUR BANNER????? WOOHO!!! YIPPPE!!! THAT MEANS I'LL MEET HIM!!! BALLE BALLE!!" She was shouting in her father's ears at the top of her voice.

"One day this girl will make me deaf.. that's for sure.." He smiled at her antics. No wonder she was his princess, she was just so cute, so different. "YOU'RE THE BEST PAPA IN THE WORLD!"
"Are bas.. ab zyada maska mat lagaao.. get ready today we have to go to meet the director and the star cast in an hour" He broke the hug and gave a better get going look to her, almost shocking the life out of the innocent little girl.

"I'M GOING TO MEET THE JALALLUDIN MOHAMMED.. THAT TOO TODAY!!!!" She shouted and started jumping on the bed, her excitement crossing all the boundaries.

"Yes.. you're going to meet THE JALALLUDIN MOHAMMED.. That too TODAY!!!!" He mimicked her. Jodha looked at the table clock, time was running out.

"Ab aap mujhe late mat karo.." She said and ran towards her closet to choose the best outfit for today. "Will meet you downstairs papa!" She ran towards the bathroom, her chosen clothes dancing in her hands. She came out suddenly and gave his father a flying kiss, then ran inside to take a bath.

~~~~~~
"This girl.. time ki importance kab samjhegi?" Bharmal glanced at his wrist watch, she was 5 minutes late. 5 minutes are anything but small in Mr. Bharmal's dictionary.
"Aa jaayegi wo.. chinta mat kariye.. abhi bhi bacchi hai" Maina smiled at her cute hubby.

"Kiski buraai ho rahi hain??" A voice came from behind, attracting the attention of the middle aged couple. There she stood, wearing blue denim shorts and black one strap top. She was indeed looking beautiful, no doubt. But more than that, she was looking desirable. She did minimum makeup, applying pink lip gloss on her lips along with a coat of mascara on her lashes. Bharmal frowned at her taste of clothes. He never really appreciated her liking for modern clothes'. She loves to wear traditional too, but on most occasions she ends up wearing either shorts or skirts.

"Jodha.. jaao change karke aao.. these are not looking good on you." Bharmal ordered, his voice firm.

"Papa... please naa. Waise bhi we are going to the sets naa. Whats the problem? I would have changed.. (she pouted) lekin ab to we are already late.So.." She gave her best puppy face to him, and sure enough, the last line was enough to make her get her way.

"Fine.. lekin this is the last time I'm allowing you to wear these sort of cheap clothes.. okay?" He said and held her hand. Jodha was a woman of modern thinking. She always loved to wear such clothes. She believes that even if a woman wears fully covered clothes, yet is unaware about her surroundings, can be attacked.

She always lives her life by her own rules and regulations. In short, she is a total fun loving and carefree girl. In contrast to her carefree and jolly nature, she can be seen as a hell serious and responsible girl. In short, she is both: childlike and mature.

She loves to attract attention. She is like, like a rose, which attracts one and everyone. In whichever party she goes, she ends up becoming the head turner of the event. She was kind of nervous for their meeting, probably because he's a superstar and a super arrogant one. If there was one thing she was sure of, it was that he would have to bear the consequences if he dares to hurt the self respect of Jodha Singh.

~~~~~~~

SINGH STUDIO, MUMBAI

"Kahaan hoga wo??" The agitated young lady glanced at her surrounding for probably the hundredth time, looking for her someone special.

"Damn.. Maybe wo nahi aayega..Cause of his so called important commintments".. Damn his so called commitments!" She cursed him under her breath for making her wait. She's a total spoiled girl, who couldn't wait. She lives a fast paced life, and wait is certainly not her thing.

She turned around to see her father, asking him if she could just drive back to the mansion, instead of standing here and ogling every single soul, but saw something that startled her completely.

There he was, talking to her father, his face completely serious. "Jalal.." She murmured subconsciously, lost in his charm.

I've chosen Tu Hi Tu from Kick as the BGM for their first meet. Hope you all will like it.

She stood there, showering all her affection for him through those expressive eyes of her. Her heart started beating fast. She turned around and let her eyes search for water as she took deep breathes to calm her heart beats. She gulped down the water, and then coughed, which was pretty normal.

She decided to make a run for it, she couldn't see him. "Yes, I'm gonna run" She thought. She ran towards the exit door and collided with someone, (Do I need to tell who that someone' is?" making his phone hit the floor and break.

"What the hell?" He gritted his teeth, before turning towards her. He looked at her, her big innocent eyes widen in fear, she looked like a small scared child. He grabbed her delicate arm tightly and pinned her against the wall.

"How dare you???" He hissed, his eyes red with rage.

"Leave me you dog.. How dare YOU touch me??" She retorted back, digging her nails in his hand to weaken his grip on hers, but alas, she was unsuccessful.

" Tumhari himmat kaise hui mera phone todne ki?? You bl.."

"Hey you!!! (she pointed at him) Aise language use karna mujhe bhi aata hai, okay? SO be in your limits!" She was somewhere happy that his face was covered by the shadows of large cameras and shooting supplies, lest it would have broken the last string of her anger.

" Tum janti ho ki kisse baat kar rahi ho? Main Jala.."

"O!!! Ye naam ki dhamki naa kisi aur ko dena! Jaante ho main kon hun?? Iss production house ke owner ki beti.. so better be in your limits.. kyunki tumhe fire karwane se pehle main ek baar bhi nahi sochungi!"

He let out a fake laugh at her words. "So tum mujhe fire karwaaogi??Mujhe iss movie se nikaalogi? Unfortunately aisa nahi ho sakta.. kyunki main, ye movie sign kar chukka hun."

"What do you mean by sign kar chuke ho?? Listen mister.. aise chote mote artists ko hum kabhi replace kar sakte hain.. Koi lead nahi ho tum jo replace nahi ho sakte, got it??"

He was about to retort back when suddenly light intervened and their faces shined. Both were now visible to each other. He looked at her, she was extremely desirable. His eyes drooled over her face, red with rage. She had turned her face, not wanting to look at him. Her nose was sharp, her eyes, big, expressive. He was getting attracted to her, he could feel it. He let his eyes linger over her lips, pink and attractive. He wanted claim her lips at this moment itself. But his ego wasn't allowing him to do so. This beautiful girl has dared to hurt Jalaluddin Mohammed's ego, and he wasn't going to let her get away with this.

He grabbed her face rudely, holding it from her chin. Maybe, it was just his desire to touch her, to feel her skin. But the way he did it broke Jodha's last string of self control. She pushed away his hand rudely, before finally looking at him.

Her eyes widen, her body trembled, the red color of anger drained out of her face in no time. She just couldn't believe it. Fate brought her face to face with her major crush, Jalal.. and that too like this. She started to panic. She had heard stories of Jalal's ego and arrogance, and trust me, she wasn't even thinking of experiencing it. But, the damage was done. She had messed up with the wrong person, and she knew it.

She was about to blurt out sorry when suddenly her heart spoke up.

"What are you doing Jodha?? He touched you.. he hurted you.. he raised his voice in front of you..He used low words for you.. And YOU'RE going to say sorry?? Grow up Jodha. And what about the promise you made to yourself that he will HAVE TO bear the consequences if he hurts your self respect? You are breaking your promise just for one crush? Now where is your self respect Jodha?? Where is it?"

JODHA'S POV

No. I'm not gonna say sorry. How dare he use such bad words against me?? How dare he hold my hand? Superstar hai to kuch bhi karega?? Not this time mister. Even if I like you, there's no thing in the whole Earth that can make me forget MY self respect.

I would have apologized to you this instant for the damage I caused to you. Lekin your rude behavior proves that you're simply not worth my apology.

I LIKED you Mr. Jalalludin Mohammed. I liked you a lot. Lekin the one who dares to hurt me, has to face the real me. I am sorry for what I did, no doubt. But one look at his face and I can tell for sure that he isn't even sorry for what he did, for how he behaved with me, for what he said to me. Nothing. The harsh truth is that he IS arrogant, he is rude, and god knows what else.

I guess I was mistaken thinking that maybe the media is wrong, that maybe you aren't THAT bad. But, you're just WORSE.

END OF POV

Jodha glanced at him, tears slowly rolling out from her eyes. Little did she knew that Jalal is also fighting from his ego, only for her...

"Just get lost!!" He gritted his teeth, closing his eyes for a second to compose himself. Jodha shivered seeing this much anger, never had she experienced such outburst which she was battling with, now.

"Jalal.." This was the only word she could mutter, not at all being able to fight with so much of anger and arrogance together.

"GET LOST I SAID!" His eyes burst open, almost red with rage. "Don't you understand?"

She was trembling with fear. How she wanted to take him in his arms and try her level best to soothe him. Manaofying your beloved has its own special feeling, isn't it? But, the circumstances weren't permitting her to do so. She was going through a storm of emotions. At one point of time she felt to say sorry to him but the other moment she was hell angry on him for insulting her.

"Leave it.. just leave it.. He wants me to get lost, right? I'm going Mr. Akdu!" She muttered as she walked to the door, only to feel his grip on her arm again.

"What the hell do you want now??" She said,turning back, only to see his blood red eyes and anger evident on his face. He leaned closer to her, as she closed her eyes to feel his breath on her face.

"Agli baar mere raste mein aane ki himmat mat karna.. got that?" Completing his words, he left her with a jerk and walked out, leaving a startled Jodha behind.

"How dare he??? Just because he's a superstar or because millions of girls die over him.. doesn't mean he gets an official certificate to insult anyone.. Ek to he insulted me so much, tab bhi I wasn't able to give him a reply.. God!! Main bhi kis akdu ko pasand karti hun!"

Her trail of thoughts was broken when Bharmal shook her. "Beta where were you?? And did you meet Mr.Jalal?? I mean you really like him. So, you must have taken his autograph.."

"Autograph.." Her mind chuckled as she glanced at her bruised arm, the one which his fingers gripped mercilessly. "What am I to do with his autograph when I've got his fingerprints on my arm?" Her arm was still paining, his grip was way too strong for her to handle.

"Jodha.. kahaan kho gayi??"

"No.. Nothing papa.. wo bas I was thinking about my college. Nothing else. Anyways, lets go.."

Bharmal nodded and held her arm protectively, totally unknown of the fact that the hero of his story has bruised his princess's arm, the very arm he's holding right now.

"Ouch!!!!!" She hissed in pain as she jerked away his hand, before gently caressing the bruises. Bharmal looked at her arm, it was red with what looked like fingerprints on it. He was shocked, shocked beyond core. Nobody has ever dared to hurt his princess, he couldn't afford to see even one tear in her eyes, and now in his presence somebody came and hurted her and he didn't even knew. Wow!
"who did this to you Jodha??? Naam lo and I'll make sure he pays for what he has done." Bharmal gritted his teeth in anger. He was somewhere ashamed, that when all this was happening he was busy talking to some stupid client.

"Did he.. did he touched you Jodha?.. bataao kon tha.. koi.. koi crew ka member.. koi actor.. tell me Jodha.. beta bataao!" He nearly shouted at her in rage, rage of not being able to help his princess when someone was hurting her.

"Nothing naa dad.. Main keh rahi hun naa kuch nahi tha.. ab mujhe aap waapas ghar chod do.. I don't wanna stay here. Please mujhe ghar drop kardo and then you can return."

Bharmal nodded, knowing that his princess is still in her angry mode. During the whole way to the Singh Mansion, Bharmal tried numerous times to engulf in a conversation, but alas! Jodha just kept staring out of the window. She was hurt. The person whom she imagined to be her Prince Charming was arrogant, so arrogant that he hurted her, that he gripped her arm so tight that it left bruises on her skin.

~~~~~~~~
SINGH MANSION

Jodha's room

It was already 8 pm. Usually Jodha would read a romantic novel or surf the tv channels to know if any movie of her Prince is going to come today. But today, it was all different.

There was complete silence in the room. She had forcefully pushed Shivani out of room, shouting at her for always staying in her room.

She switched on the air conditioner of her room as she retired on the bed. The day was tiring, very tiring, both emotionally and physically.

She has spent an hour at gym, forcing all her anger and frustration on the first class gym equipments. Yet, she wasn't feeling any better. She could feel her heart crying, sobbing. She knew whatever happened was wrong, it shouldn't have been like that, not at all. But that doesn't, by any means, justify his disrespectful behavior towards her.

She didn't expect this. She had never ever gone through insult, humiliation. She was always protected from all the evils by her father, but today, it was all different.

He disrespected her, he blamed her and what not. She retired to her bed, telling her mind every passing second to stop thinking about him... to stop thinking about her insult... to stop thinking about his attitude.

~~~~~~~~~

KHAN MANSION

Jalal got up from his bed for the tenth time. Every time he tried to sleep, his closed eyes would give him her vision. Her beautiful face red with anger, her big expressive eyes, her lips. He was drowned in her, in her beauty, in her attitude.

JALAL'S POV

What the hell I am thinking??? I chided myself for thinking about that stupid girl. She broke my phone, that spoilt girl! And, as if that wasn't enough, she dared to answer me back.

What does she think of herself? Just because I wasn't going out of my limits, she dared to bruise my ego. She cannot affect me, even if she thinks so.

I am not going to give it a damn. Even if she's the daughter of Mr.Bharmal, she doesn't get the authority to insult me. She called me a dog, right. Now she'll face the real dog in me, the real animal in me.

I'll see to it that she suffers from what I am going through right now. I'll ensure that she goes through a living hell, one created by me.

A wicked smirk played on my lips as I thought of what I am going to do. Poor girl! She'll go through so much.

I let out a laugh as I imagine her. Still, my damn eyes weren't tired of drooling over her womanly form. Ahh! How beautiful and desirable she is. I can't wait to make her mine.

END OF POV

Jalal, blinded by his hurt ego, had already begun designing a wicked plan to trap her. Little did he know, what she's going through.

JODHA'S POV

DAMN!
Damn damn Damn!!!

Stupid guy! Uski vajah se I can't even sleep. God!!! Why you created him. Why you made me have a crush on him. I can't even think bad of him. I still like him. God!

Aisa karti hun Shivani ko sab bata deti hun. But the next moment I scolded myself for this thought.

Stupid wo hai ya main. Agar Shivani ko bataaya, to vo Papa ki chamchi jaake unhe sab bata degi. Nahi to mere jasus papa hi usse sab ugal wa lenge.

I ran out of my bed and took out his photo. I kept staring at him lovingly, for a second forgetting all those cruel words he said to me.

Jalal, dekho tumne kya kiya. Tumhari vajah se meri neend bhi mujhse rooth gayi. Aisa to 2 hi baar hota hai naa. Yaa to tum kisi se beintehaa mohabbat karte ho, ya bepanah nafrat. Main to naa tumse pyaar karti hun, naa tumse nafrat.

God!! Why do I ever saw his debut film in first place? Naa maine tumhe dekhti. Naa mujhe tum pasand aate aur naa ye sab kuch hota.

Unhun! Jalal, you better come to me and apologize for your mistake. I pointed at his photograph. Otherwise, otherwise.. Haan, main tumse naraaz ho jaayungi. Aur tum to jaante ho na, ki mere gussa kitna khatarnak hota hai. Ab jaldi jaldi aao aur mujhe sorry kaho. Pehle main thoda attitude dikhaungi, lekin phir to mujhe maan na hi hai naa.

Ab main apne Jalal se zyada der thodi gussa reh sakti. Just then a thought entered my mind. Gussa. Kahin tum mujhse naraaz to nahi ho na Jalal?

I caressed his handsome face, as a smile played on my lips. One that was lost for some time. Mujhe maaf kardo Jalal. Maine gusse mein kuch zyada hi bol diya na.

Lekin tumhe to pata hai naa, mujhe bak bak karne ki aadat hai. Tumse accha to mujhe aur koi nahi jaanta. Please mujhe maaf kardo. I am sorry for breaking your phone.

Main bhi na, pagal hun. Puri pagal! I knew ki tum mein attitude hain, lekin phir bhi I let my ego come in between us. Maaf kardo mujhe. Dekho maine kitni baar sorry kaha na, isliye ab tum meri tarah attitude mat dikhana. Okay?
Bas ab jaldi jaldi mujhe maaf kardo, aur phir mujhe sorry keh do.

END OF POV

Both Jalal and Jodha weren't able to sleep that night. Both lost in each other's thought. One burning in desire and revenge for the other and one muttering sorry every now and then to the other.

New morning comes with new hopes, new tasks and new opportunities. For Jalal, it came with a hope that his plan will succeed, with a task that he has to work hard for making her life hell, with an opportunity to touch her, to hold her once again.

Jodha woke up lazily. Her eyes were all red and puffy, which didn't come out as a great surprise as she had cried a lot last night. Yes, a big reason for it was that she fought with him, but a small reason was also there. For becoming the reason of his anger.

She was also, much like Jalal, looking forward to today. It was the first day of shoot, and she just couldn't wait to reach the sets and apologize to him.

If only she knew, what he was planning. If only...

KHAN MANSION

Jalal woke up early, he was used to waking up at 5:30 am. If he didn't do one hour workout at gym, then he would just not feel good. He was so used to this mechanical daily routine that if even a minute change occurs in the same, he would get all frustrated and angry young man types.

But today, it was all different. During the whole workout, a devil smirk didn't left his perfectly sculpted lips. He couldn't stop imagining her.

"That girl is hell bent on bringing out the monster from me.. Poor she. Can't even think what will happen to her!"He thought.

One would think what is so interesting that during heavy weight lifting, he was smirking. But none of them knew, that inside a guy as famous as Jalal, sleeps a monster that was never awaken till his encounter with Jodha. Her creamy skin, her lips, her cheeks red not with blush but with anger, all were attracting him. But her eyes, yes, her expressive eyes, red with fury were something that were not only attracting him, but were bothering him as well. He was upset to find anger in her eyes for him. Maybe he wanted to see something else in her eyes, something that did exist in her, but was taken away by the heat of the moment.

Yet, he felt a strange pull towards her. How much he tried to name it as anger, revenge, hurt ego or whatever, he couldn't deny the excitement that was lurking at the back of his mind, to meet her.

He wore his favorite black T Shirt with black pants and stepped into his shoes. He was looking ravishing hot, and any girl like Jodha would forget everything else and will keep drinking him up. His favorite black sunglasses added to his personality.

"Can't wait to meet you!" He muttered, making sure that he wasn't audible to his driver.

KHAN MANSION

Wow! This guy certainly had something in him. Even with that devil mind of his, he can captivate any woman's soul and mind. His looks, correction-killer looks, can mesmerize one and all. The dark blue polo T Shirt, definitely suited him to T. The evil smirk on his lips only increasing with every passing second, the wicked lad went on to call up his best pal, Abdul- on whom he could trust blindly.

"Abdul.. yaar maine tujhe bataya than aa, uss ladki ke bare mein," Recalling his not so good encounter with his current obsession', he went on to listen what his buddy had to say.

"Yup.. yaad hai mujhe, how can I forget the ladki' who managed to capture the attention of the superstar!" Letting out a hearty chuckle, the jovial friend replied- a reply not so pleasing to its listener.

" What Rubbish! I don't give a damn about how she is or who she is. I just want to show her REAL position in front of Jalal Khan!" He could feel that slowly anger and revenge was overpowering his senses, blinding his wits.

"Oye! Angry young man! Thoda control kar bhai.. Tu aur tera ego!" Making no attempt to mask the sudden burst of sarcasm and bottled anger in his voice, he uttered on the other line- only adding fuel to the already ignited spark within his pal- a spark seemingly not positive.

"I'll call you back.. Mujhe jaana hai, shooting ka time ho raha hai.. aur haan, aana ho to aa jaaio wahaan.." The friend in him spoke, his voice dropped to a whisper, a dangerous one indeed.

SINGH MANSION

Swiftly getting out of her bed, the young lady found herself the only soul in her rather large bedroom. A mellow frown graced her eyebrows, her keen eyes observing her room. She had, of course expected anyone- be it her little sis, her mom or her dad, either of them to be shaking her, to wake her up!

Then it hit her- The shooting was supposed to start from today! Her father must have been on the sets, scolding one or two crew members to work seriously. Taking a hurried glance at her surroundings, she rushed to her closet to pick her clothes for the day. Finally deciding on a white crop top and a black pencil skirt, she barged in her bathroom to change into the chosen attire.

Another frown crowned her brows as the past moments of him and Jalal, after their first not so good meeting, hit her mind. She could easily make out his face, those priceless expressions resting calmly on his face, until they vanished into the oblivion.

Yeah, she had sneaked up on him after their fight, her heart and mind battling with each other, deciding whether to speak to him or not, whether to utter the apology that was silently brewing in her mind, not unknown to her own self, whether he'll accept it? Certainly not. Who would? If there was anything she was sure of in this whole universe, it was that Jalal Khan was famous for his ego, for his attitude, and- for not forgetting his foes easily.

A silent fear gripped her. Fear of getting caught, or maybe- just the fear of oblivion, fear of the unknown. She had followed him all the way till he nestled comfortably in his car, his own, the very famous SUV. It belonged to the heartthrob of the film industry, to the kings of millions of heart- or Jodha thought so. It was bound to be famous, wasn't it?

Sigh. She could feel all those events rushing through her little mind, her nose scrunching in anger as she recalled them, as she recalled HIM.

Their story was certainly a complicated one- woven with anger, hatred, love, passion, possessiveness and most importantly, togetherness. Will they ever come together, forgetting their hatred and anger, forgetting their torn egos, forgetting their bitter past?

~~~

"Bitter memories!" She exclaimed under her breath. Dashing out of the bathroom, the occupied lady went on to dry her hair, a task that she couldn't accomplish. "Leave it! What's the sun doing out if I have to dry my hair on my own!" The stubborn girl muttered, well, she wasn't totally unknown to the fact that she was probably the most adamant, moody and angry girl in the whole universe!

She had decided on a white crop top with her personal favorite- black pencil skirt. Pairing it up with her black studs, she was sure she could mesmerize anyone with this look of hers. With her waist showing off itself with attitude, she quickly did her makeup- her pink lip gloss adding to her already tempting lips, kohl bringing her eyes to perfection.

Giving herself a quick mirror check, she finally seemed to be satisfied with her appearance. "Time to go!" She whispered, kissing her reflection in the mirror.

~~~

After a while of driving, the superstar finally reached the Singh Studio- a lavish building that it was, with a dim light, creating an exciting atmosphere.

The junior artists and spot boys turned to have a look at the mega star- Jalal Khan. So ultimately, he had been crowned the head turner of the day. Or maybe, just maybe, someone else could garner much more attention than him. Can it be possible?

~~~

"Driver!!!! Koi train thodi chut rahi hain. Aaram se chalao!" An agitated Jodha quipped, with her silent recipient lending her a listening ear helplessly. What else could he do, other than hearing the little princess of the mansion patiently?

After another round of complaints from her, they drove in the parking of Singh Studios. Jodha could feel a strange aura in the air, a strange awkwardness. That was strange, for she had visited the studios many a times in the past, but such a strange, different feeling was the first time for her. Perhaps, it was a sign- a sign that may be bad may be good.

How will their second meet be? What if doesn't turn out to be as expected, what if she couldn't get a chance to apologize? What if he doesn't accept her apology and goes away? What if... so many questions were crossing her mind, all unanswered... Yeah, she could make up some not-so-convincing' answers to it but were they satisfactory? Nope.

"Relax Jo... Relax!" She muttered, sighing. It was definitely not going to be a cakewalk for her to face him again, one day after their fight.

She walked all the way to the entrance when some words made her stop dead in her tracks.

"Looking For Someone??" He asked wearing a mischievous smirk on his lips. His hands resting in his pockets, he was looking ravishing hot to say the least. Her jaw dropped. Literally. He was looking delicious, ravishing, hot, to say the least. Just like the one she had seen in the movies- the one for whom she had fallen for, her Jalal.

"Uff! Calm down babez.. you're thinking too much! Just look in his eyes, not a SINGLE drop of remorse or regret! Is that how he is? Cold Hearted? Insensitive? Is that how I want him to be?" Her inner self warned herself. She looked down, surprised, of course. For the first time, it wasn't her conscience which was warning her, instead her inner voice- which led her to right decisions. Well, generally.

She took a deep breath in, a myriad of emotions running through her mind. She was confused, mostly because she didn't know if he was in a mood to listen to her apology? And even if he did (Thank God for that!) would he ACCEPT her apology, barely minutes after their face off? Nah! She didn't think so. Maybe, just maybe, he might forgive her...

As the sudden gust of wind brushed past her form, she couldn't help but feel similar with the blowing wind- her mind had a tornado, a storm of emotions going through it. After taking a long, deep breath in so as to calm down her already panicking self, she went on to observe his expressions. Although trying hard, very hard to decipher the hidden meaning behind that mocking smirk of his. Was he mocking her? Was he trying to tell that no matter what, he'll win the game and have her, Jodha Singh apologizing to him for no fault of hers? These words hit her hard, forcing her to think, to rethink about her actions, whether to apologize or not? Would it be correct to apologize to him, when she was sure she wasn't at fault? Wouldn't it be encouraging him that whatever happens, he'll win and she'll lose? That no matter what he'll have her at his feet? Wouldn't it be feeding his already truck sized ego? WOULD IT BE CORRECT?

Nah! I wouldn't apologize to him! He doesn't deserve it anyway! The fumed lady muttered under her own breath. Somehow, her senses would start working overtime the moment he would cast a glance at him; the moment her eyes would meet with his.

Sigh. It was damn difficult for her to face her like this. Why? Why was it so? Why are you sometimes brought into a situation so complicated, so devastating that you actually have to see HATRED in the eyes of your LOVED ONES? Hatred in the eyes of your love?

"So what brings you here? Wanna apologize to me?" Mocking her bluntly, he let his gaze linger on her angelic face, drowned with confusion and showing off signs of worry and distress. It was a real treat for him to watch her like that, after all, that's what it means to be on Jalal Khan's wrong side. Not even a single part of his body screamed that he was wrong. Yet, somewhere he could sense something wrong. That's because I'm letting her go so easily... Assuring himself with this self made theory, he dragged his eyes to the entrance.

"I... I am not.. not sorry.." She uttered, stammering, her voice breaking and shivering.

What! He glanced at her in almost disbelief. What had she just said? She isn't sorry? She ISN'T sorry? No. Couldn't be. She had to be sorry. She had to be, whatever it takes. Wasting no time, he gripped her shoulders tightly.

" Stop lying! You have come here to apologize to me! Apologize now.. Ms.Whatever!" He hissed, his voice so dangerous that Jodha actually snapped out of her trance. She screamed, her eyes red- not with tears, but with anger. How dare he touch her? WHO THE HELL IS HE TO TOUCH HER?

"Leave me..." She stopped abruptly, quickly reminding herself to choose her words more carefully.

"As if I am enjoying touching you!" Pushing her away rudely, he walked away, leaving only her, and the memories of their not so good encounter.

She could recall his mocking, cruel smirk crowing his lips. Yea, he was the kind to become angry young man over petty things, still, a matter as trivial as a fight? That too with her? She turned back, as if trying to run away from his memories, from him. For the first time, Jodha regretted falling in love with a heartless man like Jalal.

His smirk, his ego- everything was giving her a feeling of suffocation, as if she would burst if she would remember any of it. How complicated love can be? She didn't know. Nor she was interested in knowing anything about love, anything at this time. The girl who would get all dreamy thinking about him, was know dreading his presence. She was afraid, afraid that he might break her all over again, break her in so many little pieces that she doubted if she would ever be able to recover from the wounds he was giving mercilessly on her heart?

Taking small steps towards the entrance, the occupied lady finally managed to reach Studio no. 3. A faint smile found its way to her lips, albeit for only a small while. She spotted her dad, and just like she guessed- He was scolding few artists to take their work seriously'. To say the truth, their faces looked the most 'grave' and 'serious' it can ever look.

She could feel someone gripping her wrist- precisely his grip, tighter and tighter till she squirmed and wriggled and struggled. "Ouch!" She cried, his nails digging deep into her skin. She turned, almost instinctively to face her tormentor. Her eyes red- not with tears, but with anger. Anger rushed into her veins as she was about to face him. How dare he attack her? WHO THE HELL HE IS?

Her eyes widen in shock, this couldn't be. He wasn't him, but someone else, gripping her hand in what seemed like a monstrous grip. Who was he?

She could barely recognize him, her vision blurring with tears. The contours of his face seemed oddly familiar, yet alien to her. She had seen this mysterious guy somewhere, she knew it. But where? He broke the painful silence by uttering few words- that he was sure by which she would definitely recognize HIM. "Long time, no call.. no message Jo?"

Jo! Only one person on the Earth would call her that, Chirag! So this was it, he was Chirag- her friend, her bestie, or her enemy to be clear. "Ch..Chirag!" She uttered dreamily, this day wasn't that bad! Releasing her hand in a mini second, he cupped her face with his hand, "Sorry yaar... lekin tujhe meri aad dilane ke liye ye sab karna pada.." She giggled innocently, before going to reply- "Abe I never forget my enemies!"

Reaching out to engulf her mischievous friend in a friendly' hug, she allowed herself to seek some peace, some solace in his arms. A pain, a pain unknown to her yet, gripped her heart. She thought that she was wrong, even if her intentions weren't. She broke the hug, obviously displeased by this sudden' change in her demeanour.

"Kya hua Jo? You look worried.." Concerned about the unusual and unlike herself behaviour of her, he asked softly- ensuring that he isn't intruding in her space. She sighed, evidently surprised by the sudden turn of events. She had thought that she would apologize and convince him. But here, it got all different! Forget him rejecting her apology, she didn't put across a heartfelt sorry. Worse, she only made him hate her more.

Still, he was WRONG! She had come to sorry, what was the need to behaving like that? Didn't he knew she was going to apologize? Why this drama,for whose sake? What the hell did he wanted to sho7w?

But somewhere, in her heart, things were different. Jodha, you were wrong too. Agreed that he behaved rudely, but it shouldn't have affected your motive of visiting him! You would have simply uttered a sorry' and walked away, without even glancing at him. What was the big deal? You had just expected a god out of him Jo, who would forgive you and embrace you?! God, Jo!

"Kuch nahi... bas thoda sa headache.." Trying hard to put up her best headache expressions, she lied to her bestest friend, and it wasn't very easy for her. She gauged his expressions- and they weren't, in any way, pleasing to her. He had, of course deciphered her trick, the only question that was left unanswered was Why?

Yet, he knew there's no power in the universe that can make Jodha Singh, correction THE Jodha Singh cough up the matter, unless her majesty herself wills so. No power, except him. He knew it very well how to make her spill the beans, without pressurizing her to do so! Biting his lip to prevent any outburst of giggles or the typical smirk of his, he replied, his tone fairly casual and normal. " So, howz life??"

Surprised that he couldn't guess' the uneasiness in her tone and different attitude, she couldn't help but give herself a mental pat on back for her acting skills. Not bad! You're improving Jo!"

Not forgetting to take in the sudden hint of happiness in her otherwise drowned in sorrowful eyes, he whispered, precisely to himself- "I never fail Jo!"

"Wh..What...?" She asked, when taken by surprise that he uttered'Jo' but in a tone so low that she couldn't comprehend his words.

"What what?" shocked at being caught off guard, the perplexed young man tried to steer the topic apparently by blaming her. " Don't you dare change the topic!"

"What the... why will I change the topic, may I know?" Her eyes suddenly blazing with anger, she cross questioned him, much to his pleasure. "Finally am out of danger..." He thought.

" Of course you will! I asked you about your life and you didn't want to share about it so you very cunningly tried to change the topic and that," He paused to catch his breath, "is not very pleasing Jo!"

" Look! It's not like that.. why will I hide about my life, and that too from you?" Countering his fake' statement with what was nothing less than a lie itself, she battled his you-can't-hide-it-from-me look with her I-don't-care one.

" Really? Then tell me what is going on? What the heck happened that you're so disturbed?"

"I am not disturbed!"

"Yes you are!"

"NO!" "Yes!" "No!" "NO!" "YES!"

Allowing his lips to curve into an I-won-again smirk, he held her hand with genuine concern. " Would you care to tell me what happened Jo?"

Narrowing her eyes in mild anger, the abashed lady went on to reply, her voice shaking. Memories of past, memories of him gripped her heart. Although it had been barely half an hour since their encounter, it seemed like eons have passed after that incident. Being with Chirag surely does change a lot, if not everything?

" J..Ja..Jalal.." She couldn't say anymore, a lone tear trickling down her cheeks. Why did it have to happen? Why? Why did he have to hurt her like that? Why?

Rendered absolutely speechless by the revelation, he couldn't help but feel for her. "Jo.. dekho, I know.. lekin Jalal, you know naa.. uska ego, he's not for you Jo...He is not for you.." Pausing for a while to ensure that he wasn't hurting her in any way, he continued, his voice soft and dripping with concern. "You both are not made for each other Jo, you both can't be together.."

Lifting her eyes to meet his, she could feel a part of her tearing apart, torn to pieces as he uttered those words. How could he? Was it so easy for him to say what she never even imagined? Her eyes misted, thousands of questions running through her mind.

As if reading her thoughts, he added- "It's not easy for me Jo. I know how much you like him. Your feelings aren't hidden from me, but I thought to.. To make you come to terms with the reality.. Jo that guy, his ego and his attitude. You don't know him yaar. He never ever respected girls! Worse, he didn't even thought of them anymore than a one night..."

But Jodha stopped him abruptly, raising her hand as if asking him to shut up. "Enough..." She whispered, "I gotta go.. Bye..."

Hurrying through the sets, she finally exited the sets, leaving behind a dazed Chirag. "If only you could get my point Jo... If only." He sighed. There was no way on Earth that could make his Jo understand, to make her aware about this man's reality, Jalal' reality.

~~~

Somewhere near Khan Mansion...

"Damn!!" He swore to himself, evidently angry. Nah! To say that he was angry would be a huge understatement. He was shocked. He was disappointed. He was hungry. He was insulted. He was revengeful. Shocked at her audacity. Disappointed with himself. Hungry for victory. Insulted that she didn't apologize. Revengeful- to make her come to him, on his feet.

He reverted his attention back to his hand, just where he had grabbed her creamy skin. His hands shivered a bit, his lips curving into a perfect smirk of evil. Positioning his palm just before his lips, he kissed it- relishing the feeling of her skin, all over again.

His eyes closed, he stood there, cherishing the moments he had spent with her. Though, they were not at all peaceful for him, not at all. Yet, he could feel a strange peace in his heart whenever he saw her. A part of him, the major one, was burning with revenge, with desire. But another part, comparatively tiny, would always savour those precious moments, recalling those fierce eyes, caring the least about the world.

And so he spent his night on the beach, gazing at the stars- trying to find her, with her angelic smile on her face, among them. He didn't sleep, though he would slip into light slumber every now and then, bearing the expression the most innocent one could ever wear. He would sleep like a small child, hugging his knees.

As the calm sea breeze brushed past his tresses, he gazed at the stars with a hint of longing in his chocolate orbs. Every one knew that Jalal Khan was very egoistic, very selfish, doesn't give a damn about anyone and what not. People hear few rumours and believe it. But no one, no one ever thought about the reason. Why was Jalal Khan egoistic, selfish? No one thought.

Wiping the flowing tears roughly with the back of his palm, he uttered his voice filled with pain, with hurt, shattered. "I miss you..."

~~~

Singh Mansion...

She couldn't sleep. Something was disturbing her, something that couldn't be caged within the barriers of words, that was far beyond the wrong and right. Something was there. Her heart was restless, and she could clearly tell it wasn't because of Jalal and their meeting. But, it was about Jalal.

Was he okay? Or was she overthinking? Maybe, some fresh air could get her mind to stop working overtime. But her dad, and most importantly, her mom- would she allow her to go outside at this time? At midnight? She would definitely not be thrilled by the idea.

Glancing at her surroundings in nervousness, she raked her mind to come up with something- any idea, any plot. Oh yes! How could she forget it?

"Jodha.. beta here are the spare keys.. use them whenever you need, okay?"

The keys! Racing towards her work table, she opened all the drawers until she spotted them lying peacefully along a silver pen.

"Jodha.. just like you wanted, Jalal's autograph. Plus, a pen that he himself gifted to you!

Her eyes watered, again. Images of her dad gifting this pen and the paper nestled calmly beneath it to a 15 year old Jodha flashed through her brain.

Wow Dad! Jalal signed with this pen!!! HIS AUTOGRAPH! WOW!! Wooho!

Lifting them in her hand, still careful enough not to drop them, she gazed at them- somehow they were related to Jalal, yet they didn't force her to recollect those moments. Instead, somehow they calmed her inner self. Somehow, they filled her with peace and tranquillity. Somehow, they made her feel afresh.

Placing them at their place gently, the entranced lady silently slipped her finger through the keychain and exited her room. Once out, she checked herself. She looked presentable, in case someone got her. Smiling faintly, she tiptoed out of the mansion, locking the door behind her.

~~~

Chowpatty Beach, Mumbai

Stretching her arms wide to savour the cool breeze that blew, the mesmerized lady couldn't help but get enthralled, all over again. The feeling was so unique, so beautiful. Contended, she decided to take a walk near the sea shore, before heading back to home.

Walking bare footed on the beach, on a moonlight night is just magical, isn't it? Humming silently Teri Galliyan as she strolled, she was all lost in the song.

Yahin doobe din mere
Yahin hote hain savere
Yahin marna aur jeena
Yahin Mandir aur Madeena...

Glancing at her surroundings, she was sure of one thing- if there's something that can calm your mind, then that's beach. And adding to it, music- wow!

Teri galiyan... galliyan teri, galliyan..
Mujhko bhaavein galiyan, teri galliyan
Teri galiyan...galiyaan teri, galliyan..
Yuhin tadpavein, galliyan teri, Galliyan...

She closed her eyes, letting her instinct guide her through the shore, quietly humming the tunes of the song.

Tu meri neendo me sota hai
Tu mere ashqo mein rota hai
Sargoshi si hai khayalon mein
Tu na ho, phir bhi tu hota hai
Hai sila.. tu mere dard ka

There was something about this song that separated it from all others. The pain which could be felt easily in the song, was somehow relating to the pain in her own life. She was singing for him- only she didn't knew it.

Mere dil ki duaayein hain..
Teri galiyan... galliyan teri, galliyan..
Mujhko bhaavein galiyan, teri galiyan
Teri galiyan...galiyaan teri, galliyan..
Yuhin tadpaavein, galliyan teri, galliyan..

She shivered, sensing the water invading the sand. Her eyes opened, sparkling and shining in the romantic atmosphere. Maybe, the Tide was coming. Glancing over to the sea, she could tell that the tide was approaching. She better head to her home fast, lest she would enter the home all wet!

Kaisa hai rishta tera-mera
Be-chehra phir bhi kitna gehra
Ye lamhe, lamhe ye resham se
Kho jaayein.. kho na jaayein humse
Kaafila.. waqt ka.. rok le..
Ab dil se juda na ho
Continuing the song till she reached near her car, she inserted the keys and was about to start the car when someone, someone made her stop, stop dead in her tracks.
Teri galliyan... galliyan teri galliyan..
Mujhko bhaave galiyan teri galiyan
Teri galiyan...galiyaan teri galliyan..
Yuhin tadpaave galliyan teri galliyan..

The tide was approaching fast towards the shore, and a man was sleeping, hugging his knees, looking as peaceful and serene as possible. Her eyes widen, she couldn't believe it! This guy was here, sleeping, having no idea what was going to happen to him at the very next moment!

Chapter-4

Chilling Out

'OYE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' She screamed, a scream so loud that it could awake anyone, of course! Anyone, BUT him. He was probably in a deep slumber, letting all his pain and worry flow with the ever moving water.

'ARRE SLEEPING BEAUTY! WAKE UP!'Letting out another shrill scream, she was convinced that he wouldn't wake up. Enjoying being near death so much, mister? She thought, before making up her mind.

She HAD to help him, not for being mahaan- she so hated it, but to fulfill her duty for humanism. She could foresee many sleepless nights, a permanent remorse haunting her life, staining it with the curse of letting death feast over an innocent life. She HAD to help him, for her sake. For her sanity.

And the moments that followed witnessed the diva running on the beach, bare footed, shouting and screaming as she ran. Pity he was in a sleep so deep, that he couldn't make out what was happening to him. That he failed to witness the gap between his life and death decreasing rapidly. Pity he was in a sleep so deep.

'MISTER!' She shouted, precisely for the last time. She had almost made it to the place where he was sitting, just a few steps away. Just a few steps and she would have saved a life, a life that was so dear to her! Rushing to him with his pace extra fast, she extended her hand to nudge him. 'Utho! You sleeping beauty!' What the hell! Why wasn't he opening his eyes? Was everything okay?

Glancing over to the sea, her action only seemed to confirm her worst fears. The tide was ALMOST here, they both would be swept away by the water in a few minutes. And this madman wasn't interested in opening his eyes to witness his death? Wow!

'Urrrgh! Khud toh marega and he'll drag ME to God's court too!' Shaking him harder and harder till she could hear some words from him, she continued to curse her fate. 'That girl... I'll not leave her..' He whispered. 'Uff! Typical devdaas yaar!' Her brows furrowed, she pushed him to the ground so hard that his head hurt.

'What the hell!'He said, his hands tending to the newly given wound at the back of his head. Finally, you're awake!' She said, grabbing his face and making him look towards the tide that was almost here. 'WHAT THE HELL!' He shouted, immediately coming on his legs and ready to run.

'Arre! At least say thank you.. I saved your life!' Scrunching her nose in anger, she reprimanded him for his attitude. 'Or you're too like that, Mr.Arrogant?' But too late, his back was towards her, she was already beyond his hearing range.

'What the hell yaar! No manners at all!' She uttered, before sprinting back to her car.

~~~

Khan Mansion

'Thanks..' He uttered, precisely to no one but himself. 'Thanks for saving my life, Ms. Unknown! I know, I haven't said thanks to you.. and most probably I wouldn't get a chance to say it ever again. So, just keeping it simple- thanks!'
Whatever he was to the world, in the confines of his own room- he was a transformed man. He was a kind, soft hearted, loving, caring man in his own world, in his room. He didn't care if the world regarded him as an arrogant, stone hearted, egoistic film actor who's got success on his head. For only HE, his best-est pal Abdul and the only family picture of him, his Abbu Jaan and his Jaan knew his true self. Or maybe, there was someone, someone who didn't rank in the list above yet was dear to him. Maybe.

Indeed, it was a long and tiring day for the young superstar. Literally throwing himself on his king sized bed, he realized something and jumped out of the bed thereafter. Grabbing his phone in a jiffy, he let his fingers linger on the screen. It was her only memoir that he possessed. He could still remember how she'd crashed into him and his phone fell as a result. He could still recall her face, red with anger. He could still recall her soft, velvety skin crushed under his hands. Everything was afresh in his mind- as if it took place just now.

The softest of smile touched his lips- he was smiling, not a taunting or rude one, but the purest of them all. That was rare, Jalal KHAN was smiling, a genuine and heartfelt smile! Because of her!

~~~

Singh Mansion

'Uff Jodha.. ab toh you have taken a walk to..why is this damn sleep fairy running away from me today!' With her cute pout resting on her lips, she walked to the window, doing what she was best at- gazing at the stars.

How beautiful they looked! Kanha is surely an architect, that type who work with great precision.. I mean, just look at the stars above.. How beautifully he has placed it! Kanha.. love you for this! Her mind thought, as she looked at the sky, lit brightly with the stars.

Gazing at them with strange content, she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear- her eyes never leaving the dimly lit dots. 'If only, he was there...'She muttered, her lips curving into a calm smile. 'If only, who was here.. Jodha didi?' teasing her di with her ever green signature wink, she walked in the room- much to her di's surprise.

'Shivani.. tum naa.. Hadd hai!' She whined, fed up with her sister's antics that, strangely never seemed to stop! 'What did I do?' Feigning innocence, she queried- her eyes as wide as possible.

'Forget it.. come here naa, see this! The stars are looking so beautiful, up in the sky..'

'Umm.. not interested di.. I better finish my assignments.. Kal I have to submit them.'

'What! It's already midnight Shivu! And wait, midnight! How the hell are you awake till midnight? NOT GOOD SHIVU!' Shocked at her realization, she attacked at her sister.

'Acchaaaww!' Surprised that SHE was questioning her, she replied- her tone suddenly defensive. 'If you can go for a walk on the beach, then why can't I stay up late?'

What! Tujhe kaise pata?'

'My dear di.. I know you too well..'

'Whatever!' subsiding her efforts to rile her up, she shook her head, before returning to the bed. The eventful day was anything but peaceful' for her. As his ever charming face flashed through her mind, she decided to call it a night, only to be disturbed by her troublesome sister- again!

'Di.. woh..'

'Kya hai Shivu..' Annoyed at her constant efforts to not let her have a moment of peace, she snapped at her.

'Can you sing for me di?'

'WHAT!' Her eyes flung open fully- sleep forgotten. Swiftly glancing at the clock just to make sure if her sister was in her senses or not, she confirmed her doubts by checking the time- 12:20 am. Shivu! Check the time for God's sake! It's 12:20! Me singing, at this time, no ways!' Bluntly turning down her request with her iron glares, she jumped back on her bed.

'Di plzzz... Pleasee.. last time.. please..' Immediately donning a puppy face, she gently pulled the quilt so as to do her magic on her sis. 'Pleeej di...' She said, her sweet voice at it's best.

'Shivani..'

'Please di.. last time naa please.. you know I can't do my assignments without listening to music.. my I-Pad is dead.. and your phone, it doesn't have the songs of my taste!' Her eyes twinkled as she concluded her words. Taste? She thought. Well, if Shivani's mood swings and her constant changing choices fall into the category 'taste', then she definitely had to fix it up. At that time, Jodha knew what EXACTLY her sister was demanding from her. But she, she is Jodha Singh who never gives in to another's demand. Quickly thinking of a solution, she reached out to grab her phone, her eyes gleaming.

'Shivu... take this.. play whatever song you like on youtube. I have a valid internet pack on, go ahead. But let ME sleep, okay!' Her eyes throwing daggers at her, she ordered her bothersome sister, expecting some relief from her side.

Uff! Shivani chided herself for being put in a situation so weird. Nevertheless, she is HER sister. If she has got loads of attitude, then she DEFINITELY has some too, right? She knew what exactly would make her iron sister melt. Wiping the wicked smirk the moment it surfaced, she feigned innocence and replied 'Lekin di.. jo magic aapki aawaz mein hain woh youtube ki video mein thodi hain..'

What! 'Buttering you elder sis Shivu? Not good!'

'Di woh sab chodo.. you are singing for me right?' Her eyes beamed with excitement, an excitement so childlike and pure that Jodha felt like she had to cave in, for her sister's happiness.

'Not singing.. only humming. Is that okay?'

'Purrrfect!' She sprung out of the bed. The following second, she was all seated in her study table, waiting for her sister to begin.

'Which song, shivu?'

'Umm.. lemme think.' Her thumb and index finger caressing her chin, her forehead creased with numerous lines as if in deep thinking. Zeroing upon a song that both the sisters loved, she winked at her sister. 'Wahi..'

Her face lit up. It was the song which she so loved! 'Okay.' Grabbing a pillow and throwing it in her lap, she closed her eyes, recalling the lyrics. How could she forget them? They were so close to her heart, tears rolled down her cheeks whenever she listened to the song. It was certainly a special one.

'Let's start!' Shivu shouted excitedly, almost forgetting that her parents were still sleeping downstairs. Shh Shivu!'

Main tenu samjhawan ki

na tere bina lagda jee

Main tenu samjhawan ki

Na tere bina lagda jee

Revering the magical lyrics as she mouthed the words, she couldn't help but get pulled. Closing her eyes to let the enchanting feeling take over, a soft smile touched her lips.

Tu ki jaane pyaar mera
Main karoon intezar tera
Tu dil tui-yon jaan meri
jaan meri... jaan meri...

Her eyes moistened. How hard she tried to fight those darn droplets of water but alas! They seemed to be as strong headed as she was. Jalal.. she thought.

Mere dil ne chun liayaa ne
Tere dil diyaan raahan

Mere dil ne chun liayaa ne
Tere dil diyaan raahan

Shivani shivered seeing her di crying. 'di.. Kya hua?' She immediately ran to her sis, leaving all her assignments mid way.

'Nothing..' She said softly, nudging her away. She knew she HAD TO continue the song. She needed to. Even at the cost of her tears.

Tu jo mere naal tu rehta
Turpe meriyaan saaha
Jeena mera... hoye
Hun hai tera, ki main karaan
Tu kar aitbaar mera

If only you would have been there Jalal, to support me.. To stand like a pillar beside me.. To comfort me.. If only..

Main karoon intezar tera
Tu dil tui-yon jaan meri
jaan meri...
jaan meri...

Main tenu samjhawan ki
Na tere bina lagda jee

They sang the last lines together, their hands interwined. 'Di.. aap so jaao... you seem to be stressed..'

She smiled at him, just smiled. How much they fought, quarrelled, showed off. Yet the two loved each other to an extent that without a second thought they could sacrifice their life for the other.

Love is like that... she thought. Love, and Jalal- both were same for her. Even if their encounters haven't been very pleasing, she still loved him, and would continue to do so, even after God takes her life away...

~~~

The Next Day

Chirag's Apartment

Checking his wrist clock for the umpteenth time, he was finally convinced that he could text her. Deciding on a mischievous message which suited his mischievous nature to the tee, he reached out for his phone.

Oyee! Aur kitna sooyegi.. Uthh Jaa Sleeping beauty! ;)

These girls, I tell you! *Shaking head* 'Perfect!' He thought, before hitting the 'send' button.

Her already awaken self was quite surprised to find HIS message, at early morning! 'Kya ho gayaa?' She thought to herself as she saw his name flashing on the screen of her phone. She couldn't help but giggle at his childish frustration. 'Ye bhi naa.. ekdum baccha hai..' Stiffening a chuckle, she typed a suitable reply for him.

Ab kya karun.. Humans need to sleep for ATLEAST 8 hours. But alas! You're not a human naa, so you can't understand it.. tch tch tch..

These boys, I tell you! *Shaking Head*

Woah! He let out an amused grin at her words.

Miss Jodha Singh, you mean to say that I am not a human?

Exactly! You understand me soo well yrr! Am proud of you, buddy! J

JODHAAA

Shouting? At ME? Lower your tone mister, else you may end up regretting it!

wasn't shouting dr.. was just waking u up from ur. *ahem ahem* dream... wild, erotic and what not... ;)

Talking about your dreams of Sunny Leone, kya?

I was toh talking about your.. kuch kuch hota hai types love, d superstar, heartthrob..

OMG! You have a crush on him! *Shocked*

Crush? Am toh full on lattu over ur prince charming babez, find sumone else..

Actually, you're rite.. I should set out on a hunt fr my man from 2day itself..

I myself will accompany you! *proud look*

Lolz.. chal gtg.. bye!

Bye.. call kar!...

~~~

Singh Mansion

'Pagal..' she giggled as they finished their 'sms' chat. Such a guy Chirag is- he could lift anyone's and everyone's spirits, in no time. No wonder then that she enjoyed being with him so much, and they became such chaddi buddies in the first place!

'Accha.. I better get going now.. nahi toh mom with thrash me!' Jumping out of her bed in no time, she ran to the washroom to take a bath.

********

Taking in the way things were progressing, she had decided to give it a break. Yeah Yeah, she HAD TO ignore her heart's plea, precisely- for it's sake. To prevent another heartbreak. To prevent another round of wailing and sobbing. It was a purely a practical decision.

She had decided, not to visit the sets for a few days, keeping in mind his angry young man attitude, his frustration regarding her, her own pent up anger and torn ego. All this, when combined only pointed to one thing"explosion! She, definitely didn't want that. If, in any case her own anger and pain comes in front of him, then it would only complicate things further. Worse, her mind seemed to be preparing for a world war III with her heart, which had- rebelled due to her decision. She was already struggling to hide her feelings and now this! No. NO NO NO!

Putting on her ever green dark pink lace dress, she paired them up with her pink huggy earrings, she completed her look with kohl. So what if she wasn't visiting the sets today? Her spy aka her dad is there, and will definitely update her with any news concerning HIM the moment he'll step in the home. She had, of course planned on enjoying the day to the fullest. And the day will start-just as she'd expected- by shopping!

Calling up Chirag to ask if he's free, she beamed in delight as he uttered a 'yes'. Hanging up on him in no time, she immediately dialed Moti's number, her lovely friend, and they scheduled their day- shopping, then out for a movie, catching up over a cup of coffee at CCD and finally, walking at the Marine Drive. 'Purrrfect' They chorused together, before erupting into giggles.

~~~

R-City Mall

'Chirag! Handle the bags properly. Dare to drop them and I'll strangle you here!' She surmised angrily- noticing for a quite a while now that her friend wasn't too thrilled by the idea of carrying their shopping bags!

'Haan haan.. am your personal bodyguard, right?'

'See.. you're accepting it!' Moti chuckled, jumping in this game.

'Whatever!' Rolling his eyes at their girlish antics that strangely never seemed to stop, he balanced the bags he was carrying.

'Moti!' Jodha spoke up, after a silence filled with humor escalated among the trio, her tone purposely loud so that he could hear her, too.

'Haan Jodha..' Moti replied, throwing her a naughty wink. Understanding her plan.

'Let's go to that shop, what say?' She pointed to a showroom, Meena Bazaar, her mischievous wink resurfacing on her lips.

'Wow! Traditional! Awesome idea yrr.. chal let's go..' Dragging Jodha to the showroom, they both turned around to find Chirag shocked. He gasped, unable to believe it all. There he was, carrying THEIR bags which didn't contain a single thing of his, and they were mercilessly making him walk from here to there? Great friends, he have got!

Unable to control their laughter anymore the duo erupted into giggles. Chirag too, couldn't stop himself- their humour was infectious.

After a while of shopping and arguments, they checked their tickets. It was almost time for the show of Kill Dil. Though she wasn't exactly jumping to watch the movie, she agreed, mainly because of Moti. She being an ardent Govinda fan, HAD TO watch the movie. She had, watched a few movies of him too.

Chapter-6

The Now and The After

The Now

She liked the way he held her close, pressing closer every second- like he couldn't get enough, like he felt the way she felt about him.

She liked it too much, she supposed, because the next thing she knew, her arms slipped past his chest and knotted around his neck, and she only barely caught the sight of him, grinning, looking so much younger than he was. She smiled, too, her heart tripping at the sight of him leaning close, his eyes shut.

She didn't realize when her own eyes closed, her heart beating at a maddening pace, and she was so sure he could hear it, maybe that's what he was smiling about. "You make me feel.."he whispered, his lips brushing against hers, and she caught herself wishing he'd just come a bit closer and kiss her. His words sunk into her head, and she waited for him to complete his words, but it never came.

He leaned down, her breath falling on his lips, the scent of cinnamon in her hair was addictive to him. His lips found hers in an embrace, gentle at first before they let everything go, her hands twisting themselves in his hair, while his worked at her waist, bringing her closer- it wasn't enough. Passion took over, their senses blinded by temptation, the desire to be clouding every sane thought.

It was wrong, somewhere they both knew that, but in the moment, with his arms around hers and her lips on his, nothing had ever felt more right.

He spun her by the waist, walking her backwards before her back hit the wall. She gasped, breaking away, as he caught a glance of her eyes- dazed. He smirked, capturing her lips again, groaning slightly as she tugged at the roots of his hair. His hands travelled up from her waist, cupping her face.

She smiled into the kiss, flashes of their fights forgotten the moment his lips touched hers. This was right, this was everything she ever wanted, and she wouldn't ruin it.

He kissed her tenderly, lost in the feelings she ignited in him. Her hands brushed past his cheeks, holding his face close, and he could've sworn he'd never felt more alive.

Continuing his ministrations on her waist through the thin fabric of her anarkali, he sighed in pleasure, breaking apart to catch his breath.
She looked at him through her eyelashes, afraid the moment was gone, afraid he'd hurt her again, afraid it wouldn't matter to him.

But it was her first kiss.

Maybe he sensed her fear, or maybe he was simply intoxicated by her- but he grinned, no trace of anger or disgust as she feared. Instead, he kissed her cheeks, before finally planting a kiss on her lips.

Her heart raced at the simple gesture- so ordinary had it been from someone else, but it was his lips that'd curved into a real smile. His lips, that'd been on hers not so long ago. She could feel a tinge of red spreading across her cheeks, suddenly aware and thankful for him colouring them before he'd caught the sight of her blushing.

That would be embarrassing, she thought.

A hesitant spell later, she recalled why he'd come over to her , before gathering courage to wish him. "Happy holi.." she smiled at him, his mere presence enough for every nerve in her body to be on fire.

"You look.." he hiccupped, earning an amused smile from her, "nice.."

"Thank you.." she giggled. This was so different, it was so easy to talk to him like this, without their egos bringing them down and apart, it was effortless. At that thought, she sighed, reality confronting her- this might be easy and lovely, but he wasn't going to stay drunk forever. And she really wasn't looking forward to a sober Jalal, not when she'd seen the drunk one, the one she hoped to be real. This was good, she decided, having him here, so close to her she was certain he could see the thoughts racing through her head.

But good things have a way of ending soon; and all too soon, he'd kissed her on the forehead, mumbling about "a drink" before getting joined by some other guy, who she assumed to be his acquaintance. Acquaintance, because Jalal didn't look like he had any friends.

But then again, how much does she really know about him?

The After

She pulled a face, feeling rather empty and cold now that his arms weren't here to keep her warm. She missed it, she missed him and she really hoped he could get the damned drink soon and come back because she wanted to kiss him again.

Minutes passed, she'd lost sight of Jalal in the crowd, guilt wrecking her mad- was she taking advantage of him? He was drunk, right? You know he'd never do it if he was sober.

But he was the one who kissed her, not the other way round, she argued with herself, her stubborn persona shining through.

But she didn't exactly push him away, did she?

Well, how could I? another side of her piped up. I love the guy, how would I push him away? And why?

He wasn't in his senses, Jodha, gosh, why would you do that?? The more sensible, less favourable side of her countered.

Well, to be fair, I wasn't in my senses, either.. what with him being so close and all. She agreed with a dramatic nod. She knew she was being dramatic, because really, what does one drunken kiss mean? What would it mean to him?

She thought she knew the answer to the last question- Nothing.

And that broke her heart a little; giving up on finding him to say goodbye, she thought of her father, quickly going in search of him.

Her favorite festival didn't quite interest her anymore.

~~~

"Where is she?" He asked, his features robbed of the sternness he usually molded them in. Abdul looked at him, unable to hide his smirk.

"Who, Jalal?" he played dumb, like he hadn't seen him kissing her like his life depended on it.

"You know.. she.. J-Jod..." he found it tough to say her name, and it surprised him- the name usually rolled of his tongue effortlessly.

"Oh, you mean the girl you were just kissing?" Dropping the facade, he immediately decided to grill his friend for details- after all, it's not every day that you see Jalal possibly falling for a girl..

"Ye..yeah.." for some reason, the way Abdul mentioned her- the girl he'd just been kissing. She was more, he thought, so much more.

But even drunk Jalal knew not to show weakness.

"I don't know where she is, mate, and.. well, why are you asking me?"

"Huh.." he looked at him, confused.

"shouldn't you know? I mean, considering you just made out with her and all.." he grinned cheekily, before being elbowed in the chest.

"Funny." Jalal remarked dryly, before walking away. He didn't know why, but he had to see her again- and not just to kiss her, though that would be nice, too, he thought.

If he would let himself admit it, he'd know he was missing her. He was missing the way she felt in his arms, and how he felt, having her so close- it seemed like she was everything he was looking for, all that he'd ever need.

His head swayed a bit, the world was a flash of blur, and the next moment saw Abdul trying to support an unconscious Jalal.

"Urgh.. I'm never giving him bhaang again." Abdul resolved, before starting to walk to the car, his grip on Jalal tight.

~~~

Jalal

"F**king hell.." he swore, his hands shooting up to nurse his pounding head. "my head is killing me.." he groaned, slowly opening his eyes- only to see Abdul dozed off at the edge of the bed.

Wait, what? The bed? Wasn't he at the party?

"What f**k happened.." he cursed, before aiming a pillow at his currently asleep friend. Sure enough, it pulled him out of his slumber- earning Jalal a glare.

"Had a nice nap, sleeping beauty?" Abdul remarked, his tone full of sarcasm, hitting Jalal with the same pillow in retaliation.

"What happened at the party?" he swore again at the volume, realizing he probably had a hangover. But from what, it was a holi party, how could he be drunk?

Unless-

"Oh, nothing interesting, unless you count yourself getting naked and dancing as interesting.." Abdul said, fabricating a lie. Jalal didn't remember a thing, oh, he was so going to have fun with it.

"WHAT?!" He shouted, his already throbbing head threatening to burst out, and he winced as his own volume registered with himself.

"Only kidding.. " Abdul laughed, hands up in mock surrender, before deciding to answer his question.

"well, nothing bad really happened, you know?" he began, but was cut off with a murderous glare and "get to the point."

"You got drunk on bhaang. Like, really drunk. Shit faced." He revealed, eyes carefully trained on his friend to gauge his reaction.

"that is it? Nothing else happened, right?" He questioned- he was having a really bad feeling about this.

"well.." Abdul continued, but uncertainty stopped him- how would he react, knowing he'd let his guard down? The Jalal he knew would never grab a random girl and kiss her like that- no, drunk or not, Jalal wouldn't do that. Could it be, that the girl wasn't a stranger at all?

"Abdul, tell me." He spoke, his voice authoritative.

"You kissed someone. Correction, you made out with someone." Another revelation- and this one so much worse than the first.

"You're lying." Jalal seethed through gritted teeth. He couldn't believe it. He kissed someone? At a stupid holi party?

"Oh, am I?" Abdul grinned, deriving a sort of vindictive pleasure from his friend's situation.

"Stop fooling around and tell me what happened." His voice was dangerously low now.

"well, believe it or not, I'm not lying, Jalal- you actually pushed some girl up against the wall and kissed her."

A thousand questions ran through his mind- why, what, and most importantly, who?

"Who did I.." he stopped at that, unable to wrap his head around the fact that he'd been so reckless. So unlike him.

"I don't know.. her face was coloured, obviously, and you were quite far.. so I didn't recognize her."

"You're useless." Jalal deadpanned, before being aware of the colour still sticking to his face. He got up, shooting one last glance at Abdul before heading to the washroom to fresh up.

"I think you'd say differently once you see this.." Abdul averred, a full-fledged smirk enveloping his handsome features as he fished out the video of the party Abhimanyu, the film director, had sent him.

"You have the video?" Jalal quizzed, still feeling rather hazy from the morning. Now that Abdul supposedly had the video, it put Jalal on the edge. So he really wasn't lying? I seriously kissed someone?

"Yeah." Abdul replied, his smile seeming to be etched on his face- it really hadn't left the moment he'd told him about his.. actions. "You want to see it and find out who she was, right?"

"I don't really care.." he rolled his eyes, trying to veil the truth- he was going mad with not knowing just how this stranger was. He remembered bits and pieces, like colouring her cheeks, and something about silver bangles...

"Sure." Abdul teased.

"Whatever, let's get this over with."

Fast forwarding through the video, they stopped as their eyes landed upon the messy black hair they'd been looking for. Jalal.

He shifted in his seat on the bed, rather uncomfortable as he watched himself- a version clearly unfamiliar with the term 'balance'. Seriously, Jalal thought, did I forget how to walk or something?

Abdul laughed, clearly enjoying this a little too much for Jalal's liking.

"Stop laugh-" Jalal's retort was cut short when Abdul let out a low whistle. His eyes focused on the screen, where a clearly out-of-it Jalal had started talking to a pretty lady, clad in a simple white Anarkali. Unwittingly, his eyes flitted to her wrists. Silver bangles, he thought.

"This is her." He said, catching Abdul's attention. His back blocked her face from the view, and Jalal found himself getting frustrated- when suddenly Jalal'd stepped to the side, revealing her.

"Jodha?" Jalal said, his senses lost at the sight of her- she looked shocked, almost like she expected him to murder her.

"wait, did you say, Jodha? As in Mr. Singh's daughter? The girl who.." Abdul chose not to mention the incident that'd already nestled deep into Jalal's mind. He didn't need Abdul to complete the sentence to know what he meant, anyway- The girl who hurt my ego.

Even Jalal could feel the difference, the cold, hateful one he was now- and the warm, laughing Jalal on the screen. Jodha had gotten over her initial shock, just a tad of apprehension visible on her sharp features when Jalal slid his hand over her waist, his nose brushing against her cheek.

"Stop it.." Jalal barked, and Abdul didn't need to be told twice. He paused the video, leaving his phone on the bed and exiting the room when Jalal called him.

"You-"

"Yeah, Abhimanyu and us are the only ones to have seen the video. I've had him edit the part from all the other copies." He explained casually, earning a nod and a rare smile from Jalal.

"Oh, and Jalal?" he began, hiding a smirk now that he had Jalal's attention, "you had quite a celebration, didn't you?" before Jalal could find something to throw at him, he was gone.

I kissed Jodha? How is this.. why was she even there? He frowned at the thought, before realizing her father was the producer. But still.. I need to know what happened.

Giving up on his resolve, he silently cursed himself before fetching Abdul's phone. He left it here, how.. convenient. He thought, suspicious of his friend's apparent forgetfulness. Fishing through his phone, he couldn't help the nervousness take over when he found the video he was looking for.

There she was, with him, nervous, and yet.. happy?

I thought she hated me?

As the video unfolded the events he'd forgotten, an entirely different array of emotions played up on his face. Shock at his unashamed, unembarrassed flirtations. Surprise at her more than happy reception of it.

Was she drunk, too? A stray thought entered his mind, and he would have believed it in a heartbeat, too, had he not noticed her in the video. She wasn't drunk, or at least, didn't appear to be. She was hesitant, but not intoxicated.

And then they were kissing, God, Jalal shut his eyes at the scene. Was she the only girl in the damned party? Why did I kiss her?

Still wondering about her reaction, he opened his eyes slowly, before complete and unadulterated shock took over. She was kissing him back!

"What.. how..." He mumbled, feeling rather numb.

He released the breath he didn't realize he was holding back as the video neared the end- him kissing her on the cheeks, her eyes twinkling, and then a final kiss on the forehead before he went.

Of all the things he was thinking, the only thought he could voice was- "I am a flirty drunk, huh."

A frown still set on his face, he kept the phone on the side table, before glancing towards the window. It was evening, still early, but for once, Jalal decided to quit everything and went back to bed.

He really needed a good sleep. Possibly amnesia, too.

It hadn't sunk in yet, none of it, because really, kissing the girl you're supposed to hate- that's the kind of thing you can never get used to. And then there were other thoughts that bothered him, too- he only did it because he was drunk, right?

Of-course, I would've never kissed, or even touched that girl if I was sober. He made up an unconvincing lie.

Who are you kidding, Jalal? You would've kissed her anyways, it was only a matter of time. She's hot, why wouldn't you?

He could deny it, of course, and he was trying so very hard to do exactly that- to prove that he wasn't attracted to the arrogant brunette he'd kissed earlier today.

But then again, if he didn't believe himself, why would anyone else?

"I would have controlled myself.. she's not that pretty.." he scoffed, tossing and turning, but his mind was on overdrive.

And then it hit him, why she kissed him back, why she didn't stop him, why she was so.. happy.

Jodha Singh, for someone with such a bad attitude, I thought you'd know better than to like someone like me..

Oh, this was going to be fun.

The Next Day

At The Sets

"The official shooting begins tomorrow, but we're just going to take a shoot a few scenes, just, you know?" Abhimanyu, the director, informed the crew. The crew smiled, nodding, some of them even laughing at the hilariously charming smile the director wore. Jalal frowned, he didn't quite get the point of fraternizing beyond the professional needs. It was unnecessary, and honestly, a waste of time.

Yet, he nodded, something between a smile and a grimace playing on his lips, and decided to go back to his allocated room.

"Right, Jalal we kind of need you for this one, you know, you're the main lead and all?"Abhimanyu laughed, to which Jalal muttered an "of course", but following him anyway.

He didn't dislike Abhimanyu, per se, he could be serious when he wanted to be- which was, unfortunately, never. His directorial skills were never questioned, but his over friendly nature didn't sit too well with Jalal.

"Can we start?" Jalal quizzed, fishing out his phone to check the time.

"What's the rush? We can wait till Mr. Singh comes, it's the first big day, he wants to be here.."

"oh.." biting his lip to prevent any reaction, he cocked his head to the side, quite satisfied with his indifferent face until Abhimanyu called his bluff.

"But you'd know, considering how close you were with his daughter yesterday.." he teased, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, causing Jalal to grit his teeth.

"Don't, Abhimanyu, just don't." Jalal warned.

"Oh, look who's here.." appearing unfazed by the actor's warning, he pointed towards the entrance. Jalal followed his gaze, his eyes doing a double take when he saw Bharmal enter the studio, a nervous Jodha in tow.

She looked stunning, he thought, but really, when did she not look stunning? Dressed in a simple red jumpsuit that ended just above her knees, her hair done in an elegant French braid, white wedges completing the look. He didn't particularly care about women's clothing, of course, but something about her made him focus.

He smirked at her figure, blissfully unaware of his presence. Careful not to catch her eye, he slipped out.

Jodha

For such a bold outfit, she was carrying it quite well. Of course, it wasn't the clothes she was worried about- they were the last thing on her mind, really- but him. Her hands were sweaty and fidgety, heart beating too fast for her liking, and if would admit it, she was rather jumpy and inattentive. But it wasn't her fault, she thought, this was normal- people just don't understand.

Damn it, just why did she give up so easily? She could have convinced her dad to not bring her along her to what could be a potentially deathly encounter. This was a mistake, this was a mistake, this was a mistake.

When Bharmal woke her up, something he never does, she should have felt it. How did she not know just how bad her luck is? How convenient, she thought, glaring accusingly at the sky, for dad to want me on the set as a good luck charm exactly the day after I kissed Jalal?

To be fair, he was the one who kissed her- a small voice went off in her mind, but she dismissed it, all the same. Him, that's what she was worried about, she didn't think she could handle this, his rudeness, not after the day before.

Not when she'd known how charming he could be.

She pulled a face at her father, who hadn't objected to her choice of clothes- much to her surprise.

Subconsciously, she looked around for him- before catching herself at it and giving herself a mental slap. What was she doing?

Having failed to see him, she frowned, wondering if he hadn't come to the sets today. The shoot doesn't begin until tomorrow, maybe he decided to skip it?

Her heart sank a little, and she distracted herself by fiddling with her ring. Why am I upset? I should be happy, right? He's not here to embarrass me. Why am I not happy?

Fingers ran through her arm, before entwining with her own. Caught off guard, she turned immediately, before crashing into the offender. "What the he-" her curse remained stuck in her throat. It was him.

Holding her hand casually, he smirked, leaning close to her ear. Biting back a smirk. "You're an even better kisser than I thought." he whispered.

Chapter-8

Jealousy Burns.

Jalal

The distressed actor ducked just in time- or so he thought,- to avoid being caught by the object of his fascination. He'd admitted it to himself, she fascinated him, but with her latest antics, it seemed like she'd made it a point to test his limits.

He'd never been a man of patience, anyway, and watching her get in the car with a guy he'd never seen before (if he was her brother, I would've seen him in some event or something with Mr. Singh) wasn't doing anything for his ego.

She doesn't have a boyfriend, does she? He'd thought at one point; and many, many self-made excuses later, he still couldn't shake the possibility. It could be true, he wondered, something in his chest tightening a little at the thought.

A spell of anger later, the man had almost given up on his sanity, the sight of her laughing with someone else refused to leave his mind, when he'd been struck with an idea. Fishing out his phone, he cursed under his breath, he could almost hear the taunts and knowing looks that were to follow, but really, he couldn't help it. He had to know.

Abdul, I need you to get me some information about someone. There, he thought, as he hit the send button, before letting a sigh escape.

The reply came a second later.

Who pissed you off now?

His name's Chirag. Possibly friends with Jodha Singh. Find out who he is, and how he's connected to her.

Yes, he could definitely hear the taunts that were coming his way.

Jodha Singh? You don't mean the girl you kissed, do you? xD

Regarding his text with disdain, he typed a rushed reply, realizing that he'd been away from the sets for a little more time than he'd thought.

Yep, that's the one. Find out about Chirag, okay? Meet me tomorrow.

As you say, boss.

p.s- does someone have a secret crush on the producer's daughter?

He rolled his eyes at his reply, before tucking his phone in his pocket, treading back to the sets.

The Next Day

Jodha

Jodha Singh was a lot of things, but oblivious was not one of them. No wonder then that she caught on to her crush's, for the lack of a better word, jealousy .

No, no. Jodha, focus. He played you, so now, you play him.

At times like these, when she'd think of the way he'd reacted to Chirag, and hope for possible affection from his side, the sensible, less favoured side of her would speak up; reminding her of the things she would otherwise turn a blind eye to, playing his words, his cruel, cruel words on repeat till she'd snap out of her imagination.

Revenge is what you want. Not some stupid love confession from the player.

Although, she'd later add, a love confession wouldn't really hurt.

Chuckling at her thoughts, she entered the set, glancing at her side, before turning back, clutching Chirag's arm and bringing him in to the set.

"Why am I here? I don't even like this movie stuff, and let's be real, Jo, the female lead isn't even hot!

"She's not supposed to be hot, you jerk. She laughed at his one-track mind, hearing him mutter something along the lines of I have nothing to do here.

"You have me. Just keep me company, please, you know Dad wants me to be here on the first few days of the shoot because- giving her a rather disinterested look, the guy cut her off.

"You're his lucky charm, I get it. I get it. He flashed her a charming smile, earning one of her own, before continuing, "although, Jo, your dad is a bit confused between lucky and unlucky, don't you think? Shooting her a wink, he blocked the punch that followed his remark, blowing her a kiss.

The duo exchanged looks before bursting into laughter a minute later.

Jodha couldn't ignore the chills that she'd come to associate with him, and against her better judgement, looked around, until her eyes caught his, seated comfortably at the made-shift table for script reading.

Jalal Khan had never looked more livid.

To her surprise, a grin tugged at her lips, her heart soaring; the plan was working.

Jalal

Taking a rough paper from the script, he crushed it, an activity that would probably be helpful for stress relieving, but did nothing to calm the seething anger at the sight he'd just witnessed.

All the while, he had kept his calm, watching the scene unfold as he quietly regarded their flirtations with something akin disgust. What is wrong with her? Why is she flirting with him?

But that was fine, he could control the surge of anger, but seeing her turn to him, and smiling like she wanted him to feel this way had tipped him over the edge.

The mask slipped, he could feel his features twist to express the feeling that had gripped him as he saw her. It was horrible, he decided, absolutely horrible, to react this way to a girl he'd hated. Fascinating or not, Jodha Singh couldn't get under his skin.

He wouldn't let her.

If she was playing, and indeed, he knew she was, he wouldn't lose.

Jodha

Making a face at her father, she whined, "No, dad, why can't I just sit here.. I don't want to watch the stupid- catching herself in time, she corrected, "the absolutely amazing shooting.

Mr. Singh laughed at her actions, before pulling her up from the chair she'd seated herself in. "Come on, Jodha, it's the first official scene. You should be there.

"But it's romantic, dad! You shouldn't make me watch that kind of stuff! She resorted to another antic, quickly covering her eyes with her hands in what she assumed to be the perfect display of coyness.

"Really? As if I don't know how many Hollywood rom-coms you've seen, huh? he replied.

Surprised, she looked at him, her jaw hitting the ground, exclaiming "How do you know?! before a possibility hit her, "Shivani! I always knew she was a spy. Traitor. She said dramatically.

"Don't blame Shivani for this. I was the one who got you your Netflix connection, remember?

"Ohhh. Jodha tried to steer the topic.

"Yes, ohhh. Now don't try to change the topic. The shooting won't begin without my lucky charm. He reasoned, to which she finally caved in.

"I know I'm lucky, but your hero is seriously unlucky. She muttered under her breath, giving a wide smile when her father turned around, confused.

When she decided to come to the sets today, she'd expected to be annoyed, to be irritated.

However, what she hadn't expected was jealousy to flare up, seeing her- no, not hers- Jalal, with his arms around someone who wasn't her.

Huffing in anger, she turned to grab a hold of Chirag's hand, digging her nails into his skin.

He's probably enjoying being with her. Her mind said.

He's definitely enjoying having his arms around her.

His words came back to her, slapping her with such intensity that she nearly knocked herself out. I wouldn't touch her if I was sober. I don't really care about her.

I don't really care about her.

"I don't really care about you too, you stupid jerk. She seethed, her nails continuing to assault his hand, when Chirag suddenly let out a scream.

"OUCHHH.

The shoot came to a standstill a second later, Jodha finally breaking out of her thoughts to see the marks she'd left on Chirag's palm as he rubbed it furiously.

Jalal's eyes flitted to the pair instinctively, almost worried, before the scene registered with him. They were together, again. Honestly, he swore, the entire day has passed and he hadn't left her side. Not once. Who is he, her boyfriend? His eyes hardened, before something flipped in him and he concentrated on the shoot.

Shooting Chirag a sheepish smile, she held her ears as she gave him her best puppy face, to which he finally cracked a laugh.

Jalal

The exhausted actor grasped a water bottle that lay nearby, breaking the seal before gulping it down. Abhimanyu had called in for a much-needed break, and he'd left the room seconds later. It was tiring, he'd realised, to pretend he couldn't see her with him.

Turning around to look at the cafeteria, his eyebrows furrowed. She was there at a table, alone, fiddling with her phone to avoid boredom. Doing a double take to ensure the idiot wasn't nearby, he smirked slightly before heading over.

"Missed me? he spoke, catching her off guard as she nearly jumped at the sound of his voice.

He regarded her with curiosity and just a glint of arrogance, as her emotions manifested with her eyes. Anger, he recognised easily. Hurt? He frowned.

"No. She answered with a sharp look, before reverting her attention back to her phone. Ignoring the obvious display of disinterest, he pulled a chair and sat across her, tapping incessantly at the table.

"What do you want? She finally broke the silence.

"I don't think you want to know. He replied, his smirk only growing as he saw the irritation clear on her features.

"You're right. She smiled, so sweet and so unreal, "I don't.

"Where's your boyfriend? he finally asked, mentally face palming at the hint of jealousy that had creeped into his voice. He had no reason to be jealous, he convinced himself, his resolve only weakening as he saw Jodha chuckling at something on her phone.

Snapping out of the trance, he continued to tap, before she finally looked up, "huh? Boyfriend?

There was something so adorable about her as her nose crinkled in confusion, Jalal noted, that he almost forgot to keep up the conversation.

"The guy who's been following you like a puppy the entire day? He commented casually, not missing the disbelief and anger cross her face.

Hastily standing up, she shot back, "My life is none of your business, jerk. And don't you dare talk about him like that.

The protective tint to her voice wiped the smirk right off his face as he stood up. "I will talk about him the way I want to.

The cafeteria was clearing up as the break ended, he observed, before taking a step towards her. Catching hold of her arm, he pulled her close, his lips pressing to her ear, his voice dropped down to a dangerous whisper "especially someone who messes with me.

His lips travelled down, kissing the spot below her ear before he let her go, walking away.

Jodha

Stepping into the producer's room, the alarmed lady quickly cast a look around. No sign of him, she realised, letting out a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding back. She frowned a little at the thought, he wasn't even here, and I'm nervous!

Her lips curved into a grin as she walked to her father who was discussing movie matters with the director, Abhimanyu, a guy she'd taken a liking to since the past days. Keeping aside the conversation she'd overheard between him and Jalal, she'd deemed Abhimanyu, or Abhi, as he insisted, to be nice enough for an acquaintance.

Abhimanyu, however, had entirely different plans for her. He'd noticed her ignore Jalal, and he'd definitely noticed Jalal less than happy reception of it. A self-proclaimed cupid, he could see Jalal finding love in the stubborn, fiery girl in front of him; a clever director, he could envision the kind of boost it would give the movie if the news got out.

Initiating conversation, he said, "So, Jodha, I see you haven't been talking to your favorite actor all that much. A shy one, are you? He laughed, but his emphasis on the word 'favorite' brought a tint of red to her cheeks- something that caught his attention.

"Jodha and shy? That's not possible, Abhimanyu. Mr. Singh teased, to which his daughter simply shrugged, a weak attempt to deflect the question.

Catching their interested looks, the lady stifled a sigh, before giving a calculated reply, "I just think he's kind of busy, and I don't want to be unprofessional.

Well, she's smart. Abhimanyu deduced, giving her a once-over. Stunning looks, a feisty attitude and the brains to go with it- it only strengthened his belief- she was Jalal's best chance.

A few minutes later, Mr. Singh excused himself from the conversation, leaving Jodha and Abhimanyu to chit-chat.

A quick glance at the door revealed a figure in black that she knew all too well, and Jodha bit back a smirk, her thoughts entirely captured by the idea that had just sprung up, muttering payback time, Jalal.

"Actually, Abhi. She stressed on his nickname, taking a step forward, catching the friendly director by surprise. The sudden increase in her volume didn't escape his notice, either.

"Yes? He quizzed.

"About what my father said the other day, she paused, taking the time to cast another look at the actor who'd just entered the room. Sure enough, she could make out, even with his back to her that he was eavesdropping. Mentally giving herself a pat on the back, she continued, not frazzled by his presence at the least, "it's not really true, you know?

"it isn't? He couldn't stop a smile of his own from erupting, he'd picked up on her little game, and was more than willing to go along with it.

"Yeah, I mean.. it was a bit of a crush, I'll accept it, but he's never been my favorite. The lie slipped so casually, it took her a second to believe it. " All these years I've heard so much from the media about him, that he's arrogant and has an ego the size of Mars, but I never believed it.. I never thought he was a bad person.

Abhimanyu looked on, a tad more impressed from her than he'd previously let on. She knows how to stand her own, even in front of someone like Jalal.

"What do you think of Jalal now? He asked, and by the way her eyes twinkled, he knew it was exactly the question she'd been expecting.

"I was right. She shrugged, "He isn't bad like they make him out to be. Turning around just in time to see his eyes on her, so engrossed he didn't even notice she caught him staring, she revealed, "He's worse.

And then she walked away, willing her eyes not to look at him, and failing, anyway- not that she minded, she thought, as she saw the myriad of emotions take over; something akin to happiness at her acceptance of her crush morphing into curiosity, before unexplainable rage settled in.

Jalal

Khan Mansion

"Abdul, did you get any- Abdul interrupted him as he plonked down on the bed.

"Yes, boss. Got it. Tossing him a file, he stretched lazily before sitting upright.

Jalal caught the file with ease, his eyes taking in every mentioned detail.

He's not bad, he's worse.

Stop it. He cursed himself, irked at his apparent inability to concentrate on anything but her words that left a sting every time he thought about them.

Chirag Malhotra, son of Jai Prakash Malhotra, heir to the Malhotra Enterprises. 23 years old.

His eyes skimmed over the rest; flipping through various photographs of Chirag with her.

"Where did you get these? His voice turned cold.

"Social media. Abdul replied, before adding cautiously, "They seem pretty close, Jalal.

"How does he know her? the question none of the text in the file could answer, the only question he wanted to be answered.

"It's unclear. There is no known relations between the Malhotra Enterprises and The Singh Productions. Although one of his captions does suggest that they've known each other since childhood. Abdul clarified, pointing to a picture.

His eyes zeroed in on the picture; Jodha Singh, laughingly pulling a face as Chirag kissed her cheek.

Throwing the pictures aimlessly, he watched as the file hit the floor with a soft thud!, the familiar tightening feeling in his chest intensifying.

Abdul cast a wary glance at his best friend, not daring to put into words what he anxiously wanted to know- the reason behind his sudden interest in a guy who seemed to be close to Jodha Singh.

Unless, thought Abdul, could it be?

Shaking his head as if to clear the thoughts, he turned his attention to Jalal, "Well, I best be going. You're still on for the party at the weekend, yeah?

"Yeah... Jalal murmured absentmindedly, before snapping back, "wait, what party?

"The Masquerade ball, of course? Abdul shot him a look as if to say how-can-you-forget?

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'll be there. He responded in the affirmative, before walking Abdul to the door.

When he returned, his eyes found the pictures as if on their accord, her smile mocking him.

Jodha. Jodha. Jodha. He repeated, but the words never brought any relief.

Jodha Singh had torn his ego apart and stomped on it, again.

Only this time, he thought, his mind focused on one thing and one thing only, there would be hell to pay.

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

PRECAP- The Masquerade Ball. And romance. Lots of it! ❤️

IMPORTANT-This chapter was kind of important, basically the main plot begins now. Jodha has a reason to resent Jalal, and Jalal's bruised ego is reason enough to want revenge. Also, their feelings for each other. Is this going to end well?

That's ittt.

For now.😆

So how have you all been? Missed me? Well, of course you guys did, I'm just that awesome.😎 Jokes aside, thankyou so much for still loving me. Means the world to me! Do check out the note on Page 1. for information regarding my other stories. 😃

All The Love,

Anushkaa. ❤️