CHAPTER 4
That night neither Bella could sleep nor Mahir. Mahir because Andy's disapproving face kept popping up in his mind whenever he closed his eyes. No matter what he did, how much he achieved Andy was never satisfied. Mahir couldn't help being shy and nerdy. He hated going to parties and mindlessly interacting with people. He did not like spending time with his peers, discussing girls and their hotness levels. It was not his fault that he valued knowledge over looks. But no one, not even his father ever understood that. Only Sumitra encouraged him to read and gain more knowledge instead of doing what most boys his age did. Growing up, he had seen his father bully his mother. He did not want to end up like that. With his equals Andy was a perfect gentleman, but with his subordinates, he was a terrible bully. He thought the only way he could rise was by bullying people. Mahir thought otherwise. He believed in the power on being empathetic towards others. But Andy considered it his weakness and had spent good many hours lecturing him for being week.
Then there was that girl who had kissed him. He didn't even know her name. He had always thought that his first kiss would be special, with someone special but never, not even in his worst nightmares did he ever think that his first kiss would happen forcibly in front of fifty odd strangers. And then when he had tried to confront that girl she had almost snatched away his shirt. Even in the safety of his bedroom he felt awkward even thinking about it. How could she simply come and kiss him like that? To be honest he admired her guts to be able to do that but just wished that she had not tried that on him. Now his dream of a special first kiss had been ruined. He firmly made up his mind to stay away from her in the future. He did NOT want to lose his shirt in public and she looked like a girl who could very well do what she threatened.
Bella on the other hand was tossing and turning in her bed because of the conversation that she had had with her mother. There was no love lost between Janvi and her daughter but still somewhere deep down Bella hoped that one day she will share a normal mother daughter conversation with Janvi. The kind of conversation where Janvi will ask her about her day and she will be able to rant about some random topic without any agenda in their minds. Ever since her childhood Bella craved for her mother's attention. She wanted her mother to be present during the important events of her life like when she won her first dance completion in school. She wanted her mother to be there to cheer her on as she participated in a running race on annual sports day of her school. She wanted to come home to see her mother waiting for her like other kid's mothers would be. But Janvi, busy building up her career never did have time for these things.
Janvi provided Bella with all things wealth could provide but she never had any time for her daughter. She had never tried to bridge up the gap between the two of them. Now Bella was all grown up and it was too late to start building bridges of any sort. But still the childhood need of getting attention and validation from her mother did not go away and till date whatever Bella did, although she would never admit that even to herself, it was to get noticed by her mother. It is said that ignorance and indifference causes a lot more damage than outright hatred. Her rowdy behaviour, her habits of drinking and smoking, her multiple affairs were all to attract attention from her mother. Even that day when she saw Janvi waiting for her at home she had genuinely for a moment felt that Janvi had stopped by enquire about her. She was bitterly disappointed when she found out the visit was to discuss the effects of Bella's behaviour on Janvi's reputation.
In a way Bella was as lonely as Mahir. She had her so called friends but they could never understand her and she never felt comfortable sharing her insecurities with them. She had no one in her corner to comfort her, to cherish her. Janvi had severed all ties with her parents when she decided to become an actress. And that relationship had soured further with Bella's birth. So Bella did not have grandparents in her life. And she had never known her father personally. All she knew was that she was Omkar Kapoor's daughter and that she was born out of a one night stand.
When Janvi realised that she was pregnant, she had tried to force Omkar to marry her to which he had refused as he was married then. But he had agreed to cover all the expenses that would incur while raising the child. Janvi refused to abort the child because she knew that this child was the only way in which she could extract money from Omkar. And Omkar agreed to pay for the expenses only so that he would have access to a beautiful, successful young girl whenever his boring married life frustrated him. So each month a hefty cheque reached Janvi for Bella's expenses. Even after Bella turned eighteen, the cheques kept coming but Bella directly received the money now. She had Omkar's secretary's number. She was told that she could call that number whenever she needed money. Omkar neither loved Bella nor did he ever bother to even know her. He was simply fulfilling the obligation. So Bella had plenty of money to spend but no one to talk to.
Next morning when she woke up, she had a massive headache. She winced as the sunlight seemed to prick right through her eyelids. With great difficulty she had managed open her eyes and sit up in bed when there was knock on her bedroom's door.
Bella: Come in Dolly di!
She said assuming that her maid was knocking on the door. The slowly opened to reveal Janvi standing there with a tray nimbu pani. She entered the room and placed the tray on the bedside table. Bella looked at her blearily.
Bella: What are you still doing here?
Janvi: Come on Bella, no need to be so hostile. You freshen up; I will set up the breakfast table. I got your maid to prepare pancakes for us. Join me in a few minutes.
Janvi left the room, leaving a puzzled Bella behind. Bella showered and then took a tablet for hangover and went outside to see her dining table set beautifully with a large stack of pancakes and a steaming mug of coffee was waiting for her. Janvi was waiting for her. As soon as she joined her at the table, Janvi motioned for Dolly to leave them alone. Dolly bowed her head and went outside. Bella in the meanwhile had taken a sip off coffee and closed her eyes blissfully as the taste of coffee swirled over her tongue with hints of cinnamon, just the way she liked. She was about to comment on the coffee when Janvi interrupted her.
Janvi: Did you like it? I prepared it myself. I know you like coffee with cinnamon.
Bella: YOU remember that I like coffee with a dash of cinnamon? That's a surprise. I just don't know whether a pleasant one or not, yet to decide that.
Janvi: Come on Bella, we can be civil to each other if we both try. We both have made mistakes when it comes to our relationship but...
Bella: YOU have made mistakes? Janvi are you okay? This is the first time you have admitted to being wrong. Am I so hungover that my brain is making up stuff?
Janvi: (In a very forced pleasant voice) Stop it Bella. Of course your brain is not making it up. I do know that I have made some mistakes when it comes to us. And it is but natural that you feel disappointed in me, especially since I never gave you a clear explanation...
Bella nodded her head. She had known that the breakfast and all was just a facade and Janvi actually wanted to talk about the previous night, but wanted the beginning to be a pleasant one. She was not really surprised as being this nice to her daughter was not natural to Janvi. Janvi was still talking.
Janvi:... But you will have to understand the circumstances under which you were born. I was all alone and had to feed you...
Bella: Janvi, I am bored of this I was a victim' story. So please spare me. I have heard it at least a hundred times before. You know when I was a kid I would get fooled by it. But now? I know the reality. You had a choice and you chose what benefitted you the most. You had me only to have a certain amount of power over Omkar Kapoor and not out of maternal love. If you could have, you would have aborted me without a second thought. But you had me just to ensure that hefty cheque that comes every month keeps on coming. So please excuse me if I find that hard to believe. So now that your facade has been exposed, will you please tell what is it that you actually wanted to talk to me about? Let's talk like adults, without any pretence between us.
Janvi: Fine. I wanted to talk to you regarding yesterday's incident.
Bella: What is it? And by the way who told you about that?
Janvi: Your principal had called me to report your behaviour. One of the professors present in the canteen complained. So do you know who that guy was? The one you kissed...
Bella: Some looser named Mahir.
Janvi: He is no looser. He is Andy Sehgal's son Mahir Sehgal. Only the staff members know of his identity. Students are not aware.
Bella: Who the hell is Andy... OMG!! He is Andy Sehgal's son? Shit! What did I do? God!! This is a disaster! You are dating Andy Sehgal right? Oh no! I accidently ended up kissing my step brother. That's so ewww.
Janvi: What?
Bella: See Janvi this is what happens when you don't keep me in the loop. Why don't you tell me when you change boyfriends?
Janvi: What the hell are you talking about? Andy Sehgal is not my boyfriend. He is one of the producers of my next film. If he finds out that you have been harassing his son... That man has the power and the resources to screw my career completely. And I will not have you ruining my big comeback. Got it?
Bella: Oh! So you came to this place for the first time since I shifted to blame me for harassing your producer's son. If it was someone else then you would have not even bothered. You know what Janvi? You don't have a career anymore. When was the last time you were seen on the silver screen? Six years ago, and the movie tanked. No amount of face jobs are going to bring back your old beauty. YOUR CAREER IS FINISHED!
Janvi: You will stay away from him. Got it?
Bella: Now I will harass him even more. I WILL ruin your career completely. You just wait and watch.
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
