||Chapter 13|| *In This Moment*
The next morning, Jodha felt a little nervous about the confession thing, whatever she pretend to others, she somewhere knew that Jalal is not really into her. She know that he really doesn't like her but something inside her is against this and is pushing her to be confident about her feelings. After saying bye to her two girl-friends, she left for breakfast.
"Hey!" She greeted her mother-in-law. "Good morning, I hope you had fun last night?" Hamida, asked sweetly. "It was amazing, ma." Jodha replied, taking a seat next to her. Sensing the missing bubbly nature of her daughter-in-law, Hamida turned to face Jodha. "What happened? You are acting a little...weird?" Before she could answer anything, Mirza interrupted. "Of-course, It's bhai's birthday tomorrow." Glaring at him, Jodha turned to hamida, who had an expression of amusement on her face. "Have you planned something for him? Something special?" Jodha nervously chuckled at Hamida and answered "Yea, I mean not really, Just repaired his old guitar." She said, knowing that this is not actually the reason behind her nervousness. "Oh! That's great." Turning towards Hamida, she realized that she was having an expression that Jodha haven't seen before on her face, she couldn't realize what it was, but her voice contained a little uncertainty which feared Jodha a little that it might happen that Jalal would not like her gift.
"Erm..okay? But, will there be any party tomorrow?" Jodha asked to which both mirza and hamida looked at each other and then turned to Jodha. "No!" A foreign voice answered her query, the three heads turned to see Jalal, who was walking towards them.
Jodha looked at him, and the sudden fluttering feeling inside her stomach was back. She shifted her gaze from him to Mirza, who had a 'I know everything' type of smirk plastered on his face. Giving a glare to him, she again looked at Jalal. "But, I think there should be a little get-together. I mean not a party, just family." Hamida argued for which Jodha couldn't help but smile. "No mom, there's no need." Listening his denial, Jodha frowned and turned towards her mother-in-law, hoping that she would argue. "But it's your birthday." Jodha finally spoke, once she realized that Hamida wasn't going to say anything. "So? It comes every year." She heard him say, he wasn't excited for his birthday and it irritated Jodha. "This time it is different, not like always. I am here." She argued, hoping that he will understand and cancel his plan with ruqaiyah. "You are not some President that I will throw a party for you." Jodha felt a little uneasy under his dominating gaze, but gathering all the courage she had, she spoke "I am not some President, but I am your wife." Jalal stared at her, taken aback by her bold statement, it wasn't the first time that she claimed to be his wife, but what shocked him was the way she spoke it, with so much of attitude and...assertion?
"Not the legal one." His words shocked her, but more upset her. It was only his 'so called girlfriend' who used to say this. "So what? After two years, I will be the legal one." Jodha argued, not in a mood to back off. "I doubt this." Jalal shrugged his shoulders, remembering Ruqaiyah's words. "What's in your mind Jalal?" Before Jodha could shout at him for an explanation, hamida interrupted.
"Nothing." He muttered, realizing what he said. "I don't know what's in your mind, but I hope that you won't do anything stupid which you will regret in future." Nodding his head a little, he glanced at his mother and left.
"He doubts it?" Jodha asked, as soon as she saw him leaving. Annoyance was clearly laced in her voice, looking at her best-friend, she raised her eye-brow for an explanation. "Come on, you know that he is a confused mess, leave it. We have many other important works to focus on." Trying to divert her attention, Mirza walked towards Jodha and rested his elbow on her shoulder. "Other works? Care to explain?" She asked, rudely shrugging his elbow off her shoulder. "Would you like to see the magnificent work I did." He asked in a thick British accent to which Jodha rolled her eyes. "A bit too posh, no? By the way, Cut the crap and come to the point." She asked a bit irritated. "Okay...remember the guitar?" Forgetting her irritation and anger, Jodha's eyes gleamed with happiness and excitement. "Gosh! Have you got it repaired?"
"Yea! You see I am a man of my word."
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"You actually did it!" She exclaimed looking at the 'newly' repaired instrument in-front of her eyes. It was hard to say that this guitar was in its worst condition a day or two ago. Mirza really has done an excellent job, there were not even scratches on that instrument.
"Of-course I did it, you know. I do what I say."
"Yea Yea, Man of your words." She teased him. Mirza looked at her, a mischievous expression plastered on his face. "Have you prepared how will you propose him?" Now it was his turn to tease her, she glanced at him and then turned her head. "Oh please, why should I? I know he likes me. I mean, why should I even propose him?" Trying to not show her nervousness, Jodha said nonchalantly.
"He likes you? Sure!"
"Why you think that he dislikes like me?" Resting a hand on her hip, she waited for his response. "Why you think that he likes you?" Jodha frowned at his question, a small part inside her know this thing that Jalal doesn't have any feelings for her, but a major part inside her is in favour of her and was giving her hope, that this relationship might work.
"Everything about you is so negative, can't you just say something positive."
"Oh please! I am just telling you the truth." Rolling her eyes at him, she walked towards her bed and played with the guitar. "You know he doesn't like you." Mirza tried to make her understand but what he doesn't know is that his words were irking her. But it's not his fault, he know his brother way better than Jodha. He know that Jalal's priorities are clear and at present, Jodha is not his priority but the business and money is. And this was the only reason behind the marriage of his best-friend and brother.
"He likes me. Okay? It's just that he doesn't know how to show. There's a difference." After screaming at Mirza for spoiling her mood, she left the room and went downstairs.
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"Ouch!" Rubbing her head, she looked at the person she bumped into. "Can't you see?" And it was...him. Like always, his tone was enriched with frustration and irritation. How can she like such a person?
"Are you okay?" Jalal asked her, when she didn't reply. An involuntary smile spread across her lips. 'He's concerned.' She thought. "Yea, Am okay." She said as sweetly as possible.
"Fine..!" He looked at her, it's been two weeks, since she is acting weird. Shrugging his shoulders, he spared a glance at her direction and started walking away.
"Hey...wait!" Jodha panicked, and shouted for him to stop. "Now...what?" He asked, confused by her irrational behaviour.
She didn't know why she stopped him, but she just knew that she wanted to spent some time with him.
"I lied, I am not okay!" She said nonchalantly. He looked at her confused and scratched his neck. "What happened to you?" He asked.
"Erm...I..I..don't know." She spoke the words that first came into her mind. "Are you insane?" He asked. Completely irked by this behaviour of hers. "Excuse me! Here, I am trying to be nice to you and you are being a bitch to me." She glared at him, both brothers are doing great in spoiling her mood.
"Wait! You called me what?" Shocked and frustrated, he ran his hand through his hairs, and waited for her response. "I didn't say anything, okay?" She answered, her tone matching his frustrated one. "You just said that I was being a 'bitch' to you!" He said, glaring at her. "I didn't say that to you. You just called yourself a bitch."
"Now, you are lying."
"Oh please, I never lie." She glared at him with the same intensity. "Can't you just shut your mouth?" He asked, clearly displeased by her statements. "No, I can't. Can you?" She snapped and then started walking towards her room but then stopped and turned to face him, his face clearly showed how much irritated he was. "Now, what?" He asked, as she continued staring at him. "f**k off." She said with all the frustration she was feeling. And guess what, it felt nice. But by his look, he was completed provoked. So, before he could explode, she did the first thing which came into her mind. She ran with all the energy she had to Mirza's room.
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"Woah! Ran a marathon?" Mirza asked as he looked Jodha panting. "You know what? Everything's just getting shittier." She said, as she grabbed a seat beside him. "Yeah, I heard you two shouting." He laughed to which she also joined him.
"Guys!" Both of them turned their heads to welcome two uninvited guests who were unfortunately their buddies - Johanna and Nikki. "What a pleasant surprise!" Mirza sarcastically remarked. "Despite the fact that you two are my best pals, but still why the hell are you here?" Jodha asked, raising her brow. "Come on, stop being rude." Johanna said. "Yea, we have invited ourselves for a sleepover." Nikki answered and sat on the bed. "But why?" Jodha groaned, it's going to be a long day. "Because tomorrow is your crush's birthday and we have to prepare you." Johanna said, snatching wafers from Mirza.
"Prepare me, like really? For what?" Jodha snapped.
"Oh gosh! You are going to propose him, right?"
"Come on, I am not going to do any preparation for that!" Jodha said, stubbornly.
"Fine! Be over-confident! And yea! First propose him then give that stupid guitar to him, Okay?" Nikki told her in not a very 'nice' tone.
"Why are you acting like a bitch?" Jodha asked, running a hand through her hair.
"Oh please! Jay, what happened to you. You are the one who is acting like a supreme bitch." Johanna supported Nikki, and snapped at Jodha.
"Fine, I am a supreme bitch and I will act like one. So, get out." Mirza looked at his best-friend, shocked.
"What?" Her two buddies asked, shocked by Jodha's outburst.
"You heard it, get out!" She told them to which they glared at her and left.
"What happened to you?" Mirza asked softly, as soon as they left the room. "I don't know, I am just irritated. You know I fought with him today and it's killing me. I mean I am going to confess my feelings to him tomorrow, and what I did, I messed everything." She didn't know what she was saying, but now she regret the fight. Not with her buddies but with him.
She can't believe that she fought with her two best buddies. It never happened before.
"You are just anxious about tomorrow, take rest." Saying this, he left her alone. Knowing that she was not in her best mood today. His brother's attitude was really affecting her.
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"Gosh! It's 12:15!" Jodha muttered in panic. Hamida and Mirza looked at her, not knowing what to do. "He's not in his room. f**k the room, he is not in the mansion." She said, looking at Mirza. Till now, nothing happened in favour of her, firstly the stupid conversation with Mirza, then a fight with Jalal, and then another fight with her buddies. And adding to this, she failed to wish her crush on his birthday. "Where the hell he is?" She looked at Mirza, raising her brow.
"Don't get mad, but like I told you...he spends his birthday with his girlfriend. So maybe he is with..."
"He don't have a girlfriend." Jodha snapped.
"He will come tomorrow, calm down." Hamida said. "What? He will be out for the whole night? And here, I was thinking to be the first one to wish him." She wanted to cry, the whole day she was anxious for the proposal and his birthday, but he was not even concerned. She fought with her friends, just because they called his guitar stupid, and here he was enjoying with her 'girlfriend' by himself.
"Do you know where he is now?" Jodha looked at her best-friend, and by the look on his face, it was confirmed that he knew.
"Don't even try to lie, I know you are aware of the place." She didn't know what she was going to do, she just was angry and wanted to know what he was doing there.
"What's in your mind?" Hamida asked, she was concerned about Jodha and it scared her that the new feelings that Jodha was developing for his son, was proving bad for her. The new feelings were affecting the original nature of Jodha, and were turning her to someone that she wasn't.
"Don't worry, I will just go there and wish him and then back to home." She answered nonchalantly.
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"We are here!" Jodha heard mirza saying that, she rolled the window down, the place was beautiful. "Let's go!" They both went to the entrance and soon were welcomed by a guard. "Pass?" He asked, rudely. "Yea, here it is?" Mirza gave him the passes, which made Jodha curious to know that how did he get them.
"Dress code is red for women." The guard eyed Jodha to which she scoffed in irritation. Okay! It is not a big deal if her outfit was not red, and it is totally understandable if she was there in her night pyjamas.
"I told you to change." Mirza muttered to which she rolled her eyes. "Fine, it's my fault now do something." She replied.
"We can make a deal." Mirza said and whispered something in his ear to which the guy nodded. He passed the guard an envelope. "There's no need to give him money. Come-on, we have full right to go inside." Jodha interrupted, to which Mirza glared at her. "For heaven's sake, shut up!" He muttered and took her inside, forcefully.
"What the -"
"Girl! You are swearing a lot today." He smirked at her to which she glared at him. Once, they were inside, they met with loud music and hundreds of drunk and sweaty people.
"Have you ever celebrated a birthday like this?" Shocked by the environment, she glanced at her best-friend who was ogling some girl.
"Seriously?" She muttered, after getting no reaction from Mirza, she sighed and went to search her 'husband'. Everyone was shouting, the music was loud, but that wasn't her problem - it was the sticky, sweaty dancers that pushed against her body that made this club the most undesirable place to be tonight. She pushed past the sweaty, blurred bodies, searching for him. Before she could move any further, someone grabbed her from behind. One arm wrapped around her waist and the other covered her mouth to muffle any scream she might make. A voice whispered in her ear. "You look so familiar, have we met before?"
She stopped struggling when she realized the owner of the voice, it's him. He looked different. His hair were messy, shirt unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up -- he was wrecked, totally wasted. But still, he looked sexy. "Hey...Girl?" He clicked his fingers at her, which forced her to look at him. "What's wrong with you?" She screamed as the music was still loud. "What's wrong with me?" He asked confused, forgetting her anger and frustration, she smiled at him. He was not rude now, totally innocent. "Or what's wrong with you? You are wearing lowers! It's a f**king club, girl!" Jodha was totally amused by his casual side, but still she was confused about his 'weird' behaviour. And then it hit her - he was really drunk. "Gosh!" She looked at him, he was already staring at her, his brows were raised in confusion. "See...you should thank me, I told you about the lowers, girl." He said, and was all ready to walk away. "Stop calling me that...and wait!" She grabbed his arm, to which he raised his brows and smirked. "Naughty girl!" He poked her in the ribs. She narrowed her eyes, "Why are you calling me 'girl'?" It irked her that he wasn't calling her by her name.
"Wait, you are not a girl...transgender or a..."
"No...f**k no...What are you saying...I mean I have a name, for heaven's sake." She interrupted, embarrassed.
"I also have a name, everybody has a name. So what?"
"God!! You are really wasted, I mean you don't remember me?" She asked, throwing her hands in the air, completely irked.
"You look familiar, I told you, right? He asked, looking around.
"God! You are not in your senses."
"Are you calling me senseless?" She looked at him, completely shocked. He's wrecked, like really.
"We need to go home, now!" She said, grabbing his hand but he was too stubborn to move, he pulled her towards him to meet her eyes. "Yours or mine?" He whispered, her heart sky-rocketed, it was the first time she met this side of his, which is totally opposite to his original one. It's not like she's complaining, it is just that this is new to her.
"Our home!" She tried to sound confident, but her voice came a little bit shaky yet firm. "Stupid, it's you." She sighed in bliss. Finally, he remembered her. "Yes it's me, Jo-- Stupid." She chuckled calling herself that. First time in all these months which she spent with him, she realized that she never had this kind of conversation with him. Right now, he's so casual, funny, a little flirty. But she loved this -- The 'drunk' Jalal.
"I thought it was you, but then I was like...you can't be this pretty." He saw her frowning at his statement, so he tried to rearrange his sentence. "No, what I mean is that you are looking pretty, you know!" He tried to explain himself using his hands to which she couldn't help but chuckle.
"In pyjamas?" She raised her brows to which he scratched his neck, and nodded his head slightly.
"Leave it, we need to go." She said grabbing his hand but he pulled her back, again. "It's my birthday, come on." And then it hit her mind, she forgot to wish him.
"Oh yea, Happy birthday!" She muttered, not knowing what else to say. "That was weird, but still thank you." He grinned which made her smile. She really wished that he could be like this, always. "We can celebrate your birthday at home with everybody." She tried to make him understand, but he was too stubborn to listen.
"Okay! Then I am going." She said, slightly irritated. "Hey! You can't do this." He replied back, but she just rolled her eyes. "Fine! I am coming." He sighed, looking at her. "But I need to tell my girlfriend that I am leaving. I don't know where she is now, she went to the rest room, I guess. She's a little careless, I think--" He was stopped by jodha who was glaring at him. "She's not your girlfriend." She said, loud enough for him to hear. Saying that, she walked to the parking lot in anger and irritation.
"Never leave me." She turned around to meet his brown eyes. She didn't know what was in those words, but they felt special. She won't say that her anger disappeared, but she was satisfied that he followed her.
"In the car, now!" She said, pointing towards the vehicle. "Yes, madam." She chuckled hearing him. "Hey! This is the car." She shouted as soon as she watched him walking towards some other car. "Our car?" He asked, mimicking her to which she playfully smacked him.
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"Don't make any noise and follow me, quietly." She told him and entered the mansion. "Hey, this way!" She whispered, grabbing his arm. They made their way towards 'his' room without waking Hamida.
"This room looks familiar." He told her and she rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time, now.
"This is your room." She said nonchalantly, sitting on the couch. "This is our room." He said, which forced her to look at him. But, he was just being weird, he was drunk. "This used to be our room, now I have my own room." She teased him to which he playfully glared at her.
"I am sorry for the fight, I was just a little frustrated and confused." She apologized to him.
"Fight? What are you talking about?" She looked at him, he was really 'very' drunk. He didn't remember her, or his car, not even his room and of-course about the fight.
"How much you drink today?" She asked to which he shrugged his shoulders and walked towards her. "I don't drink." He said, sitting beside her.
"Sure!" She said sarcastically. "Believe me." She looked into his eyes, they were sitting close and it made her a little conscious. "Jalal.." She whispered, her voice barely audible. He made a questioning sound and put his hand on her shoulder, she felt her heart beating faster than usual.
"Do...do you like me?" She asked, she didn't know why but she felt the need to ask this question. "Maybe." Before she could understand what he meant, she felt his lips on her. Finally after all those day-dreams and lonely nights, imagining about him, he was kissing her. She had never kissed anyone before and had always that fear that she might screw up. She'd always wondered how people kissed! It was a mystery to her. But now, she didn't even give it much thought. Actually, she was too busy in this moment, feeling amazing to be kissing Jalal that she didn't even think about the techniques!
As his lips began moving more urgently, she remembered that he was drunk. She knew that he would never do this if he was sober. He would't even touch her. But now, he was drunk. He had no idea what he was doing and this made her to push him.
He moved back and looked at her in confusion. Now that the kiss was over, she felt cold. Like her only source of energy and warmth was his kiss. She craved for more.
"You are drunk!" She whispered like he would understand this.
"I am not." He argued, touching her cheek. "You are not understanding, this is ---" Before she could complete her sentence, Jalal interrupted.
"You are so stubborn." He complained, walking towards the bed. "I am not stubborn, I know you will regret it tomorrow." She muttered.
"I am ignoring you." She laughed hearing that. "Okay?" She said, passing him the quilt. "Stupid." He cursed under his breadth. "What you want, dude?" She asked, resting her hand on her hip. "I want to sleep." He said, covering his face with the quilt.
"Then sleep." She said, firmly.
"But.."
"But, what?" She asked, tapping her feet.
"I also want to kiss you." She looked at him, not knowing what to say. He was being so blunt. He was drunk. She reminded herself.
"So..?" She asked, uncertainly.
"So, you can give me a goodnight kiss." He said, scratching his neck. She chuckled at his gesture. She couldn't help but lean towards him. "What if I say 'no'?" She whispered, trying to be confident. "I don't take 'no' as an answer." And with that he pulled her closer to him, kissing her. She knew it was all wrong, but it felt so right. The feeling, the emotions, the touch felt so real. Soon, she broke the kiss and looked at him. His eyes, it held so much of emotions behind them. "You are so going to regret it." She whispered.
"I won't!"
"How are you so sure?"
"I can never regret a single moment of the time I spend with you." She stared at him, absorbing the words he told her.
"Does alcohol make you romantic?"
"Maybe." He yawned and then closed his eyes. She didn't move, but stayed there until he was asleep.
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So, here's the chapter. I hope you liked it and if you did then please leave your valuable comments.
So, the kiss was real and I can assure you that the next chapter will be a serious one. 😆
And this is an unedited chapter. So, sorry for the mistakes.
Thank you for supporting, loving and dealing with me and my stories. 🤗
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