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Chapter 24 (Part 1)
A slumbering moon with numerous stars twinkled is the sky as dark as thick black velvet ,the night pulsed with the sounds of crickets ...while the air was brisk on his otherwise clean shaved cheeks that somewhat irked him because it seemed to be an obvious ploy the childhood buddies Jalal and Abdul busied themselves with chilled beers laying back on the car bonnet.
The freshness and the stillness of the night resembled the ruckus that was going on in Jalal's mind , his hands often travelled back to his hair inbetween taking long sips of alcohol .
Abdul could sence his body tensed up and he very well knew the reason for it but then he couldnt help becoz this time it was entirely upon Jalal ...Abdul seriously thought while gulping down the beer ...if he couldnt help him in any way regarding the issue ...he atleast will try to cheer him up ..Abdul resolved
" ohk ...so dragged me out of that night club ,just to stare at the sky ?" ...well its not as bad as i thought , He started , staring the moon that struggled to shine through the thick clouds .
"Abdul ", Jalal rolled his eyes when Abdul said ,
"Jalal , u know i cant see u in so much stress ...", Abdul interupted while taking another sip of beer .
" Do i have any other option ?", he let out a deep sigh and looked down at the ground dejected .
"Well ,dont u think ,instead of beating around the bush , why dont u just go and try speaking to him ?, im sure he will understand , he suggested looking at his sad face .
"As if i hadnt tried before ? He ran an exasparated hand through his hair .
" Try again then ", he said while Jalal just shook his head .
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Mohammad Mansion
" So how was ur trip Bairam ?? ", Hamida asked looking at her son in law in between serving the vegetable pulav that she prepared especially for him .
" It was good Ammijaan ", ...he replied whilst downing a spoonful of spicy rice dish and added " except , i lost my mobile mid way " taking another spoonful of rice he looked up at the pair of eyes .
"Really ?? ", A surprised expression crossed her face for an obvious reason ...no matter how much of a pro her son in law is, in business world one can't deny how careless he sometimes become when it comes to his personal belongings .
"so that was why ur mobile came switched off , always , whenever we called ?? she shook her head amused at her amazing son in law who sometimes behaves no less then a kid .
Dont laugh ammijaan ..do u even know what all i had to face because of that little crap of device ? ...and the worst part was , i couldnt even remember any of ur numbers to contact ...u know how bad my memory is ...he went on ranting while Hamida took her own sweet time to absorb what he was saying before bursting into fit of laughter .
Ammijaan ?? Im serious !! He frowned crossing his arms while Hamida tried best to compose herself .
" Well sorry for that , but im happy that somehow u managed everything well ", ...her words instantly brought a proud smile on his face untill he heard her next words ..." despite of all the mishaps ", ...she teasingly added .
Bairam ,to say the truth had never seen Hamida in such a jovial mode ...she seemed happy today ,he could see and say that ...was it all because of rukkaiya ?? He mused when Hamida broke his chain of thoughts .
"Do u want some more rice ?? ", She offered noticing his empty plate .
"Oh no Ammijaan ...im done", ...he smiled and looked around for other family members .
"Where is Jalal ? Already on a date , or what ? He asked in his beaming voice estimating the extent of happiness in Jalal's eyes .
" No ", ...came her instant reply " Might be with his friends as usual ?? ", Hamida replied uncertainly before going silent wondering if she should atleast try talking to him once before getting into any plans but discarded on hearing Noor's voice .
" Nani ...Nani , has mamu came home ?? ...she asked sluggishly dragging her body with a huge teddy bear in her arms .
"Not yet Noor ", Hamida replied amused and asked " werent u sleeping before ? " , ...pulling Noor's hand she made her sit on her lap .
"How can i when Mamu promised me a barbie doll , ", she replied stifling her yawn making Bairam and Hamida chuckle .
"Dont know about ur mamu ...but daddy has definetly got something ...and im sure u will like it", ...
Bairam went to his luggage, unzipped his bag and pulled out a huge box .
"This is for u my princess ", ...he outstretched his hand so that Noor can take the box .
She slowly took the box ...and got up from Hamida's lap .
"Thank you daddy", ...she said and flicked her eyes onto her grandmother .
" Nani ... im feeling sleepy , will take my gift from mamu tomorrow ...good night ...", gracing a small smile on her lips she turned around only to be stopped by Bairam .
" Noor , wont u open the box and see what daddy has got for u ? ", ...he waited for her to say something but she stood silent at her place .
" umm ,if u want ,daddy can help u in opening that box , he offered help but Noor still remained silent .
" I think Noor is really feeling sleepy Bairam and remember she has school tomorrow ... you father and daughter can open and see whats in it later ...alright " , ...Hamida said and asked Noor to go back into her room and she simply followed .
Bairam sighed exasparated , Noor always behaved weird around him ...as if he wasnt her father but some stranger .
Hamida, understanding the situation smiled at Bairam .
" Looks like u too r sailing on the same boat which i took once long back ".
Getting no clue Bairam looked confused when Hamida smiled more .
" After the death of Humanyun ...i too kept myself busy in some or the other works , just to keep his thoughts away from my mind ...all the time ignoring the love and care my children deserved ...and the result u know it right ? ...hinting towards Jalal and her present relationship , Hamida tried making him understand .
" Noor is a small child Bairam , she needs your attention , love and care ...take out some time from your busy schedule for ur daughter ".
Bairam listened her each and every word carefully ...she was right ...he actually got so involved in his work that he barely got time to spend with his angel ...he thought rubbing his temple with his eyes closed .
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The wheels of black SUV screeched with a sudden half in front of the house . Hastily getting out of the car Jalal rushed a nervous hand through his hair and breathed out to relax . All the time since the day his and Rukkaiya's allaince was announced ,he only had one thing in his mind ...meet his jiju and clear all the clouds and today when the day had finally came he was standing outside the house , all nervous . He had no clue on how to convince Bairam without hurting his feelings , all his hopes were on Hamida which he doubted even work .
With zillions of thoughts reeling inside his mind Jalal entered the mansion only to see his jiju sitting on the couch placed right in front of the entrance in the middle of the house , with a huge smile across his face .
"Look who is here " , getting up from his place he walked towards Jalal and pulled him into a small hug , thereafter dragging Jalal along he made him sit on the couch .
"After the party i didnt get to meet you ,to talk with you , hope u r happy with my decision , arent you ? Bairam enquired throwing his hand around Jalal's shoulder
No !! Jalal mentally yelled looking wearily at his jiju , he so wanted to tell him that no , he was not at all happy with his decision , he wanted to say ,he doesnt like rukkaiya at all ...and hell he wasnt ready for this alliance either...but as usual he kept quite .
Unable to meet Bairam khan's eyes ,Jalal shifted in his position averting his gaze from him .
Guaging the uneasiness is Jalal's eyes Bairam lovingly ran his hand on Jalal's back .
"Jalal i understand all of this might have taken u by surprise but have some trust in me ...i dont know why but i find Rukkaiya perfect for you ...she is smart ,intelligent , good looking and most importantly u know each other since graduation days ...though not perfectly but to an extent atleast ...and ", ...he paused in between as his throat went heavy ...swallowing down the surge of pain he continued further ..."u remember it was ur di's wish to choose ur bride by herself and when zubair came up with Rukkaiya's hand for you ...i felt why not ...may be salima too wanted this to happen ...so ", ...he paused again.
..looking at Jalal who has traces of tears in his eyes now .
Just now when Jalal thought of speaking for himself Bairam talked about Salima bringing back all those memories she shared with his sister .
Jalal remembered how salima always wished to see him grow older so that she could get him married soon and bring a sister for herself .
Holding the tears back that were ever ready to make its way through his eyes, Jalal said ...
"Jiju , u have always given me the best and will continue to give me the best in future too ...and i trust u , no doubt ...but Rukkaiya and me though know each other as a person, never has been close as in to get into any kind of relationship ...so ", ...Jalal attempted to voice out his thoughts while Hamida held her breath back
...but before Jalal could complete that ...Bairam jumped out of his seat .
" So this is ur problem ? U scared me silly boy ...u should have said it before " .
Ammijaan i have got a brilliant idea ...just a while before u suggested me to spend some time with Noor right ? And Jalal too needs to hangout with Rukkaiya to know her well
...so why dont we do one thing ...i will take a day off , Jalal and Noor too will do the same ...we will invite zubair and Rukkaiya home and spend the whole day together as a family ... we can go out for lunch too ...that way Jalal will get to know Rukkaiya and i will get to spend some time with my daughter ...what say ??
Bairam squealed in excitement like a small kid when Hamida seconded him .
Sounds good !!
Jalal gave a ghostly look at Hamida ...a whole day with Rukkaiya sounded no less then a torture to him , but Hamida smiled with an assurance .
Whats going on in her mind ...Jalal thought confused and walked back to his room as it was too late but sleep was far away from his eyes .
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Trinnggg tringgg ...the blazing sound of the mobile snapped Jalal out of his thoughts .
...it was only a few minutes ago that he went under the covers and decided to sleep , other then pacing the length of the room the whole night .
The phone kept on ringing while he was least interested in giving it a look ...but when it didnt stop screaming in its irritating voice ...Jalal finally gave up and looked at the caller id .
Jodha ?? ...momentarily surpried he picked up the call .
Hey ... he sighed and got down the bed , dragging the recliner along right in front of his french window .
Why arent u picking up ur call ? Came a haste voice from the other end ...that reflected the owners restlessness .
A small chuckle escaped from Jalal's mouth ..." she was damn worried he knew , but he couldnt see her like that ...hence decided to play a little ...Aah someone's desperate to hear my voice ".
Her brows knitted into a frown at his words...here she was hopelessly waiting for his call only to know how he was doing and there he was laughing ...she opened to retort but stopped on hearing Jalal's voice .
"I understand u were there with ur phone in ur hands but how on earth u can expect the receiver to attend ur call at the ring of one ? ", He quipped knowing well what her reaction would be and just like he thought her jaw indeed fell down .
" Common ...now close ur mouth , else if something creepy goes into it ...u will put the whole blame on me " her eyebrows pulled up while she braced herself to give him a fitting answer but was again interupted by his voice .
What ? Want to have a fight ?? She pouted thinking what he thinks of her and kept quite when Jalal said again ...
"I won't mind though , atleast in that way i will get to hear ur voice " ...she could sense the mischeif in his vouce that made her blush a little .
"Hmm...so madam is blushing now , eh ? Amazed she looked around to ensure he wasnt hanging somewhere around her and said ...
Hogaya ?? (Done?) " she asked curtly " now tell me how did everything go ? ", steering into serious matter she asked again nervously .
" I dont know ...i mean i tried speaking to him like Abdul said ...but he is so excited that he isnt ready to hear anything i have to say ...and", ...He paused and sighed .
"And ?? she patiently waited for him to elaborate ...
"And ", ...he cleared his throat and continued ..." And went on fixing a day out with Rukkaiya " .
" what ??", she asked baffled .
yes ...im supposed to spend an entire day with Rukkaiya to know her better ...he tried mimicking his jiju' words in a comical way making Jodha laugh .
"God , u r laughing ?", ...he quizzed astounded .
" what else u expect me to do ? ", she remarked controlling her laughter .
"Seriously girl ...your boyfried is going on a date with someone else and here u r laughing ? atleast show some amount of jealousy if not anything", ...he exclaimed twisting his lips.
"Aahhh ...thats becoz i really trust someone a lot ..she proudly admitted laying flat on the bed .
" An advice for free ...never trust your boyfriend so blindly " ...he tried sounding serious while his lips pulled out into a smirk .
"And who said its my boyfried i trust ? ", ...she literally gave him a shock there , if not him then who else ...he thought narrowing his brows when came her reply .
"I trust his Ammijaan more ", ...tch tch tch ...that hurts .
"And i was unnecessarily taking the credit here " ..he simply said with a pout and the next minute he could hear her soft giggles that releived his tensed nerves prompting him go join her ...and the duo bursted into fits of laughter .
The laughter fell down moments later ...no matter how much ever the duo tried to ease each others stress ...it surfaced back with all its might .
"Jodha , she heard him calling her name and knew what would come next.
"R we doing right ? ", he asked unsure of things happening around .
Exhaling a deep breath Jodha took a moment to start ..." Jalal , to be straight even i dont know what's right and what's wrong , i cant even imagine how i would face my Bhaisa later in this situation coz going against our family or loved ones is something not very easy ...but we have to do it , for us ...and i am ready for everything ...now, r you ? ...she asked with determination in her voice and he knew what to say .
"Yes , me too " , ...the confident with which he replied left her heart at peace , sending goosebumps down her skin at the same time ..she somehwere feared he would back off hearing his words before ...but know she felt releived ...a smile made its way on her lips when Jalal asked ...
"What happened ? Already started picturizing us , ' TOGETHER ' , ?", stressing on the word together he teasingly asked bringing his hand beneath his head , finding her quite all of a sudden .
" Umm ...yes ...she replied absently and bit her lips on realising what she just said ..." umm ,no ...not at all ... i , i am just feeling sleepy ...she could feel heat rising up all the way to her ears making her body go numb...god he loves making me squirm ...she rolled her eyes lost in her thoughts when Jalal said .
" well , back to earth lady , we have a long way to go ... she could feel the mischeif in his voice ...he leaves no chance to tease her, she huffed when she heard Jalal saying something again ...
"Waise ,it feels really great ", he uttered dreamingly ,stretching his legs .
" Umm what feels great ??...", she asked puzzled finding Jalal saying something out of the box .
"Imaging us , under one roof ,on our bed ...enjoying ...he deliberately stopped there pursing his lips .
"Enjoying ", ?? she asked partly shocked partly curious .
"Enjoying the moonlight ofcourse ", he coolly shrugged being tease a thon .
"Moonlight ,hmm ", she stated confused .
"Yes thats right , why ? did u think of doing something else ...he asked feigining innocent only to hear a cough from the other end ...his smile widened as he could guess what all she might have deduced from his words .
She fell silent for some time ,probably to drink water .
"Jodha , r u there ??", how can he let her go so easily .
"Jalal " ..he heard her saying ..." I think u should sleep ,else u will be late for ur date ..., so good night ...she hung up the call without caring for him to reply .
" Goddd...what have i gotten myself into", ...her heart rate incread many folds while images of Jalal sharing bed with her being all naughty reeled in her mind .
Her mobile beeped seconds later , undoubtedly it was Jalal's message .
"By the way , u r not as naive as i thought ", she read the text with a wink emoticon ...her lips broke into a shy endearing smile.
" Good Night Jalal ,and all the best for tomorrow , remember , im with you ", ... she texted back with a kiss emoticon .
He sat straight on the recliner with his legs down ...and the next minute filled the whole msg box with loads of kissed finally pressing the send button .
she opened the txt msg ...and blushed with the number of kiss emojis.
Images of her with Jalal swam back into her head raising her heartbeat . Holding the device close to her heart she drifted into deep slumber .
Her words gave Jalal the much needed push and he braced himself for the next day taking in the sharp breath ...tomorrow was an important day ...not only for him but for both of them .
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CONTINUED IN PART 2 😉
Qubool Hai
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