Sharma household ( 5:30 pm )
Adding the ingredients besan (gram flour ) , rice flour , finely chopped onions and green chillies , followed by a pinch of red chilli powder ...Jodha went on to add the last and the most important ingredient to her batter ,salt.
She started mixing the batter well with the help of water gleefully .
Her brother was quite a lot busy with his office work these days that he barely could make up to house before dinner time while on the other hand Moti and Jodha were busy in their own respective worlds . Its been like days since the trio had spent some quality time together like earlier .
Finding her Bhaisa home early today Jodha decided to make something simple yet special for the snacks which she and sujamal loved the most since childhood .
Jodha remembered how her mother used to cook them for her and feed with her own hands when she was back from school ...a thin smile appeared on her lips recalling those old days ...she missed her mother...she missed her a lot even today .
Done with the preparation she placed the kadai over the gas stove and poured oil into it before turning on the stove. Leaving the oil to heat up she casted a quick glance from the open kitchen at her Bhaisa and Bhabhi sitting in the hall on the couch facing their back towards her...her heart swelled up finding them teasing and fighting like they always do..its been so many days since she had seen them together like this ...closing her eyes she sent a small prayer to the almighty to keep them happy as always and opened her lashes only to see her Bhabhi planting a chaste kiss on Sujamal's cheek .
Biting her lip to stifle the chuckle from erupting at Moti's naughty act and her brother's embrassed state ...Jodha quickly gazed down feigining busy when Sujamal looked back to check if she had caught them being mushy and turned his head back finding her working .
She couldnt hold her laughter more when her brother quickly distanced himself from his wife eyeing her...the sanskaars u see , which says never to get into any kind of PDA in front of younger generation .
Being an older brother Sujamal always made sure to maintain a decent distance between him and his wife when his baby sister was around...over the pretext bacchi bigad jayegi (she will get spoilt) ...totally ignorant to the fact that his baby sister was no more a kid now ,she has grown up to a women who was ok with their affectionate displays ...but he will never understand that , will he ?
For him Jodha was ,is and will remain his baby sister forever .
Yet Jodha felt ,they were sweet and adorable in their own cute ways ...and that was something she admired most in them ...she imagined how she and Jalal would look together when her mind unconsiously drifted back to the theatre parking lot .
A shiver ran down her spine recalling their proximity ...a blush creeped up on her cheeks as she felt the gentle touch of his softness still lingering on her lips . She felt her feet off the ground in the air reliving the moment when his lips met hers ...and then their return journey from theatre to college .How casually he slipped besides her with an excuse ,he was tired of driving and then finding the perfect time how smartly he held her hand . Only she knew how hard she strained her cheeks not to show up any kind of hues and tried to pay attention to the conversation around before hiding their entwined hands with her dupatta in order to not to get caught and subsequently embarass herself.
Her smile grew wider and wider in her thoughts when her senses kicked in ...there was something odd ...she sniffed and looked down ...oh god the oil ...it's overheated .
"Jalal" ...fondly chidding her boyfriend for distracting her, she twisted the knob to medium flame .Firmly focussing back to the work in hands she started taking the small portion of the mixture and carefully dropped 5-6 small fritters into the oil and left it to fry when a naughty thought popped in her mind .
Grabbing her mobile ...she clicked on whats app ...and typed ..."Stop making me think about you , im busy "...biting her lower lip she pressed the send button and waited for his reply .
Mohammad Mansion
Finding Hamida taking rest , he trekked towards the kitchen urging to drink something cold .Moving to the refrigirator he pulled out a can of pepsi for himself and started gulping down its content when his mobile beeped ...finding her message he unlocked the screen of his cell phone and opened the text to read ..."Stop making me think about you , im busy " .
His lips instantly curved up into an endearing smile reading her message, bringing back all the memories from the parking lot .
He had always imagined what kissing her would be like and honestly it was no where compared to what he actually felt that time ...The feeling of her lips in his mouth , her soft fragile profile pressed against his tough body ...her hands looped around his neck while his hands wrapped around her waist , everything felt surreal .
"What are you doing idiot ?" Leaning back against the kitchen contour he texted back when his mobile beeped again with her message .
" Making Garma garam pakodas with masala chai " want some ?? Taking out the crispy pakodas with the help of slotted spoon she messaged back .
"An open invition to your house , is it ? " ...he devilishly texted back pursing his lips to which her eyes popped out of their sockets .
"Dare you do that ,ok ? ...Bhaisa is at home !! ...reading her message he chuckled thinking how she will react if he seriously land up in her house when her bhaisa is around ...she will be scared to death ...wouldn't she ? .
Imagining her precious expressions everytime on his sudden visit he laughed more... when his stomach growled .
Keeping the electronic gadget on the kitchen platform he opened the refrigirator and searched for something to eat ...finding none he looked up to the small cabinets where biscuits and all were stored for Noor .
Aah cookies ...his eyes gleamed with happiness and he pulled out the pack when something fell on the ground ...bending down he picked it up ..." A box of anti allergic pills ? " what r these doing here ? ...he pondered distractedly ...when a maid entered the kitchen .
"Litsen , do u have any idea whose tablets are these ?? Jalal enquired if she knew something about them .
"where did you find them sir ? she asked with her eyes casting down .
"Here " pointing towards the place from where it fell down Jalal replied .
The maid took few seconds to remember and answered ... 'I dont know whose tablets r these sir ...but im sure i saw Hamida Madam keeping them there.
"Ok ,thanks " ...he spoke and dismissed her..."whose medicines r these and why did she kept them here" ...he thought hard ...as far as he knew...none of his family except Hamida has allergic issues ,he neither heard any of the servants working in the mansion having any such problems ,not that he would know if they had , still his instincts said it couldnt be theirs...these anti allergic pills were quite costly , one or two or even a sheet can be affordable by them...but not the whole box sufficed for a year ... and that leaves only Hamida ...but if they were really Hamida's pills what were they doing here ?
His thoughts came to a screeching halt when yesterdays events reeled back into his mind . Rukkaiya's horrible cooking , Hamida praising the dish and eating more while everyone else gave up on the first spoon itself ...anti allergic pills missing from her medical kit ...making the situation worse ...it all made sense now .
"How could she , How could she even think or do something like this ?? " his features hardened , his palms on either side fisted into balls while his eyes turned dark red with the mixture of anger and disbelief bubbling inside his nerves... What was she thinking while taking this step ? He strode towards Hamida's room in fury ...when his mobile ringed .
He picked up the call without looking at the screen and heard Jodha's voice ..."Dont tell me you r actually planning to come here ? i will kill you if u do that " ...she warned but he didn't pay any heed to her words .
" will call u later " he said and hung up the call resuming his strides ...and barged in Hamida's room .
She was awake by now and smiled looking his way when he angrily threw the box of pills on the bed in front of her eyes .
"Care to explain ? " he seethed in anger whilst Hamida averted her gaze away from him .
"How could you ? How could you take such a dangerous step without informing me ? wasnt i the part of this mission..if u had something like this in your mind you should have told be beforehand ..shouldnt you ? he lashed out in anger demanding answers to his questions .
"Would you have agreed if i had shared my plan with you ?...she countered facing him now .
"Ofcourse not !! How can you even think i would agree to risk your life ...he rebuked in a very harsh tone .
"That answers your question , you wouldn't agree , but i had to do something for your happiness ...and Jodha is your happiness ...isn't she ? she replied without loosing her calm .
"Huh...i cant beleive it" ...shaking his head he continued ..." you thought i would have happily lived with the guilt inside my heart ? what if something really bad had happened to you yesterday ? ...his voice trailed off while saying the last words .
"As if you care ,Jalal " she scoffed trying to close the matter then and there .
Really she thinks i doesn't care ? ofcourse she has every right to think like that , when did i actually cared or atleast talked nicely with her? . He thought mentally .
A huge lump formed in his throat while tears welled at the back of his eyes ...how on earth was he supposed to explain how much he cared for her ...how even a single small scratch on her body affects him ...how her tears scares him ...how her health bothers him ...damn could he ever tell her this ? .
Their eyes locked for a moment , she could see his misted eyes screaming that he cares for her and she urged to listen the same from his mouth , was it even possible ?
And awkward silence filled the room with none of them saying a word nor averting their gazes ...when Jalal finally broke the silence .
" Doesn't matter whether i care or not but others do ...Jodha , Jiju ,Noor they all need you ", ...not forgetting to mentally add himself to the list he stated making Hamida sigh .
"Why cant he just admit the truth " ...silently without uttering a word she gazed directly into his eyes which spoke volumes then his words , her trance broke on hearing Jalal's voice .
" Did you ever realise how i would have survived if something had happened to you yesterday "? ...he said that ...he just said that ...he looked at his mother with teary eyes with immence love for her in his eyes ...the love she always wished to see in his eyes for her ...tears trickled down her cheek .
This was the best moment of her life ...the moment of which she had only dreamed till date but never hoped to be true ...she wanted to get down from the bed and hug her son tightly..
but behore she could she heard someone clapping slowly .
Her eyes flickered in horror over to the person while Jalal turned around to face the intruder .
"Wow !! I Would have missed this mother son reunion if not on time " ...he snapped sarcastically and it didnt took them a second to understand he heard everything .
" Bairam called me a while before to break the alliance , on asking why he reasoned ,he couldn't see Jalal and Rukkaiya's future together and that she doesnt fit into the Mohammad's book ...leaving all the work i came here running to clear the misunderstandings if any . The whole time in my car i had only one thought in my mind ...how to break this news to her and how would she perceive it only to realise that u people never wanted her in your life . If this was it ,why did you agree at the first place ...speak up dammit , im asking you ...he barked aloud ...the whole room reverberated with his voice .
Hamida climbed down the bed and marched to the furious man ...
"Calm down Zubair ...Jalal has nothing to do with all this ...it was me who asked Bairam to cancel it ...she attempted to come inbetween when Zubair pushed her back furiously .
"Am..Ammijaan " Jalal quickly caught Hamida by her shoulders preventing the fall ...his jaw clenched tightly at his audacity ...how dare he touched his mother , how dare he pushed her like that ...making Hamida sit back on the bed he whipped around to face him when a loud roar echoed in the room .
Zubair ...how dare you !! ...Bairam who just came back from office learned about his visit ,he knew zubair was angry and would end doing something really bad ...and just like he assumed he saw him pushing Hamida back .
'Ah ..Hah ...here comes the director , so tell me Mr khan ...how did u feel at the sucess of your award winning act ? ...he sneered unflinched closing his arms against his chest .
"Go back home friend , you r not in your senses right now " he said holding his shoulder slowly pushing him to the exit when zubair jerked his hands off .
"Dont you dare call me your friend ,ok coz you never considered me one ...if you had you wouldnt have supported them ...he literally shouted at the top of his lungs .
" Im sorry Zubair , but this is my family and i should respect their decision ...Jalal never saw Rukkaiya as a life partner ...and this could have only created troubles in future making them an unhappy couple ...he tried explaining only to be stopped by Zubair .
"So u joined them in the drama to prove my neice unfit for the family , like seriously ? he snapped shooting daggers into his eyes .
"What drama ? " unable to comprehend his words he asked confused .
" Wow , were you always this innocent or you recently developed this talent ...he quipped still seething in anger
"Stop beating around the bush Zubair ...and tell me what you have to say , clearly "...he said in his firm tone when zubair laughed off .
"so you want to hear from me ? fine then ...the whole yesterday's drama was all planned ,your so called Mother-in-law deliberately risked her life ...she knew from the begining that Rukkaiya unknowingly added mushroom paste in the soup ...but she didnt stop her ...instead she went on and hid her pills then she ate the soup prepared by Rukkaiya ...and the rest u better know then me ...how can u people stoop so low ? He asked in disgust leaving Bairam utterly shocked .
"What rubbish ...why would we do anything like that ? ..he shrugged off not beleiving his words ...only to be stopped by zubair again .
"Even i would have felt it rubbish hadn't i heard it with my own ears ...why did you all do this to the poor girl ..holding Bairam khan's collar feircely he demanded when Jalal chipped in .
"Enough is enough zubair ...jiju has nothing to do with all this ...he doesnt know anything that happened ...i take it all upon me " ...he stayed quite till now totally numb ...he never wanted things to open up like this in front of his jiju ...and now when it did ...he couldnt understand how to handle the situation .
"Its all becoz of that Jodha ...isnt it ?" There , zubair spilled the beans .
If Jalal's acceptance to allergy fiasco was a shock to Bairam then this latest revealation was way beyond that ...who is this Jodha and what she has to do with all this ..he stood stunned for a moment when he heard Zubair screaming .
"U will have to pay for this Bairam , i wont leave you so easily ...i will sue u for sure, trust me " ...he kept on yelling untill Jalal himself threw him out of the room and house.
Once back to Hamida's room Jalal decided to explain everything to Bairam ...but he had already left to his room .
...
He plumped on the couch still unable to grasp the ongoing events ...how could he be so unaware of the things going around him...whatever zubair was saying was that all even true ?if no then why did Jalal accept it . He felt the world spinning around ...it was all too much for him to take in when Jalal entered his room .
" Jiju ...jiju ...im sorry ...its all becoz of me ...i didnt want to hurt you and didnt had the heart to come and tell u ever ything , thus i planned to show Rukkaiya's true colours to you ...so that you yourself will cancel the alliance...i " ...he continued clearing his stance when Bairam raised his hand in the air ..
And thus you risked your mother's life ?How can u Jalal ?Do you even know she could have lost her life in the process ?He still couldn't beleive the two people whom he trusted did something like this behind his back .
Jalal was about to say something when hamida made her way ...
" He doesnt know anything about it Bairam ...it was me who planned all this ...he only came to know a while before" ...yet again another time she came to his rescue .
"Seriously you people never cease to surprise me ...it was only few days back that u didnt even exchange a glance and today u r backing each other ...what did i all miss ? "...it still didnt make any sense to him ...till now he was under the impression that the duo werent on good terms only to realise one fine day that they ganged up together against Rukkaiya...the girl whom he selected for his brother in law ...he was getting headache now thinking about all this .
" By the way ...if u hated rukkaiya this much ...u could have come to me and told me everything as it is ...hurt yes i would have been but atleast that would have saved u all from stooping so low " ...keeping the mother and son duo matter aside for time being Bairam itched to ask the million dollar question which needed to be answerd asap...but he found them silent ...like really ..after doing all that ...they stood silent ...it angered and at the same time pricked his heart .
" I always thought you had that liberty around me to come and share anything and everything Jalal ...more then a son in law i tried to be a son of this family ...but i forget the fact that blood relations r always above any relation ...no matter how hard one try to becom e a part of them ...he /she will remain nothing more then a stranger to the family ...and today u people showed me my place in this family ..."Hurt was evidently visible in his voice ...Jalal felt a tug at his heart ...he ended up doing the only thing he never wanted to do .
"Jiju ...u r taking it wrong " Jalal attempted to make him understand but Bairam was too shocked and hurt to understand anything at the moment .
" Huh " ...he laughed sardonically and said ..." im tired right now...can u pls excuse me" ...he polietly asked them to exit his without meeting their eyes ...Hamida understanding the situation was the first one to leave and Jalal was about to when Bairam asked ...who is this Jodha ? ...
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sharma household (11 PM)
She twisted and turned in the bed unable to get sleep ...he hunged up her call just like that...and when she tried to call back ...his mobile came switched off ... he would only do this when something wrong has happened ...what is it now ...she thought when she heard something like a knock on the window .
She got up and sat straight on the bed ...holding the bed side lamp she looked horrified at the closed window when she heard the same sound again.
Slowly she got down the bed and moved towards the window , opened it and stepped back .
Pull me up ...she heard a very familiar voice .
Jalal ??? God ...she gazed down at the man hanging onto the pipeline like a monkey .
"Oh my god Jalal "...she whisper yelled and helped him coming up .
"R u out of ur mind ? Didnt i tell u not to come here ? U seriously Jalal "...she went on blabbering but stopped finding him quite .
concern whooshed in her senses .
"Jalal what happened ? Why r u looking so dull " ...she asked taking his face into her hands ...she first thought he was acting just like he did in the morning
..but no this time it was something really serious and she knew it by looking at him.
"Jiju learned everything about you and me ...he told making her gasp in utter shock .
" What ? when ? How ??" She asked baffled and Jalal narrated everything that happened in Mohammad mansion ...starting from Hamida to Zubair's drama and finally about Bairam khan ...
" Now what ?? Is he angry ? " ...biting her nails nervously she asked while Jalal slumped on the bed .
"Uh huh ...he is and wants to meet you too " now this was something she didnt expect...agreed everyone has to know about them one or the other day ...but all of a sudden...like this ...hell no .
"when and why does he wants to meet me ?? ..." ...her heart palpated ...she wasnt ready for this ..not now atleast .
" He will let us know" ...he said looking at her and caught her biting her nails in nervousness .
" Dont tell me hitler is scared" ...he asked sleeping on HER bed .
" A bit" she replied looking at him and found him relaxing on her plush bed ..." hey why r u sleeping on my bed ? Wont u go back home ?? " .
" Jodhaaa ...i need to sleep" ...he mumbled exhausted .
Feeling bad she looked at his worn out face ...she knew he was repenting for hurting his jiju but he wouldn't say it aloud ...he has always been like this ...keeping things to himself when it comes to sharing his pain .
Sitting on the bed besides his sleeping form she fondly ran her hands through his hair observing his every feature when Jalal held her hand all of a sudden pulled her in a jerk making her sleep beside him ...draping his hand around her waist .
Huh ...a low gasp escaped her mouth while her heart throbbed hard being alarmingly close to him ...she tried getting up when he pushed her back against the bed tightening the grip more around her waist .
Jal...Jalal...she stuttered only to be stopped by him .
"Stop wriggling idiot and sleep " ...he said bit irritated by her futile struggles ...he needed her besides him to unwind ...she was like a natural drug to him ..a drug that boosts up his spirits always , in turn helping him fight with the odds...he could fight the entire world with her besides him...her one soft touch was enough to releive his pain ,anxeity and stress .
" what happened to this man today? genuinely worried she faced him and slipped comfortably besides him with an overwhelming need to soothe him .
Cupping his cheek gently she kissed his forehead and wondered if she could do anything for him .
Her heart ached seeing him in such state .
"Jalal ", ...noticing him in low spirits Jodha lovingly brushed his hair and started ..." jiju is angry and hurt right now , but he will understand once his anger drops down ,trust me and as far as im concerned ...i promise to do anything to win his heart ...u just cheer up pls ...i cant see you like this ...closing in she slowly slithered her hand around his torso .
"And i cant sleep with you being so close to me "...his lips curled up into a cheeky grin while his body shifted uneasily .
The dirty mind ...he has to be cheesy even in such situation ...hitting him playfully she snuggled more into him to torture him more making him chuckle ...when his stomach growled ...amidst all this chaos ...he forgot to have anything since the evening ...not even those biscuits he had picked up from the rack .
Do u have anything to eat ?? he asked opening his eyes .
" U didnt had anything till now ?? " she e nquired shocked ...how could this man be so careless about his health ...she whined mentally "
"Wait ...removing his hand from her waist she rolled down from the bed and exited her room asking him to wait for a minute and came back after five minutes .
There was no food left but she kept some pakoras spare just in case her mad boyfriend actually shows up .
Here ...i have only these as off now ...chalega ?
Doudega ...getting up he jumped on his feast , happily savouring the pakoras while jodha enjoyed watching him eat with a thought running at the back of her mjnd ..." How on earth will bhaisa react when he comes to know about my affair ?? " .
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