Chapter 24: The Morning
I shifted as I slept. It was quite cozy today. It took a moment for me to realize that there was an arm around me. I opened my eyes and the sight was almost as cozy as the bed. His eyes were closed. We were entangled in each other. A smile fell on my face, I began playing with his hair. A childlike groan came from him.
"Good morning, grumpy." I teased him.
"I don't care. Let me sleep. You're too cozy to let go off." He answered. I chuckled.
"I think it is long past the time I should be getting to work." I told him.
"No..." He replied like a child.
"Come on. Get up." I told him. Like an adamant child playing tricks, he turned and lay on top of me. He put his face on the crook of my neck. Almost made me want to kiss him. "Seriously, get up. I have to go to work." I tapped on his shoulder. He sighed and moved but made no attempt to get out of bed.
"You just have to just be taking off in the morning after we had such fun." He complained. I got up from bed.
"Both of us are supposed to go to work." I reminded him. I was still wearing his shirt. He was shirtless.
"Do you think it is close to how you look in a towel?" He asked, back to being flirty. I chuckled. I quickly took a bath and wore my dress that I wore last night. He had put it in the drier. I walked into the kitchen and made some breakfast. He finally woke up and came down.
"Thank you." He thanked as I passed the sandwich. He hungrily munched down the sandwich. I put my elbow on the counter and stared at him. He winked at me. I traced, with my forefinger, from the top of his forehead to his lips, his chin, jaw, down his throat and going down his chest. He stopped my hand. "Ah-ah... Don't play if you actually plan to go to work, Jodha." He issued a warning. I chuckled and got up. He groaned. "So you're going to let perfect opportunity to play with me go away for the sake of work?"
"Of course, handsome." I told him. "I'm going to take a taxi, change my clothes at home and go to work."
He sighed. I kissed his cheek. "Bye." I told him. "See you later."
With that, I went back home. Thankfully not crossing dad or Rhea or Daisy. I quickly changed for work. I got to work and saw a bouquet of flowers. It was kept in my office. I turned to my assistant.
"Who brought them?" I asked.
"Ma'am, the delivery guy just gave the flowers. It came from an order." She told me. "The card didn't say a name."
I picked up the card on the flowers.
Tumhe kya bataye ki
Kitne waqt se kar rahe hai
Tumhe paane ka intezaar
Sochte hai ki bas ho gaya,
Is zindagi mein tumhe apna bana hi lenge
Your admirer,
By sure it isn't from Jalal.
"Jodha..." I turned around and Jatin stood.
"Yes." I left the flowers and walked to him.
"Your idea had brought us a new person who is interested in our project. He wants to be a part of it." He told me.
"That is awesome. It is great for expansion of the project." I was really happy. The day just seems to get better.
Jatin and I both walked into the meeting room. I saw a man sitting opposite to dad. His back facing me.
"This is Jodha. The Vice President of our company." Dad introduced me. The chair turned around. My heart was racing fast. Every muscle twitched in my body. Adrenaline had begun to build up in my body, creating a fight or run response. I wanted to run as fast as I can.
I was running through the forest. Even if I thought of myself as someone who could run around the fort all the time, this was taking a toll. Blood flowing from my arm. The dupatta's end was already torn. The chunari already lost somewhere.
'No, Heer, no. You will not cry. Be brave.' I scolded myself.
My hair was already messy. Sweat on my forehead.
"Heer Begum, now don't be shy." That voice almost made my soul scream. It is impossible not to make noise while walking in the forest. Especially with me wearing all this jewelry and heavy clothing. I spotted the end of the forest and a pathway. I ran ahead as fast as I can. Seeing the path had poured some hope in me. If I get caught, even the choice of jauhar is not there. So, the only choice I have is to run. If I cry now, I will definitely break down. No. No tears. You'll make it, Heer.
I quickly got up the road. Even mughal soldiers can't be trusted. They won't actually act against this filth. Unless the soldiers are loyal to those loyal to the crown. Once I got to the path, I saw him following too.
Kanha, please help me. I prayed to Kanha. Please help me not to give up now. I need help. Please don't let me fall down now. Hold me, Kanha, please.
I turned around.
His eyes shined with a animal like grin. The same that a predator has once it has the prey in grasp. Like a hyena laughing while the prey tries to run away.
I saw a group of soldiers around ahead. There were horses with them.
"Catch her. She's running away." He shouted at the guards. The guards saw the turban on his head and assumed he was one of the officials. The soldiers ran towards me. I pulled out the last dagger I had and stabbed the soldiers as they tried to catch me. I kicked one of them between their legs and stabbed another. Quickly, I got my hands on one of the horse. As I tried to get on the horse, one of them caught my leg. Turning, I kicked really hard with my other foot on his face. He howled in face, I climbed up and took off.
I turned and saw him. Still following me. His black eyes, temper flaring in them.
"Fools, can't even catch one girl. You all should go die." He shouted at them. He grabbed the horse reigns and followed me.
"We can follow all the way to Agra as you wish but this is one warning. The moment we get to Agra, you're as good as dead. We both know that well enough. You may have killed all the soldiers who came with me but you won't be able to change the fact that Agra is still the capital." I warned him.
"That would be when you reach Agra, my dear Heer. What if you don't manage to get to Agra?" He taunted, laughing.
"You're underestimating me. I am Heer Kunwar, blood of Rajputs in my veins do not allow me to accept defeat. As long as I breathe, I will strive to reach my victory." I told him. This was horse was not my horse. It didn't run fast as I wanted so I had to use my horse riding skills.
"Shake hands with him, Jodha." Dad urged me. My eyes and his eyes met. He had a grin on his face.
"Atif Malik." He introduced himself. We shook hands but my eyes didn't leave the alertness of him in the background. I knew that this wasn't someone I could take easily. He was going to disturb me intensely.
Cricket
Marathi TV
Ufff Yeh Love Hai Mushkil
Jhanak
24