In this fic, farteh and jassbelle end up alone. Tejo is happy, successful and is married to an Italian man named Marco (I imagine Pietro Boselli as Marco) who truly loves her. She now lives on an island in Italy š
@mistofshadows: thank you for the name Amrita! š„ŗā¤ļø
Btw, y'all wouldn't believe how many times I had to remind myself to write "Fateh" and not accidentally write farteh š¤£
I hope you guys will like this fic!
The man blinked at the ceiling above. It has been 3 days since he had last slept. He heard someone knock on his door. A young man came in and kept the tray of food on his table. Fateh sighed and got up. His one-bedroom house felt awfully void at times.
He took the tv remote in his hand and turned the tv on. Apparently, an interview was being broadcasted. Fateh was about to change the channel when he stopped. A familiar face made his heart squeeze.
āHey guys! Itās me Dimitri and weāre now in the living room of one of Italyās favorite professors. She is an inspiration to the youth of the world, especially to the South Asian youth. I know you guys love her and follow her on Instagram, and yāall even comment #couplegoals under her and husbandās photosā the interviewer said and chuckled. āIām here to have a conversation today with Tejo. Weāll be getting to know about her newly released book called Flight and the latest project she has launched in Punjab. For those who are fans of Marco, stay tuned.ā He added. āWithout further ado, please welcome, renowned researcher, psychology professor and author of New York Times best seller, Tejo.ā The interviewer said.
Fateh head snapped at the tv screen. It felt like forever since he last heard that name.
āItās a pleasure to meet you again Tejoā the interviewer, Dimitri said. He seemed to be in his mid to late twenties, and was sitting what looked like a living room. A woman was sitting across from him. Fateh recognized her. It was really Tejo.
She smiled at the interviewer, crowās feet forming at the corner of her eyes. She was still so beautiful even after all these years. Her hair now barely reached her shoulders. Her eyes, bright as ever now were adorned with lines that seemed to suit just her.
How long has it been since he had last seen her? 20 years? 25 years?
A sense of loss filled him. Has it really been that long?
āSo, tell us about your recent book, Flightā Dimitri said. Tejo nodded her head and started, āFlight is about breaking out of the headspace we get stuck in. Itās about learning that the one you need to be in love with yourself is youā the interviewer nodded his head in understanding.
āYou go in depth about toxic relationships and how they take a toll on us and the importance of learning how to let off those bondsā he said. āYes, often the toxic relationships we have in our lives are actually with people we love! For example, a toxic marriageā she said. āItās not easy to let go of these bonds because we want to believe in the goodness of the person we love. However, a toxic marriage is toxic. We need to learn to let it go. No matter how difficult it might seem at that time. Sometimes the ones that stab in the back are the ones we love the most. Our partners, our family, and our friends. I wanted to let my readers know that theyāre worthy of love. I want to tell them not to turn the other cheek. Stand up for yourself. Love yourself enough to cut off people who use you and discard youā she added.
Fateh suddenly felt the room go cold. She was talking about him and Jasmine. The two people she had loved the most and what did they do? Took advantage of her kindness before shattering her heart into a million pieces. Her own family broke her too. Her parents could never stand up for her, nor did they ever protect her. Tejo was always the one they had pushed at the front line to clean their mess. She was the one to clean after Jasmine when the latter ended her relationship with Fateh. What did Fateh do? Shamelessly crawl back to the woman who not only humiliated him and his family, but who used her own sister.
āAmazing. Youāre an inspiration Tejo. For everyoneā the interviewer said. Tejo smiled kindly at the young man and said āIām honored Dimitri. Self-love is important. I think there should be a balance. Donāt be so selfish that you walk all over other people, but donāt be so selfless that you let everyone walk all over you.ā
Dimitri nodded, his eyes showing genuine respect for the woman. āI love the message behind Flight. Know your worth so that you donāt settle for anything else than you deserveā he said. Tejo nodded her head and said, āThank you Dimitri. Seeing the younger generation pick up this message means a lot to me.ā
āTejo, I know how passionate you are about empowering the youth of Punjab and the youth of Italyā Dimitri started. āIām curious to know more about your recent project that you launched in Punjab.ā āOf course! My aim was to have open discussions about mental health and wellbeing. My plan is to expand this project all over the sub-continent eventually. I wonāt give too many details but weāre planning a workshop next month in Mogha, and Iām super excitedā Tejo said.
āWeāre excited for you! My girlfriend always talks about you and Marcoā Dimitri said and chuckled. āAwww. Thatās sweet! Iāve known you for years Dimitri, I must say Iām proud of the man youāve become. I know how much you see Marco as your role model, and heāll be making an appearance shortly. The project means a lot to him tooā Tejo said.
Marco? Who was Marco? Tejoās boyfriend? Husband? Fateh sighed. He didnāt have the right to feel anything. He had lost it over two decades ago.
Suddenly Tejo smiled at someone on the other side of the camera. āPlease meet my husband, Marco.ā Tejo said proudly, her eyes shining bright with so much love that Fateh had to look away. A tall man sat beside her. He was handsome. Marco smiled at Tejo and back at Dimitri. āThank you for coming over Dimitriā he said.
Then Tejo spoke again. āThis is my daughter Alessia, and thatās Amritaā Tejo said as Fateh saw two girls stand next to Tejo.
He gulped. He couldāve been in Marcoās shoes had he been decent enough not to be a cheating and scheming husband. Shame and disgust caused his stomach to churn.
He turned the tv off and lied down. His mind drifted back to the time he still had Tejo in his life.
There was time when Tejo had looked at him with love too. Today, he couldāve been the lucky guy who gets to call Tejo his wife. Life had gifted him with a gem, and he threw it away.
Everything he did was intentional; he couldnāt even pity himself. Hating himself wouldnāt suffice either. He threw away everything sacred in the name of his āIbadati love.ā
He remembers the look on her face when she learnt the truth. It broke something deep in her.
The day she left was the last time he had seen her.
His relationship with Jasmine didnāt last either. He couldnāt keep up with her never-ending demands. Not to mention, his dad had thrown him out after his divorce, and his inability to hold on to a job meant he couldnāt provide for himself or Jasmine. Their days were filled with fights and arguments. It got to a point where they constantly doubted each other. Eventually they had to part ways.
āI guess this is what happens when your relationship is built on deceitā he thought. They both broke Tejo and so their own relationship broke because you canāt build something on the tears of an innocent soul that you had planned to discard after using.
Tejoās departure had only marked the beginning of Fatehās downfall. His relationship with his parents soured.
Once he was thrown out of the house, he had to rent a small one-bedroom house for himself and Jasmine, that he struggled to maintain. Then Jasmine left too. His mom sometimes would meet him in secret but when his dad found out, she was forced to stop. She still calls him sometimes, asking him how he was, but he knows deep down a part of her pities him now.
His relationship with Mahi and Buzzo had crumbled to the ground. Both simply avoided him, like he didnāt exist. Fateh was eventually asked to leave by his landowner. Amrik took pity on him and gave him access to a house he owned. To many peopleās surprise, Amrik was doing quite well. His life turned around after Fateh left.
Fateh had heard some people discuss that Jasmine wasnāt doing well. Life had thrown both out. Financial hardships, health issues were only some of the problems they both had faced.
Fateh closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to take over. Maybe death was better than the life he was living.
Gonna tag some folks now :D
Cricket
Anupamaa
