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 đ
@mistofshadows: thank you for the name Amrita! đĽşâ¤ď¸
Btw, y'all wouldn't believe how many times I had to remind myself to write "Fateh" and not accidentally write farteh đ¤Ł
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.
âHey guys! Itâs me Dimitri and weâre now in the living room of one of Italyâs 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 yâall even comment #couplegoals under her and husbandâs photosâ the interviewer said and chuckled. âIâm here to have a conversation today with Tejo. Weâll 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.â He added. âWithout further ado, please welcome, renowned researcher, psychology professor and author of New York Times best seller, Tejo.â The interviewer said.
Fateh head snapped at the tv screen. It felt like forever since he last heard that name.
âItâs a pleasure to meet you again Tejoâ 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, crowâs 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?
âSo, tell us about your recent book, Flightâ Dimitri said. Tejo nodded her head and started, âFlight is about breaking out of the headspace we get stuck in. Itâs about learning that the one you need to be in love with yourself is youâ the interviewer nodded his head in understanding.
âYou go in depth about toxic relationships and how they take a toll on us and the importance of learning how to let off those bondsâ he said. âYes, often the toxic relationships we have in our lives are actually with people we love! For example, a toxic marriageâ she said. âItâs 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 theyâre 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 youâ 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.
âAmazing. Youâre an inspiration Tejo. For everyoneâ the interviewer said. Tejo smiled kindly at the young man and said âIâm honored Dimitri. Self-love is important. I think there should be a balance. Donât be so selfish that you walk all over other people, but donât be so selfless that you let everyone walk all over you.â
Dimitri nodded, his eyes showing genuine respect for the woman. âI love the message behind Flight. Know your worth so that you donât settle for anything else than you deserveâ he said. Tejo nodded her head and said, âThank you Dimitri. Seeing the younger generation pick up this message means a lot to me.â
âTejo, I know how passionate you are about empowering the youth of Punjab and the youth of Italyâ Dimitri started. âIâm curious to know more about your recent project that you launched in Punjab.â âOf 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 wonât give too many details but weâre planning a workshop next month in Mogha, and Iâm super excitedâ Tejo said.
âWeâre excited for you! My girlfriend always talks about you and Marcoâ Dimitri said and chuckled. âAwww. Thatâs sweet! Iâve known you for years Dimitri, I must say Iâm proud of the man youâve become. I know how much you see Marco as your role model, and heâll be making an appearance shortly. The project means a lot to him tooâ Tejo said.
Marco? Who was Marco? Tejoâs boyfriend? Husband? Fateh sighed. He didnât 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. âPlease meet my husband, Marco.â 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. âThank you for coming over Dimitriâ he said.
Then Tejo spoke again. âThis is my daughter Alessia, and thatâs Amritaâ Tejo said as Fateh saw two girls stand next to Tejo.
He gulped. He couldâve been in Marcoâs 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 couldâve 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 couldnât even pity himself. Hating himself wouldnât suffice either. He threw away everything sacred in the name of his âIbadati love.â
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 didnât last either. He couldnât 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 couldnât 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.
âI guess this is what happens when your relationship is built on deceitâ he thought. They both broke Tejo and so their own relationship broke because you canât build something on the tears of an innocent soul that you had planned to discard after using.
Tejoâs departure had only marked the beginning of Fatehâs 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 didnât 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 peopleâs surprise, Amrik was doing quite well. His life turned around after Fateh left.
Fateh had heard some people discuss that Jasmine wasnât 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
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