FF: The Roulette of Envy (Part 12) pg.33/Dec. 7 - Page 14

Thank u for the pm ...very cool pls keep em coming !!!

Great great update, and please continue, will be waiting for more to read.

Cool update, Rachna. Loved what you did with Anita and the diagram of the scene😆. It made it come alive in my mind. Your names for each section are funny. Agni sat on Anita's bum, ouch😆. I like this exit for Anita. It was satisfying. Now Carmen is gone into a never never land.
You have Dr. Ambani? Is she related to the famous Ambanis? Aww, Jigar and Rashi are preggies. So sweet...

I loved the update!!!!!! but the schematic diagram was hilarious!!!!🤣

Amazing update with anita leaving mm n that diagram. Eagerly waiting for ur next update with raji n gohem moments.

Thank you all for reading. I'm working on the next part. Sadly, I just have four days of my break left before my summer classes start again! 😒

ooo dame funny... i liked de sketch a lot...omg it was a cool trick on anita...agni is smart...deni want gohem also?😆

Part 8

Hello all,

I've been anxious to get here and here I am--finally🥳. I apologize if the parts are coming your way too rapidly, but my classes will start this coming Monday and for some odd reason, I had assumed that I got two weeks off from school when really it was just one measly week. Life is the good and the bad I suppose. Thank you so much for reading (even those who are too shy--thank you!😳).

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Recap: Upon the League's return from Mumbai, Koki asks Anita to leave. Simmering in her humiliation, Anita refuses and then, tries to hurt Gopi. Agni manages to free Gopi by making Anita slip on water. The Rajkot police take Anita away, charging her with attempted murder. Rashi, on the other hand, faints in Jigar's arms and when Dr. Ambani is called to do a check-up, everyone finds out that Rashi is expecting.

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After Dr. Ambani had left, the others were delirious with the urge to congratulate Rashi, but she had fallen asleep. Dejected, Hetal had asked them to do it later.

Jigar entered the room, quietly clicking the door shut behind him. He was to be a father soon. The thought itself made him grin. Dr. Ambani had said that Rashi was 6 weeks pregnant. He smiled as he saw Rashi sleeping and then, sat next to her. Without thinking, the back of his hand touched Rashi's soft cheek. When she would awaken, he had to remember to thank her for making his family so happy.

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Koki sat in front of the dresser, removing her jewelry in preparation to sleep. She remembered Dr. Ambani's words and then, slowly smiled. She was too happy about Rashi's pregnancy. At the same time, however, she was worried that Gopi wasn't pregnant. Gopi had had her share of troubles in her marriage, but Koki knew that her son had undergone a change of heart. He now knew that his marriage to Gopi was to be forever. There was no question about it. Yet Koki had started to wonder about the true state of Gopi and Ahem's marriage. Had they consummated their marriage? Of course she could never ask any of them the truth, but she could talk to Ahem about parenthood.

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Jigar didn't know how long he sat there watching Rashi sleep, but he snapped out from his thoughts when she shifted. It was 11PM and Jigar had to sleep. On his way to the bathroom, his eyes caught the wedding photo Rashi had hung on the wall. He paused in front of it, recalling the night they became one.

Jigar got out of the car, followed by Rashi, who with one hand was clutching the pleats of her olive green and maroon saree. It was pouring cats and dogs and she didn't want her saree to get muddy. She could tolerate being wet, but disliked the mud puddles.

Both Jigar and Rashi both headed towards the house, holding their hands up to shield their faces from the rain. "Jigarji, how are you feeling now?" she asked with genuine concern. The Modis had been invited to a wedding in the colony, but even before the pheras had started, Jigar's headache worsened and they had excused themselves to return home. He had been suffering from a slight headache at home before they had left, but it gradually worsened and became intolerable.

Once at the front door, Rashi rang the doorbell, but no one answered. She touched her forehead as she realized that Meethi had left to visit her family in her village. "Ghar par koi nahi hai, Jigarji" she told Jigar. He fumbled through the keys and then, looked at her, saying, "We don't have the house keys."

"What? How are we supposed to enter now? Should we call Ahemjiju?" she blurted. He smiled and then, shook his head. "Someone must have taken it out from my key chain. Let's try the back door. It might be open," he told her and then, took her hand in his and began walking towards the back of the house. Rashi followed and then, asked again, "How are you feeling now? Is your headache still intolerable, Jigarji?" He gave her a smitten look and said, "Distraction is the best medicine, jaan."

At the back of the house, he tried opening the door, but it was locked. "Jigarji, abh kya karein? We'll be drenched here. You'll get a cold, you know. Pehle se sar dard hai aur phir--" she prattled, before his fingers touched her hair. "I need a bobby pin" he explained when she began to move away in confusion. Rashi's jaw dropped. "You're planning to force it open?" she asked, covering her mouth with her hand. He smiled and then, knelt on his knee to work at picking the lock. It was raining even harder and Rashi shifted closer to Jigar, not that it helped much.

"Are you almost done, Jigarji?" she asked after waiting for two minutes. He stood up a minute later and looked at her. His face softened, as if he was seeing her for the first time. Rashi knew she wasn't the prettiest sight to look at that moment. What with her damp hair and equally damp saree, she must look like a raggedy cat, she told herself, but the coiling of Jigar's fingers around her wrist told her otherwise.

Rashi looked at her wrist and then, at Jigar. Her husband wasn't scaring her, but he was certainly intrigued by her. She felt him move closer until his charcoal-colored sherwani was touching the soft tissue material of her saree. "Jigarji, aap--" she began, but he didn't let her. She felt her back touch the wood of the door and found herself trapped in between him and the door. "Ijazat hai?" he said softly, against her temple.

Rashi blinked several times after hearing his question. Was he asking her permission? Her husband wanted to know whether she...Oh, bother! How was she to reply back? Jigar waited for a few seconds, watching her look here and there. A shy smile appeared on her face and he let go of her wrist. As if she thought that speaking in normal tones would betray her answer, she whispered, "Jigarji, the door's locked. You'll get a cold." He opened the door--he had managed to pick the lock--and led her inside. After shutting it again, he watched as Rashi shrugged off the water from her. "I'll get you a towel, Jigarji" she told him after realizing he was staring at her. "I don't need it," he said quickly before she could leave and then, took a few steps to close the gap between them and asked again, "Rashi, ijazat hai?" She managed a shaky laugh and then, after pinkening in embarrassment, whirled around, away from him. Her heart thudded against her rib cage and she feared that he would hear it beating when his hands wrapped around her from behind. "I love you, jaan" he said, leaning his chin on her shoulder. She fumbled for a suitable reply, but was more aware of her blushing self. "Jigarji, someone might--"

"There's no one here," he reminded her and then, led her towards the staircase.

(Note: Click play. I have to get the effect going! 🤣 I'll explain later.)

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k98jmMbxBn8&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

Rashi smiled and then, stepped onto the first step of the staircase with him embracing her from behind. He stopped her when she was about to take a second step and then, as if she weighed nothing at all, he picked her up in his arms. Rashi giggled, slipping her arms around his neck.

Jigar shut the door to his room and then turned around. Sitting on the bed, with her hands entwined together on top of her folded legs, was his wife. She had a hesitant smile on her face, which made him smile too. He sat in front of her, taking her hands in his. After he placed a kiss on both of her hands, she began to pull away. "Sar dard?" she asked softly. He chuckled and then, after kissing her forehead, wrapped his arms around her.

The mattress buckled under his weight as he lengthened, almost enveloping around her with his body.

His sherwani's stole slipped to the tiled floor shyly.

Jigar's fingers wound through Rashi's as his nose trailed an imaginary pathway down her face, only to pause at her jaw. He planted a kiss on her cheek and then, drifted down the side of her neck with feather light touches that branded her as his own.

In the dim room, Rashi heard the faint tinkle of her bangles falling to the floor, felt Jigar's warm breath at the base of her throat. Her fingers, out of their own will, slipped to the back of his neck, weaving through his hair'

It had stopped raining and through the parted curtains, the faint moonlight streamed through across Jigar's sleeping face. A teary Rashi knelt down to get a closer look at him, touching his face with her fingertips. He smiled, still sleeping, and she kissed his brow. "You must sleep," he softly said, keeping his eyes closed. He pulled her close and she shut her eyes.

Jigar turned around to look at Rashi once more before heading towards the bathroom.

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Agni sat leaning against the headboard of his bed, with his arms folded behind his head. On his lap was a packet that his father had emailed him from Buffalo. Next to him, Swami stood folding his shirts. Neutral ones went in one pile. Colored ones went in another.

"Swami, I don't want to go to this ashram alone. Will you come with me, please?" he asked, more interested in the way Swami was folding his shirt than in his reply. Of course Agni knew that Swami never refused him anything. Swami paused to think and then, in his soft tone, replied, "If you say so, Agni Saab."

"Good."

His father was funding the remodeling of an orphanage in Rajkot and had asked Agni to give its directors the go-ahead. They were to build larger apartments so that more orphans could be housed, not to mention add the proper facilities like bathrooms and kitchens to accommodate the increase in capacity. He didn't want to go to these places alone because seeing the misfortunes of others darkened his mood. He helped as much as he could on his own, but helping them and seeing those who needed help face-to-face were two different things.

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Gopi was removing the bed sheets from her bed when Koki came. She smiled slowly seeing her Maaji enter. "Maaji, did you need something" Gopi asked worriedly. Koki replied in a grave tone, "I came to speak to you. Where is Ahem?" "He's not here, Maaji. He went for his morning jog."

Koki watched Gopi's eyes falter. "Gopi vau, before I gave you permission to go to Mumbai, I had asked you for a promise. You had to have fixed whatever it was that was troubling your marriage there and then, return to Rajkot happily" Koki said and then, turned away. Gopi squeaked, "Ji Maaji."

"Has that happened?" Koki asked in her blunt way.

Gopi's silence answered Koki's question. "Main tumse niraash hoon, Gopi vau. You've disappointed me greatly. For the first time, I asked you for something and that to, for yourself and for Ahem. I thought that if I did what Ahem wanted to do--let you spend some time with him in Mumbai--everything would be fine. Just what did you do there, Gopi vau, that the problems between you remained as they were before?"

Gopi stood there listening to Koki's questions, unable to answer. What was she to say anyway? That when she had found Ahemji, he was in Anita's arms?

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That day, everyone congratulated Rashi on her pregnancy. In an effort to thank Krishna Bhagwaan, Koki suggested that they all go to the mandir in the evening.

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Gopi picked up her gold and ruby earring, but the earring's stopper slipped from her fingers and rolled away. She followed it with her eyes, until it stopped by the coffee table near the two chairs. When she knelt to pick it up, she heard someone enter the room and saw that it was Ahemji.

She picked up the stopper and quickly stood up, trying to reach for her ghoonghat. Although she was wearing the saree, she wasn't wearing any jewelry. Even her bangles stood waiting for her on top of the dresser. "Ahemji, aap? I'm not ready yet," she told him quietly. He noticed how her eyes wavered and then, moved closer.

Gopi turned away and hurried towards the dresser. She reached for her bangles and began to slip them on with jerky movements. "I can help you" he said nonchalantly, but his eyes intended something else. Gopi shook her head nervously. "I just need a couple more minutes, Ahemji" he heard her say.

Ahemji reached for her wrist and slipped his fingers around it. She began to pull away, but he held on. With his other hand, he picked up the red bangles and slid them one by one onto her wrist. Gopi looked away, feeling out of place. It was his nearness that made her nervous.

One stubborn bangle stuck midway and Ahem forced it through, but it broke just as he had done so. The broken glass fell to the tiled floor with a soft crash.

Something popped in Ahem's mind--a blurry memory.

A masculine hand crushing a softer one into the plush mattress...broken pieces of bangles remained when the hands shifted...

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I finally finished.

The purpose of "O Saathi Re" was to serve as a distraction to my inadequate Raji consummation scene. To Raji fans, please accept my apology. I thought I could pull off something that wasn't rated G-, but every time I tried, I got the giggles and my zameer wouldn't allow it. I'm really sorry! 😒

Questions to ponder about: Will that tiny piece of unleashed memory flood Ahem with more memories about what happened between him and Gopi on Holi? How will Gopi and Ahem's relationship change, now that Anita has been ousted from their lives? Will Koki put more pressure on Ahem about fatherhood?