JaBir FF - The Stalker - Part 19, Page 19

Hi everyone!🤗I just felt inspired to write a short story (probably will last only a few parts!) on JaBir! Let me know what you think!!!

The Stalker - Part 1

Saying that Pooja was troubled would be putting it mildly. She hadn't had a restful sleep in the past three days and her reflection in the mirror was starting to show it. To top it off, she had a raging headache that even 2 cups of coffee couldn't fix. She had tried. 

Groaning in frustration she let her head fall flat against her office desk. 

What the hell is going on? 

When she felt the crinkle of paper in the pocket of her denim jeans, a familiar sensation of fear washed over her. 

Pulling it out, she reread the tiny note for the umpteenth time. 

Roses are Red,

Violets are Blue

Your window is open

I'm climbing through

Your sister is asleep

And so are you

I'm in your bedroom

Watching you

She felt a cold chill run up her spine. She had folded and refolded the paper so many times by this point that the words were barely legible. Three days later and she still had no idea about the author of the note. It was written in red ink...or at least she thought it was ink. Every time she read the message her heart began to race. She hadn't told anyone about the note - not even Rani. So far the note's sender hadn't done anything outright to her, and she didn't want to give Rani (or Amma for that matter) a cause for worry. Whatever it was, she would take care of it herself. 

As soon as she had discovered the note lying on her bedside table, she had rushed to action. She had told the guards at her house to arrange for extra security cameras and had ordered them to install it into her bedroom. For the next two days, she examined all the security camera footage with full intrigue and concentration. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary though. While this should have comforted her, she knew she hadn't solved the issue at hand. She still had no idea what the note meant or who it might have been from. 

As she began to scan the note once again for any clues she might have missed, she was interrupted by a knock at her cabin door. 

"May I come in Ma'am?" 

It was Chopra. She sighed, irritated. "Aur kitna andar aaoge? Pehle se hi itna andar aa chuke ho."

Seeing his face turn rigid at her comment, she softened her blow with "What's the matter?"

His shoulder relaxed and he nodded towards the door of Sharma Industries. "There's a delivery here for you. I would have brought the package over, but the delivery boy needs your signature". She glanced over to see a stick-thin boy with a brown suit and light brown hat holding a cardboard box. If the wind blew too hard, he might have blown away himself. 

She placed the note face-down on the table and walked out with Chopra. Providing the delivery boy with the necessary signature, she took the box and entered her cabin once more. 

The box was labelled in large, type-set letters "To: Pooja Sharma, Sharma Industries". Strangely enough, there was no "From" address. She frowned. That was weird. Moreover, she couldn't remember having ordered anything and she certainly wasn't expecting any delivery of this magnitude from anyone. 

Taking a pair of scissors from her desk drawers, she began peeling back the black masking tape. Prying open the box and the styrofoam layer underneath, she examined the contents. There were photo frames. Many of them - at least 6. She picked them up. What she saw made her blood run cold. 

The first picture was of her in her bed. She was sleeping. Judging from the clothes she was wearing, it would have been taken the night before. And the angle of the photo was such that it couldn't have been taken without the photographer standing directly next to her bed. She felt the hairs on her arm rise. 

The next photo was worse than the first. She was once again in her bedroom. This time, she was half-naked and in the process of wearing her shirt. The third picture was of her in the shower. This photo also had a message on it:

I'm going to get you.

She felt her hands tremble and suddenly felt dizzy.  Please. Oh god please. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be real. 

Before she could rationalize what was in front of her, Kabir threw open her cabin door and barged in. 

"Pooja, you better tell that damn Chopra to get off my back or else -" 

He couldn't finish his sentence. All words died on his lips as he took in her pale face, drained of all color and shaking hands. Her lips were quivering as if she wanted to cry but wasn't quite sure how to and sweat was pouring out of her. She was looking at him, eyes wide...she was looking at him but not seeing him. Without a second thought, he was by her side. He grabbed her by the shoulder, shaking her. "Pooja? Pooja! Snap out of it, what's wrong with you?" She was unresponsive, but was able to let out a slight whimper. Kabir hadn't realized how fast his heart was beating. He was used to seeing the fierce and angry Pooja. The fighter. The one he had to protect everyone else from. He had never seen her in such a state and it was unnerving. 

And then he noticed the box. Letting go of her, he rummaged through the package, allowing all the photos to spill out onto the desk. For a moment he felt his own composure escape him. The photos were shockingly explicit. His face hardened and he had to clench his fist open and closed to keep himself from exploding. He picked up each frame and examined it, hesitating to touch the ones that were too revealing. It was a few moments before he was in any state to speak. 

"What the hell is this Pooja?" 

There was no response. He turned to her, waving one of the photos in front of her. "I'm asking you a question. What the HELL is THIS?!" She shook her head, voice still quivering. "I..I d-don't know." She whispered. 

"Who gave this to you?" Kabir demanded. 

"It was a delivery." 

Kabir tossed the photos aside, feeling nauseated at the thought of someone getting close enough to photograph Pooja in her most private moments. He grabbed the cardboard box that the delivery had come in and examined it thoroughly. "Don't bother. There's no sender address," Pooja said. 

He pursed his lips, hitting the box with anger. "Was there anything else?" 

"What?" 

"Was there anything else in the box Pooja?" Kabir elaborated impatiently. She nodded, reaching for the note and passing it to him with trembling hands...I'm going to get you.

His eyes narrowed as he traced the words with the pad of his thumb. 

"It's not just this," Pooja added, softly. She slid the first note that she had received over to Kabir. "I got this three days ago."

He grabbed the note, his eyes glazing over each word. With each word he read, he clenched the paper tighter in his hand. 

"Did you tell anyone about this Pooja? This note?" 

She shook her head. "I didn't want to worry anyone. And I guess part of me wanted to believe that this was just a stupid prank." Kabir groaned in frustration. 

"Pooja, since WHEN did you start to care about worrying ANYONE? And you didn't think to report this to the police?? You didn't think to even MENTION it?? What were you going to do, just sit there and HOPE that this a**hole didn't really decide to pull a stunt?!" 

She winced at his harshness.

 "I didn't want to go to the police because I cared about the company's reputation. If the public finds out that I'm involved in a criminal issue, do you know how bad that would be for our business?! Kabir, Sharma Industries just got its first deal. And to be honest I didn't want to blow it. And frankly, I thought I had it covered. I installed extra security cameras in my house," she added, defensively.

Kabir raised his eyes to meet hers. "First of all, if choosing your safety over one business deal causes a loss to the company, then honestly, to hell with the company. This is serious Pooja. Someone, and I don't know how dangerous that someone might be, is after you. You need police protection." 

She shook her head. "Out of the question Kabir. I'm NOT going to the cops. Either you help me deal with this or I'll deal with it on my own, my way. You're an army man yourself. The police can't do anything that you can't do."

He stared at her unbelievingly for a few moments. This woman was receiving threats from a stalker who was quite literally in her bedroom, watching her, and she still cared only about the company's deal. Why the hell is that deal so important to her?? 

Finally, he broke his silence. "Get your stuff. We're going home."

"What? Why?!" She asked, confused. 

"Security footage. If we're going to catch this piece of sh*t, we better get looking at the evidence, don't you think?"

END

Hi guys! So I'm planning this as a short story! Let me know what you think and if I should continue! (As you can see, I was super inspired by the precap of Friday's episode :P) 

Love you!

- Sanjana

Its good continue! ! ! 

Just if u can add a better plot for the said developing understanding/trust between kabir-pooja

Do write more. Its good ❤️

thank you everyone!🤗 Will be updating soon!!!

The Stalker - Part 2

They were silent for nearly the entirety of the twenty minute drive to Pooja's home. Noticing that she was troubled, Kabir had insisted on driving the car. And Pooja had been in no state to object. She was exhausted by it all. Her life had become no less than a house of cards. Just when she was building her way to the top, something happened that brought her crashing down. It was frustrating. 

I should be happy, she thought as she gazed out of the passenger side window. The day was clear and sunlit with not a cloud in sight. At a distance, she could hear happy laughter. She couldn't remember the last time she had smiled, let alone laughed. I should be happy. The thought entered her mind again. She had gotten what she had wanted ever since the day she had witnessed her father being burnt alive. She had gotten revenge. The Mittals had been brought to the streets and PK was dead. I should be living my life with Rani and Amma, laughing and smiling like everyone else. For a moment, she felt envious. She wondered if she would ever get to experience those emotions. Whether she would ever experience what true happiness felt like. But life had just happened, one after the other. First her father's death. Then the struggles of her childhood, wandering the streets until Amma had found her and Rani. And then there was her marriage. Despite herself, she felt a slight pang in her chest every time she thought of that unhappy phase in her life. She remembered the fury she had felt when she kicked the Mittals out of the house. For some reason, she no longer felt the satisfaction she had felt at that time. 

The only faces that came to her mind were Dhruv, Jay and Sonali. And Kabir. Somewhere inside her heart, she knew she had wronged them. They hadn't known any of this. They hadn't known of PK's atrocities or how Suman, Chachi and even Dadaji had played accomplice to him. Two wrongs don't make a right. That was a line her father had stuck by in his youth. And it was those words that came into her mind now. Her father had been kind and honest. A true hero. I'm not like you, Dada. I'm flawed. I'm broken. Some might even call me ruthless. And maybe that's why this is happening to me now. Someone's out to get me for the mistakes I've made in my past. Maybe it's karma. 

She was startled out of her thoughts when Kabir cleared his throat. He seemed uncomfortable at the pregnant silence that had overcome them. Pooja hadn't even noticed. "Look Pooja, I know we're not on the best of terms right now. But I think," he said, with some hesitance, "that we should take a break from our arguments for a while. At least until we sort this out. I know we can't be friends. But maybe we can be - "

"Partners." Pooja finished. She nodded. "For a change, I agree with you. I wouldn't mind a break from the arguments either. There's too much going on. And if I'm going to be honest, you might be the only one who can help me out." Kabir's face visibly relaxed at their new understanding. 

"Great. Now tell me about these cameras. When and where did you have them installed?"

"Two nights ago," she replied. "Right after I saw the note." He nodded, thoughtfully. "You only had them installed in the bedroom?" 

"Well, as you know, there are already security cameras in the entrance of the house. I didn't think to add any extras there. There were no cameras in my bedroom, so I had a few installed." After a moment's pause, she added. "I've been checking on them for the past two mornings to see if there was anything out of the ordinary and I didn't see anything."

He strummed his fingers on the steering wheel thoughtfully as he made a left turn. "Well he certainly couldn't have just manifested from thin air, could he?"

Pooja glowered at him irritably. "Your ability to be sarcastic even at a time like this truly astounds me." He smirked. "It's one of my many talents."

Within the next few moments Kabir reached the house and took the familiar turn into the driveway. He stepped out with Pooja in close pursuit and reached the front gate. "Mohan," he said, directly addressing the guard. "I need you to show me the security footage from last night and the night before. Both the entrance cam as well as the ones you added into Pooja's bedroom." The guard looked uncertainly at Pooja, wondering whether she would permit him to speak to Kabir. Upon receiving a nod of approval, he turned into the house to retrieve the video footage. 

Ten minutes later, Pooja, Kabir and Mohan were all seated with the video tapes playing out in front of them. "This is from last night," Mohan said, fast-forwarding to the night's activities. It was as Pooja had said. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She had entered the room, stepped into the washroom, changed into her night gown and had crawled into bed. She had spent the first half an hour scrolling through her phone, after which she had laid it down on her bedside table, turned out the light and had gone to sleep. Thankfully, the moonlight shining through the closed window allowed a clear enough view of the footage. Mohan forwarded through the entire night. Pooja had woken up, walked into the washroom, changed and had walked downstairs for breakfast. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. 

Pooja turned towards Kabir. "See? There's absolutely nothing weird about this footage." In the same way, the trio went through the footage from the night before - again to find nothing strange. After an hour of watching repeats and searching for any hint of activity in the videos, Kabir sighed, exasperated. He ran a hand through his hair, groaning. 

"There's got to be something we're missing Pooja. I know it. There's something about this footage that's not sitting right with me but I just can't put a finger on it." Pooja bit her lip, replaying the videos in her mind. And suddenly it hit her. "Mohan," she turned excitedly. "Rewind the first video. No, keep going. Further back. There! Right there! Play it." She patted Kabir on the shoulder, directing him towards the footage. "Do you see it Kabir?? Do you see it?" Kabir was still lost, trying to figure out what she had seen.

"Look at the tree outside the window in this part of the video Kabir!" He squinted. At 3 hours and 13 minutes into the video, the tree outside was as still as the night air outside. There was a bird sitting on top of the tree. At 3 hours and 15 minutes, the bird had flown away. At 3 hours and 17 minutes, another bird was sitting on the tree.... Another bird??! And then it hit him. It was the same bird. "Jesus christ, the a**hole put the video on loop! There's missing footage here that's been replaced with a loop!" 

Pooja nodded with vigor. "Yes, but just for this thirty minute gap in the night! After that the footage goes back to normal!" Kabir sat back in his chair, processing this newfound information. "This means someone was meddling with the footage. But the security footage is under lock and key, closed up in a room in the basement of the house. Who would know about that let alone have access-" Before he finished his sentence, he froze. He knew they were both thinking the same thing. The only people who would know about the security room would be people who had lived in the house. And that meant.... No. Kabir didn't want to think about what that meant. He shook his head. 

"We can't come to any conclusions yet. We still don't have definite proof."

Pooja was silent for a few moments before she finally said, "I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it though." A moment of quiet understanding passed between the duo. 

Kabir turned to the security guard. "Mohan, did you see or hear anyone enter the security room in the past few days? Please think back carefully. This is important." He pondered the question for a solid minute before responding in a negative. "No sir. I haven't seen anything or anyone out of the ordinary." 

Kabir nodded, slightly disheartened at his response. He picked up the DVD footage. "I'm going to take these with me Pooja. I want to have another look at it tonight with a fresh mind." They both rose and began walking towards the car. "And I think it would be best if I kept the notes and photographs with me. I'll drive to the company to pick them up." Kabir didn't have to say anything. Pooja could read the concern explicitly on his face, though she knew he would never admit it. He was worried about her going into another panic attack after seeing the notes and photographs again. 

"I'll come with you," Pooja said. "I have to speak to Chopra about a client meeting that I have scheduled for next week." 

While the silence in the car remained as heavy as ever with both lost in their own thoughts and worries, at some level they both felt comfort. Pooja, for the fact that for once in her life she wasn't having to deal with her problems alone and Kabir for the fact that Pooja had had enough consideration for him so as to not immediately blame a member of his family for the events that were occurring. If not friends, they could definitely work well as partners. Kabir was beginning to understand this much. When Pooja had pointed out the looping of the video footage, he had seen a sliver of Jahnvi. Her cleverness and sharp wit would be assets in finding this stalker. Whoever he was. Kabir could only hope that none of his family members would stoop low enough to do such a thing. 

When they stepped into Sharma Industries, Kabir immediately took a turn and headed for Pooja's cabin to collect the necessary items while Pooja had gone in search of Chopra. Stepping into her office, he started throwing the photographs back into the box and stuffed the two notes into the pocket of his jeans. Just as he was leaving the room, something caught his eye. A piece of paper. With the same red handwriting as with the previous two notes. He dropped the box onto the table and picked up the paper. 

If your soul was as pretty as your face

I might not have to kill you

See you tonight

END 

Let me know your thoughtss guys! I had so much fun writing this part <3 

Love you all!

 it's interesting, 😍😍pls update soon 

 it's interesting, 😍😍when is next part 

WoW this is really good. Second part was even better than the first.

Continue soon 

Will be continuing very soon! Thank you so much for the responses <3 

The Stalker - Part 3

As Kabir crumpled the anonymous note in his hand, he felt, for some inexplicable reason, a surge of panic overcome him. The feeling was new to him. He was an army man and he knew how to remain calm even in dire circumstances. But this was different. His body was as still as stone but his mind was in a frenzy and as much as he wanted to deny it, there was only one name resounding in it: Pooja. 

This psycho...whoever he was...was more than just a perverted stalker. He wanted more than a few explicit photos. He had murder on his mind. As this thought crossed his mind, the hairs on his arm raised. Part of him had a sudden urge to drag Pooja into a room and lock her up to hide her from whoever this freak show was. And the other, more rational part, wondered why he was suddenly panicking over a girl who had meant less than nothing to him 24 hours ago. But now was not the time to analyze his emotions. Kabir had always been one to put others before himself and he would do the same now. He had to protect Pooja. 

Stuffing the note into the back pocket of his jeans, he grabbed the box of photos threw it into the back seat of Pooja's car. With a plan in mind, he then strode back into the office in search of Pooja. She stood just inside the factory and appeared to be conversing with Chopra. Without waiting for her to finish, he stalked over to her and grabbed her by the wrist. 

"Pooja, we have to leave. I'll explain on the way." He could see her bewildered gaze move from him to an equally shocked Chopra. She narrowed her eyes and twisted her wrist away from his grip. "Kabir, I'm talking to Chopra ji. I'll need a minute. Wait for me by the entrance and I'll meet you there." 

But Kabir knew that along with shortage in his patience, they were also short on time. "Chopra sir. I'm afraid this meeting between you and Pooja is going to be cut slightly short. I hope that won't be too much of an issue for you. She won't be back at work until further notice but she'll be accessible by phone. Being her most faithful partner and sidekick, I'm sure you have her number on speed dial? Now if you'll excuse us."

Saying so, he pulled Pooja away and began leading her to the entrance and out to the car. Once they were safely away from the ears of the company employees, Pooja shrugged herself away from Kabir. Her eyes glowed with fury. "Kabir, what the hell was that?! You can't just do that! I was speaking to Chopra. And with the way you dragged me out here in front of everyone...what the hell will people think?! And how dare you make decisions on my behalf?! Who says I'm not coming into work tomorrow? Kabir Mittal, I know we agreed to be partners, but hell if you don't stay within your limits I swear - "

"Are you finished?" Kabir interrupted, exasperatedly. "If you had two brain cells in that head of yours you would understand that with the current circumstances - a.k.a. your creepy a*s stalker boy, there would obviously be a valid reason for why I did what I did. But no. You're a damn train-wreck. Just non-stop talk talk talk. Do you ever let the other person speak?"

She was quiet. She could clearly see that something had changed in Kabir's demeanor since the time they had reached the office versus now. Something was definitely troubling him. He wasn't one to lose his composure like that...or behave as recklessly as he did in front of Chopra. She was quiet, waiting for him to speak. 

"Look, Pooja. This is going to sound weird," he started, hesitating. "But you're coming home with me tonight." He looked at her, waiting for his words to register. As they began sinking in, her eyes grew wider. "Is that supposed to be a joke?" she finally asked. There was no way in hell she was staying in a house with all the people she had kicked out who pretty much hated the very sight of her. Especially Dhruv. There was no way she was staying in the same vicinity as him. 

"I'm glad you find it funny," he said sharply. "But I wasn't joking. You're coming home with me, because I'm not leaving you alone in that house with a stalker that comes and goes in the night as he pleases." 

Pooja rolled her eyes. "Kabir, I understand that you were in the army and it's your job to protect people and everything. But seriously. I've lived my entire life taking care of myself and my sister and I can do it now too. I plan on upping the security at my house and will probably sleep in a different room tonight. I'll even leave the lights on if that makes you feel less guilty about leaving me. But there is no way in HELL that I'm stepping foot into your house."

"It's not about my GUILT god dammit" he said, pounding the door of the car with his fist. Pooja winced. She had never seen him so angry before. "Jesus do you have to be so damn fussy about everything?! You can't always have everything your way Pooja. And this is something I'm NOT compromising on. You're coming home with me. Or if it's going to be such a problem for your huge a*s ego to enter my house, which is much smaller than yours, then I'll come to your house tonight. Regardless, I won't leave you alone."

Pooja felt a pang of pain in her chest. It's not my ego that's stopping me from coming, Kabir. She thought. She didn't dare let the words slip out. 

"Fine." She finally relented. "Have it your way. Come to my house and do what you want. I'm telling you, this guy is just a perverted whack-job though. Some extra security and a change in bedroom and I should be fine. But if it calms your nerves to be my bodyguard for a night, be my guest."

His face hardened at her words but he didn't respond. "I'll see you at 7 P.M. sharp then." She said, turning back to head into her office. 

KABIR'S HOUSE - 6:30 P.M. 

Kabir was pacing back and forth in his bedroom. He had probably reread the note at least 15 times by now. Who the hell was out to get Pooja? And the bigger question was...why? He knew for a moment there when he and Pooja had been examining security footage, they had both been inclined to think it was one of Kabir's family members. But Kabir couldn't start doubting his own family. He loved and trusted them. And to be perfectly honest, he couldn't see anyone from his family - regardless of how hurt or angry they were at Pooja - stooping as low as murder. So then there he was, back to the same question. Who? 

But even he knew it was no use contemplating the how's and why's sitting at home. He would have to talk to Pooja. He would have to learn about her...figure out her past...find out if there was anyone who might want to hurt her. As this thought crossed his mind, it was coupled with another: he knew very little about Pooja Sharma. I mean yes, he knew the basics. He had a vague idea that his father had been responsible for the death of her father. But he hadn't let himself get too deep into the details. To be perfectly honest, he hadn't had an opportunity to. As soon as the truth was revealed, the Mittals had lost their home and finances and had been brought to the street. And so, Kabir's main focus had been shifted toward protecting his family and providing a roof over their heads. He hadn't really stopped to think about Pooja or her past at all. Despite himself, he felt a pang of guilt in his chest. Did that make him selfish? Or did that just make him human - protecting his family before outsiders? But was Pooja really an outsider? The questions were back and he was getting thoroughly off topic. The point was that tonight would be spent not only in making sure Pooja was safe, but also learning as much about her as possible. It was the only way to determine who could possibly have a grudge against her. And from there, they could figure out next steps - how to catch this guy. With this plan in mind, Kabir grabbed his jacket and headed to the nearest auto stand to catch a ride to Pooja's house. 

END

Precap: JaBir spending the night together...?😈