Part 11
When the Jackal comes eventually comes back home, he is faced with a situation that he does not like at all. When he is informed of why his Saasu Maa has gone to Delhi, the panic sets in, as he immediately works out that the money he has been withholding from the trust funds over the past few years has been discovered and this is what Khatwani was warning him to be careful of. If D3 starts digging too deep, he knows that he will get into trouble so he decides to go to Delhi too and try to either bribe the trustees or if that fails, to try and threaten them somehow. He pretends to be shocked at the missing funds in front of Veer and Nandini and swears blind that he has been faithfully depositing everything promptly so he doesn't understand what has happened. He then starts to tell Veer that he is convinced that the main trustee, Mr Patil, is up to something and has probably been defrauding Kameeni. At the same time, he creates an "on the spot" excuse about some crisis with a friend in Delhi and says that he will also leave for Delhi. There he can help his friend and also offer help to Kameeni if needed. He therefore leaves for Delhi too, which is of-course great news for Veer and Ayesha and Nihal.🥳🥳
At present, all of Veer's thoughts seem to be taken over by Ayesha and his feelings for her, which as hard as he tries, he cannot suppress. He finds that he is constantly waiting to see her and when she is not around, he feels strangely restless and agitated. Unknown to him, Ayesha is pretty much in the same boat but also unable to acknowledge that she feels this way because of Veer; all she knows is that if she finds being around Veer very confusing, being away from him causes even more anxiety.😕
It is in one of these states, with unacknowledged eagerness to see Ayesha, that Veer makes his way over to Rahul's hotel; again with the pretext of planning for the convention. He arrives at lunch time and is wondering if Ayesha will be on her lunch break as he did not think through the timings before he left his office. Just as he enters the main lobby of the hotel and is about to pass by the exclusive boutique on the ground floor, on the way to the lifts, he notices Ayesha through the window of the boutique. He immediately stops on the side (where she cannot see him and she has her back half to the window anyway). She is looking at a saree on the counter, which has been spread out for her to inspect.
It is a shimmery white material with just a deep red border with small diamantes sprinkled across the whole material. It is simple but so beautiful in its simplicity and so elegant, that he immediately thinks of Ayesha when looking at it. It is a saree that his mum or even his sister and any of the other women in their social circle would probably dismiss as being too plain but it has an impact that would come from the right person wearing it, and he can see that it would be perfect for Ayesha. However, he notices her ask the shop assistant a question and then her face drops and the smile on her face fades. With one last feel of the shimmery material, Ayesha reluctantly puts the saree down and takes a small step back. Veer feels as if a light has gone out and cannot help but head straight into the shop, his only thought being that Ayesha must buy that saree and he is going to find out why she is putting it back.👍🏼
Just as he steps in the shop, he hears someone call out to Ayesha. His heart sinks as he recognises Rahul's voice from the other side of the shop. Veer is as yet unnoticed and steps further in to the shop.
R: Ayesha, dekho to, isme se kon si achi hai?
Still keeping a fairly safe distance behind so as not to be noticed, he sees Ayesha head towards a smiling Rahul, who has spread about 10 glittering sarees out at another counter.
A: Sir! Itni sare sarees! Aap kya sari dukan khareed ne waale hain kya?
R: Isiliye to tumhe saath laaya hoon, kyun kai tum meri choose karne me madad karsako. Waise, itne special person ke liye saree kharidni ho to mein sari dukan bhi khareed sakta hoon, kyun?
Rahul says the last bit with a wink and a wide smile😉. Veer feels the familiar rush of jealously and anger, only it is even more intense this time. He is furious that Rahul is buying Ayesha a saree and that Ayesha has happily come with him to choose one. He cannot understand how Ayesha would agree to let Rahul buy her clothes when she is so proud and therefore assumes that the relationship between them is much closer than he had guessed, and this is unbearable to him.😡
Whilst he is still standing seething, Ayesha quickly scans through the items Rahul has picked out and selects a very ornate but beautiful piece. Veer is even more angry as this piece is exactly the sort of "high society" piece his mum and her friends would buy and very different from the piece he just saw Ayesha admiring. Rahul seems happy enough with the choice and hurries to pay.
Ayesha turns around, still smiling widely, and sees Veer standing there with a murderous expression on his face.
A: Veer! Aap! Aap kabh aye? Her smile fades as she notices his expression and she starts to feel confused.😕
V (through clenched teeth and glaring): Thodi der pehle aaya, sorry tumhe aur Rahul ko interrupt kiya.😡😡
A (frowning a little now): Nahi, aisi koi baat nahin hain, woh Rahul Sir ko saree choose karne main help chahiye thi aur……
V: Aur tumne socha ke kyun na Rahul Sir ki help kardu?! Akhir mein agar Rahul Sir tumhare liye saree khareed rahe hain, to acha hi hai agar tum apni choice ki saree khareedo, hain naa? Vaise idea acha hai Ayesha.
Ayesha is reeling at what Veer is saying as well as the expression on his face. He has reverted to being the Veer Vardhan Singh who looked at her with constant anger and there is no sign of the Veer of the past few weeks.😭😲
A: Veer, aap galat samaj rahe hain….
V: Ayesha, tumhe mujhe safayi denhe ki koi zaroorat nahin hain. Agar tum Rahul se istara ki gift lena chahti ho to yeh mujse kohi maine nahi rakhta. Tumhe sirf itna batana chahta hoon ke tum yeh mat bhoolna ke aksar aise gift dene ke peeche ladko ka koi matlab hota hai.😡
Now this is rich coming from Veer, who five minutes ago wanted to rush in and buy Ayesha the saree she was admiring, with no other intention but to make her happy and see her wearing the beautiful outfit at some point!
Ayesha recovers from her shock at these accusations to feel a hot wave of anger swamp her. Veer meanwhile is in full flow and continues:
V: Agar tumhe nayi saree ki zaroorat thi, to mujhe ya ghar mein kisiko batati. Yeh to aisa lagta hai ke tum hamare saath rehti ho aur hum tumhara khayal nahi rakhte isiliye tumhe kisise aise gift lena padta hain. Ya phir yeh gift tumhare Rahul Sir ki taraf se hain, isiliye tumhe laine me aitraaz nahin?👎🏼
Ayesha has heard enough.
A: Bas! Bahut ho chuka aur apne bohut bol liya. Aap mera hi nahin, apne dost ka bhi apman kar rahe hain. Mere baare mein to apne hamesha bura socha hain, aur yeh meri galat fehmi thi ki pichle kuch deeno mein aap mujhe apna dost mante hai aur mere baare mein apki rai badal gayi hain, lekin Rahul Sir ko to aap bachpan se jaante hain. Phir bhi apne soch liya ke woh mujhe bure irade se gift kharid kar denge?! Aur, mein itni gir gayi hoon ke me kisise aise gift loongi. Aur jahan tak aapse gift leneki baat hain- mein aapke ghar me zaroor rehti hoon, par kisise maine kabhi bheek na li hai aur na kabhi lungi. Jabh Kamini ji apne kherat ke kapde mujhe zabardasti de gayi thi, to unko bhi maine kabhi nahi pehna. Yeh sunke mujhe aisa lagta hai ke maine apke ghar me rehkar bahut galti kar di.😡
She is so angry now, she cannot bear to be near Veer and she stalks past him and dashes out of the shop as quickly as she can.
Meanwhile, Rahul had finished paying for his saree and had caught enough of the conversation to understand what had happened. He walks over to Veer, who only now notices him.
R: Shabash Veer, tumne to kamal kardiya.
Veer looks like he will punch Rahul but Rahul is sensible enough to keep a bit of a distance and quickly continues.
R: Veer, tum itne intelligent ho kar aisi bevakufi kaise kar sakte ho? Tum kya Ayesha ko itna bhi nahin pehchante ke tumne aisa samaj liya ke mein use aisi gift kharid kar doonga aur voh aisi gift accept karlegi?!!
At this, Veer looks very confused and stares at Rahul in shock.
R: Haan Veer. Yeh joh tumne dekha, ke main Ayesha ki madad se saree kharid raha tha, voh theek tha, lekin yeh saree maine apne Mum ke liye kharidi hai!!
Veer feels like someone has punched him in the stomach (which Rahul metaphorically has I suppose!) and the penny suddenly drops for him.😲😲😲
V: Kya!! Oh my God- yeh maine kya kardiya.
R: Bilkul Veer. Ees bar to tumne aise blunder maara hain ke mujhe man karta hain ke me tumhe thapad doon. Ayesha jitni imandar aur khuddar ladki ko tumne aisi baatein sunadi. Haan- mein samaj sakta hoon ke tum mujhe abhi bhi college kya playboy samaj te ho, lekin mere mi bhi itni akal hai ke Ayesha un ladkiyon me se nahin hai!!👏
V: Rahul, I am really sorry! Please mujhe maaf kardo dost. Maine bilkul galat samja lekin pata nahin kyun, tumhe aur Ayesha ko dekh kar jaise mujhe kuch dikhayi hi nahi diya aur maine bina soche kya kya keh diya. Abh me kya karoo?
This whole scene has made a few things dawn on Rahul and he smiles thoughtfully.
R: Chalo main to maafi accept karleta hoon, kyu ke mein jaanta hoon ke tum pehle se hi uloo ho, lekin abh Ayesha ka kya karoge?😉
This is an excellent question and one that Veer is now tremendously worried about too.
End of Part 11
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