Fatima's Cozy Corner 3 - Final Update on Pg 114 :) - Page 18

Originally posted by: AASUS

Fatima mishhh u 🤗

so I wasn't buttering you up for update or anything

Originally posted by: sana.harshiti

Preet

Love his jealousy and possessiveness towards Meher😳

Can't wait to read the next update 😳😆

Originally posted by: Chit15

Absolutely awesome update

Ash made jealous both Preet & meher at same time

By flirting with Preet got meher jealous & by taking viren name got Preet jealous

Viren is doubtful case & greedy

Chapter 30 - Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein Band Hon

Later...

Gaurav answered his door and found Preet standing outside. "Hey man, where have you been?" he asked, as he let him in. "I thought we were going to have dinner together. Mom even made her famous kadhi."

"Sorry Gaurav," sighed Preet. "But I've had quite a day."

"Did you eat?" asked Gaurav.

"Yes," admitted Preet. "But I'm always up for 2^nds."

"Come on, we'll have something together now," offered Gaurav.

"Are you sure?" Preet asked, as he followed his friend into the kitchen. "Don't tell me you didn't eat on my account. You can be such a wife sometimes Gaurav."

"Ha ha very funny!" Gaurav made a face at him. "You know I don't have the willpower to resist my mom's kadhi, and I'm always up for 2^nd helpings. He took out 2 bowls from the cupboard, and began to serve the food. "So what held you up?"

"Viren showed up at the mall," explained Preet.

"What? How did he know you would be there?" asked Gaurav.

"He didn't," frowned Preet. "But Ashlesha called him up and invited him to join us."

"Lucky you," chuckled Gaurav.

"Tell me about it," grumbled Preet. "I was hardly being able to exchange 2 words with Meher as it is, with Ash around, when Mr. Cheapo showed up."

"Mr. Cheapo?" said Gaurav.

"Cheap character and cheap with his money," explained Preet. "You should have seen him. He was drooling all over Meher and asking her to try on the skimpiest dresses. When she refused, he told her she was behaving like a child. That as his fiance she had better get used to wearing clothes he wanted to see her in. Then he handed me the bill for a stupid leather belt he bought."

"Probably to match his $600 Italian leather shoes," joked Gaurav.

"If it wasn't for Meher, I would have decked him," Preet said, pounding his fist into his hand. "He kept putting his arms around her. I couldn't think of any other way to keep his filthy paws off her, so I suggested we ditch the girls and go out."

"That must have been interesting," remarked Gaurav.

"Yeah, real interesting," Preet said sarcastically. "He had been on call at the hospital the night before, so he insisted on going back to his place and sleeping for a few hours."

"You're kidding right?" said Gaurav. "And you agreed?"

"I figured I could do a quick check of his room for something incriminating, while he slept," said Preet. "You know a photograph, a receipt for the wrong kind of hotel, even drugs. These doctors have access to them...he could be a user."

"Find anything Detective Bakshi?" joked Gaurav.

"A couple of old photographs, but nothing incriminating," sighed Preet. "On the books, the guy is clean as a whistle. I wound up watching TV for a while then dozed off from the boredom. When he finally got up we went out for dinner."

"Which you paid for," added Gaurav.

"Naturally," said Preet. "Then I took him to a club. I figured his behavior there would give me some ammunition."

"And...?" asked Gaurav.

"It turns out he smokes, and drinks...," said Preet. "...aur club mein ladkiyon pe line mar raha tha(and he was hitting on the girls in the club). In fact, the cheapo was telling me to do so too before I get married and lose all my freedom."

"Sounds like a typical guy enjoying his last few days of freedom," chuckled Gaurav.

"Yeah well, this typical guy happens to be engaged to the girl I love," frowned Preet. "I wonder what she'll think when I tell her what he's really like when he lets loose." He searched through his pocket and pulled out his car keys.

"Where are you going?" asked Gaurav.

"I have to see Meher," said Preet.

"It's kind of late isn't it?" Gaurav looked at his watch. "And Meher isn't staying at Sam's place, she's at the Rampal mansion, remember? Just how are you going to see her? Why don't you go in the morning? That way you can see her under the pretense of meeting Ash."

"No way," scoffed Preet. "You have no idea how chipku (clingy) Ash is. She'll corner me and force me to listen to the nonsensical babble that comes out of her mouth. Or worse...what if she expects me to take her shopping again?!"

"Then how...?" said Gaurav.

"Where there's a will, there's a way," smiled Preet.

Later that night...

Meher walked into the darkened kitchen, opened the fridge, and took in the cool air. Leave it to Mrs. Rampal to stick her in the only room where the air conditioning wasn't working properly. Feeling parched, she searched the fridge, took out a jug of juice and poured herself some into a glass. She had just taken a sip when her eyes grew wide in surprise. She could swear someone was lurking in the shadows. She put her glass down and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She wasn't mistaken! Someone was taking slow and deliberate steps towards her. Meher looked around and quickly grabbed the first thing she could find, a rolling pin.

"Who's there?" she demanded, but there was no answer.

Suddenly a man's figure appeared in the shadows.

"Chor! Chor (Thief)!" Meher cried. She swung the rolling pin barely missing the stranger, who ducked just in time. In an instant, he pushed her against the wall, and pinned her arm holding the rolling pin with one hand while placing another hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Chup (Hush)!" hissed Preet. "Koi chor nahin hai (There's no thief)! It's me...Preet!"

"Mmpphh," mumbled Meher.

"What?" said Preet.

Meher motioned with her eyes to his hand clamped over her mouth. "Oh...sorry," smiled Preet.

"What on earth are you doing here?" cried Meher.

"Shhh!" said Preet. "You'll wake everyone up."

"What are you doing here," whispered Meher. "And...how in God's name did you manage to get in?"

"I have my ways," smiled Preet.

"Really," Meher looked at him with a raised brow.

"If you must know, I bribed the security guard," chuckled Preet.

"Oh no!" Meher said worriedly. "What if he tells Mr. or Mrs. Rampal?"

"He won't. Not unless he wants to lose his job," said Preet. "Besides as far as he's concerned, I came here to see Ash." He slipped his arms around Meher's waist and pulled her close to him. "But I really came to see you."

"Uff!" cried Meher, as she pushed him away. "Are you crazy? You shouldn't even be here. If someone sees us together, all hell will break lose."

"Relax, no one will we see us," Preet reassured her.

"No," Meher shook her head. "I can't take any chances." She put both hands behind Preet's back and began to nudge him out of the kitchen. "You have to leave right now."

"But Meher...," tried Preet.

"No buts Preet!" Meher hissed. "Just go!"

"Wait a minute Meher," Preet said, as he stood firmly in place. "I go through all this trouble just to spend a few minutes alone with you and you don't even appreciate it."

"Because I don't want you here," said Meher.

"Because you're afraid to admit that you want me here," countered Preet. "In fact, I'm sick and tired of this charade you're playing in front of Ash, Viren, and everyone else. I have a good mind to..."

"Sshh!" whispered Meher. She placed a finger on her lips then motioned worriedly towards the door. Sure enough, voices could be heard coming towards the kitchen. "Quick! We have to go out the other door!" She grabbed Preet's hand and led him away. They had taken only a few steps outside, when she froze in her tracks. Ashlesha was heading towards the back entrance of the kitchen. Meher quickly led Preet back to the kitchen and pulled him into a small pantry on one side, just as Ashlesha walked in.

"Yes...yes I know, we were supposed to meet, but I got busy." Ashlesha was saying. "With what? With shopping of course," she chuckled. "No, don't be mad. I promise I'll make it up to you."

Just then Daljeet and Rishap walked into the kitchen from the other door.

"I swear I'm getting an ulcer over all these business deals Daljeet," complained Rishap. He pulled out a chair from the small dining table on one side and sat down. "Give this money to that party and that money to this. How much longer are we going to have to continue this?"

Now that's interesting, thought Preet. Were the Rampals having money problems? Or did they just have too much and didn't know where to invest next? To Meher's dismay he pushed the pantry door open just a crack and tried to get a peek of what was going on outside.

"Not much longer dear, I promise you," said Daljeet. She looked up surprised to see her daughter. "Ash, what are you doing up? And who are you talking to on the phone this late?"

"Uh...no one...just a friend...Neetu," said Ashelsha. She ended her call. "She and I had a lunch date and I completely forgot about it, because Preet came by."

"Preet? Preet Juneja came by?" asked Rishap.

"Well yeah daddy, he is my fiance after all," chuckled Ashelsha. "He wanted to spend time with me?"

"Preet wanted to spend time with you?" Daljeet said the words as if not completely believing they were true.

"Yup!" Ashlesha smiled triumphantly. "He even took me shopping."

"You see that Rishap," smiled Daljeet. "I told you everything was going to work out fine." She walked over to the fridge, took out some yogurt, and placed it in a bowl before her husband. "Here, eat this. It will make you feel better. And first thing in the morning, I'm making an appointment for you to see Dr. Ramnath." She watched as Ashlesha took a bottle of chilled water out from the fridge and left the kitchen.

"Doctors and yogurt, 2 things I don't like," grumbled Rishap.

"How about if I add some granola to it?" asked Daljeet.

Meher's eyes widened as she saw boxes of granola on the shelf next to her. "Great!" She said worriedly. "Of all the closets to hide in, I had to pick this one."

"Sshh...," Preet whispered, as he placed a hand over her mouth. Daljeet was heading straight for the pantry.

"No, I don't want any granola," complained Rishap. He got up to leave. "I'll just get some antacid."

"What do you want me to do with this?" Daljeet stared at the bowl of yogurt.

"I don't know, use it in your face pack or something," said Rishap.

Daljeet's mouth fell open. "Rishap Rampal you're going to eat this, even if I have to spoon feed it to you!" She picked up the bowl and walked out after her husband.

Meher covered Preet's hand with hers to pull it off from her mouth, but not before he felt how soft her lips were against his palm. "Phew! That was close," she whispered exhaling a sigh of relief. She looked up at Preet and found him staring at her with a soft smile on his face. It suddenly dawned on her, that he had his arm around her and that she in turn was leaning on him. She quickly took a step away from him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" Preet asked innocently.

"I don't know, like you want to eat me or something," frowned Meher. "And...who said you could put your arm around me?" She opened the pantry door and cautiously stepped out.

"Excuse me," said Preet, as he followed her out into the open. "You didn't mind it so much when you were leaning on me the whole time we were in the pantry, and now suddenly it's a crime for me to have my arm around you?"

"I...I didn't do it on purpose," stammered Meher. "Those were cramped quarters."

"Oh yeah, well then I didn't put my arm around you on purpose either," said Preet.

"Preet please," sighed Meher. "We had a really close call. Just go home."

"No," said Preet. "I came to talk to you and I won't leave until I do. Let's go up to your room."

"What?! No!" cried Meher.

"Fine," frowned Preet. "I'm going..."

"Good," sighed Meher.

"...to walk out the front door," continued Preet. "...and ring the bell..."

"Huhn?" Meher said in surprise.

"And demand to see you," said Preet. "I don't care who wakes up in the process." He headed for the kitchen door.

"What?! No!" cried Meher, as she ran after him. She grabbed his arm, and tried to stop him, but he continued to trudge ahead. Great! She thought. The one time her weight could come in handy, and she wasn't even being able to stop him! "Preet please stop. Okay...I'll take you up to my room."

"Oh no Meher," Preet mocked her. "How could we possibly do that? What if we get caught? I think...it's better if we talk in the open. Poor Mr. Rampal just has an ulcer. He's going to have a heart attack when he finds out I've come to see you and not that shopaholic daughter of his."

"Preet!" cried Meher, as he turned to go again. "I said we're going up to my room and that's final!"

Preet stepped back and cornered her against the kitchen door. "Hukum de rahi ho (Is that an order)?" He asked in a husky voice.

His proximity to her made the color rush to her cheeks. "Han (yes)." she said in barely audible whisper.

"No," said Preet. He headed out the kitchen waving a finger in the air. "Out in the open Meher...out in the open. Honesty is the best policy, and I'm not interested in hiding my feelings for you."

"Uh...uh...what about you needing time to investigate the Rampal's business practices?" pleaded Meher, as she ran after him. "What about your family's business?"

Preet paused to think for a minute, then shrugged his shoulders and walked on. "You win some. You lose some. That's life I guess."

"Preet please," said Meher. "I'll do anything you say."

Preet stopped in his tracks. "Anything?"

"Yes anything," nodded Meher. "As long as you don't create a scene. Please."

"Okay," Preet turned around and smiled. "Lead the way."

Moments later...

Meher led Preet into her bedroom and quietly closed and bolted the door.

"Don't want to let me get away, eh?" grinned Preet.

Meher rolled her eyes. "Don't want anyone walking in on us unannounced." She folded her arms in front of her. "Okay...you wanted to talk...in my room. Well...you're here...so go ahead."

"It's kind of warm in here isn't it?" Preet remarked as he looked around the mid-sized room.

"The air conditioner conked out a few hours ago," explained Meher. "That's why I have the windows open."

"It's such a big house, why didn't you just shift to another room?" asked Preet.

"Because it's not my house Preet, sighed Meher. "I can't always do as I please. I sit where I'm told. Eat what I'm given. Help out as much as I can, and listen to people complain about what a burden I am. It's what I've done all my life."

"You really are a Cinderella, you know that?" said Preet. He looked into her eyes and smiled softly at her. "You deserve so much better."

"Is that what you came here for..," Meher cleared her throat. "...to comment on the room I'm staying in."

"No...I...uh...I wanted to see the dress Chaddi picked out for you," said Preet.

"It's Chadda," Meher corrected him.

"Whatever," Preet said indifferently. He walked over to the rack of bangles on her dressing table. The pink chudiyan (bangles) he had bought for her on their date were there too. Their date. It seemed like ages ago now. "What's it like? The dress, I mean? Is it pink?"

Meher saw him run a finger lazily over the bangles he had bought her and gulped. Oh God! Why did he have to see those? What must he think of me?

"Is it in here?" Preet asked as he took a step towards the closet.

"No!" cried Meher. She quickly ran and stood in front of the closet. "I mean, you...you can't see it."

"Why not?" asked Preet.

"Because you just can't," insisted Meher.

"That bad, eh?" chuckled Preet. "Hey, aren't you going to ask me where Chaddi and I went after we left you girls at the mall."

"It's Cha...oh nevermind," Meher sighed. "I already know where you guys went."

"You do?" Preet asked in surprise.

"Yes. You went back to Viren's place so he could sleep," said Meher. "Viren told me everything."

"Ah! I bet he forgot to tell you where we went after that," said Preet.

"Some disco you were raving about," continued Meher. "He said you forced him to have a couple of drinks..."

"What?!" cried Preet.

"...so that he would loosen up," continued Meher. "And then you guys danced with some girls..."

"He," Preet corrected her. "He danced with some girls."

"...because he didn't want to seem like a loser in front of Preet Juneja," said Meher. "He felt so guilty about it, he called me as soon as he came home and told me everything."

"Well, did he tell you that he smokes?" asked Preet. "I mean he's a doctor for crying out loud!"

"He's trying to quit," explained Meher. "He has a relapse every now and then when he's under stress."

"Stress?!" Preet cried out in disbelief. "And you believe everything he said?"

"Well...maybe not about the forced part," said Meher. "I know you don't drink Preet, but I wouldn't put it past you to try to make him look bad in some way."

Wow Viren! Thought Preet. Rather than me using anything against you, you told Meher everything and used it paint yourself as some poor honest creature I tried to lead astray.

"That's what you were trying to do isn't it?" asked Meher. "Getting Viren to misbehave so I'd break off my engagement with him?"

Guilty as charged, thought Preet. "It's for your own good Meher."

"Is it? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it didn't work," said Meher. "And I think it's high time you leave. The longer you stay here, the more chance we risk of you getting caught in my room."

"Actually Meher, now that I think about it, me getting caught in your room is the solution to all of our problems," Preet said thoughtfully.

"What?!" cried Meher.

"Just think about it...me getting caught in your room...at this hour," added Preet. He sat on the edge of her bed, then laid back with his arms folded under his head. "What will people think? What would Viren think?" He smiled as Meher's eyes widened with concern at the thought. "Tum dekhna, humare parents khud hamari shaadi ke liye insist karein ge (You'll see, our parents will insist on us getting married)."

"You're impossible, you know that!" said Meher. "And I'm serious. I want you to leave right now."

"Not until you do something for me," said Preet.

"Why should I do anything for you?" asked Meher.

"Did you forget? Downstairs, you promised you'd do anything if I came up here to talk," Preet reminded her.

"Oh...that...," Meher thought for a minute. "And you promise to leave if I do what you say?"

"Dharti Ma ki kasam," smiled Preet.

"Fine," sighed Meher. "What do you want?"

A slow wicked grin appeared on Preet's face. In the blink of an eye, he pulled her down on the bed. His fingers intertwined with hers as he pinned her flush against the sheets. "You know you should never ask a man a question like that," he said, as he gazed longingly into her eyes. "Especially one that is in love with you. You leave him too many options to factor into his answer."

Meher's could barely swallow. Her face felt hot and she was sure it was as red as a tomato. She pushed him away and quickly sat up. "I...uh...I mean...you know what I meant."

Preet smiled and sat up next to her. "I want you to promise me you won't ditch our get together on Tuesday and go off somewhere alone with Chaddi...I mean...Viren."

"That's it?" Meher asked in surprise. "No...be my slave and do my bidding for a week, or ki..?"

"Kiss?" grinned Preet. "Not unless you want me to. Do you want me to?"

"No," of course not! blushed Meher.

"Then that's it," said Preet. "You don't go out anywhere alone with him."

"Why?" asked Meher.

"Because he's a guy! And not a very nice one, trust me on this," said Preet.

"Clearly you're biased on the issue," said Meher.

"I'm not!" protested Preet. "Okay, maybe I am. I don't like the way he looks at you Meher." He gently took her hands in his. "I can see the discomfort on your face too when he's around you. And...it drives me absolutely crazy when he... touches you."

"Preet...he's my fiance," said Meher.

"A minor glitch in our life which needs to be remedied," remarked Preet.

"Preet...," sighed Meher.

"Meher please...," said Preet. "Can't you do at least that much for me?"

"Alright," whispered Meher. "I won't go out alone with him. I didn't really have any intention of doing so. Waise bhi...I'm going home after Tuesday."

"We'll see about that," smiled Preet. "Now...I'm afraid I have to keep my end of the bargain and leave." He looked down at his watch. "Besides, it's late and my Cinderella needs to rest before she's up and about doing chores and keeping everyone but herself happy."

He walked to the door and tried to open it, but the bolt was jammed. "What's wrong with this door?" he said.

"The bolt gets stuck sometimes," sighed Meher.

"Hum tum ek kamre mein band ho...aur chabi kho jaye (You and I locked in a room...and the key is lost)," hummed Preet.

"Very funny," frowned Meher. She checked the bolt herself. It was stuck alright. "You have to push the doors back and forth really hard to get it loose."

"Well, that will make enough noise to wake everyone up," said Preet.

"I know," agreed Meher.

"I guess, I'll have to spend the night here," said Preet.

"What?!" said Meher.

"Joke tha," chuckled Preet. "I'll just go out the window." He walked over to the windows and checked each one until he found one with a drainpipe next to it. He reached out and placed a hand on it to check its sturdiness.

"Preet...are you sure?" Meher asked worriedly.

"Relax, I used to sneak out of my room like this all the time whenever my dad grounded me," said Preet. "Which was quite often. Coming up was never easy, but going down shouldn't be too hard."

Meher chewed nervously on her fingernails, as she watched Preet carefully climb out of the window and try to find his footing on the drainpipe. Just then, he slipped a little. "Preet!" She cried out as she lunged towards him with her arms extended in panic.

Preet pulled himself up and carefully steadied his footing once again.

"Phew! Meri toh jaan hi nikal di thi tumne (You almost killed me)," Meher sighed as she rested a hand on her heart.

Preet smiled at her words. He worked himself back towards the window, leaned over and surprised her with a quick kiss on her cheek. "I love you too Cinderella." He winked at her before sliding down the drainpipe and disappearing into the night.

Originally posted by: sherma

Awww so loved meet scenes,n y ash has to meet a dctr ( m sure it's a good news atleast fr us😉 )

N rampls hve financial probl interestin

I so lov gaurav n preet freindship.thnks fr pm do cntinue soon