In search of the diamond -Fanfic-Updated-Chapter 51 - Page 6

Oh ho, Gurleen did sniff Akaal's plan but somewhere deep side, she too is attracted to Jaspal, I feel.

I wonder what Akaal will do next. Right now he is playing the cupid between Jasleen.

I kinda empathize with Gurleen's veerji Amrit. He seems to be the most innocent in the whole lot.

Chapter 12-Gurleen

She sorely regretted her decision to bring her Parjaai along when they were shown into the living room ,only to be greeted by Manveer Kaur Brar.The tension in the atmosphere was thick enough to cut with a knife as the two of them glared that each other.While Gurleen had heard of the bad blood between the two,she wasn't exactly privy to the details.And the cherry on the top of the cake was that Manveer had no love lost for her either,which was reasonable especially when one recollected the events of the great disaster,nearly ten years ago.

"Sat Sri Akaal",she tried to break the ice.

Silence

"We're sorry for dropping in unannounced.",she tried again.

"Perhaps you should have thought about it before barging in like a hooligan.",Manveer replied coldly, her eyes shooting daggers at Pammi the whole time.

The latter just rolled her eyes and made herself comfortable on the couch.Gurleen badly wanted the earth to open up and swallow her up whole.Her Parjaai had just managed to offend their host in her own house by flouting every rule governing social convention.

"Gurleen ji"

She turned around to find a young girl,around twelve years old, beckoning her to the stairs.

"Bebe and Daarji wish to talk to you alone in their room. Please follow me."

Gurleen briefly glanced at her Parjaai who was engaged in a staring contest with Manveer.Deciding she wouldn't be missed she ascended the stairs.Her companion introduced herself as Prabhjyot and kept up a steady stream of chatter until they reached a spacious room with traditional decor.Upon a sofa in the centre of the room,sat Akaal Singh Brar and his wife, Jabjyot.She recognised her from her research.They had a pot of tea and some biscuits on a plate;they had been waiting for her .

Prabhjyot dashed in and took her place between her parents while she hovered at the doorway uncertainly.

"Come in puttar."it was Akaal.

"Sat sri akaal uncle ji,aunty ji."

She bent down to touch their feet.

"Jeethi raho puttar, "they blessed her in unison.

"Gurleen,please call me Bebe as everyone does .Aunty ji sounds so formal."

Gurleen nodded politely,"Ji Bebe."

"Well puttar do sit down and make yourself comfortable."Akaal said,pouring out tea for her.

She sat down and declined the tea.

"I'm so glad to have met you puttar.My husband has been singing your praises since he heard you play the sarangi.I wish I hadn't missed it;perhaps next time I'll be able to fulfill my wish.Now,how can I help you? Your parjaai had informed Sukhdeep at the door that you wished to see me."

"Bebe ,I have come to return your shawl."

"My shawl?",'bebe looked surprised.

Gurleen pulled out the shawl from her bag and handed it over to her.

"I've washed it and mended the tear as well."she told her.

"But how did you get this shawl dear?I had sent this with Jaspal to get it mended. "

"Jaspal ji had lent it to me."

Both Akaal and bebe looked at her in surprise and interest.They hadn't known of this;she wondered if she had made things difficult for him.

Prabhjyot chirped up,"Di is telling the truth.Veerji fell into the sarowar in the Gurudwara and di rescued him.He have her bebe's shawl because she was shivering."

Gurleen blushed slightly as she remembered the incident.Akaal was struggling to keep his laughter in check while bebe's eyebrows threatened to vanish into her hairline as she attempted to comprehend the onslaught of information.

"Thank you puttar for saving his life."

"No Bebe, it's partly my fault he fell in to begin with.I was the one who startled him.In fact I should be thanking him for returning my sarangi."

"Sarangi?",Bebe looked at her quizzically.

"Yes.I had left my sarangi in the Gurudwara.Uncle ji had had the forethought to take it home with him to keep it away from exposure to the elements.And he was kind enough to send Jaspal ji to return it."

Her words had the desired effect as Bebe frowned at her husband who looked positively shocked at being called out.She savoured the surprise and annoyance flitting across his face.He finally gave her a begrudging smile,ceding defeat.His wife continued to glare at him.

Deciding she'd overstayed her welcome,she decided to leave.The couple bid her farewell and Prabhjyot insisted on accompanying her to her car .To their dismay,the living room downstairs was a mess.Manveer and Inder were standing right in the centre hurling accusations at each other while her Parjaai was nowhere to be found.Sukhdeep quietly informed her that the argument between Pammi and Manveer had turned explosive after Inder had decided to get involved.

It had culminated in her Parjaai driving off in anger.This was out of character for her.She would never leave Gurleen behind.It must have been an awful row.She worried about her Parjaai and decided to take an auto rickshaw home ,but Akaal intervened.

"It's almost dark, it's not safe to venture out alone.Jaspal will be home soon.I'll.request him to drop you off."

She wanted to refuse but bebe vetoed it,leaving her with no choice . Prabhjyot dragged her around the house , giving her a tour while simultaneously talking about the family. Her favourite spot was the arboretum,next to Jaspal's room;it had a retractable roof through which they could see the stars.She found herself at peace,the tranquil atmosphere soothing her nerves.

She sank into the grass and admired the stars above.Prabhjyot meanwhile undid her braid and started weaving roses into her hair.They lost track of time amidst the towering trees,the cool breeze and the stars above in the dark blue sky.

Someone cleared their throat and she stood up in a hurry.It was Jaspal.

"Prabhjyot, bebe is calling for you downstairs."

The younger girl nodded and ran out if the arboretum.He turned back to her ,a strange expression on his face .

As he approached closer,Gurleen found herself rooted to the spot.He hesitantly reached out,as if wanting to touch her hair.His fingers ghosted over the strands instead.They were close enough for their lips to brush now.Yet neither of them moved.

"The stars seem more beautiful,now that they're reflected in your eyes ."

She couldn't help but blush profusely.They stood there , in tranquility,under the stars, isolated from the rest of the world,in one of their own making, even as the breeze began to sing,marking the end of the day.

Originally posted by: Aleyamma47

Oh ho, Gurleen did sniff Akaal's plan but somewhere deep side, she too is attracted to Jaspal, I feel.

I wonder what Akaal will do next. Right now he is playing the cupid between Jasleen.

I kinda empathize with Gurleen's veerji Amrit. He seems to be the most innocent in the whole lot.

Yes ,both Gurleen and Jaspal are attracted to each other.But it's more of a physical attraction for now and both of them feel it's not enough to pursue a relationship.

Coming to Amrit, he's more of a puppet in his family's and company's hands.He's not really cut out for handling a business,hence his willingness to hand everything over to his sister.

Manveer seems to be quite a bit too rude perhaps because of her bitter experiences.

I wonder how Manveer's relation with Gurleen is going to be when the latter will marry Jaspal.

Jabyot has understood her husband's plan and is now helping him. She too is impressed with Gurleen I guess.

I have a doubt. I always thought the child which Akaal and Jabyot were expecting in the prologue of this story was Inder.

Was it Jaspal since Jaspal is the main lead here.

Chapter 13-Gurleen

The car ride home was quiet.Gurleen was too embarrassed to say anything to her companion who seemed fixated on the round.She blushed at the memory of the arboretum.Had they been there longer and not interrupted by Prabhjyot , she was positive she'd have kissed him.She couldn't help but mentally chastise herself for getting distracted.This attraction between the two of them was far more trouble than it's worth.

Bringing her Parjaai along had been a bad idea.The confrontation with Manveer had all but hammered home the point that no Babbar would ever be welcome under her roof.While her Parjaai had reassured her and apologized to her over the phone, her worries refused to abate.Her companion cleared his throat,

"Prabhjyot told me that your parjaai and Manveer parjaai got into an argument and suddenly inder veerji was also involved.Please don't mind me asking,but what is the reason behind the hatred ?"

She thought for a moment,

"Parjaai loved your brother ,Inder.He had promised to marry her ten years ago.They had even planned to elope but he stood her up.Her parents caught her and I'm not sure what exactly happened after that but somehow she ended up marrying my brother.She considers your parjaai the reason behind the whole fiasco,which in retrospect is probably stupid considering the fact that it was your brother who was at fault."

"So that's whom veerji was in love with when Daarji forced him into marriage,"

Gurleen's eyes widened

"Forced into marriage?"

Jaspal pulled over by the side of the road.It was probably better to get this over with.

"Daarji decided veerji's bride without consulting anyone.At that time,Manveer parjaai was in love with someone,whom I suspect was your veerji.

However he didn't have to do anything as that's when the scandal with your veerji happened. Manveer Parjaai's brother fled to the states,leaving her to bear the brunt."

Gurleen started piecing the story together with growing horror.She turned to him,

"Manveer Di's prospects were ruined and she was forced to marry Inderpal Singh who had been blackmailed himself.And Pammi parjaii had been wedded off to my brother,knowing the whole truth;which means if I'd kept my mouth shut that day,none of this would have happened.

Next to her, Jaspal looked uncomfortable .

"Where you the one who found out about your brother and parjaai's brother?"

"Yes, it was Baisakhi and momsie had decided to throw a huge party for all her business associates.I remember one of the guests asking me if I could fetch his daughter from the storeroom.I had thought that the request was oddly specific but brushed it off.I had gone in search of her only to find my brother and another man kissing,whom I later found out was Manveer Di's older brother, Vikrant Arora.I screamed and you know what happened next."

There was a palpable silence.She spoke again when it became unbearable.

"I wish I hadn't screamed.I wish I'd helped them hide or something.I hate myself more than anything.And do you know what the worst part is,no one was angry with me.Amrit veerji had come and apologized for scaring me.He'd wished I had found out in a different way,after they'd courted.He had hoped I would tag along on a date and get to know my brother in law ,tie him a rakhi,bully him for presents and what not.But I ended up destroying their lives."

The dam broke and she ended up crying.She felt Jaspal stroke her back softly as she sobbed .The rhythmic strokes helped her call down. After a while,when she'd settled down enough,they continued driving.He pulled up outside her house.

"Gurleen ji, we're home.I appreciate the trust you've shown in me and it's not something I'll throw away lightly.While your story did fill in many gaps,I believe we still have one final piece missing.I have to do my own investigation but once I get to the bottom of this,I propose we meet again.I'm afraid this is the only way my you and my Parjaai can get closer."

Gurleen nodded wordlessly,stunned.

"Thank you Jaspal ji for taking the trouble to drop me off."

He simply bowed his head and pulled out of the driveway.She waited till the car turned the bend and she could no longer see it.Turning around,she found herself attacked by three people.Her momsie,veerji and parjaai were hugging her and .....were they crying?

"Let's go inside everyone.I think a long talk is overdue."

Originally posted by: Aleyamma47

Manveer seems to be quite a bit too rude perhaps because of her bitter experiences.

I wonder how Manveer's relation with Gurleen is going to be when the latter will marry Jaspal.

Jabyot has understood her husband's plan and is now helping him. She too is impressed with Gurleen I guess.

I have a doubt. I always thought the child which Akaal and Jabyot were expecting in the prologue of this story was Inder.

Was it Jaspal since Jaspal is the main lead here.

Jabjyot has understood her husband's plan but she doesn't exactly agree with his methods and motives.She wants Gurleen and Jaspal to organically fall for each other.Till now,the only person who's started to fall is Jaspal.Beyond the physical aspect,he has also seen her intelligence first hand, considering the fact that she saw through Daarji's plan pretty quickly and ratted him out to his wife.😂

Unlike Gurleen, he knows what game his daarji is playing and has the advantage of being the observer.

Gurleen still feels awkward around him and while she does acknowledge the attraction,she hasn't really considered him as a potential life partner.She doesn't really trust daarji and by extension Jaspal as well.Considering the ongoing financial issues and the emotional trouble at home,she considers him a distraction.So it will be a while before she starts reciprocating.

Jabjyot will probably wait for them to acknowledge their feelings before she starts pushing them together.

And the baby in the prologue is Inder

Note:I hope the analysis I have given above makes sense.This is what I wanted to portray.Hope it came across as such in the story as well.🧐

Originally posted by: themasked

Jabjyot has understood her husband's plan but she doesn't exactly agree with his methods and motives.She wants Gurleen and Jaspal to organically fall for each other.Till now,the only person who's started to fall is Jaspal.Beyond the physical aspect,he has also seen her intelligence first hand, considering the fact that she saw through Daarji's plan pretty quickly and ratted him out to his wife.😂

Unlike Gurleen, he knows what game his daarji is playing and has the advantage of being the observer.

Gurleen still feels awkward around him and while she does acknowledge the attraction,she hasn't really considered him as a potential life partner.She doesn't really trust daarji and by extension Jaspal as well.Considering the ongoing financial issues and the emotional trouble at home,she considers him a distraction.So it will be a while before she starts reciprocating.

Jabjyot will probably wait for them to acknowledge their feelings before she starts pushing them together.

And the baby in the prologue is Inder

Note:I hope the analysis I have given above makes sense.This is what I wanted to portray.Hope it came across as such in the story as well.🧐

Absolutely!! Everything is clear. I had doubts because I'm not used to see a story from a perspective which is totally different and unknown like here you have given the perspectives of Akaal, Jabyot to everyone in Brar family which is indeed a great work.

And story did come out just the way you have wanted. I did understand everything just the way you have wanted through all the chapters. I had also understood that the baby in the prologue is Inder. But when I read the later chapters, seeing Akaal favouring Jaspal and also because Jaspal is the lead, I felt the baby in prologue would have been Jaspal. That's it.

OMG! What a twist!!!

So the root cause of the enemity between Manveer-Pammi is the love triangle.

Pammi loved Inder who was forced to marry Manveer who loved Amrit, while Amrit is a homosexual who loved Manveer's brother Vikrant.

No wonder, Amrit-Pammi are childless.

Good to see taboo topics like LGBTQ explored in your story.

Extras-Angad

The room was a mess.There were cushions strewn on the floor,the bed sheets were ripped up and the feathers from the torn pillows floated down like snow flakes.His mumma was nowhere to be seen .A sharp pain shot up his foot;he had stepped on a shard of glass.To his horror,his sole started to bleed and he started to cry.He wanted to find his mumma but she was nowhere to be found .So he decided to go in search of his papa only to find him passed out in his study,a bottle in hand.

Angad did not know what his papa drank all the time, except that it made his daarji and mumma angry.His mumma needed him.She had probably seen papa and had gotten upset.He went in search of her,leaving a trail of bloody footsteps behind.

She was by the edge of the pool,staring into the depths.She wasn't crying but she looked very sad.

"Mumma ,why are you sad?"

His mother sighed,wiped her tears and turned towards him,a watery smile in place.

"Nothing is wrong puttar.Your papa and I had a small argument.One of his old friends had come to visit and it brought back a lot of bad memories, that's all."

He nodded solemnly and hugged her.

No one noticed the blood drying on the floor.

*************************************************

The next morning,

"Sukhdeep,is that blood on the floor?"

"Yes bebe,Manveer ma'am and Inder sir had a fight."

"I hope they're fine."

Note: These extras are essentially fillers.They aren't necessary for the story but can help explore some of the other characters 😊

Of course, Extras aren't important but this extras part did show the depth of Manveer and her son Angad's relation.