In search of the diamond -Fanfic-Updated-Chapter 51 - Page 7

Chapter 14-Gurleen

She surveyed her family as they sat in silence in momsie's study.

"I'm sorry everyone.I shouldn't have lost my temper with you the way I did.",she began before her momsie cut her off.

"Amrit,Pammi , could you please leave us alone for a moment?"

The two of them looked at her, silently asking her for approval,she nodded and they left.

She and her momsie sat in silence for ten whole minutes.Finally the older woman spoke up,looking resigned.

"Gurleen, I'm very sorry.No,please let me talk uninterrupted.I won't be able to otherwise.I'll answer every question you have at the end.

I'm sorry for not being a good person,let alone a good mother.While I did take you in despite you being my husband's illegitimate child,it was for my own selfish motives.To make matters worse,I couldn't love you the way a mother would."

"How is that your fault? You're also human.No one can expect you to be an angel.You didn't deserve to be punished for my father's mistakes."Gurleen interjected.

She then continued, "You fed me,took care of me,let me study and pursue my dreams.I found a family here.I understand your reasons and while it hurt at first I still do respect your choices."

"Oh Gurleen,a parent's duty towards a child doesn't stop with providing for their basic needs.Just because I didn't I'll treat you,it doesn't mean I've been a good parent to you.No matter how much the world praises my me,it doesn't change the fact that I've failed as a mother.By adopting you,I also ended up depriving you of a potential loving family."

Gurleen was silent,her mind in turmoil as her momsie continued.

"I met your father when I was nineteen.We were married at twenty.It was a beautiful relationship you know;those were some of the happiest times of my life.He was my partner in every sense.I was and still am a highly ambitious woman.He was the first man who respected me and loved me for it.He cajoled me into joining the Babbar empire,going against every family member of his and rallied for me till I became chairperson.

I had Amrit when I was twenty four .It was a beautiful fairy tale.Everything changed ten years later.A woman showed up on our doorstep, pregnant.She claimed my husband to be the father which he angrily refuted.He went as far as accusing her of being a gold digger.Like a fool ,I believed him."

Her momsie started crying,which shattered Gurleen's heart.She had always been the epitome of strength and grace.To see her her lowest, was a punch to the gut.She held her mother and stroked her hair gently.

"Sshh, I've got you mummy.No matter what happens we'll always be there for you."

Her mother looked up,"Oh child,you have no idea how long I've waited and hoped to be called mummy even though I knew I didn't deserve it.Every time you called me momsie,my heart cracked a little bit more until all that was left were shards,which continued to pierce and bleed."

They sat in silence for a while.Her mother rose ,

"I'm going to continue the story.I want this over with so I can forget it."

Gurleen nodded wordlessly.

"I believed my husband and thought nothing of it until six years later when a letter reached us addressed to him.He took one look at the letter and locked himself in this very study.He refused to let anyone in and declined food and water.Early next morning,we heard a gunshot.He was dead."

Gurleen shuddered as she glanced around the room, suddenly imagining her father's ghost flitting through the windows.

Her mother continued,

"I read the letter and it shattered me.The girl who had showed up on our doorstep pregnant,all those years ago was dead.And her child was my husband's.The local authorities had requested him to come and collect his child.He had lied to me all this while.And you know what was worse than the betrayal ,the fact that he had loved her,enough to take his own life so he could join her.

After the funeral,I immediately left for the orphanage.I had to see the girl with my own eyes.And there she was ,cold and lifeless.She was only twenty two when she'd died.

The horror slowly dawned on Gurleen as she made a few calculations.

"Does that mean my mother was....."

"She was sixteen Gurleen.And your father was thirty seven.He impregnated a woman half his age."

Gurleen felt her head spin; vomit bubbled in her stomach.Her chest constructed and she was finding it increasingly difficult to breathe.

Luckily,her Parjaai who had been outside the door the whole time intervened.

"Mummy ji,I think it's enough for today . She's getting overwhelmed."

Her mother nodded.

"Please don't worry , I'll take care of her.Amrit ji will be with you in a minute."

Gurleen barely registered leaving the room with her Parjaai supporting her.

Chapter 15-Akaal

Akaal felt happy.Slowly, everything was falling into place and if He willed it,the Brars would become the most affluent family in Punjab as they gained control over the Babbar business empire as well.It also helped that his son found his partner in the Babbar heir as well.Now no one could accuse him of using his children as pawns to further his business.

He did love his children,there was no doubt about it,but he loved his business more.Gurleen Babbar wouldn't be able to work after her marriage,Jaspal would have to take over.If Brar jewellers was a kingdom,the Babbar group of companies was an empire.He'd have to train himself for the task.

He decided to go to the Gurudwara.He had a meeting with someone important.

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He sat upon the steps leading to the sarowar below.

"Sat sri akaal Brar Saab."

"Sat sri akaal Poonam ji.Please have a seat."

Poonam sat on the steps beside him.

"Brar Saab,I was surprised to receive your message.What have you called me here for?"

"Poonam ji, I'll get straight to the point.I request your daughter's hand in marriage for my second son Jaspal."

Poonam leaned back calmly.

"I wouldn't say that I'm surprised by your proposal .But pray tell me,why should I accept?Your elder son is a drunkard and womaniser while your elder daughter in law positively loathes Gurleen. On top of that, Brar women do not work as a rule.In the event Gurleen does marry your son,she would be forced to sign over the property,would she not?Why would I willingly send my heir to such a hellhole?"

Akaal smiled grimly.

"Evidence madam.I have evidence of your involvement in the fire which destroyed your daughter's orphanage more than a decade ago."

Poonam was shocked.

"Are you lying?"

"Not at all madam.I have an eye witness who's willing to testify in front of the court."

"You do realise that I could easily get rid of him right?"

"Oh Poonam ji,what do I do with you?Do I look like a fool?You are far wealthier than me and have more clout .Of course you'll be able to make the evidence disappear.But what if I got your daughter involved?"

Her eyes widened in horror,

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's simple.I give your daughter a little nudge which propels her to investigate the fire.Then I provide her with my eye witness.I've done my homework Poonam ji.Gurleen is a very idealistic young woman.She'll definitely take you to court to get the dead children justice.

So you have two options now in front of you.

Option A, you agree to my terms and conditions.Gurleen will be happy in the Brar household.I'll ensure no one troubles her.And your company will be intact with a capable person leading it.

Option B,you don't agree, I'll make sure you and your son end up in jail.The scandal will ruin your company to the point of bankruptcy and your family will be out on the streets.And by the way,Gurleen will still end up marrying Jaspal.And I'll still ensure she's safe and protected."

She looked furious and had it not been a place of worship she would have probably throttled him there and dumped his body in the water.

After a while,she finally spit it out,"I agree to your conditions Akaal Singh Brar.But I hope you don't regret your decisions later."

She gave a chilling smile and left.

He suddenly felt very uncomfortable,as if he had missed something extremely crucial.

Chapter 16-Inder

Never in his life had Inder imagined himself entering his father's study willingly and yet here he was, snooping through the documents scattered on the desk.To his shock and horror he came across unsigned papers;papers approving the transfer of the Babbar group of companies from Gurleen to Jaspal's name.He swore loudly as he put the pieces together.His father's target had been the property all along and the fact that his brother had fallen for the girl only seemed to strengthen his stand.

Grabbing the papers he immediately made a beeline for Jaspal's room.His brother was busy entertaining their little sister.He hesitated.While Prabhjyot didn't exactly dislike him,she was usually uncomfortable around him.It pained him that she preferred Manveer's company to his.Suddenly,a sort of apathy took over him as he sadly watched his siblings solve a jigsaw together.

Everything seemed to go wrong for him.Hockey had been his passion while in college.He had even made it to the nationals only for his daarji to bribe his examiners to fail him.He had never felt so betrayed in his entire life.To add insult to injury,he had been married off to Manveer as per his daarji's wishes.He loathed her to the core,yet had to spend the rest of his life with her all because a Brar could never divorce.

His father, had effectively taken away two things that had mattered the most,hockey and Pammi.He had been unable to move on no matter how hard he tried.The beautiful castle he had built in the sky for himself had come crashing down a long time.All that was left were the sticks and the stones.He should have worked on his marriage and focused on his wife ,yet he could see nothing beyond his hatred for daarji.He had vowed then to bring down his father's business at all costs.He had drunkk and slept around.In this mess of dealing with his own pain, he'd forgotten about his son,Angad ,and brother, Jaspal,who had looked up to him.

By the time he'd realised it,it had been too late.Angad looked up to his daarji as a father figure and Jaspal had closed himself off from the rest of the family,shouldering burdens and responsibilities that should have been Inder's and his parents',throwing himself into the business and raising Prabhjyot.Inder just drank himself to oblivion.It numbed the impact of failure and afforded him a temporary bliss.

Looking at the sheets in his hand,he wondered if it was worth helping his brother.It didn't matter did it?Their daarji would win either way.What was the point of struggling?With that he walked away towards his own room,prepared to drink himself to oblivion once again.He didn't notice the papers he'd dropped and a visiting Jasleen picking them up,a strange expression on her face.

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

The next morning saw him with a terrible hangover, he opened his eyes blearily to find himself on the floor ,amidst a pile of pillows and blankets.His daarji was sitting on the couch, observing him,his expression unreadable.

"Good to see you're up,not that it would make any difference."

Inder winced, his father had never failed to make him feel terrible.

Daarji continued as if nothing had happened .

"We are leaving for the Babbar residence today to ask Gurleen's hand in marriage for Jaspal.Ordinarily,I'd expect everyone to come, including Jasleen, but considering your track record, I've come to request you to not even step out of this room until we return.If you truly love your brother, it's the least you could do ."

Inder was in a daze.His daarji was right as usual.There was no way his presence would be welcome.Even if he wished to disclose the secret about the property,who would believe him?He was a drunkard,a womaniser,a man of loose morals and utterly useless to the boot.He barely registered his daarji leaving the room.

Groaning,he reached for his glass and decanter.He'd need the alcohol to get through the day.As he drank,the past seemed to flash before his eyes.Playing hockey, courting Pammi, buying her the biggest bouquets he could find,Jaspal chasing him around on Holi with his water gun, Jasleen begrudgingly tying him a rakhi, secretly pleased but refusing to show it.

He missed them a lot.He missed his mother.He missed Angad,the son whom he couldn't raise.Most of all he hated his father with a vengeance.His only desire in his life was to destroy everything which his daarji held dear.

He finally passed out again.

Chapter 14

Gurleen and Poonam's heartfelt conversation was very emotional.

Gurleen's birth backstory was very touching too.

Chapter 15

OMG!! Both Poonam and Akaal are so cunning.

So Poonam was the one who lit the fire in Gurleen's orphange? But why?

And why did she say Akaal will regret his decision? Interesting.

Chapter 16

Honestly, I really pitied Inder in this chapter. He may not have turned out the way he is right now, if his father wouldn't have interfered too much in his life.

Feel so sorry for him.

Chapter 17-Jaspal

The silence was very awkward as they sat in the living room of the Babbar residence. The tea and snacks on the table were untouched, discomfort prevailing. Manveer parjaai glared at Parminder who was steadfastly ignoring her while Mrs.Poonam and Amrit ji seemed positively furious.He had a nagging feeling that he was missing out on something.He caught Gurleen's eye ;she shrugged her shoulders, as clueless as him.

His daarji looked very uncomfortable;this was new to him.Finally,Bebe cleared her throat and addressed Gurleen's mother,

"Poonam ji,we have already talked over the phone.We've come over to request Gurleen's hand in marriage for Jaspal.I know it seems sudden but in the short time we've known her, Gurleen has made quite an impression on us.I know we are not not as affluent as some of the other families from whom you know doubt got a lot of proposals,I can assure you that she'll be loved in our household.My son,Jaspal is a good man.He will do right by her.While I confess that he's never been in a serious relationship before,I believe he has enough maturity......"

Jaspal felt like gagging while bebe droned on.While it was flattering to know that his mother had such a high opinion about him,he really didn't need them aired in public, Especially in front of people who probably didn't give two hoots about them.True to his words Poonam Ji's face turned stonier with every word while Amrit tried to stifle his laughter.Gurleen raised an eyebrow at him,no doubt amused at his expense.Remembering the incident at the sarowar for which he still had not apologised,he blushed.She was definitely laughing at him now.

His bebe did not seem inclined to stop.She was finally in her element and intended to make full use of it ,he mused.

"Poonam ji,rest assured we will not accept dowry.Just send Gurleen, she's a diamond unto herself."

Manveer parjaai cleared her throat,"Before we negotiate shouldn't we ask for Gurleen's and Jaspal's opinion first?"

"That's not necessary Parjaai.After all , don't the elders always take the right decisions?What would these two know about it?"

It was Jassi di

Jaspal frowned at the flippant way she addressed the two of them.Moreover, the glint in her eye unsettled him.

"Is there something you'd like to tell us di?"

She smirked and held her silence.This irritated him greatly.Before he could open his mouth,his bebe suggested the two of them to talk privately.He glanced at Gurleen who subtly nodded.He rose;she led him to her mother's study.Closing the door,she bade him to sit and took a seat beside him.

"Gurleen ji,I........"

"Jaspal ji ,I know neither of us has a choice in this matter.This is meeting is merely a formality.They've already decided the dates haven't they?"

Jaspal was stumped.

"I'm sorry about this.Just say the word and we can break the engagement.",he pleaded.

She smiled sadly at him,

"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way.If this engagement breaks,the world will know that I've been rejected by the Brars.I don't need to sell out what happens next do I?"

"But we aren't even engaged yet."

"In the eyes of the world,the moment your parents stepped through the door,we were all but engaged.Truth be told I knew something like this was bound to happen the day you returned my sarangi.However, I didn't expect your father to act so fast."

"The Ahujas were planning to speak to your mother next week and Daarji got desperate."

She pondered over his words before replying ,

"There's something else which has been nagging me.Mummy and veerji are clearly not happy with this proposal.Yet they insisted that I accept it wholeheartedly."

He shrugged his shoulders,deciding to address the more important topics first.

But tell me honestly Gurleen ji,do you have any objections to marrying me?If you had a choice, would you have chosen me?"

The ensuing silence made his heart break a little; he ignored it.

"And what about you Jaspal ji, would you have chosen me?"she asked in return.

He wanted to say yes but he desisted.

"Anyways, let's leave these hypotheses behind.We need to accept the fact that we'll be married soon.I'm not expecting love to bloom between.You don't have to force yourself into anything.I'll be happy if our relationship is stable and functional.I don't expect anything more than that ."

"I agree ,"she replied,smiling genuinely for the first time that day.

He smiled back.

They returned to the living room. As their families discussed dates and other negotiations, Jaspal found himself observing two people,one was Gurleen who had a smile plastered on to her face,as she no doubt slowly died inside, and the other one was Daarji who seemed oddly relieved.He remembered Gurleen's account of her mother's odd behaviour and remembered if his father had a hand in it.

Jassi di looked ectastic,which disturbed him.She clearly knew something they did not.He'd have to look into that.And Manveer parjaai looked downright miserable;while he understood her reasons,he didn't necessarily agree with them.The only people who were truly happy were his parents who were enthusiastically making wedding plans and Prabhjyot,who had made herself at home on Gurleen's lap,talking a dime a dozen.

He looked over at Amrit ji only to be met with a glare.The roka was a week away and the wedding six months.He fervently prayed he'd make it through them alive despite having a circus of a

family and murderous in laws.

Originally posted by: Aleyamma47

Chapter 15

OMG!! Both Poonam and Akaal are so cunning.

So Poonam was the one who lit the fire in Gurleen's orphange? But why?

And why did she say Akaal will regret his decision? Interesting.

It will be revealed in subsequent chapters.😃

Chapter 17

Reading this chapter was as though I was sitting in the living room of Babbars and watching the whole proceedings of how the Brars and the Babbars fixed Jaspal and Gurleen's marriage.

You have carved every minute details so well.

Originally posted by: Aleyamma47

Chapter 17

Reading this chapter was as though I was sitting in the living room of Babbars and watching the whole proceedings of how the Brars and the Babbars fixedJaspal and Gurleen's marriage.

You have carved every minute details so well.

Thank you ❤️❤️