Chapter 47-Jaspal
She looked resplendent in a lehanga of maroon and gold.Her hair had been braided on one side, interwoven with white flowers.She wore no jewellery except for the pendant he had gifted her, a purple glow amidst the hues of fire.She burnt like coal in the middle of a furnace ,reflecting her own light,a halo of flames surrounding her visage.Star struck,he walked towards her and extended a hand,as if to touch her,when a tendril of darkness wrapped itself around her wrist and yanked her backwards.
She tried calling for help yet no sound came from her; the realisation seemed to dawn on her in horror.He cried and tried to run towards her only to find himself frozen on the spot,his legs tied by vines. He struggled against his bindings as more tendrils wrapped themselves around her, encasing her in a cocoon of inky darkness.And then, she was simply gone.
Jaspal woke with a gasp,his face and pillow wet with tears.Without thinking,he leapt out of bed and dashed to the study, picking up the telephone and dialing a familiar number.His heart beat wildly with each ring and after two long minutes,she finally picked up.
"Hello"
"Gurleen....."
He heard a gasp at the other end.
"Jaspal ji,is everything alright?"
He was confused when it finally dawned on him that it was three in the morning in Ludhiana.She had assumed that he called because of an emergency;no wonder she sounded worried.
"Gurleen, don't worry.Everything is fine here.This is just a normal call."
He heard a sigh of relief and smiled to himself.No doubt she had over thought herself to a frenzy.
"So Jaspal ji,am I to assume that this is a friendly call?"
He settled in a chair and made himself comfortable.
"Well,we are to be married in a month.I hoped we could catch up with each other before that.After all,I need to know what I'm getting myself into."he quipped,knowing how annoyed she'd become.
He was rewarded with an annoyed huff;he could imagine her in the middle of her office,pacing while running her hands through her hair,turning redder by the minute as he continued to tease her.
"So you called me at three in the morning just to gauge how much of a devil I am?"
He froze, debating if he should tell her about the dream or not.Technically,it wasn't a problem that had to be solved and it really didn't involve her.And she only expected him to discuss problems which involved the two of them right?So he could be given a pass for concealing this.
"Exactly, you've hit the nail right on the head,"he replied.
"Alright"he could still hear the suspicion colouring her voice.
"Truth be told,I just wanted to talk to you.We barely spoke the last time before Daarji grabbed the phone for an important discussion about the new contract they were about to sign.
"I'm sorry."
He frowned at her apology.
"Whatever for Gurleen?"
"I'm sort of coming in between you and Daarji aren't I?We always talk about the business and end up leaving you outside."
"Come on Gurleen,my job is entirely different from yours.Don't worry about me.We have our own set of excrutiatingly boring discussions."
"Alright,if you say so" she added,rather doubtfully.
They chatted for a few minutes and he continued to tease her until she threatened to cut off all contact till the day they got married which made him apologise profusely,much to her amusement.Finally she hung up,citing some important work and he made it back to his room heart lighter than before.
As he lay back on his bed his mind wandered back to her words.Did daarji spend more time with her than him?Truth be told,he had been shut out of conversations a lot, off late and a part of him did feel terrible.He felt unwanted ,as if people only remembered him only when they needed his help.Till that debacle with Inder veerji,he had been relegated to the shadows and now with Gurleen in the picture,who in Daarji's eyes was a more capable person,he seemed to have disappeared entirely into anonymity.
What if he ended up taking out all his frustration on Gurleen?
If she's smart enough, she'll leave you before you become another Inder and Manveer,his mind whispered.
Was that what his dream was implying?
But would she heal ?And would he be able to digest the fact that he would always be second best for the rest of his life?Would she truly be happy with him?
Unable to bear the onslaught of thoughts,he called it quits and got ready for the day.To his surprise,he saw a very lost looking Jassi di,sitting in the hall,staring aimlessly into space.They looked at each other warily before silently agreeing on a civil discussion.
"Where's Garry?"
"Sleeping in Angad's room."
"You look upset."
"I left Yashraj."
Oh
"And I'm also pregnant."
He blinked slowly.Divorce was something he could deal with ,atleast in terms of trouble shooting .But the emotional fallout coupled with a pregnancy was way beyond his depth.He decided to stick to simple questions.
"What do you want to do?"
She thought for a second.
"I wanted an abortion."
"Wanted?"
"Daarji has forbidden me."
"Forbidden you?"
The conversation was getting weirder by the second.
"Jassi di, I understand you listening to Yashraj and not aborting the baby.But how on earth did daarji get involved? It's your baby."
"Says daarji Ji's chamcha."
That's when he realised something.On the contrary to his claims,he and Jassi di weren't that different,were they? Despite how much they professed to hate their father and reject his principles, weren't they sabotaging their own lives for him? Weren't they wrecking their own mental well being for his approval of all things?Approval which might never come from a person who expressed affection to people based on how useful they were to him?
He wondered if he should try explaining this to do,but then,her hunger for power seemed to overshadow all penchance for self preservation.Suddenly,he felt like laughing.Out of the two of them, Gurleen was the overthinker.Yet here he was sitting with Jassi di at four in the morning , imagining how terrible his future could be.Chuckling at the irony,to his sister's shock,he went to the kitchen to make coffee.
Edited by themasked - 14 days ago
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