Notes: this is a modern au which I have been working on for a while. This was inspired by the lovely lkdaswani's fitoori, I wanted to make a modern-day au with Jalal being a politician with the most effed-up mind ever (or maybe not). that being said, let us get into it 🥰
content warnings: not the healthiest of relationships (I mean the one portrayed in the serial was not healthy either), Jalal threatens Jodha, mentions of violence and assassination of a political figure, mentions of child s*xual ab*se, author is not an expert in political science
Standing in the corner of the room with her glass of mocktail, Jodha Solanki observed her environment nervously. There was a damn good reason why she always avoided settings like this, aside from the fact that she had little to no interest in politics.
She hated the pretentious formality that came with this, the politicians within this room were like slithery snakes ready to strike at one another if presented the opportunity to do so. It was a shame she was born into such a family.
Even if Bhapusa was what the nation would term one of the few "good apples", she knew better than to join in that conclusion for she had grown up to witness the shrewdness he possessed when it came to his interaction with other politicians.
She was better off away from here which was why she had left home as soon as she gained her certification as a registered nurse at the local children's hospital.
Yet, what was she doing here again? Oh yes, she was here on Maa Sa's request - well, that and because her fiancé was going to be in this accursed gathering as well.
Speaking of the devil, her eyes narrowed as they settled on the familiar silhouette of a tall man, his hair cropped and his beard trimmed. If not for the fact that she knew the type of man he was, she'd have joined the majority of the female population in swooning over him.
Such a shame such beauty accompanies a twisted mind, she frowned, sipping from her glass.
He was dressed in a maroon kurta with a pair of white churidars, making him look polished - a look fitting for this occasion. His kurta had on it an intricate brooch which looked eerily familiar to Jodha.
Not in the mood to catch his eye or engage in any conversation with him, she turned to move away but her fortune just had to be favorable to her as he had already spotted her from a distance.
Her feet anchored her to the ground as she came face-to-face with him now. His eyes roamed from her face down to her necklace, down to her dark green lehenga choli.
She shut her eyes briefly, cussing herself out for dressing up in his favorite color, of all colors in the world! She even hated the color green. But then, Maa Sa had laid out this outfit for her, who was she to defy her beloved mother?
As soon as his shameless admiration ended, he returned his gaze to her face. His face had that stupid smirk she wished she could wipe off with a punch without any social repercussion of hitting a representative.
"I must say, Jodha, green looks stunning on you," he said, his voice low and deep it would have had her weak in the knees. "You should wear more of it."
A tainted soul and a silver-tongued devil, what a combination the goddess has blessed me with.
She gave him a tight-lipped smile, "Good evening, Jalaluddin Mohammad Khan, it is strange not seeing you in alleys assassinating a poor soul."
He let out a deep chuckle at that, an eyebrow raised as he turned to check for any eavesdropper.
"Now, that is no way to greet your betrothed, Jaan."
Ugh, she wanted to groan at the reminder, not like the cold metal on her finger was not reminder enough.
The reminder that Bhapusa had fixed her rishta to this devil before her. All that to cement a stupid coalition between both parties.
This was another reason why she hated the political world she was unfortunate to be born in. She was no stranger to how Bhapusa spoke of his dislike of Jalaluddin Mohammad Khan and the political party he belonged to. In fact, every Sunday where she'd visit was filled with him ranting to Bhaisa about how much of a cunning b*st*rd he was.
Yet, that did not stop him from merging parties with him and making him my fiancé, she wanted to roll her eyes.
Many politicians like Bhapusa would call it diplomacy but Jodha saw it as deception. At least, she was honest about her feelings toward her fiancé. Could she say the rest about her family?
"Leave me alone, Jalal," she replied coldly, staring at him.
He refused to budge, his physique posing a stumbling block for her as she was basically cornered. Her eyes narrowed as she put two and two together.
What was his deal with her? Or was it because of that one incident she had happened to witness?
"Don't you have some target to eliminate? That's what you seem to be up to these days, jallad," she spat, her body attempting to escape him when his hand reached out for her forearm, gripping and caging her to the wall.
He looked away from her for a moment to see that everyone was in their own world, ignoring the both of them. The moment his eyes met hers again, Jodha found herself backing up against the wall at how cold they turned.
Gone was that playful expression they held and they took her back to that night.
How could she forget how they narrowed at her as if she was his next target? It was all too vivid for her to ever forget for a moment.
The body that lay on the floor all bloody and lifeless, the way he had wiped his gun and handed it over to his henchman as if it was another regular Tuesday for him.
That man was right in front of her, his free hand tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"Jodha," hell, even his voice was cold and devoid of any emotions. "Your dear friend, Moti, how is she?"
What was he getting at? Since when did he care about her friends and most of all, how did he know about Moti?
His grin managed to chill her to the bones from how unsettling it was to see.
"I heard she is currently in Jaipur to visit a distant relative."
Her face paled as soon as she heard that, her eyes watered at the implication that he had sent his spies to track her movement and those of her loved ones.
"What the hell-."
"Don't mind me, I do have to know the people my fiancée surrounds herself with after all, don't I?" He sneered, his question rhetorical as he continued. "Such a beautiful woman like her is rare," he then paused to look down at her. "Although, Allah has blessed me with one of my own as well."
This motherf*c-
"As I was saying," he continued. "I have men around Jaipur, men with bloodthirst that has not been quenched in a long time now. A simple command from me and-."
He did not need to go on, the click he made was enough to conclude his sentence.
"You monster," she could only muster, her voice barely a whisper.
That seemed to egg him on as he continued, "Don't worry, Jodha, I will make sure she dies an honorable death. I am a monster after all but not that type of monster."
The built-up tears she had in her eyes rolled down her cheeks, his thumb wiped away so gently she would have felt safe if not for the fact he was the reason for those tears in the first place.
"I can't promise that her death would be quick though. I'll make sure it is as slow and painful as anyone's death in my hands could be and you, my dear Jodha, will be there to watch every single part of it."
"Ah, how can I forget your dear friend, Suryabhan Singh? That lovesick puppy of a doctor who hangs around you," he paused to see her widened eyes stare up at him. "I should gouge out his eyes for daring to stare at my dear betrothed. Maybe I should start with him instead. Tell me, nurse, what organ of his should I harvest first? His eyes? His brain? Or should I just perform heart surgery on him without anesthetics?"
A broken gasp escaped her lips as she pushed at his chest, the playful expression from earlier was back as he moved away. One would have thought he was just making some harmless jokes, they would just have to miss the tears in her own eyes. The fact that he could casually threaten her friends- what kind of man had Bhapusa arranged her marriage to?
Without a second glance, she shoved away from him, her legs moving her towards the exit. If she had to spend one more minute under the same roof as that- that man, she was going to lose the little bit of patience she had.
Her steps were quick, her eyes on the exit when she heard Maa Sa's voice, the worry evident, making Jodha stop in her steps.
"Jodha bete, why are you leaving so soon?"
Thanking her stars that she had wiped her tears before making her way for the exit or else she'd have to explain to Maa Sa why she was crying.
While Bhapusa and everyone at home were wary about their jamaisa, they had no idea of how wary they should be of him. The last thing she needed was to give Jalal a reason to threaten her family next.
"Hmm, Maa Sa," she put on a face, her right hand going to feel her temple to make her act even more realistic. "I have a bit of a migraine and-."
Maa Sa sighed, her hand touching her daughter's forehead, "You should not walk so fast with a migraine or it will get worse. I will call for Bhagwan Das to give you a lift."
Just then, the last voice she wanted to hear right now made its unwanted presence known behind her.
"I will give her a lift, Aunty."
Oh for goodness' sake, when would he leave her alone?
She turned, the fake smile still plastered to her face as she replied, "You don't have to, I'll order an Uber instead. I don't want to bother you or anything."
There was that look again, that calculated look she hated a lot. He advanced towards her and she was tempted to move back but the fact that Maa Sa was behind them watching stopped her in her tracks.
Jodha tried not to flinch the moment his arm wrapped around her waist, his palm resting against her left hip.
"What type of man would I be if I allowed my fiancée to ride in an Uber alone?"
Maa Sa smiled at the scene as if she was charmed by this jallad. Jodha could almost tell that she was thankful to Parvati that her daughter was getting married to a gentleman.
A gentleman?! Ha!
"Of course, of course, it is too late out here and it would be better if you let a person you know accompany you home, bete," Maa Sa nodded in agreement.
Knowing that any form of argument was going to be useless, she nodded, pulling away from Jalal before walking down to the car park.
She was going to need the strength to withstand being within the same space as this man.
***
Maybe he went too far with his words, way too far but then, she had to bring up the fact that she had seen him murder Senator John Burke in cold blood that evening.
May your soul burn in the lowest abyss of hell, Burke, he swore to himself as he reclined his back against his seat. Spending time with the snakes within that building was more draining than he had expected.
How long was he to sit amid these scheming b*st*rds who pretended to be a paragon of virtue when their cupboards had the bones of their victims rattling?
Senator Burke, for one, was viewed as America's best choice - a family man known for his piety. He would have made a perfect president, in the people's eyes, if he decided to run for office. Yet, that son of a b*tch had done the unthinkable.
Jalal could have settled for siccing his men on Burke, god knows he wanted to do exactly that until he had Abdul hack into the senator's files. The images he found were enough to make him throw up and enough for him to know that a man like Burke did not deserve to spend an extra second on this planet.
All he had to do was blackmail that slimy worm to a backstreet alley and just as he thought, Senator Burke had made his way over.
"Representative Khan?" His beady eyes widened in shock as he came face-to-face with the angel of death himself. The older man swallowed thickly before clearing his throat as he tried to compose himself. "I- What are you doing here?"
His eyes hardened in cold rage as he slowly advanced on the old man who took a few steps back in response.
"Good evening, Senator Burke," he greeted, his tone implying everything but a good evening for the trembling man who was almost about to escape when three of his men, Iqbal, Junaid and his younger brother, Mirza blocked his path. Abdul walked over to Jalal with a tray covered in a black cloth.
"W-what is going on? I-I did not expect to see you here," the man stumbled over his words, with a jittery expression on his face. "W-were you also called here by-?"
Just from a nod by Jalal, a gunshot rang through the air, Burke landing on the ground, his face meeting the hard concrete floor. Iqbal had fired a shot to the back of the old scumbag's knee.
Then, Junaid kicked the old man onto his back which earned the five men a weak yowl from Burke.
"R-rep Khan-," he whimpered in pain.
Too bad, it was only a taste of what was to come next and even that would not be enough for the women and girls he had subjected to his perverse desires.
Several hours had passed with the old man bloodied and unable to let out a single sentence without coughing up blood. The white t-shirt and Burke's ruddy face were all stained with his blood which formed a puddle on the ground.
Not wanting to grant this waste of space and oxygen any more respite, he picked up the gun from the tray, aiming it at Burke's forehead.
"P-please," he begged like the pathetic worm he was. Did he listen to the pleas of those women and girls before he did what he did to them? Why would Jalal offer mercy to such a person?
His index finger pressed on the trigger, emptying the full clip into the b*st*rd's head. It was after that he heard a sharp gasp.
His lips curled into a smile as he turned to look at his lovely fiancée, her face pressed against the cool glass of his air-conditioned Audi. The streetlamps from outside cast a warm glow which highlighted her beautiful features.
It was a shame she had happened to witness him murdering Senator Burke. He'd have preferred no one got to see that which was why he chose that abandoned alley, but fate just had it so that she would witness that night.
He should have killed her that night, in fact, Mirza was about to go after her when she caught up to the fact that she had been caught.
So, what stopped you from going after her?
She was Senator Bharmal Raj Solanki's daughter. He'd rather not bring tears to the family of such a man. At least, Senator Solanki did not give him enough reasons to make him a target on Jalal's radar.
But Jodha had ended up on his radar that night - all because she happened to be at the wrong place at the right time.
Not that Jalal regretted it, here she was in his car, avoiding his gaze even though he could tell that she felt his presence.
Maybe I went too far.
"Jodha."
She remained rooted, her back facing him. Ya Allah, did he really rattle her to the level of shell shock?
"Jaan," he tried again, his voice softer than he'd usually have it. That seemed to work as she slowly turned to meet him, her eyes fixed into a glare.
"What do you want this time? Is there another threat in store for me?"
I did go too far, came that little voice called his stone-hard conscience. Since when did he start feeling guilty for most of his actions?
"I will not harm Moti or any of your friends or family," he pinched the bridge of his nose. I might end up hurting that doctor if he does not learn to respect his boundaries - that was the unspoken part. "I will not harm anyone, not unless they give me a reason to, Jodha."
He could tell she did not believe him from the way she scoffed at his words. In her mind, the man she found on the floor was just an innocent soul who was unfortunate to cross his part. If only you knew it was none other than Senator Burke.
"Like the man you murdered?"
How did he surmise it? Someone ought to give him a medal for his accurate prediction.
"That man, Jaan," he held out a finger as he looked up at her. "Was none other than Senator Burke."
***
"Senator Burke? I don't believe you," she turned away briefly before turning to see that he was in fact serious about what he just told her.
The man was known for his preaching of "Christian family values" until an anonymous source had tipped off investigators which started a whole journey into the rabbit hole which made her want to throw up just thinking about it.
The investigators had found gigabytes of child s*xual assault material on his personal devices instigating a search party for the man.
So far now, it has been two months since law enforcement had believed that the man was hiding away on some private island somewhere. The incident she had witnessed took place four months ago.
"You-?" She muttered, her index finger pointing at him.
There was that stupid look on his face again as he shrugged nonchalantly as if he hadn't just admitted to murdering a fellow politician. Fair enough, Senator Burke deserved it and worse but the fact that Jalal had taken it upon himself to inflict extrajudicial justice was unsettling or so to say.
"You shouldn't feel bad for him, Jodha. It is unfortunate I could not extend his torture for an extra hour," his face hardened as he sat up now.
Jodha found herself nodding. That cleared a lot of things for now, however, she could not easily ignore him being an executioner in the sense of it - a jallad just as she had called him a few hours earlier.
It was then she also put two and two together. If he was the one responsible for Senator Burke's death, then it meant he knew about-
"You are the anonymous source."
He shrugged again, letting out a chuckle, his arms out wide as if to gesture his admission, "In the flesh, Jodha. As we speak, that crook's body is at the bottom of the deepest lake as food for whatever lurks down there. It is a matter of time before he'd be written off as dead, which he is."
At that, Jodha blinked, turning her head back to view the quiet and empty road outside. This was a lot for her to come to terms with and the migraine she had faked at the party was starting to creep up on her.
"No one," Jalal said. "No one, Jaan, is a good person in this game of politics. Not even the politician with the 'most spotless' record."
She turned back to look at him. His face took on that playful expression he had donned back at the party. How he could give her that look as if he hadn't admitted to-.
She slowly nodded as if to say she understood, which she did all too well.
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