FF: Unnamed (chapter eight updated) - Page 3

Originally posted by: Meghateresa

That is okay didi... I thought Preet was supporting Pavanyas as she works for them...

Originally posted by: rani7131

Awesome update Delia.👏. Btw who is charminder??

Originally posted by: rani7131

I dont think she knows about my ff😕. But, Delia what is preet father and uncle relation? Cause in the ff Preet's uncle called Preet's father jijaji or something. .

Originally posted by: QueenKordeilia

Here's my take on the 'Manu and Preet are two different people' prompt.

Now, to those of you who have already read my other works, I must warn you that the style of writing I've used in the first chapter is very different to my usual style. It's more like watching an episode than reading a story so there's no getting into anyone's heads besides the 'monologue thoughts'. It was pretty difficult to write since I am so used to describing character's thought processes as well their feelings at every turn. I might revert to my usual style of writing if this doesn't cut it for me.

Character background (sorry, no pictures):

Manpreet Hundal - Born and raised in Gaguwal. She and her father live in a small house near the residence of her maternal uncle. The closest mother figure she has is her aunt. She's got a few cousins too albeit she doesn't get on very well with them. Father and uncle are very traditional (read sexist) and don't approve of Preet being friends with boys. She's not one to sit idly and watch life go by so she goes out to do little jobs here and there which is how she knows Manu; he pays her to help make arrangements whenever the Pawanias have a function.

Preet has just turned eighteen and she knows what's next on her agenda, according to her family. Sometimes, she thinks it'd be nice to get away from her controlling family, but other times, she worries about ending up in a family even more controlling than her own...

Manpreet Singh Pawania - ordained as the Shah of the Pawanias since birth due to the fact that he's the only son of the late former Shah, Charan. He's the apple of his mother's eye but his relationship with her has been somewhat strained ever since he tried to help his late sister, Simran, to elope. He doesn't like the way his mother treats his other sister, Gunjan, especially when it comes to her marriage with Aman but he knows the Pawania reputation is just as important as his sister's happiness. The crossfire which killed Simran still haunts him, in more ways than one, one of those reasons being the subsequent disappearance of his childhood friend, Raj.

Manu's often quick to bring up the grisly end of star crossed lovers Simran and Raman whenever another Bajwa-Pawania pair are found out but no one - even his mother - knows just how well he knows the pain of loving someone from the enemy clan...

That's it for now!

~~~~~

Index

Chapter one

Chapter two

Preet was visibly anxious when Rajveer approached her, an obvious look of excitement on his face. She observed her surroundings as if to see if anyone was watching her before glancing back up at him. He merely grinned in response.

"I'm so glad I ran into you again," he started, fixing her with an intense look that made her blush. "My name is Rajveer," he said smoothly, "but you can lovingly call me Raj."

'Lovingly?' she asked herself, coughing as her cheeks grew pinker.

She recovered just as he asked, "So, what's your name?"

"What if I don't want to tell you?" she questioned flirtatiously, her voice sounding calm and collected. He frowned, looking confused before resembling a puppy who'd just been kicked away.

"Why not?"

"I don't give my name to strangers," she answered smugly.

"I'll just have to stop being a stranger to you then," he resolved, his frown instantly turning into a grin. "So, which clan are you from?"

"You think I'll tell you that when I won't tell you my name?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow. "No chance"-she shook her head-"How about you tell me where you're from?"

"Gladly," he complied, tipping his head to the side. "I'm from Delhi."

Preet crossed her arms and gave him a once over. "You sure look the part but your accent doesn't sound very Hindi," she stated rather confidently. "In fact, you sound like you're from here."

"Guilty," he replied, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm Punjabi but I moved to Delhi quite young."

"From Gaguwal?" she inquired.

"Maybe," he replied coolly, a cocky look on his face. "So, are you from here?"

"Maybe," she mimicked teasingly.

"I can tell from your accent," he told her, giving her a pointed look. "Which clan are you from?"

"It's not any Gaguwal clan..."

"You live here, don't you?"

"Here?" she asked innocently, pointing at the Friends' Corner.

Raj rolled his eyes. "I'm talking about Gaguwal."

"What do you think?"

"What clan's territory do you live in?"

"Not the Bajwas', that's for sure," she commented, a look of disgust overcoming her face. Raj suddenly dropped his cheerful demeanour and opened his mouth to say something when he was cut off. "I've got to get going. See you later..."

Preet walked off into the woods, not turning around to catch the pain-stricken look on Raj's face.

Manu pulled himself up from the haystack, hastily bending over to grab his pants which were bunched up at his ankles and tug them all the way back up. Picking the needles of hay off his attire, he actively avoided looking at the naked girl who was lying down on the ground, silently watching him.

"Here," he said, taking out some money from his pocket and holding his hand out in her general direction.

"I'm still just charity to you?" she spoke, not making a single move to take the money out of his outstretched palm. She sounded subdued, her disappointment with Manu ringing loud and clear.

"You were never charity to me," he responded calmly, turning his head to look at her for a split second but then turning away again.

"You still offer me money," she pointed out, "for my services."

At this, he whipped around to face her, apparently no longer caring for her state of undress. He fixed her with a long-suffering glare, looking tiredly angry, and shoved the money back into his pocket.

"And I wish you would just take the money when offered," he told her, maintaining eye contact with her, "instead of stubbornly holding on to your false pride."

"My false pride is all I have left!" she retorted, grabbing her discarded kameez and holding it to her chest. "I gave you my honour and respect years ago. I'll never get it back."

"That was your idea, your choice!" he exclaimed, clenching his fists. "If you had just taken that money from me without being stubborn about having to earn it, we could have still been friends today!"

"Just like how your sister and your friend's brother stayed friends?" Manu looked away from her, blood rushing to cheeks and colouring them a faint red. "No. Friendship would never have been enough. And after knowing what it's like to be in your arms, it never will be enough."

Manu sighed, his features softening and his fists unclenching. "Tanu, we'll never know what could have happened if we'd done things differently but what I do know is that things will never go back to the way they were before we crossed the line."

"And this is where you tell me that it's better if we don't see each other again," she muttered, her voice thick as if she was on the verge of crying, as she proceeded to slowly put her clothes back on. "But to call you again if I reach the point of starvation."

"Tanu, please just accept my help without question next time. I-"

"Forget it," she muttered as she pulled her kameez over her head. "Every time you agree to meet me, I get my hopes up like a fool, thinking it's finally going to be different this time."

"And every time you call me, I think it's going to be different," he said tiredly. "I think that I'll just give you the money without having to do what I always end up having to do. But you always force my hand and then don't even take the money."

She sighed in frustration and shook her head as she pulled her shalwar on. "But you know how it's going to end before you even come here. I know you do. So why do you still agree to meet me? We both know the answer."

Manu scoffed as his face went red. "Just in case you actually need the money!" he blurted out, his face growing hotter by the second. "I don't take pleasure in all this. If I did, I wouldn't even bother bringing money!"

"Of course, Shah Ji," she said through gritted teeth. "You seem to need an excuse to meet me so we'll leave it at that." She threw her dupatta on and left the tiny shack, leaving an obviously embarrassed Shah behind.