The Bachelor

Chapter 12 : Acceptance?

9:00 pm, 24th February, Galaxy Villa, Madh Island, Mumbai.

I took another sip of whiskey as I waited for Mukti to complete her interviews. Alya was the only contestant left, and frankly there was no need of an interview. Mukti probably knew Alya even better than I did. After all, they were best friends before Alya left me. But, I guess the showrunners were demanding that the interview be taken for formality's sake.

I wondered what Mukti would make of all the contestants and who she'd recommend for the elimination. The easy answer was of course-Soha. But I couldn't eliminate her even though it's what I wanted to do. I had to talk to my lawyers...and make them figure out a loophole in that stupid contract! I had to work in stealth mode because I didn't want Mr. Malhotra's little snitch ratting me out, either.

It felt good to take a break for an episode and just drink in peace. For the first time, I wasn't the centre of attention and I was quite enjoying my free time.

I decided to use the washroom before I was called up by Raghav for the elimination ceremony. I straightened my collar and stood up from the bar stool.

I was dragging my feet to the washroom when I bumped into someone on the way.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, at the collision.

I was about to yell at the person who'd hit me, but when I looked up I was pretty taken aback at the sight.

It was Jeff with her make-up and eyeliner all smudged, and her eyes watering profusely. She was choking back tiny sobs and was evidently in a hurry to get somewhere.

Jeff had always been such a happy and cheerful person. The sight of her like this made my stomach drop. There had to be a serious reason she seemed so broken...

"Jeff, what happened?" I asked worriedly, as I placed my hands on her shoulder.

She just pushed my hands away and sprinted from there before I could make another move.

"Jeff, wait. What happened?" I shouted, as she ran away.

"Jeff! Stop running!" I heard a voice in the background, as I turned around.

I watched as Mukti attempted to follow Jeff. She seemed to be equally worried and upset.

What the fuck was happening? Was I missing something?!

I grabbed Mukti by the arm as she attempted to whizz past me.

"Mukti, what's wrong? What's happened? Why is Jeff crying?" I asked.

"Manik, we have to find her. I think she's going to hurt herself!" Mukti said, in a fearful voice.

"Hurt herself?! Why?!" I asked, absolutely baffled by her revelation.

"I'll explain everything later! But right now, we have to make sure she doesn't do anything drastic!" Mukti exclaimed.

As Mukti tried to move again, I held her back and said. "Mukti, I'm not moving an inch until you tell me what's going on!"

Mukti yanked her arm out of my grip and huffed in frustration. "She kissed me! Okay?!"

"What?!" I exclaimed in surprise.

However, as I thought about it for a few seconds, it all started to make sense...I suddenly understood why Jeff tried to act more feminine and cover up her knowledge about cricket...I understood exactly why I'd never been able to think about her...in a manner that was...romantic. I'd always thought of her as a buddy...like Cabir...or even Mukti.

I was an idiot for not realising it sooner! I was so engrossed in my own problems and clearing up my own messes that I'd failed to identify that she was struggling with the exact same ordeal I'd seen Cabir facing for years!