'come on, give me a smile. I can't stand it when you are angry with me' Kajol said pulling Shahrukh's cheek
'you won't change your mind and don't expect me to change mine' he said giving her a fake smile
'I will never give up trying' Kajol said smiling and winked at him, then she placed her palm over her head and acted dizzy
'Kajol are you okay?' Shahrukh asked and held her hand feeling worried
'gotcha!' she said showing him her tongue
He shook his head 'this isn't funny Kajol' he said angrily and she just giggled
'what are you doing?' Rani asked when she joined them
'nothing much' Kajol replied then looked right and left 'where is Amira?'
'she called a car and left' Rani replied
'What? Why?' Kajol asked, she looked back at Shahrukh then slapped her forehead 'it means that things didn't go well' she said and Shahrukh raised an eyebrow knowing exactly what she means 'yes Shahrukh, my hunger strike is still valid' she said with a fake smile and Shahrukh was fuming
'why do you really insist on the hunger strike as a solution? You won't be able to bear being hungry for more than three days for god's sake' Rani asked in boredom
'I am not testing my ability to starve myself; I am testing mom and how long she will bear seeing me like this. It is her that threatened to destroy her marriage with dad, she started it all and she is the one who stop it'
'anyway, look at the bright side Kajol' Rani said
'what bright side Rani?'
'Shahrukh will be driving you home today' she said then looked at Shahrukh 'the girl hasn't eaten anything for the whole day, I think she feeling a little dizzy, right?' Rani said winking
'oh yeah a lot, I don't think I can drive home' Kajol pouted playfully
'you can go with Rani and I will drive your car' Shahrukh said coldly
'don't you dare touch my car without my permission' Kajol said firmly then found Shahrukh looking right and left 'who are you looking for?' she asked
'I must speak to Abhishik' he said and was about to leave but Kajol held his hand
'absolutely not. Talking to him now is a very bad idea, it is clear that things didn't go well and I don't know what he might say to you and how will you react to it' she said at once 'Abhishik already told me that he doesn't want to marry me' Kajol said happily
'and you believed him?'
'even if he was lying, I don't care. Anyway, you will have to talk with your sister and know what happened from her'
'why me? why don't you both go to her and talk with her?'
'Shahrukh you need to talk to your sister and discuss everything with her like we did now'
'we didn't, and you are the one who came to me' he said coldly
Kajol grumbled 'that is too much' she said then took a deep breath 'let's go to Salma, Rani' she pulled Rani away from Shahrukh
At the end of the night Shahrukh gave up and agreed to drive Kajol home with her car while Rani would go home with hers. Kajol and Shahrukh rode the car and he started the engine to go home.
Kajol kept looking at Shahrukh who was driving silently, he noticed that she didn't move her eyes from him 'are you okay?' he asked
'yes, just looking at you. Is it bothering you?' she asked calmly
He chuckled 'Do you really care about what bothers me and what doesn't?' he replied coldly
'I know you are angry with me Shahrukh, but I know that this anger is out of love, not the opposite' she said with a short smile 'let me ask you a question'
'sure' he said still fixing his eyes on the road
'if you were asked to sacrifice your life for me, you won't hesitate doing it Shahrukh; you would die for me, right?'
He sighed and looked at her then nodded slowly. She smiled 'that's how it is Shahrukh. You won't hesitate to give up your life for me and I didn't think twice about my idea for the same reason' she said kindly
'but you could discuss it with me and make me feel important in your life'
'you are important for god's sake' she said kindly
'Kajol this is suicide, I don't agree to it. I will talk to your mom and try with her'
'that's great and I really appreciate it, but believe me it won't work out'
'when it doesn't; we will think of another solution; that's how things must go'
She ran her palms through her hair 'Fine, do it Shahrukh, but my hunger strike is still here until things go the way we want. I don't trust your plan'
'damn it Kajol, tum bohot ziddi hoon' he shouted
'I know' she said looking in front of her and folding her arms before her chest 'promise me that you will talk to your sister tonight, if she was sleeping just wake her up, because I am sure that the first thing she will do tomorrow is that she will go to college even before breakfast, then she will plea that she has to finish painting and we won't get a chance to talk to her'
He tightened his grip on the driving wheel 'please don't pressure me'
'why?' she whined
He bit his lower lip furiously 'because she called me today to apologize but she ended up saying things that hurt me'
'why? What happened?'
'she talked about that she has to take her decisions on her own thing'
'Shahrukh she is right and I remember that we spoke about it earlier, the girl needs to breathe and you aren't giving her a chance, you are making so much drama for no reason'
Shahrukh suddenly pressed the brakes and the car stopped harshly 'I am scared for her, damn it, and you are doing the same to me. You knew my weakness point and you keep doing exactly the opposite of what I want. I am not making drama for no reason Kajol. I am hurt' he cried out sadly
'will you please calm down? None of us is happy making you angry, but you can't control others' lives because you are scared for them. None of us is a kid Shahrukh' she said patting over his shoulder
'why I can't protect the people I love? I couldn't protect my parents; I can't protect my sister and I can't protect my girlfriend' he asked hitting his palms to the driving wheel
'don't speak like this. There is nothing in your hand, don't overload yourself Shahrukh' she said trying to hold his hands
'since our parents died, it became my responsibility to take care of her Kajol' Shahrukh looked at her sadly with tears forming in his eyes 'and now when I tried to take care of you, I failed' he said and looked down
'You are great person Shahrukh, but we aren't gods to control how people's life should go, even if they were closed ones. All we have to do is advise them and be by their side when they make mistakes or have a hard time. Nobody is perfect' she said kindly rubbing his back
Shahrukh pulled her closer to him and kissed her forehead 'thanks for being by my side'
'you are most welcome' she said with a big smile
He sniffed 'but I am still angry with you' he said playfully
She groaned jokingly 'just drive us home' she said, he chuckled and started the engine.
Shahrukh opened his room's door and came in, he found Amira waiting for him sitting at the edge of the bed. When he closed the door behind him, she stood up 'I was waiting for you Shahrukh, I am so sorry for what I said and did when I called you. You know how much I respect mom and dad and how much I love you. I didn't mean what you understood' she said apologizing
'okay'
She scratched her head and shrugged 'ok..ay!'
'but we still haven't finished our conversation' he said calmly and she nodded, he sat down and she did too 'my only objection was on the way you chose to "find love" as you call it. First you did this out of revenge and second it is not in a suitable way or a suitable time'
'um... go on' she said smiling nervously
'it was a sudden idea because of you and Abhishik breaking up, then you tried to normalize it and find the love with other ways, I am not against love of course but I am against the way you are using to find it, the final thing that you still haven't finished college. Didn't you learn anything from Poja? Even though she is doing her best to spoil things between me and Kajol yet she hasn't taken official actions because she is waiting for Kajol to finish college, am I right?'
She nodded 'yes, I understand your anger'
'and as I know for sure you won't change your mind, but can I ask you something?'
'depends'
He chuckled 'will you please just postpone the whole thing until you graduate?'
'sounds good' she sighed 'fine I will speak to Poja'
He gave a relieved sigh 'oh, thank god' he said then held her hand 'I am sorry again that things between you and Abhishik didn't work out'
'well, it did' she said surprising him
'really?'
She nodded 'we talked, Kajol told him about what I said and did; and I guess we are back but there is no guarantee. There is nothing in our hands anyway'
'so there is no arranged marriage?' he asked again checking
'yeah, kind of. So, I hope we are good now'
He sighed happily 'Great. how are you feeling?' he asked
'confused, but time will heal everything'
He sighed 'Amira I want to confess something; as I promised that I won't hide anything and to explain why I reacted to your idea in this way' he said then continued 'promise me that Kajol won't know anything about what I am going to tell you' he said and she nodded.
He took a deep breath 'a part of what I am going to say is so obvious, that part is that Poja is teasing me and she doesn't want me and Kajol to be together; the thing that no one knows about that she has been doing it since Diwali, which was before the Bachchans scandal and before everything. She told me that she knows everything and knows about the plans and that she knows that me and Kajol love each other since we were teenagers, she asked me to stay away from Kajol. Poja is doing all this not because she only wants a good future for her daughter or because I am not suitable for her, she is doing it all on purpose to hurt "me" as if she enjoys seeing me tortured'
'so you want to say that she is getting benefit of "finding me a suitor" thing and it is not just about keeping me away from Abhishik's way'
'now you see what I see, Poja doesn't love us or raised us for our own good' he said and she looked at him sadly 'Poja is taking revenge from both of us'
In the morning Kajol joined the table just to pass time with Shahrukh on breakfast and go on with blackmailing her mother. She just sat with them with empty plate.
'Are you still on your hunger strike?' Poja asked firmly
'yes mom, it was your idea in the beginning and I have to admit that I really like it, let's see if it works' she replied faintly
'I only threatened to do it and I was protecting my family, what are you protecting?' Poja asked in disgust
'enough! Don't you get sick of repeating the same conversations over and over?' Arjit shouted, took a deep breath and looked to Kajol 'for god's sake at least drink a cup of juice'
'dad, I am not trying to lose weight here. No food, no juice and not even water' Kajol said kindly
Poja looked at Shahrukh and placed her palm over her cheek 'I am surprised, your charm didn't work on her and make her stop what she is doing'
Shahrukh shrugged and shook his head 'it didn't. I think she stopped loving me' he said coldly and clicked his tongue
Kajol looked at him and narrowed her eyes threatening then blew in anger, he rolled his eyes 'where is your sister and Rani anyway?'
'Rani has a headache since yesterday and Amira went to college' Shahrukh replied
'so why are you sitting away then?' Kajol asked and tapped over the empty chair next to her and he shifted his place and sat next to her 'did you speak to her or not?' she whispered
'I did, they are back but things don't seem to be stable. No guarantees' he whispered back
'if you don't mind, Shahrukh will be dropping me to college and picking me up at the end of the day because you know, I might get dizzy; I can't drive this way' Kajol said and pouted sarcastically at Poja
'no problem, enjoy your time' Poja replied with a cold smile
'I hate this sentence' Kajol whispered to Shahrukh
'it is a bit scary to be honest' he whispered back 'I am done, are you ready?' he asked in a normal voice
'yes, let's go. Bye mom and dad' Kajol waved at them, Shahrukh took her hand and they went out of the dining room.
'before I forget, I have something for you' Kajol said when they rode the car, she opened her bag and got out an envelope 'here you go'
'what is this?'
'I know you are still angry at me, so this is another way to talk to you without making you angrier. We spoke earlier about writing letters to you; I think their time has come'
'thanks' he said with a half-smile
'read it at the office' she said and handed him the envelope
'okay, I will. I am surprised that you will spend all the time with me in the car without saying anything!'
'I will sleep, I spent the whole night writing you this letter' she said, closed her eyes and fell asleep at once
"Dear Shahrukh,
First of all, I want to tell you how much I am proud of you because you finally set your feelings and your insecurities free, there is nothing to be ashamed of. I am happy that you spoke about what hurts you back on that day on breakfast and when we talked in the car, that meant a lot Shahrukh, no matter how you said it but I am glad to share it with you.
Second, this is our first day of the fight and of my hunger strike, yesterday isn't counted because I surprised you with my decision, my stomach doesn't agree with me but I don't care.
We had many fights I have to admit, but none of them reached this level. I know you have all the right to be mad at me, no one blames you. I just want you to know that even if it looks crazy to you, but it is for our own good.
I also want you to know that I will always find a way to reach you, nothing can separate us neither mom nor you anger.
That's all for today, my second letter will reach you soon.
Yours,
Kajol"
Shahrukh grinned when he read Kajol's letter, and yes, he was still angry but he was circumventing the situation and taking benefits of this letter and the other ones he is waiting to receive.
Things were back to normal a little bit, but he had two things running in his head, first is to find a way to talk to Poja alone about something that has been going in his head since he saw her black and white photo and his mom's too, and second thing is to find a way to end the partnership with the Bachchans. He didn't get a plan about the last thing and he knows it not something easy and the contract itself has some complexes but he wants to make Amitabh angry. He thought for a while then he got an idea, to make Amitabh angry and make Poja come to talk to him herself. He signed in to his email and started typing.
He wrote shortly to Amitabh and Abhishik that they all must see lawyers if the company's lawyers aren't enough, the procedures of ending the partnership will start taking place in the next few months and he is ready to pay for any penal clauses.
After he sent the email, he heard his phone chiming, when he looked at it, he found that Kajol sent him a message "change of plans, we finished early today so one of my colleagues will drive me home. Your letter will be ready don't worry ;)" Kajol's message didn't make him feel good, not because he isn't driving her home but he felt that she didn't feel well at college and that's why she asked someone else to drive her home early.
'Anarkali!' Shahrukh called when he was back home
'yes sahb' she replied and came to him
'when did Kajol come back?'
'so early' Anarkali said then looked left and right 'when she came back; she asked me to tell no one and she said she will go to sleep. I know she told me not to say but I can't hide it, she looked so ill when she came sahb' she whispered
'thanks a lot, Anarkali'
'please don't be angry at her, Kajol ma'am is so kind, and you look scary when you get angry' she said shyly
Shahrukh chuckled 'okay Anarkali I promise you I won't get angry'
'there is another thing, Poja ma'am asked me to tell her when you come back, shall I tell her now or after you freshen up and eat something?'
He thought a little 'tell her I will be at the study. Is there anybody there?'
'no, it is empty'
'great' he said, she left and he headed to the study. When he was in the study, he picked up the photo album he looked at the last time. A few minutes and Poja came in to the study.
'I knew how to make you come and talk to me' Shahrukh said confidently
'are you challenging me? Why do you keep doing things that you know that it will make me angry? You have crossed the lines Shahrukh'
'I am not surprised that he called you so fast'
'what do you want Shahrukh?'
He snapped 'I do look a lot like him, isn't it the truth?'
Poja's heart started beating fast 'what do you mean?'
'My dad, Arjun, and it is not only me; my sister also looks like my mom. Didn't you think that I would notice this?'
'I don't understand' Poja swallowed and tried to stay calm
'one day I was going through these pictures, and I found this one' he said showing her the picture 'I know that the cropped guy was Amitabh by the way and not my uncle as everyone would think. It is not a family picture'
'anyone could have missed with the photos; and Amitabh is my family's friend' Poja shrugged 'what is wrong with that you witty thing?'
'I know it all, I know that you loved my father back then and I also know the other part of the story, that Amitabh loved my mom; but unfortunately, neither you married my father nor Amitabh married my mother'
'your uncle knows ...'
He interrupted angrily 'that you loved his brother back then, but does he know that you still do?' he said and she widened her eyes 'and does he know why you took me and my sister to live with you?
She cleared her throat 'I did it for your own good, who would take care of you?'
'I know that uncle wouldn't leave me and my sister alone, but you said it first to be "your idea" and "it is you" that rescued us from a dark future'
'is that how you say thank you after all what I did?' Poja asked in disgust
'You did it just to see parts of your old lover around you, you might have thought that it could be you together instead and we would be your children. What is strange; that in the same time you made us live with you - as it seems noble and kind and we should be thankful- you did it just to demean us, to remind us of your favor all the time. It is like taking care of sheep for Eid, you feed them to get them slaughtered in the end'
Poja folded her arms before her chest coldly 'are you threatening me with what you think you know? That is what you want to tell me?'
'I just came here to tell you that I know it all and I am disgusted. You are taking revenge from another people who just look like the ones you think they hurt you while they didn't. They just fell in love and were meant to be together, in life and death'
Poja started clapping sarcastically 'good job detective Shahrukh. You think you are smart but unfortunately you aren't smart enough. You are digging your grave with your own hands'
'Your daughter is killing herself to be with me, why wouldn't I do so? I think we are meant to be together too' he said confidently then walked towards her and handed her the whole photo album 'in case you wanted to take a look' he said and left her alone at the study.
When Shahrukh came in to his room, he noticed and envelope on his desk, he smiled and walked towards it. He took the envelope, opened it, took out the letter and started reading.
"Dear Shahrukh,
If I wanted to describe how I enjoy being with you or talking to you, all the letters and languages in the world won't be enough. I know I can talk to you whenever I want and you won't resist it, but talking to you knowing that you are angry with me isn't easy.
Okay, I can't lie anymore, I admit that this is the second day for real of my hunger strike and it is not an easy thing. One of my colleagues was eating a pizza today in front of me and I swear I was about to burst out crying, but you are worth it Shahrukh so I won't give up.
How are you today? I hope you had a very productive day. Sorry we didn't get the chance to be together at the end of the day but as I told you we finished early today.
Yours,
Hungry Kajol"
In the morning Kajol woke up to find Poja and Anarkali in her room, packing up her bags and emptying her wardrobe.
'What the hell is going on in my room?' she asked and left her bed 'mom! Where are we going so suddenly?'
'We aren't going anywhere. You are' she replied while folding clothes
'What do you mean? Where are sending me?' she said tottering
'Leave us alone Anarkali, I will call for you in few minutes' she said and Anarkali went out then Poja continued and sat her down 'To a rehab center'
'What? Why are you doing so? I am not addicted to anything and I haven't gone crazy yet' Kajol shouted
'haven't you seen your face in the mirror? This is your third day without food, you have been behaving crazy these days because of that boy; you are addicted to him and you need to stay away from him for good'
'I don't accept that. Does dad know? I am sure he won't agree to this, unlike you he loves me and cares about me' she shouted and stood up
'and do you care about him or even me? you only care about Shahrukh, he made you forget your parents and their threatened marriage, he made you forget how the Bachchans are good for us and he is the reason you are taking stupid decisions for a while. You have to stay away from him'
'Mom do you hear yourself? It is you that is spoiling everything; you can't stand seeing me happy' Kajol burst out crying
'Do you know why I always ask you to enjoy your time with Shahrukh? Because it is temporary, just have fun with him for a while then look for what is good for you. Nobody will ever forget what his father and mother were, he will only take you down; being with him gives you a bad reputation'
'I don't care about this, I love him' Kajol said faintly feeling dizzy and sat at the edge of bed
'I will call for Anarkali to help you get dressed' Poja said coldly
'I am not going anywhere; do you hear me?' Kajol yelled
Shahrukh and Rani stormed into Kajol's room when she was yelling 'why are you packing? Where are you going?' Rani asked feeling confused
Shahrukh sat next to Kajol 'what is going on Kajol?' he asked kindly yet worried when he saw how Kajol was looking stressed
'mom is sending me to rehab' Kajol said sadly
'What?' he asked in a shock 'no you can't' he said to Poja
Poja scoffed 'don't be silly, of course I can' she said
Shahrukh walked and stood in front of Poja and folded his hands begging 'please don't do it, don't send her away; not to such a place'
'You aren't good for her. I will be clear with you; I don't want you to be together'
'Will you keep Kajol here if I left the house for good?' Shahrukh asked calmly
Poja smiled 'will if this is what you want, yeah; maybe'
Kajol stood up slowly and went towards Shahrukh 'no Shahrukh you can't leave'
'Come on make your decision, it is either you or her' Poja said
'dad won't agree to her idea, don't worry' Kajol said to Shahrukh
'Kajol please, she seems serious about it. I will find a way to convince uncle of me leaving the house' Shahrukh said reassuringly 'I can't let anything bad happen to you because of me'
'Shahrukh don't leave please' Kajol said placing her palm over his cheek and started crying, then she closed her eyes and fell unconscious in Shahrukh's arms.