OUR MARRIAGE IS JUST A PIECE OF PAPER : EPISODES 91 – 100
Episode 99
“No… That one small mistake changed everything. Our friendship and their relationship. But Jaai has the bravest and the strongest heart. Despite its brokenness, he makes sure I am happy with you. I wish he knew that it’s not possible.”
Why? Why is that not possible, Ahana? I can try… And I want to try.
“Her name is Zara Zaveri. We three were childhood besties. You wouldn’t believe that Zara and Jaai initially couldn’t tolerate each other’s presence, but then love brought them closer. Everything was more than perfect.
They were perfect and happy, as were their families.
Jaai is an adopted child. Our English teacher had adopted him, but life had been harsh to him. When he became successful, his parents were once again taken away from him.
They met with a terrible car accident. Sir couldn’t make it to the hospital, and his wife barely survived three hours. We were still in high school.
Jaai was really shattered. But amidst all this, our friendship grew stronger.
Jaai was able to complete his education with the funds left behind by his parents.
Dad, Grandpa, and Ma loved him, as did Zara’s parents. He is now a part of our family, perhaps more than that.”
“If everything was perfect, then what went wrong?” I asked when she stopped speaking.
But hearing Jaai’s story was really painful. That person has been through a lot, and yet, his cheerful smile hides his pain so well.
His agony is so different from mine.
It’s rightly said that the kindest hearts have gone through a lot of pain, and the most beautiful eyes have cried the most.
“Yeah! Everything was picture perfect. That’s what we thought, but it wasn’t a fairy tale after all. Jaai got very busy with his business. He wanted to achieve something.
His ambitions were huge, as was his love for Zara. But I think he wasn’t able to manage both,” she continued. The more she spoke, the more I got into it. I think I have misjudged Jaai a lot.
A flashback filled with moments of pain and happiness surrounded us. Three years ago…
It was a fortunate day, and everyone was very happy. I think I was the happiest of all. Jaai and Zara were getting engaged officially. I was with Zara in her room. The rest of the family and the relatives were downstairs.
A small ceremony had been arranged for the love birds. The Zaveri’s had a very huge mansion, large enough to host around 50-80 people. Only close family friends and relatives were invited.
The wedding was going to take place after 10 months.
“My God, Zar… You look stunning. This color glows on you. I swear J is going to fall in love again… And this time it’s going to be stronger…” I said, laughing.
She blushed. Zara really was beautiful. Fair and smooth skin with light brown eyes. Today, her auburn shoulder-length hair were done in a simple half pony.
Zara was wearing a light cream hue lehenga with an off-shoulder blouse. It had a pink border embroidered with sparkles around it.
She had designed it herself, as she had with my dress and Jaai’s. She had worked on it for about a month.
She was very excited, and today it could easily be seen through her eyes. And Jaai’s attire was also matching hers. Both colors were light baby pink. Jaai’s was a light off-white kurta and a jacket on top.
Mine was a light pink lehenga with a rose design and a sea green blouse with light golden embroidery.
A broad border at the end made it look even more beautiful. I teased her, saying that mine was more beautiful than hers.
He had to wear what Zara had designed. He didn’t have any other option anyway. And he was happy that way.
“Yeah… I know. But I swear he too will be looking hot in white. It suits him. Hey, look out. You might find a suitable boy.”
“Come on, Zar…”
“Girls… Are you…” Ma entered, calling us.
She froze, looking at us.
“Oh my God… I have such beautiful and gorgeous ladies here. I swear all the eyes will be on you. Zara, wait till Jaai sees you.”
We were all laughing. In about 15 minutes, the rings were to be exchanged. Ma left, saying that we should be downstairs in 5 minutes.
“Zar, remove that band from your finger,” I said.
She turned and made a face.
“What?” I gestured.
“Hana, are you serious? J gave me this band in London when he proposed to me for the first time.
I know it’s just a single and inexpensive ring band, but it means a lot to me. And also to him. So I am keeping this with me forever.”
I still remembered how excitedly Zara had narrated the entire thing to me. How Jaai had invited her to dinner and then surprised her with a dance and a ring he had brought for Zara. It was really romantic.
A side of Jaai I thought never existed. He had decorated the entire place with balloons. I was astonished when I saw the pictures. Each one had their name written on it. Soft music was playing while they swayed to the tunes of their favorite songs.
A picture-perfect romantic proposal any normal girl who reads a lot of romantic novels would wish for. And that wish was indeed fulfilled by Jaai.
“Very well then… But I still can’t believe how in the world did you fall for him,” I said, chuckling.
“Hana… Trust me… I still ask myself the same question. But it’s the most beautiful feeling in the world. To be loved so much by someone.
Loving oneself is easy, but loving someone more than yourself is a difficult task. I am lucky. I hope you too enjoy this,” she said, elbowing me.
“Yay! That you are. Anyways, let’s go downstairs.”
When we descended downstairs, the huge living room was beautifully and magnificently decorated with orchids and exotic flowers. Their fragrance surrounded us.
A bar counter with various brands of whiskey and liquor was arranged to celebrate the happiness. Everyone was happy.
Zara’s parents liked Jaai and were delighted that they were together. Everything was near perfect, but it just didn’t end well because not every time all’s well that doesn’t end well.
Ahana stopped midway. There were tears in her eyes. They reached her cheeks. I put my hand in my pocket to remove my handkerchief, but before that, she already wiped them with the back of her hands.
Every guy, for once, wants their girl to use his handkerchief, but I am the unlucky one.
“Then… what happened? He came, right?” I asked when she didn’t speak for a long time. I was really listening attentively.
She looked at me, and I had a very confused look on my face. She half-smiled.
“Of course he came. He didn’t abandon her. Jaai loved her then, and he loves her still.”
Was she taunting me?
“Then?” I was getting curious.
“He was just late…”
Late? So, was that a problem?
“Yeah, just late. But not by half an hour or one hour. He showed up at 1 am, the next day, when the ceremony was supposed to begin at 7 pm.”
“What? Are you serious? How is that possible?” I was shocked and, more than that, in awe.
“We were waiting for Jaai to come. It was already 8 pm.
No matter how many times I tried to call him, he wasn’t answering his cell phone. All the guests were getting restless, especially Zara’s parents.
Obviously, they were the bride’s parents after all. But Zara had full confidence in Jaai.
Mom was constantly consoling Auntie and giving her reasons why Jaai wasn’t on time, and Dad was doing the same for Uncle.
The clock ticked fast and stopped at 10:30 pm. All the guests began to leave. I was standing next to Zara, tears in my eyes.
I didn’t expect this from Jaai. He had never been irresponsible. He couldn’t do this. This meant everything to him.
“Hey!! Hana… Why are you crying? You know him well, right? He must be busy with something more important than his engagement.” Zara put her hand around me.
“He will come…” She completed herself. She was more confident than anybody else, and Jaai surely didn’t break it.
“Zara… Enough is enough. He isn’t coming. Go change and sleep. Ahana, you too leave with your family. There is no engagement in this house.”
“Daddy… You can’t do this….”
OUR MARRIAGE IS JUST A PIECE OF PAPER : EPISODES 91 – 100
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