Play In Darkness (Eng/END)

35. Jealousy Incarnate

There's a restriction in the relationships

There are barbed wires

The gates and walls made of stone

But still, the creepers grow

And even the flower-buds bloom

And the story moves on

New characters meet

Those relationships were hearts

Dil Se Re - Dil Se

***

In the children's ward at the ND City Hospital, Rani hopped on top of the bed and threw herself into the arms of her idol, Imdad Hussain. “Huff, don't get too excited, mere jaan, you just got better!” Imdad warned the little girl in his arms.

“Did you come with Marianne-Ji?” asked Rani enthusiastically. “It's a shame I’m not coming with her, she has things to do,” Imdad replied, and the corners of the little girl's lips that were originally drawn up now curl downwards. “Oh, so you're friends with her now? I thought you were hostile to her,” Imdad teased.

“I'm not hostile to her, I put a perimeter on her,” Rani replied, making Imdad's forehead lift. The little girl spoke like an adult on a secret mission. He laughed dryly in response. “Ahahha, I'm sure Marianne-Ji will be glad you became her friend ...” he consoled her. He put Rani down and gave the girl a brown teddy bear. Rani hugs the doll and takes it to play on the sofa, while Imdad goes to Auntie and helps her organize the luggage. “Don't bother, Raj, I can arrange it myself,” said Auntie. “It's okay, Aunt, this is just a trivial matter, after all, you must be tired looking after Rani,” said Imdad attentively.

Suddenly, Auntie approached him and spoke in a lowered voice, “I heard that Anjali was also hospitalized the night Rani was treated. I accidentally passed near her room and it turned out that she was admitted to this hospital, one eye had to be operated on, she said her eye was damaged by a sharp object ....“

Imdad is sure that Auntie did that on purpose, not accidentally. Women do have a thousand and one ways to find information that excites them. Gossip. Imdad had heard about the incident from Delisha, so he was no longer surprised. Anjali's jealousy seems to be self-destructive.

Imdad has no intention of visiting Anjali. However, the woman was aware of his presence at the hospital. Sitting in a wheelchair pushed by the maid and having an IV attached to the back of her hand and a bandaged eye, Anjali Mukherjee passed him in the hospital corridor and said, “Raj!”

Imdad tells Rani and Auntie to go first with his men. “How are you, Anjali?” said Imdad coldly.

“I'm fine, except my eyes ...,” she said, holding back sobs, “... thank you for asking how I'm doing... I know you must still pay attention to me.”

Imdad sighed, not expecting this woman to easily misinterpret a small greeting. “Uh, yes, I don't think we need to talk anymore,” he said as he took a step.

“Raj!” call Anjali again in a wheelchair approaching him. Seeing Anjali's condition actually, a wheelchair is not needed, that woman just wants to dramatize the situation. She pulled the hem of Imdad's coat. “Don't you want to know who did this to me?”

Imdad shook off Anjali's hand as he turned to face the woman. “Anjali ... I mean Mrs. Mukherjee, it's no longer a matter of my concern, you're already married, so it's your husband's business, not mine.”

“I will divorce him, Raj, please, I will divorce my husband and we can get back together!” cried Anjali quickly. Imdad's forehead lifted at this and he snorted sarcastically. “Madame, that's also something that doesn't deserve my attention,” he said again then turned to leave Anjali but the woman spoke again. “The woman you are with is a witch! She is the one who made me this way, she is a bad woman, Raj, you are in grave danger!”

Imdad smirks at Anjali. “I like bad women. Better than hypocritical women,” he said and Anjali's expression turned violent. Imdad enjoyed to see that, he smiled broadly. “I will convey your compliments to her. My woman is not a random person, so do not look for trouble with her or you will face me. Next, I make sure your other eye will not survive. After all, you also do not use your eyes properly,” threatened Imdad and then left Anjali without heeding the lady screams calls. He walked with a satisfied smile.

When entering the elevator, his cell phone vibrates due to an incoming call, and seeing the name of the caller, Imdad's face turns sour. Veer Pratap Singh. He was alone in the elevator and lifted the phone to his ear.

“What's wrong, Zaara?” asked Imdad curtly. They had just met a few hours ago, now the fake woman called him again.

“Hey, Raj! Guess who just came to my clinic?” said dr. Zaara. Imdad could imagine the woman's face smiling teasingly.

“I don't know, just tell me what the surprise is. I'm not in the mood for riddles,” Imdad answered languidly.

“Your woman, Raaj, that innocent Delisha ....”

“Heh, don't make fun of my woman ....”

“And guess who came with her?” continued dr. Zaara ignores Imdad. “Devdas Star Tailes, CEO of Star Corp!”

Imdad's face immediately became cloudy. “What-are-they-doing-there ?!” he growled with clenched jaws.

“Fhuhuhuhu ... if you see it, similar to the scene of Cinderella with the prince carrying her glass shoes. Devdas Star Tailes offers your woman to join Star Corp.”

Imdad did not know what kind of scene it was, what is clear that he did not like anyone approaching his woman. He lowered the cellphone and punched a fist against the wall of the elevator. His jaw tightened and his eyes fixed sharply at his own reflection on the stainless elevator doors. Again, Star Corp threatened him, and this time through his woman. Damn it!

****

It was evening when Delisha arrived at Imdad's residence accompanied by Xin India employees. She spent all day busy here and there. After leaving the clinic, she went to the laundry to dry-clean Devdas' shirt. Then she returned to visit Khan's Enterprise to meet Fairouz Khan, but the man avoids her by going abroad as his secretary had told her. She returned to the Xin India office to see Imdad but the man did not return to the office after visiting the hospital. Imdad doesn’t even pick up the call from her. Maybe the man had learned about her failure to contract with Khan's and was now keeping quiet to punish her.

“Marianne-Ji!” shrieked Rani happily as she ran with her arm stretched out towards her as she entered the living room.

“Oh, hi, Rani! Thank God you're healthy,” she said and was a little surprised to see the reaction of Rani who looked very happy to see her arrival.

“Haan, Marianne-Ji, thank you for saving me.” Rani hugging her waist tightly. Auntie followed behind her. “Rani is impatient to meet you. All-day long she tells her dream that you saved her from a giant snake attack.” Aunt explained.

Delisha saw Imdad walking behind Auntie and the man glanced at her with a sharp gaze, without greeting her and walked away from the room.

Delisha smiled at Rani and stroked her hair while looking down to meet the girl's cute face. “Next time don't eat too much candy or the giant snake will come back to bother you. If you want to eat something, just tell me, I'll make you a delicious and healthy snack.”

“Really, Marianne-Ji?” The girl's eyes sparkled at her.

Delisha nodded firmly. “Of course!” she exclaimed. She often helps administrators of the school kitchen run by her father. She can make some snacks for the kids with ADHD. Rani clings to her arm as if she doesn't want to be separated from her. “Can you make it now, Marianne-Ji? It's nice to have a friend who can make me delicious cookies!” murmured Rani.

“Well, I can but I need to talk to Mr. Raj first. He is the owner of this house, of course, I have to ask permission with him first, right?”

The aunt who heard it understood Delisha's meaning. She immediately persuaded Rani to come with her. “Come on, Rani, while Marianne-Ji is talking to Raj, let's go to the kitchen to see what ingredients are there.” The little girl enthusiastically followed Auntie's direction. Delisha let out a sigh of relief then turned to follow Imdad. She was sure the man was in his study.

She knocked on the study door but there was no reply. She opened the door slightly to peek inside and saw Imdad leaning back in his work chair playing a coin between his fingers. The man's face was solemn with a deep frown and eagle-sharp eyes.

“Hmm, hmm!” Delisha cleared her throat. Imdad keeps the coin and glances sharply. She ventured into the room. “Imdad, sorry, today I failed to meet Fairouz Khan, Star Corp was there earlier, but I'm sure-”

“Did they arrive early or did you fail to focus because you ran into the CEO of Star Corp?” Imdad said curtly.

Delisha stood suspended in the middle of the room and gasped. “Imdad, I don't-”

“What you didn't do?” cut Imdad. “You failed to make a deal with Fairouz Khan, but at least you managed to make a more lucrative deal with Devdas Star Tailes, right?”

Delisha is not surprised if Imdad finds out about her unexpected encounter with Devdas. “Imdad, listen to me first ....”

“Leave me alone, Marianne-Ji!” exclaimed Imdad coldly as he shifted his gaze.

As that man once said if a man doesn't want to be approached, it means he really doesn't want to be approached. Delisha sighed in defeat, “Alright ....” she said then turned and walked out of the room leaving Imdad alone.

After the door was closed, Imdad returned to playing his coins. His jaw cackled in anger. Something in his chest felt tight and heated. It wasn't the failure of the contract with Khan's that angered him. However, the image of the woman moved to the arms of other men because this man had more power and wealth than him, which hurt his ego. His pride felt as if thousands of horse feet were trampled on.

His experience with Anjali made him know very well the power of superiority and wealth of a person. They dated for 7 years and he kept Anjali's chastity at the request of the girl who would surrender himself after they got married. As a man, he is ready to work hard to pay for his family life later, but good intentions are not enough to build a relationship to a more serious level. He often receives insults from people, as an orphan, there is no support from the sovereignty, even if he works, at best he becomes an ordinary staff. If he is lucky enough to be a manager. Anjali and her family belittling him. People looked at him belittling.

And now that he has an important position in Xin India, people are starting to see him differently. They respect him, they admire him. He knows this position must be maintained. After meeting Delisha, he realized that his current position was nothing more than a small pawn in the chessboard. Hence, he is aiming for an even higher position. Delisha and himself were just agents. Little pawns. And he was afraid that, as a small pawn, he would not have the strength to protect his loved ones, as happened to July, his older sister, who reportedly died on a mission, but he knew that July died in vain because of the internal conflict of the Xin family.

Imdad squeezed the coin in his hand. Damn it! He just wants to protect his loved ones, why is he now burning with jealousy? He jerked his hand against the table in annoyance. He had been rude to Delisha and was afraid it would make her sad. He hurried out of his study and into the back room.

The fragrant aroma of baking cookies wafted from the kitchen and there was the sound of the small laughter of children and girls. Imdad was pensive and leaned his shoulder against the kitchen sill. The tension he had experienced for almost half a day earlier disappeared after seeing the familiar atmosphere and laughter in his kitchen.

“Hi, Raj! Want to join?” said Delisha with a broad smile showing her dimples. Imdad shrugged his shoulders, refusing to intervene in kitchen matters. The man chose to look from the edge of the room.

Delisha and Rani make cookies from gluten-casein free ingredients. Tuber flour is the best choice for treating children with special needs. Simple, fast, and easy cookies to make. The shapes vary according to Rani's wishes and decorated with pieces of fruit. Rani looks cheerful and eager to make her cake with the help of Delisha. Their hands and faces were covered in dough.

While Rani was concentrating on arranging her cakes, Imdad pulled Delisha to the corner of the kitchen and silently hugged her body and kissed her lips, deep and soft.

There is one being who is embarrassed to be in the house because love is always scattered when the two people link their bodies. The Ghost of Maya. She mostly wanders in the courtyard of the house and sometimes sits contemplating in the trees making the servants and home security officers sometimes shudder in fear. “Is mating season now, huh?” she muttered. “Too bad in this house there are no cats. If there is going to be a rival for the two people. It's annoying! I came here to find a new atmosphere, not to be tormented to witness their love story. Damn it!"

****

Late at night in the master bedroom bed, a naked couple hugged under their blankets. Imdad gently kissed Delisha's neck who was lying on her stomach beside him. He buried his face between the long hair of the woman to enjoy the curve of her neck. “I can't bear to imagine losing you, Delisha ... I'd rather die than lose you ...” he muttered between kisses.

Delisha laughed with amusement as the man's breath brushed against her sensitive skin. “That's funny. You're good at flirting, Imdad, it's no wonder you have lots of women,” she said sarcastically.

“I'm serious,” Imdad said then biting the skin of her neck, making Delisha chuckle and stretch out on her back. The man on top of her and looked into her eyes. “I will kill anyone who dares to touch you ....” Imdad said, making Delisha's body tingle.

Delisha stared back softly. “What if I left you?” The man's face instantly hardened and his eyes darkened. For a moment Imdad was silent, then he tried to change his facial expression to be more relaxed. “What's the reason? I suppose I should know.”

Delisha took a deep breath and said frankly, “I am not from this age, Imdad. I come from 2034 and when my mission is complete I must return to my time.” Sooner or later Imdad will find out about this.

Imdad closed his eyes and fell on his back beside Delisha. He squeezed his forehead as if his head was about to break trying to make sense of the woman. He knows Delisha has secrets and, unexpectedly, it turns out that one of them is from the future. It was not the presence of another man as he had originally been worried about, apparently, he also had to compete with the dimension of time. Jealousy was getting beyond reason.

“So Xin Corp invented the time machine?” asked Imdad with a deep frown.

Delisha changed her position to sit and hugged the blanket to her chest. She leaned against the head of the bed. “Something like that,” she replied.

Imdad is half lying looking at her. “So what's your mission?”

“Stopped Star Corp's lunge,” Delisha replied and this was the first time Imdad saw the glare of his woman. “To do that I have to approach Star Corp CEO, Devdas Star Tailes!”