Chapter 11:- Betrayal

What happens when your fear comes true....what happens when the least expected thing occurs....what happens when you get hurt by the person you least expected to?

It had been a few days since we shot the marriage sequence. Amidst the special treatment through constant interviews and the announcement of the probable chance of the show taking a leap, I was experiencing a wave of all sorts of emotions. The happy I was for being part of such a great show, and having such supportive co-stars by my side, there was this little part of my heart that grew heavy...I was soon leaving the show that was so close to my heart!

“ROSHNI!” I jumped and got frightened as I heard my name. Why was Faisal shouting? I was in my vanity room, getting ready for today’s shoot. Probably the last BKVPMP shoot. I had met the actors chosen for post leap; Ssharad Bhaiya and Rachna di. I liked them, though the jealousy and envy in me refused to barge out. This might sound selfish, but I didn’t want anyone to take my role. And amidst all this, Faisal was shouting at me for some reason I couldn’t comprehend.

“What?” I asked casually from the dressing table I was sitting at.

“OPEN THE DOOR!” He hollered from the other side. Never had I seen him so upset and furious.

“ Oka-ay” I hesitated before going up to the door. Slowly, without making a sound, I turned the knob and heard the door click open. I had this uneasiness in me, signaling that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

The door opened to reveal Faisal Khan. But this wasn’t the co-star I knew. This was the side I was unaware of, the outrageous side of him. He stormed into my room, shoving me to a side. There was a distance of approximately two meters between us. Without waiting for him to start, I took the courage to begin.

“What happened, Faisal?” I said meekly, barely hearing my own voice. He looked at me, his eyes digging into mine deeper than ever before.

“What happened?” he repeated, taunt filled in his voice. “Don’t try to pretend Roshni, because it surely isn\t working.” He gritted his teeth, controlling his anger. I was confused, what did I do? Everything was fine between us. After the marriage sequence, almost all our scenes were together. And through that, I never sensed something amiss in his behavior or attitude.

“Faisal, I don’t understand what you are talking about. What did--”

“Jannat told me everything!” Faisal interrupted.

“Told you about what?” I frowned cluelessly.

“How could you say that to my mother?” he questioned, raising his voice.

“What did I say?” I questioned, for what seemed like the hundredth time in the span of a few moments. I respected his mother, I liked her. What was he talking about?

“Stop acting Roshni!” He screamed making me jump. Enough was enough. I had worked on controlling my anger, but this was crossing the limits. He was just beating around the bush, which annoyed me to the core.

“Stop screaming Faisal!” I retorted, imitating his tone.

“Can you explain what I did I do to anger you?” I asked again, lowering my voice a bit.

“You did the unpredictable Roshni! I never thought that out of everyone, you would do this to me.” He accused, pointing at me. I stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

“I did not know that you could be so racist.” He paused before confirming. “You went to meet my mother yesterday, right?”

“Yes, I did.” I simply replied. He shook his head in denial and disappointment.

“What did I do Faisal?” I scowled at him, asking him the same question for the umpteenth time.

He closed the distance between us till he was just inches away from me. I looked up to see him glaring at me.

“You met my mom and called her cheap! On her dressing sense, on her taste of cuisine, on her choice of simplicity. YOU called her cheap for everything! Not only that, when you saw that she was hurt, you decided to hurt her more. By ordering to stop her drama. You taunted her by saying that all Muslims were the same! That they never stopped showing off!”

“What!” I was flabbergasted at what I heard.

“Faisal, I never said that! I would never say that!” Tears began to form as I tried to defend myself.

“Stop Roshni! Just stop! I know what you did!”

“No Faisal, listen to me pl-”

“YOU listen to ME!” he ignored my plea and pinned me to the wall.

“You know what?! All Hindus are the same! They do not have any emotions or feelings for anyone. They just like to stay in their small communities and gossip about others. They just like to brag about themselves. Just like your mom.”

That was it. That one statement ignited my anger like nothing else.

“Not another word about my mom or my religion, Faisal!” I warned, eyes fixed on him.

“Why?! When you can say whatever you want, then I have the rights too!” With that he pressed me further, trying to crush me into the wall.

“Faisal! Leave! You’re hurting me!” I growled in pain.

“This is nothing to the pain you have given me, Roshni! Nothing! My mother means the world to me. She has made me what I am today. If anyone, I mean anyone meddles with my family, they will have to suffer.” He threatened.

“I can’t believe I trusted YOU!” My eyes shot up to his, fresh new tears covering the old ones.

“What did you say?” I whispered, not trusting my ears.

“I said what you heard, Miss Roshni Walia. I regret trusting you! I regret being friends with you!” With that he stormed out.