Mitali Jain

"Ohh, so my Brother is going to work with you guys?" I asked stupidly, but there was still a bit of jitters all around me.

There were three most Handsome, unreachable men standing in front of me, Introducing themselves to me, at this marvelous place which for a long time had been a secret which only me and my only sibling had carried around, and if I had my guts in the right place, I could definitely say... this wouldn't be the last time I will be around them.

"I assume we are, Mitali, and I Hope you won't mind us calling you that?" the prince asked.

I smiled at him with the best one that I could muster and said, "ohh, yes, I don't, as it is I do not have any pet names... but I am not sure what shall I call you, I mean...

"Ohh no, please go with our names, actually I knew this would be really awkward, but Naveen had been talking about you and your family a lot, since we have been in college we have heard so much of you, that it seems a bit weird to see you like this." As Veer talked out his views I found myself looking at my brother, my eyes almost turning into slits, yet that unknown soul who was busy helping Daksh out couldn't depict the rage that was boiling inside me.

My brother had always been at this, he would always be so proud or many times so pissed off with me that, many people had a colorful perspective of me.

And now the fact that my brother had almost spent half of his teenage hood with these people to say that my image in their eyes would be respectable enough would be uncanny.

" I am sorry, but I just hope you guys would be ones too look and tell rather than believing on peoples perspective.", my expression surely would have been the one that I had almost used every time that I would put up to convince my parents of something which even I was unsure about.

The prince and the heir to the most successful companies in the country looked at each other and laughed, and if this was to make me feel comfortable, it never did.

"Mitali, this is really beautiful... how did you find this." Daksh's voice made me smile a bit, yet the there was still some kind of uneasiness within me. It seemed as if anything that I would be doing now would only make them judge me even more.

I was about to answer to Daksh's question when I felt Jai walking on the other side of me and bent in a bit as he whispered into my ears,

"If it worries you, then you should know, it shouldn't matter to you what people think and talk about you, if you are who you are, than somewhere the game would only be best, because you are what ... "

Bending in even more, with his breath fanning my ears he continued, "Came as a surprise for me."

My head snapped quickly towards him, only to find him looking back at the view. I had so many things to ask him about. To have said something as deep as that and than just to ignore, didn't settled well with me. But time wasn't a best friend of mine. Before I could have had a chance to retaliate, Daksh and Naveen came and stood behind me.

For a long while we all looked at the setting sun, and when the time came, I called out to Daksh and said, "Watch these few minutes carefully."

We sat down on the rocks that were around the various trees and observed. Though I was familiar with it, yet every time that I saw this it had me in awe. And the gasp that I heard made me smile wide.

And it made me so happy to know I wasn't the only one to understand the uncanny resemblance of this place, with a quick chuckle I heard Daksh saying,

"Ohh God, this... Mitali this is just similar to ..."

"Sunset in the Rockies, that was painted by Albert Bierstadt." I finished for him and smiled at him widely.

How wonderful it felt for the first time in all these years to know that there could as well be a person who could know and understand your craziness for something.

"This is similar to a painting?" Veer asked, his eyes held the same curiosity and amusement that my brother had when I had first seen this and jumped about.

"Yes, basically this sunset is just similar to the one in the rocky mountains that are in west America. When Mitali had first seen this..."

I quickly got up and jumped on my brother and shut him up from saying anything more. Though the three had their eyebrows stood high up, and it was quite bad to let people be highly curious, I had a reputation to maintain and it was quite embarrassing to let other people know about.

When the last rays of the sun had almost gone down, we had by far reached our way back home.

Initially it was quite weird to walk in the group, I was never someone who could stay quiet, and looking at the way Veer and Naveen fidgeted same was the case with them.

The silence was so deafening that when Jai's phone rang it had literally made me jump in my skin and let out a yelp. The boys had surely found something hilarious as they all guffawed, while my brother came to me and hugged me.

"Mitali, it was just the call." Veer teased, the way a really close friend of your would have. In that small span of time surely somewhere we had made that untold and unspoken bond of friendship.

I let out my tongue wagged it at him teasingly. But to my bad luck it only made them laugh even more.

****

It was late at night when I was sitting in the verandah once again, with my earphones plugged into my I pad, with the business news on, when I saw a faint silhouette standing right above my head.

Taking off my ear phones, I had turned around, assuming it was my brother and truly was ready to bash out at him for sneaking up on me, but I was surprised to see Jai standing there, with his hands in his well tailored khakhi pants and a v neck t shirt.

I looked at him up and down and then at myself.

Dressed in my Mickey Mouse pajamas and power puff girl tshirt, I was sure I looked anything but my age, and though most of the time the other person made the guilty party feels a bit comfortable, my guest was anything but that.

Jai chuckled at my reaction and stood up from his leaning position, walking up to my side, he sat down and stretched out his legs and took hold of one of the ear plug and he as well tuned into the music.

For a long while the music moved from one track to another. My playlist wasn't boring - for me. I preferred soft songs that run from the 90s to 20s, but to share them with someone was really making me uncomfortable.

Hence I decided it was best I paid attention on the news that I was reading and take up his advice.

He was right; I would surely prefer to come as a surprise to someone than to worry myself with what it would really be.

I had almost done with the major reports when I looked up once again to find Jai looking at me with utmost interest.

Raising my perfect eyebrow as If to ask him what was it? I tilted my head a bit and stared back at him. But then he had his own thing to say.

"What other interest do you have other than paintings?"

"Not many, I just am into paintings, may be sometimes music... there isn't much to know about my interests other than that." I replied nonchalantly.

"And yet I see you with a business news?" his question made me smile. I looked at my I pad and answered,

"You know right that I love my brother very much?"

"From what your brother has told us about you... I can bet my life on it." He smiled at me as I wrinkled my nose on the unpleasant fact of them knowing certain colorful antics of mine.

"I read business news, I keep myself updated on your companies' affair, I have about total of 10% shares in your industry, and nothing among this is because I am interested in your business, it's because somewhere I want to know what my brother is doing and I want to support him in any way possible."

I was a person who had always been awkward when people complemented me, I would just keep on looking at them weirdly or may times when these aunties that had visited my mom would complement on my choice of painting that I would suggest them, all I had ever managed to do was smile like a lunatic.

But what Jai did, I was never ready for that, I had never expected this. All he did for a long while was to stare at me, his gaze was intense yet warm, his eyes never strayed anywhere out of my face, he kept on looking at me, as if he was seeing something that had mesmerized him. And even before I could look away in embarrassment and ponder what was I supposed to do, he lifted his hand and caressed my cheeks.

None had done that for me but my father. It was something he did when he was proud of me, or when something had always disturbed him and me present there had made him calm down.

But Jay, His touch had made me shivered!

It was weird, it had hardly been hours that we had met, but sitting there in the porch of our farm house and discussing things with Jai seemed so peaceful.

Something which I had never felt even while discussing paintings!

As the cool breeze engulfed us, I saw him breathing deeply, with his palm caressing my cheeks again, as he looked straight into my eyes and said,

"I don't know why... but I think I like you Mitali." His words had me paralyzed. I simply sat there, while he kissed my forehead, stood up from there and walked back inside.

******

Minutes later when I was in my bed, my whole body was as if on fire. Sleep was something far out of my league, my heart was beating loudly, and many things were running in my head, with Jai's words still roaring in my ears.

How can one just randomly say something like that to a person whom you have just met?

But that evening as I had thought of all the things that had happened, I had a faint smile on my face.

I realized that; Veer Pratap Singh, though he had introduced me as the prince of Jodhpur, one could easily mistaken him for a commoner, and even if he was so down to earth, those few hours that we had sat by the river silently viewing the aching view of sunset I saw the way his eyes had turned to different shades, the numerous times he had huffed, as if such a huge weight still was instilled on his shoulders.

Then there was, Daksh Chauhan. The only person to whom I had connected so well in such a small span, that though we didn't had to share more words, we understood each other's glances. And even if I would reason out, it was just our similar interests, somewhere I knew if anyone in this life I could call up on in the middle of the night to just talk about something random, unknowingly and unpromisingly I would like to test that theory with him

And finally the not so outspoken Jai Kapadia, who thinks that he liked me, yet was unsure about it. But there were a few things about which I was sure - his clothes, his aura, and his style everything was rich, something that many people had dreamt of and I had wished to stay away from.

all though I felt I was cruel, and yes I was being judgmental, there was this one thing that had me wanted to be by his side and know him more, yet as well as stay far away from him, and if I would go by the cheese stories that many of my friends had read, I would say, Jai Kapadia was someone who resembled a person so dear to me that, the moment I realized it, I was sure I would prefer to be far away from him.

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hello peeps once again,

I know i was supposed to post on Tuesday, but my exams have started, yesterday was my first exam, and though it will be going on till 4 of May, you all dont have to worry, the chapters are ready and if not two updates as week, but you will surely get one each week.

but even before that, lets talk about today's chapter...

the scene in this chapter is truly there a few kms away from palghar and though not really similar to the rocky mountains of America, but a beautiful one where the train crosses the river and at the left hand side (if you are going towards north) you can see a similar sunset. its truelly beautiful.

I and my friends had came across it this feb, while we were going for a vacation. but the reason it is here in this chapter is because, somehwere i wanted to express what kind of relation Daksh and Mitali has.

its always difficult to be different from the world, some of us who are readers and are the only readers in a group of even 5 people can easily understand how it really feels. thank think of it, what it really must be for a person who is so much intrested in paintings and art, understanding a painting, studying it isnt eveyone's cup of tea, it requires a keen eye and not everyone has it.

I hope you all might somewhere understand why I might be exagerating Mitali's feelings or her actions with regards to paintings and towards Daksh.

and now a last question...

What do you all have to say about the Jai's confession?

any favorites as of yet??

let me know...

also, please dont forget to click on that small star button, and commenting your views on this chapter, and story all together.

i will try my best to post the next chapter soon... but no promises.

also who all are excited for these upcoming election, how many new voters do we have over here?

do share your views and this story with your friends here on wattpad!!

happy reading

Yadni