Their jinxed love - Part 21

Gaurav was in two minds. He didn't want to be part of show but watching Gajendra beg in front of him made him think otherwise. He looked at Jenny. He wondered what she was thinking. He knew she would definitely stay. Before he could say anything, she spoke, "My answer is the same. I can't be part of this show.". He was shocked so was Gajendra.

Gajendra rose up. He begged her again, "Don't do this. You need us as much as we need you. Please reconsider what you thought." She didn't change. She was firm. He was speechless. He tried every way to convince her. He even called Rohan to change her mind. After lot of discussions, she remained firm on decision. Gaurav watched silently. He hadn't expected her to quit. But he realized how she had broken up with me. She had remained firm on her decision that day like she was today.

Rohan and Jenny left. Gajendra sat with hand on his head. He was lost and pained by failure of his idea of using Jenny and Gaurav's equation in bringing his show to number one slot. He had forgotten that Gaurav was still there. "I will leave.", Gaurav spoke. Gajendra looked up, suddenly panicking. He rose up immediately. "Are you going to leave too?", he asked. Gaurav smiled and said, "Don't worry. I am not going to quit the show."

The show ran smoothly. The TRPs dropped initially with Jenny gone but rose up with great performances of contestants. Gajendra finally realized his mistake and apologized for the same from Gaurav. He forgave him and focused on the show. He took the responsibility of motivating Danny and other contestants. He was energetic and pumped up during the show. But when he came home, he would think about Jenny. He would stalk her on her social networking site account. However there was no news of her. He was worried.

One fine day , he contacted Rohan. Rohan didn't disclose anything on the phone but asked him to meet him at a cafe where they wouldn't be attacked by paparazzi. Gaurav agreed. When he arrived at the cafe, he found Rohan was already there. His eyes were swollen. He seemed like he hadn't slept for days. He hadn't shaven and was dressed in casual T shirt and jeans he had been wearing for a week.

"What happened ? You look unwell.", Gaurav asked. He was surprised to see him in this state. "Nothing ! Maybe it's the perk of working with a moody star.", Rohan laughed. Gaurav smiled and said, "How's Jenny? Since her exit from the show, I haven't seen her." Rohan's expressions became serious. "Hmmm. I don't understand you guys. You both say you have broken up and moved on. But you still hold on to each other. If it's hurting so much, why don't you get back again. Why don't you guys start again and give love one more chance if you can't move on?", he said as he got up to leave. Gaurav was shocked. He remained quiet. Before leaving, Rohan remembered something and turned behind to speak, "Anyway, she is in terrible condition. She has shut herself inside her house. She hardly comes out. I tried to convince her to do some work. I bought her interesting scripts, exciting ads and shows. But she had refused to do them. I don't know what to do. I hate to see her suffer like this. Worst part is - I don't know what's bothering her since exit of the show." He left with tears.

(To be continued)

Their jinxed love- Part 20

When Gajendra reached his office, he released his grip from the collar of the tainted crew member. The crew member relaxed and wiped away his tears. Gajendra smirked and whispered to him in his ears, "You have done your part and I have transferred the money to your account. Now get lost before the dog comes sniffing here." The crew member understood and left.

The shoot went normally. Gaurav was tensed. He knew the work wasn't done. This was just a show from Gajendra to manipulate him. Everyone were talking about the incident that happened few hours ago whenever they got break. Jenny wasn't interested. She had too much of this drama since the time she had one to one conversation with Danny. She decided she won't get involved with any contestants and only focus on judging.

Next day, the Instagram was flooded with the video of Gaurav and Jenny's fight. Every entertainment news channel wanted to get the scoop from their mouth. But they zipped up their mouth. Gaurav had enough. He rushed towards Gajendra's office to get hold of him. He entered his office without knocking and got closer to him to grab his collar. "I had enough of your false promises. I am quitting.", he growled. Gajendra tried to release himself but he couldn't match Gaurav's strength.

"You have signed the contract and you cannot leave like that.", Gajendra protested. "Do hell with your contract and your show. I don't care.", Gaurav hissed. Suddenly the door opened and Jenny arrived. "I am leaving the show .", she said firmly. Both the men stared at her. "I can't stay in a show where my personal life is being distorted in public.", she said.

It was like a nightmare to Gajendra. He hadn't expected both the stars to leave his show midway. Thinking of cost he was going to incur from the show gave him shivers down his spine. Gaurav released his grip on the sleazy director. He was surprised by Jenny's move. He didn't expect that she would quit the show though she had no work except this show.

"Why are you leaving the show ? You don't need to. You stay. I will leave.", he said. "It's not question of you not being part of the show. It's about my life. I don't like being thrown into limelight for wrong reasons. Even if you are part or not part of the show, I don't care. I care about my image. After so many events that was engineered by Gajendra to get the footage , I don't think I can be part of this show.", she said. Gajendra knelt down and begged, "Please don't do this. I cannot forgo losing you guys. Yes, I used your equation for my greed. But now I won't do this. I promise. And this isn't a false  promise." Gaurav and Jenny stared at him with deep thought. 

Their jinxed love - Part 19

Gajendra welcomed Gaurav inside. He hid his emotions with a smile. He had to handle this very smoothly. He looked at him, thinking of ways how he was going to calm him down. "What happened ?", he asked with fake concern. Gaurav stared at him with eyes filled with anger. "Don't act as if you don't know ! You know very well why I have come here.", he snarled at him.

He was seething with anger.  He wanted to rip him apart but he controlled himself. "Cool down ! Don't get mad ! I really don't know what happened. If you tell me, I can do something about me.", Gajendra spoke calmly. His words didn't calm him instead it enhanced his anger. He was burning. 

"You sent one of your crew members to spy on us and capture our private moments for your greed.", Gaurav said firmly. Gajendra wasn't affected. "I haven't sent anyone. Trust me ! I haven't sent anyone.", he said. "Enough ! Stop lying ! I know what you are up to.", he spoke roughly.

"What do you mean ? See, if you think I will stoop so low , you are wrong. I will find that damned guy who did this despicable thing and fire him or her in front of you.",Gajendra said firmly. Gaurav didn't trust him but he had no other choice but to agree what he had said. He got up and left.

Next day shoot began. After few performances, break was called. Gaurav was engrossed in his thoughts. Jenny was quiet the whole time and Ruby was in her chirpy mood. She tried to get attention from both of them . Eventually she gave up and started chatting with a technician. Suddenly Gajendra arrived dragging one of crew member by his collar. Gaurav instantly recognized the crew member while everyone were surprised. 

"Come on, tell them what you told me.", Gajendra ordered the culprit. The tainted crew member hesitated to look up. When Gajendra growled at him to look up, he looked up. "Sir, I am sorry. I only wanted to make quick bucks out of that video. Please forgive me.", he cried. Gaurav wasn't convinced. He was sure it was one of Gajendra's tactics. Unfortunately he had no proof and no one would believe him if he accused him right away. 

"Gaurav, I promised you that I will take actions. I will fire him right away and call the cops to arrest him.", Gajendra said. Before Gaurav could open his mouth, he left with the culprit. Jenny stared at Gaurav and wondered , "What is he up to ?"

(To be continued)

Their jinxed love - Part 18

She stared at him speechlessly. She didn't understand why would anyone should feel bad when she was simply motivating a contestant. She didn't find anything wrong in what she did. "What are you saying ? How can it be wrong when I am motivating someone using lessons and experiences I learnt from you? Where was that personal conversation ? You weren't one who was depressed that day. I was ! I should be feeling bad , not you.", she spilled her emotion out.

Her words hit him hard. Somewhere inside him, he felt she wasn't wrong. She hadn't demeaned him anyway. She was only trying to encourage a contestant. After few minutes he spoke softly,"Sorry !" He opened door to go out and almost bumped into a crew member who looked stunned at him as if he was caught stealing something. "Sorry !", Gaurav said while wondering how many people he was going to hurt today. The crew member took a deep sigh , whispering to himself, "Thank God ! I am safe."

Something struck Gaurav whilst walking towards his car. He wondered, "What was that crew member doing near my van?" He rushed towards his vanity van to catch hold of that crew member. Unfortunately he was not there. He stomped one of his leg on the ground in anger. He knew it was Gajendra's idea. He rushed to Gajendra's office which was five minute walk from the set.

When he reached Gajendra's office, he found his secretary leaving and locking the door. "Where is he?", he asked firmly. The secretary was puzzled. "He left.", she said fearful with wide eyes. "Where?", he growled, unable to control his anger. "A...hhhmmm ... Home!", she replied weakly. He left without saying anything. He was angry. His nostrils flared like raging bull.  His mind filled with thoughts of what he was going to do with the sleazy director.


He zoomed his car to Gajendra's mansion, missing few signals and almost causing an accident. He reached Gajendra's mansion but was stopped by the security guards at the gate. "Sir, we cannot let you in. Gajendra sir had clearly asked us to not to let any guests in. He wants to be left alone.", one of guards spoke. This angered Gaurav. "What the hell? Tell him if he doesn't let me in, I will leave the show.", he snarled.

The security guard quickly called his boss, "Sir , There is someone called Gaurav who wants to meet you. I did tell him that you don't want meet anyone. But he is insisting and said that he would leave the show if you don't meet him." Gajendra was furious and let out a curse, "Bastard !" "Sir?", the puzzled security guard asked. "Let him in !", he replied.  He was in white kurta and pyjamas. He smirked thinking how he was going to handle Gaurav. He had to do something with Gaurav's constant blackmailing.

(To be continued)

Their jinxed love - Part 17

The viewership of show had grown drastically across the globe. It had surpassed the TRPs of it's previous seasons. Every household had fixed slot to watch the show. Women finished their work at homes as well as office(if they were working) quickly to watch the show. Men sacrificed their favorite matches for the program. Kids finished their homework and plays to sit and glue their eyes in front of TV. Senior citizens would not let anyone change the channel when the show started.

Since the telecast of first episode,  two groups of fans were formed. One supported Danny while other supported Gaurav. There was huge war of hashtags between these groups on social media. Gajendra was delighted with the response. He had finally achieved what he wanted. However he was anxious to retain his show's standing. He didn't want anything to affect his show's TRP.  

Gaurav sat on his plush sofa watching the minutes of the news. Visuals of news anchor discussing about the affect  of Corona virus in China displayed on TV while Gaurav was engrossed in thought about Jenny's one to one talk with Danny. He was still upset about the episode. He wanted to call her and blast her for playing with Danny's mind. But he controlled his urge. Suddenly he got up and switched TV off. He rushed downstairs to basement where his car was parked. 

He sped his vehicle towards Jenny's house. When he reached, he got out of his car and was about to head towards the gate. He stopped. He looked up at the balcony of her bedroom. She was there in her casual pink top and white shorts. She was bare foot and her eyes were closed. He stared at her calm face and he couldn't help wonder when was the last time he had seen her so peaceful. He wanted to hold her in his arms and kiss her forehead. He was heartbroken instantly when he realized they had broken up.

She felt nice when cold wind blew over the back of her neck. She slowly opened her eyes. She was surprised to find Gaurav waiting near his car. He was staring at her. When he realized he was caught red handed by her, he quickly got inside the car and drove back home. He felt ashamed of driving to her house at this hour and staring at her like psychotic stalker.

Next day it was shooting of elimination round. Instead of heading to her vanity van, Jenny barged into Gaurav's vanity van. He looked at her in shock. "What the hell were you doing at my place in the night?", she growled. He was offended. "Nothing ! Why ? It's free country. I can travel anywhere. By the way, I was on pavement which is government property and not at your house.", he argued. "Look at your audacity, you come to my place and stare at me with those hungry eyes and say I have all the right. How dare you?", she snarled. "How dare you too? You have audacity to use our personal conversation and manipulate a contestant against me.", he growled back. His eyes turned red with fury. Her expressions changed. "I had come to your place to confront you. But I left it there. I didn't find it appropriate to grind you at that time unlike you who shamelessly barged into my van to blame me for my audacity.",he continued. She looked at him speechlessly.

(To be continued)

Their jinxed love - Part 16

Gaurav was furious. He hadn't expected Jenny to use a participant's emotions against him. He hadn't anything wrong. He had expressed his opinions. He trumped his fingers on the dressing table in front of him. While he was engrossed in deep thought, he didn't see Ruby entering his vanity van. She placed her hand gently on his shoulder. He quickly assumed it was Jenny and turned around in anger. He was about to raise his voice. He controlled after seeing Ruby in front of him.

He calmed down though there was still some anger within him. "I am sorry. I thought it was Jenny.", he said calmly. She smiled. "I thought so, you would mistaken me for her. It looks like you badly want to confront her.", she said while giggling momentarily. He was embarrassed. "I am sorry again.", he said as he smiled nervously. "I don't understand you. Sometimes you are fighting with her and sometimes you are showing lot of concern to her and you say you hate her. Is everything over between you and her or is it still there?", she spoke her heart out.

He was quiet for few minutes. He didn't understand what equation he shared with Jenny. He did love her once upon a time. But now he doesn't know what he feels for. "Why are you asking that? Do you want to be my girlfriend?", he joked. She playfully hit him. "You are such a flirt. Anyway, I have noticed something. I often see that when she supports someone , you counter attack that person. Even she does something. Is this a lover fight?", she asked.

His heart pricked. He had noticed that. He had also decided that he wouldn't react indifferently on anything Jenny spoke to give footage for Gajendra's show. But he had forgotten about that today. "Was it so visible? ", he asked. She nodded. "Oh shit ! I didn't expect it to go that way.", he said. "I understand what you said was valid but it affected the boy badly. You could have mellowed down with your criticism. It seemed like you didn't like Jenny hugging him and supporting him. You seemed like a possessive lover.", she spoke the truth. 

"Oh! I will try to be little mellow in my approach.", he said. Ruby smiled and changed the subject to friendly conversation. Jenny was almost outside Gaurav's vanity van when she heard giggles of Ruby and Gaurav. She was sad. She turned towards her vanity van. When she reached, she broke down. She felt strange. She didn't understand why she broke down. She thought she was got over the love she had for him that night. But seeing him moving on felt painful for her. 

Rohan found her crying inconsolably. He patted her gently. "What happened, Jenny ? Did you have another spat with Gaurav?", he asked. She nodded no. She wiped her face and said,"Let's get out of this place. It's unbearable here." He didn't ask anything and took her out after she changed into her casual clothes. They were at her favorite ice cream parlor. She was having chocolate chip sundae while he was having usual vanilla ice cream cone. When he found her relaxed, he asked ,"What happened?" "I don't know. I think I still have some feelings for Gaurav and it's killing me.", she said.

(To be continued)

Their jinxed love - Part 15

Danny was feeling better. He felt sudden confidence arise within him. He felt grateful towards Ruby and Jenny for bringing his lost confidence back. He wanted to do better not for himself but to make his new mentors proud. Unfortunately his confidence had limited timeline. Gaurav spoke, " Unlike Ruby and Jenny, I won't come there and hug you. I am not like others who would console you when you haven't performed well. You were utter disappointment. There was no elimination today. Still you performed so bad. There were thousands of dancers who were better than you but you got the chance. I feel we made a grave mistake in bringing you here. Danny, you are very lucky."

Everyone were surprised. No one expected him to be insensitive. Tears welled up in Danny's eyes. He lost his confidence again. He felt he had lost a battle. He couldn't look up. Ruby gently rubbed his shoulders to console him. Jenny was angry at Gaurav. She wondered what had happened to Gaurav and why was he reacting like this. Was he spilling his anger on someone else? She had to confront him. 

Danny left the stage. The performance of other contestant continued. Today's episode ended smoothly. Jenny quickly headed to make up room. She planned to speak to Danny first and then confront Gaurav. She found Danny sitting alone with gloomy face. Other contestants were busy getting their costumes changed or chatting about their day. When they saw Jenny approaching, they stopped what they were doing and stared at her with awe. 

She stood in front of Danny and stared at him with folded arms. Danny was engrossed in thoughts. "Can everyone leave us alone? I want to speak to Danny.", she said. He looked up immediately. He was surprised. He was about to get up when Jenny pushed him to sit.  When everybody left, she spoke,"Do you remember what I had said on the stage? I told you to not to give up. I told you that one who learns from their mistakes and starts again emerges victorious. How can you let someone's words affect you?"

Danny was about to say something. But he stopped. "I understand what you were going to say. It was Gaurav. He is the judge. You will have to face harsh criticism.", she said. As she was advising him, Gaurav arrived to see everyone waiting outside the make up room. He gazed inside one of windows which was open. He saw Jenny in serious conversation with Danny. He got closer to hear what she was saying. 

"How can you even let Gaurav's words affect you ? Everyone has bad days. But that doesn't mean you sulk over someone's harsh words. Get up and get going. I can see you have potential. Only you need to believe in yourself. If you need any help, you can count on me.", she said. Gaurav was furious. He wondered why would she guide any contestant against him. How can she stoop so low? He left suddenly and stomped towards his vanity van. Everyone stared at him as he left. 

(To be continued)

Their jinxed love - Part 14

Next day began as usual. It was shooting of second episode where all the contestants were allowed to display their passion in front of audience and judges. They were allowed to dance their choice of song and form of the dance. Their dances were not being judged for the week. They were being welcomed to stage. There was no pressure or stress except for one contestant - Danny.

His eyes darted on the ground while each contestant were called to perform on the stage. He tried to remember every steps. He wasn't able to remember one important step. This was causing me anxiety.Whenever he saw other contestant's performance, his heart sank. He felt he wasn't good. He felt misfit. He wanted to run away. He prayed his turn would never come.

Unfortunately his name was called. His heart beat faster. His mouth turned dry. While he jogged towards the center of the stage, he almost tripped.Some were startled. Some smiled. He waved at the crowd to say he was fine. He smiled weakly at the judges as the song started. He performed on Bollywood Freestyle. His moves didn't match to the beats of the song. He forgot few steps. Nervousness reflected clearly on his face.

His performance ended in sad note. He started weeping. The host arrived and hugged him to make him feel better. The judges were concerned except Gaurav who looked indifferent. The host asked the judges about his performance. "Everyone has stage frights. Even I have it. I have seen you perform during auditions. You were good. This is just beginning and I know you will be great.", Ruby said. She got up and walked to the stage. She hugged and consoled him.


Same time, Jenny walked towards the stage. Everyone were surprised. She was smiling. She hugged Danny and spoke, "I have been in this situation where I had forgotten a step. It was an important project and the director I looked up to was angry with me. I wanted to give up.  At that time, someone close to me advised me. It's okay to fall down. It's not okay to give up and sulk over it. One who learns from their mistakes and starts again always emerges victorious.", she said.

Gaurav was delighted to know that she still remembered the words he spoke. He instantly remembered those moments. They were shooting a song for a movie in Chandigarh. It was same time when they met for first time. It was final leg of the song and they had practiced many times. However Jenny wasn't confident that day. When she began performing, she forgot one step. She got conscious about that. The director cut the shot and reprimanded her badly. She was in tears. It wasn't good sight. She looked around. Everyone were staring at her. She ran towards her vanity van and Gaurav had followed her. He saw her seated on chair and crying inconsolably. He sat next to her and consoled her. He had said the same words - It's okay to fall down. It's not okay to give up and sulk over it. One who learns from their mistakes and starts again always emerges victorious. He helped her overcome her miserable state. He remembered how she became confident and performed dance well. However he didn't like her using those words here and he didn't understand why he didn't like it. She wasn't doing wrong. She was consoling a contestant like how he had consoled her.



(To be continued)

Their jinxed love- Part 13

The first episode of show was shot again . New audience arrived at the set to watch their favourite stars. The set was inspected twice by Gajendra himself. After yesterday’s fiasco with Gaurav, he didn’t want today shoot to be affected. He didn’t want to lose Gaurav or Jenny in the show. If it hadn’t been TRPs, he would have gotten him out of his show. But he had to deal with the couple’s tantrum to get the show running . He had invested a lot in this season. He didn’t want anything to affect the show.

Everything ran smoothly. Ruby and Gaurav performed on the same number. Jenny performed on light song that didn’t need excessive dancing. Her hand still pained when she tried to stretch. She winced with pain momentarily when she couldn’t bear. Gaurav was still upset with Jenny for how she reacted with him. His mind was disturbed by what she has said yesterday. He couldn’t take his mind off from what had happened yesterday. He was angry .

Everyone cheered when her performance was over. She smiled until her gaze shifted to Gaurav. He wasn’t smiling or cheering or applauding her performance. The shine in his eyes she had seen yesterday was not there. He seemed like he was lost in thoughts. Her smile disappeared and suddenly she felt bad. She couldn’t understand why she was feeling that way. She couldn’t understand why she needed his approval for her dance. She was not a contestant and she was no longer his girlfriend . This realisation stung her heart.

Before the host could greet her , she left the stage immediately. Everyone were stunned by her gesture. The host was confused. He didn’t understand what he had said yesterday that could affect her. However he continued with his job. He introduced the contestants to the stage in form of groups. While he was explaining the rules of the show to audience , Jenny quickly slipped to her seat next to Gaurav.

His body shook when he felt someone sit next to him. He quickly turned to see Jenny sitting next to him. He wasn’t pleased. He wanted to change his place. He wanted to stay away from her. He decided to change his place after break. He looked at the watch. There was still half an hour to go. This bothered him. He didn’t know how he would go through this torture.

The first group was going to be mentored by Ruby , the second group was going to be mentored by Gaurav and last group was going to be mentored by Jenny. All the contestants were seemingly pleased to be mentored by their respective judges except for Pinky who was depressed for being selected as back up dancer and now being part of Jenny’s group. She hopelessly looked at Gaurav and wished she was in his group. If she was in his group, she could somehow influence him to make her the main contestants. But now that desire to take part as the main contestants was looking bleak. She sulked.

(To be continued)