Reclaiming What's Mine

Chapter 3

Aakansha's Pov:

To say I was the most excited person on earth would be an understatement. After lots and lots of pleadings, Parth finally agreed to take me with him to the set. The pilot of the new sitcom was about to be shot and I wanted nothing more than being here. Putting the excitement aside, I was mostly scared of Parth's unpredictable behavior. I didn't know what happened between him and Reyan the other night, whatever they have done that night, I had no idea but ever since the night, Parth had secluded himself. Although I would give credits for him still going without touching alcohol, he became aloof and distant from us.

When I saw him today after a week, he had bags under his eyes, his skin was pale, he was struggling to keep his bloodshot eyes open, he was totally out of shape. But somehow he landed on the leading part of the show, it wouldn't be possible without his manager though. I was standing behind a TV screen, excitedly waiting for the shoot to begin. Parth was sitting on the couch caught under the bright lights. Only God knew how much color corrector and concealer I've put on his face to hide the puffiness and redness. He looked lifeless this morning, but now with enough concealing and spotlights on him, he looked flawless. It's been a rough duration of three years since he stood in front of the cameras, I was glad to see him giving it a shot for our sake.

The set became silent as the director shouted action, I like any crazy fangirl, was gleaming at the screen as Parth put on a happy face in a blink hiding his lost soul behind his grinning face, the pilot was supposed to start with a musical, the promo song was loud on the speakers as the female lead actor made a dramatic entry with her hair flying all over the place and sat right next to him.

I was fanning my face as they held hands, it looked perfect on the screen, the music went off.

"Jo waada mai karti hu vo waada mai nibhaati hu. Mai tumhe nahi chorrungi. Fir chahe kitna bhi Bura waqt aaye. Tum humesha ye paoge ki hum dono humesha sath hai aur rahenge. Aur Suraj subah ugega to tumhare saath ugega, tumhari khubsurat aankho k saath. Sab kuch thik ho jayega. Kyunki mai humesha tumhare saath khadi hun, tumhe kabhi nahi chorrungi." (Translation- A promise I make is a promise I keep. I'll never leave you. Even through the darkest of days. You'll always know that we'll be together forever. And the sun will shine in the morning, along with you, and your beautiful eyes.
Everything will be fine. Because I'll always be there by your side, never letting go.), the actress said as they stared into each other's eyes, "I love you."

"Awww", I gasped, maybe way too loud, but man, that was intense. It was the cutest thing I heard on that day. I got shushed by one of the crew members. I bit my tongue and resumed staring at the screen. I've read the script papers, Parth was supposed to say 'I love you too.' and hug her. But what I was looking at the screen was going downhill. Parth was staring at her emotionlessly, I could see his jaws become tense, someone in the direction of Parth was flashing him a board with 'I love you too' written on it, but his mind was somewhere else, and I knew where it was.

The camera was zoomed in to his face. He plucked his hands from her grasp, his breathing became faster, his pain came out of the drapes, he stood up as the director shouted cut.

It was as silent as a cemetery. Parth stepped down from the platform, everyone anticipated what was going on. He shoved his hands in his pockets to hide his shivering, he said in a calmer tone he could pull off, "I can't do this. I'm sorry. I can't.", he tried to walk out but the director stopped him by his shoulder.

"What do you mean you can't? This is not a joke. We have invested our time and money in it, buddy. You can't just leave and quit just like that. Go back in there because you have signed a fucking contract with the producer for a good lump of money and do your job."