Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Geet settled comfortably on the passenger seat as Maan started driving them home. The evening at the fundraiser was fantastic and quite successful. She enjoyed seeing how the wealthy had opened their wallets and donated generously. Even when she didn’t have much, she did donate a couple of thousands wanting her money to go to a good cause. Maan glanced at her and enjoyed the peaceful look on her face.

He wanted to savour this moment for as long as possible. He wanted to savour this night. He wondered whether she’d have the look on her face when he finally told her the truth.

“Are you tired?” he suddenly asked.

“Huh?” she turned her head and looked at him curiously.

“Are you tired?” he repeated.

“No” she answered with a smile shaking her head.

“Shall we go for a drive? I don’t feel like going home yet”.

“Oh, yeah sure” she agreed.

“How do you feel about going to the farmhouse and spending some time together?” he asked.

“After the drive?”

He nodded.

“Yeah, sure. I don’t mind” she shrugged and smiled at him.

He returned her smile, and he continued driving.

“Sasha confessed to me” Maan informed breaking the silence during the drive.

“Confessed what?” Geet turned her head looking at him with curiousity.

“She confessed to having feelings”.

“Now, I don’t know whether I should Ha I told you so or act like a jealous wife and say what the heck is wrong with her” she remarked.

He laughed.

“What did you say?”

“I thanked her for telling me, but I’m married”.

“You told her, you’re married?” she looked at him surprised.

“Geet, I don’t want to hide our relationship. I don’t care what people think. I know you don’t want to tell people and I respect that. But I am not going to hide that I am married. They simply won’t know who I married” he explained.

“She must’ve died of a heart attack” she commented.

“She seemed upset” he responded.

“I feel sorry for her now” she said with mock sympathy.

“Geet”.

“Okay, I’m sorry” she laughed. “I know she’s a colleague and she has been loyal to you for years, but she acted like she owned you”.

“Well now she wouldn’t be doing that” he responded.

“I would’ve loved to see her face. I wonder how she would react when she knows that in actual fact that it’s me who owns you”.

“You own me?”

“Of course” she agreed nodding her head and grinned widely.

He laughed.

They made small talk as they continued their drive. It was after another hour, that he’d made his way to the farmhouse. As he neared the farmhouse, his heartbeats rapidly picked up its pace. He was dreading the storm that would erupt when he tells Geet about his past. When they’d arrived, Geet found a small suitcase and some containers that were packed with food. Maan had texted Sandeep earlier to bring over a change of clothes for them and to drop off toiletries. Naintara seemed to have taken charge and packed them a bag and filled it with possible necessities and she even had Sandeep take over some food in containers for them.

Since neither were hungry following the banquet at the fundraiser, they put away the containers and Maan suggested they freshen up and they can meet downstairs to share a hot drink. Geet agreed and they both went into two separate bathrooms.

Half an hour later, they were freshly showered, fresh faced and met downstairs.

Maan put on the kettle and Geet pulled out two cups.

She’d made herself a hot chocolate as he made a coffee for himself.

He walked into the living room settling on the sofa. Geet joined and curled on the sofa. She rested beside him with her cup in her palms. He draped an arm over her shoulder and they drank their hot drinks silently for a while. No words were needed.

“Geet” Maan broke the silence calling her name.

“Hmm?” she turned her head and smiled. Their faces were close. Only inches away.

“I have something to tell you”. He said in a gentle but serious tone.

Geet looked confused and her smile slowly faded. “What’s wrong?”

Maan slowly pulled his arm from over her shoulder. He placed his empty cup on the coffee table and clasped his hands together trying to figure out where he should start from. Geet placed her cup down and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re worrying me. What’s going on, Maan?”

“I…” He struggled to find the words and stood. He stepped away needing space. Maybe that would make it easier. Because he couldn’t bear to see the hope and happiness that would shatter in her eyes when he told her the truth.

“Geet, when I asked for a chance from you again. I should have told you this”.

“Told me what?”

“But I was afraid of how you might feel knowing the truth. I held back because I wanted us to have a chance at becoming something more. I want you so much, Geet that I’m scared that I will the one tearing us apart with this truth” he faced her from across the room and looked into her eyes.

“You’re scaring me, Maan”.

“I want to move forward but my past is a barrier between us. And without you knowing, it will hang over us. I don’t want that. I want you too much and am so f*cking afraid that I will lose you”.

“What is it?”

“I’ve hidden something from you, Geet. I’ve hidden my past from you. My family. Dadima” he started and looked away. He turned his back to her trying to gather his courage to continue telling her the truth.

She frowned in confusion but waited for more information.

“My dad sent me to London to study further. Expand my knowledge and become something more” he said. “And whilst I was over there, I met someone”.

Geet shifted uncomfortably as she watched his back as he spoke.

“Sameera. Her name is Sameera” he breathed out her name. “We met in London and… it was this instant kind of relationship. I fell in love with her. And she with me”.

Geet’s eyes stung with tears as she registered with words. It started making sense now why he had been reluctant to give them a chance. He had been in love before.

“I never told dadima or my papa. They wouldn’t have accepted to us dating like we had done” he continued. “One day… She learned she’s pregnant”.

“What?” Geet couldn’t hold back the surprise and gasp that escaped her.

He didn’t respond to her and continued. He couldn’t turn around and face her as he continued. “We got married because it was the right thing to do. I couldn’t tell my family; they would have been so disappointed. Dad wasn’t feeling too well either, so I kept quiet because I didn’t need to put this on them yet”.

Tears blurred Geet’s vision as she listened to Maan.

“She had a miscarriage a couple of weeks later. It affected us, especially Sameera. A couple of months later, she’d become pregnant again and I thought we were getting back on track. She lost the baby again a couple of weeks in. When she had the 3rd miscarriage, she couldn’t take it anymore. Our relationship had become strained. I had to visit dad in between because he’d become sick. I couldn’t even tell anyone in my family what was happening. I couldn’t speak to Sameera either. It was becoming clear that my dad might not live too long” he whispered. “I tried to be there for her. She was suffering as well... It affected her mentally and she couldn’t take it anymore. I still loved her even though we were barely hanging on by a thread. I couldn’t be the husband she wanted, and she felt she wasn’t the wife she’s supposed to be. I didn’t want anything from her. I just wanted the old Sameera back. I didn’t care whether we had kids or not. I just wanted her. But it wasn’t enough. My love for her wasn’t enough” he uttered and turned slowly to look at his wife.

She looked hurt and tears welled in her eyes.

“She asked me for a divorce. I didn’t contest it. She left my life, and I couldn’t live in that house with the memories. I returned to India to be with my family. A couple of weeks later, I lost my papa” he finished. “That night when I withdrew from you…” he swallowed hard. “Sameera came to India”.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that he had hidden his past from her. He hadn’t told her that his ex-wife was here. Ex-wife. She felt her heart tearing into shreds. She had thought the feelings that were developing were a first for him and her. But it wasn’t the case.

He was married. He had a wife. She wasn’t his first. She wasn’t his first kiss, first love or wife. And his first love was here in India.

Her mind wandered and she lifted her gaze to his pained ones.

“When you disappeared for 3 months, were you with her?”

“No” he shook his head. “I saw her and…” he shuddered scared of revealing the next truth. “She’s… she had a daughter”.

“No, no…” Geet stood up fast shaking her head.

“She… she never told me. She couldn’t because she was afraid of losing this one as well… When she tried to find me, I’d come to India, and she didn’t have a number for me. I didn’t keep in contact with anyone because I didn’t want any reminders” he murmured. “I went away to process everything. I…” he stepped forward.

“Stop, just stop Maan” Geet held up her hand at him shaking her head. Tears slipped down her cheeks and her lips trembled. “You… hid something so big…” she stammered. “How… H… How do I even process this?” she asked. “Oh God” she clasped her face with her hands and crumpled to the ground. “Oh, dear God” she sobbed.

“Geet…” Maan rushed to her side.

“Don’t touch me” she screamed pushing away his hands.

She just discovered in one night that not only did her husband have a past, but he also had a first love, a first wife, and… a daughter.

A/N: Okay, here it is the big reveal. This was so difficult to write especially as I tried to portray Geet's feelings throughout this scene. Hope I have done justice to her initial shock and feelings. I certainly was not ever planning on Sasha revealing something to Geet. I wanted to take a different route as it is quite common in a lot of stories of Geet learning the truth from somewhere else. I wanted her to learn the truth from her own husband which is what I believe should be the case in relationships. I hope you've enjoyed and liked this chapter even if it ended on such a sad note.

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