Maneet FF: You are always on my mind. AN on P 150 - Page 96

Tanu,

Once again, thanks. I am glad you loved the part. No worries about being a late lateef....read the FF at your own luxury...it is just entertainment. I am just happy that you all are enjoying the thoughts I have...lol

Thanks for the long updatet, I just wanted to show Maan for once being taken care of by someone who he was supposed to have taken care off. Yes it would have been really illogical if he had just stayed stoned faced and not reacted...he had to cry and show all that he was human.

Please don't be mad at Geet, she too lost out. What young girl doesn't want to be with the man she loves, what young mother doesn't want help raising her child? The decisions she made were under difficult circumstances. You can clearly hear her pain too in the lines she said to Maan, the ones you liked and quoted in your comment.

Aww, you cried. I guess that is a sign that I am doing my job as a writer. Hope you like the next part.

Well hope you read my reply to your previous comment.

Hope you enjoy the next part.

Thanks

No worries about the late comment.

Hope you like the next update.

Thanks

Welcome

You are added to the PM list.

The wait is almost over. I have been ignoring the lovely comments for too long. I am just relying to the comments and once I am done, the next part will be updated.

Patience love, I work 5 days a week and I need to clear my head on Saturday before I write. However both you and I know I don't disappoint with my updates and hope you like the next one, else I will have to hang my head in shame after what I just said.

Mari,

Love you still have 17 more parts to go...how are you love? We keep missing each other in the den. I have been really busy too...It is almost 3am and I am updating my FF since this is the only time I have. Since I started working life has been hectic. But since I started this, I need to continue like a good soldier.

Geet is not unfair and neither is she fair, it is complicated. All have lost out on something or another. But that is what happens when life gets complicated, you make decisions that may seem good then but in reality are not.

I am glad you are liking the FF, I know you came here unwillingly.😆

She repeated her question which had now turned into a statement once again, "You are the mystery man."

She looked at him for confirmation, she wanted to make sure that her eyes and ears had not betrayed her. She knew she and Radha had found him, but it seemed unreal. Her father was the mystery man.

He looked at her and nodded, signalling a yes; an unquestionable, yes! He had known that someday she would find out, he had hoped that someday when she did find out who he was, Geet would have been by his side. He was now aware that he would have to answer all of Geeta's questions on his own and in his heart silently asked Geet's babaji for strength. He was certain that it wasn't going to be easy.

Geet steadied her nerves, she didn't really expect the mystery man and her father to be the one and same person, she was glad that she had suggested that they play 20 questions because there were still 10 more questions to go and she was now curious to find out what the whole secrecy was all about. What was the whole reason for her parents to hide this huge thing from her? She saw Maan in deep thought and decided to pull him out of it, "So let's continue with the 20 questions, I believe we still have 10 left" she said calmly.

'How could she be so calm?' he thought. It was better to comply with her least she started to presume things. From what he had noticed Geeta was not the kind who assumed things, he was glad she hadn't gotten the Khurana gene in that case. The Khuranas were famous for assuming things; there had been so many times he had assumed things about Geet only to kick himself later when he found out the truth. He answered Geeta, "Yes, lets continue. I am sure you will make the best of your 10 questions, the rules from before still stand."

Geeta, "So when did you and mom start hanging out again?"

Maan, "Well I wouldn't call it hanging out, it's not that trivial. We love each other and she let me back into her life after I saw the two of you at Harvard. So who is Aakash?"

Geeta, "Wow, you really don't wait do you? Aakash is this guy I met here at school, I would call him an acquaintance. Did you come to Harvard to see us?"

Maan, "No I do not beat around the bush, it seems that you too have that trait of not waiting and looking for answers right away. Not that I blame you. Yes, I did come to Harvard to see you and Geet. Is he just an acquaintance or more?"

Geeta, "At the moment he is just an acquaintance. Why did you wait until I was going to college to see us?"

Maan, "I actually did not wait until you were going to college to see you both, I actually saw you all from a distance once. I had to keep my distance because that is what your mother wanted. Did you know that I had gifted your mom those earing you wanted last Thanksgiving?"

Geeta, "Well, all I knew is that mamma never refused me anything before those earrings. I thought something was amiss when she told me that she had bought them for herself. They looked a tad bit too expensive for her to spend that kind of money on herself. And I heard her tell Devi Masi and Kate Masi that they were from 'him.' I didn't know who 'him' was but that just made me more determined to find out. Why did mom want you to stay away?"

Maan, "Your mom only wanted the best for you. The circumstance under which she left were very complicated and yet she managed at such a young age to not only become successful also raise a wonderful daughter. Her past is connected to me and I know that is why she initially wanted to stay away from me. However as time passed by she grew hesitant about letting me back into you lives as you would have had to questions. I believe she wasn't sure how she would have explained me to you. Other that this I cannot tell you anything more, the rest your mom will have to be here when it is revealed. I have no more questions for you, you can tell me about yourself if you choose to, however I believe as a parent it is my duty to answer whatever questions you may have."

Geeta, "Did mom always keep you informed about me?"

Maan, "Not always, but whenever something monumental happened in your life I was made aware of it. When you took your first step, when you lost your milk teeth, when you graduated High School, when you got into Harvard. She let me know all that was important and all that made you the person you are today."

Geeta, "Did you ever feel anger towards mamma?"

Maan, "I will not lie and the answer to your question is yes, I have been angry at your mother twice for not letting me be a part of your lives. Once before and today."

Geeta, "Why were you angry at mamma today?"

Maan, "Because although I knew that I had missed out on you growing up and being a part of your life, today it actually hurt as you spoke to me. Today I wished more than ever that I had been there, that you would have never had to erase the father from your picture."

Geeta, "Did she ever let you know about herself?"

Maan, "Before Harvard, not really. Only once did she call. It was the day she graduated from Architecture school. She knew that her success would have meant a lot to me, so she called me, but she hung up as soon as she had given me the news never allowing me to even get a word in. The messages from her were always about you."

Geeta, "So after Harvard how many times have you met mamma?"

Maan, "After Harvard we spent a few days together and then during her birthday. I didn't want her to be alone. All those years she had you, but this year you were here, so I went over."

Geeta, "Thank you." That was all she could say, she understood that her parents both loved her and each other dearly and it was time to stop the grilling session. Whatever the reason for their separation was surely going to come out sooner or later. If she had been able to live without the truth all these years, a few more days or moths wasn't going to kill her. She now had both her parents. In front of her sat her 'Papa'. That word seemed beautiful, even thinking about it made her smile. The first time she had said it, it had sounded foreign, maybe it was time to say it again.

Geeta, "Papa, I think you have answered all the questions I have, let's not dwell on the past for now. I am sure that can be discussed some other time."

Maan, "Did you just call me Papa?"

Geeta, "Yes, Papa" she grinned.

Maan thought to himself that if his daughter could so easily not hold a grudge against Geet of depriving her of a father and not hold it against him for not fighting to be in her life, he needed to take a lesson from her book and also walk away from the pain of not being in Geeta's life earlier. He had to stop getting angry at Geet. Yes, she had asked him to stay away, but he could have easily broken her rules. Once again it seemed that his daughter had managed to surprise him. He wondered if it was just her or were all the kids in her generation so liberal and understanding. Maybe a lot had changed since he had been a kid.

This time around he took her in his arms and for the first time there was no hesitation on either end. They both knew exactly who they are and as Geeta had said earlier in the day, she had found the perfect tag for him, 'Papa.'

She broke away from the hug and in a mischievous manner said, "Well Papa since you missed 19 birthdays where are my 19 presents?" Putting her hand out as if to say 'I am waiting.'

Maan smiled and said, "Well let's start with your 6^th Birthday present."

Geeta, "I was just joking, but okay, so what did you get me when I turned 6."

Maan, "You are standing in it." He said pointing at the apartment with both his hands.

Geeta, "Wait a minute you are the landlord too? Why should I even be surprised now? Oh! You both are good at keeping people in the dark, only the two of you forgot that your daughter is smarter plus she has a superhero for a best friend."

Maan laughed out loud and pretended to hold his ears as if to apologize for keeping Geeta in the dark. He continued, "Well, this is just the beginning, there are 18 other presents that I have to give you." He didn't want it to be an over load on her system and stopped himself from naming everything in the property portfolio he had been adding to ever birthday.

Geeta, "Well, at least now I know why this place looked so depressing when we first moved here. Anyone who has been through what you have been through would decorate in such a macabre manner."

Maan, "I may have changed the decor to keep you happy, but let me tell you young lady, that wasn't macabre it was taste. No one before you ever complained about the decor. You young kids these days are spoilt."

Geeta, "No we are not. We just know what we want."

Maan, "Yes, and from what I recall, you like to take revenge from your mother by spending 16,000 Dollars in one afternoon."

Geeta gasped, "She told you about that? Oh! There is no honour among thieves. She lies, I spend, what is your poison?"

Maan, "My poison is listening to your mother and going along with whatever she says. Yes, we may not be married but I am whipped. I am ashamed admitting this to my own daughter."

Geeta, "Wait, you guys are not married, so that means I was a child of sin. Oh! You guys were bad."

Maan, "I need to stop you right there, you were never a child of sin, in fact there was nothing sinful about you or your mother. There is more to this story, than meets the eyes. I wish it was as simple as you being my child and me being your father but it is not."

Geeta, "Well then tell me what the story is."

Maan, "No I can't. I can't until your mother is present but I promise you that one day soon you will know the whole truth. I would love to tell you everything right now, but your mother 's life is involved and I wish not to do this without her. I hope you can respect that. All I want to tell you is that you are my daughter and nothing can change that. I love you and nothing can change that and whatever may come don't ever forget who you truly are."

Geeta, "You are scaring me Papa."

Maan, "Don't be scared, the past cannot affect you, it is 19 years in the past and the future is bright unlike the past that was dark."

Geeta, "Okay, so when are you taking me to see the rest of the family" she just thought of something and asked, "do they even know I exist?"

Maan, "No, they do not. I will have to break it to them softly. It is going to be shock for all to know that I have a 19 year old daughter. So who is this Aakash?"

Geeta, "Why can't you drop the subject? Well if you must know, he is this really cute boy I saw at the mall a few days ago and today I found out that he goes to the same University as I do. We exchanged a few words and that is all."

Maan looked up and spoke to Geet's babaji, "You made the confrontation with Geeta easy, but it was all a cruel joke wasn't it. I barely get my daughter and what do you do, you hand me a potential suitor waiting for her at University. Wah! Kya khel hain tere!"

In NYC Geet had been worried about what was going on in Delhi, however she didn't have the luxury to call them today. The Board was meeting today and she had finally found out that they had finalized the plan to take over an established yet financially suffering business in Delhi during the last meeting. She was certain that her being the only partner of Indian origin was probably the one who would be sent to India to handle the business.

She wasn't sure how long she would have to stay in Delhi but from the last two takeovers she had known that the task could take anywhere from a few months to a few years. Although they were a prosperous firm convincing the public in a new market was always a tough mission. Also in her case it was going to be an even bigger challenge cause there would now be two companies with Khurana in the name; it was bad enough trying to make a name in a new market but to also let the people know that they were a different company than Khurana Constructions and that they weren't trying to cheat anyone by having a similar name would be a monumental task. People were very quick to pass judgement and get suspicious. What was she going to do?

As she sat in her office staring at the New York Skyline running all that she would have to do in India if she were sent there, Ken knocked on the door and after getting her attention let her know that the Board was ready to see the partners.

As she walked towards the conference room, she was joined by the other two partners. They both smiled at her, they had been through a lot getting the firm to where it was today and although they now had a huge international team all the foundation work had been laid by them. This was their baby and today they were going to start to establish themselves in the world's largest democracy. The three of them knew who was heading to India and they all knew that Geet was the right person.

They stepped into the conference room and faced the Board, who very nicely informed them that STA Constructions was no more and that O'Niel, Khurana and Sanchez Architects now had an office in Delhi. They then turned serious and asked if the partners were willing to change the name of the firm since their biggest competitor was named Khurana Constructions. The partners needed no time to mull over the question posed and answered a vehement 'No.' They informed the Board that the firm was what it was due to the hard work invested by all three of them and that they were already established in the industry, they believed that their work would speak for the confusion the name may create.

After being told by the Board what Geet and everyone already knew, Geet decided to take the rest of the day off and headed home. It was amazing how babaji worked. One day she was living happily in NYC with her daughter without any complications, yes she was away from her love but her daughter was happy so their sacrifice was worth it and the next day she was preparing to leave NYC to move to India. Yes, she was approaching the move as a temporary situation, but she knew that there was something else planned for her.

She went home and made herself a nice cool drink, she looked at her watch, she could call Maan to find out how everything went with Geeta, but she wasn't sure if she had the strength to deal with it at the moment. After all Maan was perfectly capable of dealing with Geeta, he was her father and she was going to let them be and let them develop their own relationship. She had no right to meddle, she had kept them apart for long enough, now it was time for her to step back and let Maan do the parenting. Plus the hard part was just starting. Geeta would soon have boyfriends and to tell the truth she would rather have Maan deal with that whole big bag of worms.

She called Devi and Kate instead and filled the two about her future trip to India. She discussed with them the probability of having Maan in her life and her reservations about Geeta's reaction to the fact that Maan and she were still a couple. She knew that her daughter was mature as she had handled finding out that Maan was her father very well according to Maan, however she wasn't sure how Geeta would handle finding out that Maan and her were actually in a relationship. Devi and Kate both reassured her that she had raised her daughter well and that Geeta was a broad minded individual who would handle situations head on and not cower away from them. That Geet needed to give her daughter some credit and for once put herself ahead of all and pursue happiness for herself without thinking of everyone else.

After the call with her best friends, Geet took a nice long bath and decided come what may at the age of 38 it was time for her to be happy not only professional but also personally. Geeta was a baby bird who had already flown away from the nest and she didn't have to worry about her anymore.

Spoiler.

Is that really you?

Loads of suprises up their sleeves!!!!!! Waiting for next!!!!!!!!