Firstly, "Hugs & Kisses" to all my readers who took the time and thought in suggestion all the novels that Geet should read! Some of you have mentioned some really great novels, and I am already thinking up the scenes I could write about certain novels….. So thank you everyone for being such generous readers and suggesting the novels along with posting a brief summary…. There were quite a few novels that I have never heard about…. I know very embarrassing since I am known as the book worm! But well…. My genre of reading is completely different – crime and psychological novels; not something Geet should read!
************ Part 19 ************
Kirty had just finished her breakfast when her phone rang; she answered it without taking note of the caller.
"Hello"
"You knew!" the caller barked in an angry flare.
Kirty almost dropped her phone in shock at the voice and the angry burst that came through her phone. Her heart skipped a beat as her mind registered just who had called her.
"Good morning, Mr. Ma-"
"Cut out the formalities!" The caller growled cutting short Kirty's attempt at a greeting.
"A greeting won't hu-"
"You knew!"
"Bu-"
"How dare you!" he screamed interrupting her attempt to speak again.
"Now really, no need to be so angry" Kirty said, trying to calm her caller while she inwardly sent curses to herself for forgetting everything about him. She had been so busy with the seminar for the past day that Geet had completely slipped from her mind and now she was stuck with a big problem. He knew about her now, or else why would he call her so suddenly????????
"You knew! Didn't you?" He asked again, his eyes stared at the newspaper, the picture of Maan Singh Khurana and his wife Geet Handa, now, Geet Maan Singh Khurana.He mildly surprised when he read the news of Maan Singh Khurana's marriage but nothing in his life ever shocked him so much as the name of Maan's bride! Nothing could compare to the shock and betrayal he felt when he read the bride's name. Geet Handa, the name set him in alarm, he quickly read the whole article reading the information provided about Geet's family, her city name and her father's name. For five minutes he had sat still on his chair, staring at her face, too shocked to react to the news and then anger had flared, anger at Kirty. For he knew Kirty would have known this, she would have known Geet was getting married to Maan singh Khurana and yet she did not inform him!
"Yes I knew, but it was already too late. Maan was supposed to marry some Channi but I don't know what happened that Geet came into the picture" Kirty informed him coolly as she sipped her tea. The slight tremble in her hands and the sudden chill in her body was only due to the cold breeze she tried to pacify herself.
"And you did not seem fit to tell me about this?" He asked coldly as he glared at the newspaper.
"I thought you were still in abroad. You know I would have called you first thing if I knew how to get in touch with you" Kirty lied smoothly. No, she wasn't going to inform him, informing him about Geet had entered her mind but she had dismissed the idea after going through the pros and cons of such an action the whole night but now he knew and she feared what he would do….
"I came back from London last night!" He sighed dejectedly; he didn't know what he was going to do now. He had planned everything for Geet but now it was all ruined, what was he going to tell him now?
"I am sorry, I didn't know about this. I met her at the muh-dikha the day before. She is very beautiful; I did not believe him when he said that to me but seeing her…. It was a shock" Kirty confessed, knowing the inner turmoil the man must be going through now.
"And yet, you did not seem fit to inform me or my son when you learned of this?" He snapped at her angrily.
"Don't snap at me. I am not the one to be blamed" Kirty scowled not liking his tone with her.
"Why didn't you call me? Don't you know how important it was for me to know about this?" He asked brokenly. How could she take this so lightly, didn't she know how many years he had waited to bring Geet to his house, how hard it was for him and his son to sit and wait for the time to end, to keep going through their daily life knowing that she was locked in that hellhole, being tortured and abused and yet they couldn't do anything but wait…. and now everything was over, all their planning and wait gone to waste…. He didn't know how his son would take this….
"I know but I honestly didn't know how to contact you" Kirty lied again, she had his number but she had decided not to inform him. A grave mistake! She couldn't believe she hadn't thought about the newspaper and media, how could she forget the fact that Maan's marriage will be all over the news!
"Have you told him?" He asked with a rough shake of his head, hoping she hadn't.
"Who?" Kirty asked in confusion, furrowing her brows.
"My son! Who else?" The growl escaped through his gritted teeth, his anger at her increasing by the minute.
'Your son?' Kirty almost sneered…. almost but controlled her urge.
"No, I didn't tell him" Kirty assured the man instead.
"I don't know how he is going to take this…." He whispered, his tone displayed the concern and worry he was feeling.
Better than you I hope! Kirty wanted to say but instead said "it will hit him hard" and she knew it will be hard for him to handle the news, especially after his recent heartbreak he suffered….. it had shocked her too when Naintara had presented the girl as Maan's wife.
"We never expected this, I can't believe that man actually got her married" He said more to himself, taking a deep breath trying to slow down his tirade.
"Well… she has grown into a woman, every parent wishes to get their daughter married" Kirty pointed out to him, shaking her head at his stupidity. Did he really think that Mohender Handa would keep his daughter with him forever? Why did he not expect the aspect of Mohender marrying off his daughter, after all the girl was exceptionally beautiful?
"Woman! she is a girl! Not even legal yet!" He screamed over the phone at Kirty.
"What?" Kirty gasped at the news, not even legal. "What do you mean by that? How old is she?" Kirty asked in desperation.
"Seventeen, she is only seventeen years old" He said bitterly. "And Maan Singh Khurana is a twenty-eight year old man!" He barked, clenching his fingers around the paper, his eyes angrily glaring at Maan's picture. There was no mention of Geet's age, they knew she was young and yet they had gotten their son married to her, despite the long age gap between the two.
Kirty dropped the pen she was holding at hearing Geet's age. It was not good…. She could understand his anger now; Geet was too young, too young for Maan, too young to be the badi bahu of Khurana family! Naintara… did she knew the girl's age… did she know that the girl did not pass the legal marriage age… did she knew…..
"She is only a girl…." He whispered bringing Kirty back from her musing. "How can Maan marry her knowing how young she is!" He demanded in a loud voice.
"Calm down!" Kirty ordered over the phone, irritated at the man's temper. She knew he had every right to be angry but he was taking it out on the wrong person. It wasn't she who fixed this marriage and it definitely was she who told Maan to marry a minor!
"I am quite sure Naintara doesn't know about this, she would have never gone forth with the marriage if she knew Geet's age" Kirty told him truthfully, she knew her friend very well, she knew Naintara would never get Maan married to a girl not after knowing how temperament Maan is. No definitely not!
"It doesn't change anything! I will file a case against them for this!" He screamed, banging his fist on the table in anger.
"You don't have the authority to do that!" Kirty pointed out to him, frowning at his immature behavior, now understanding who his son got this trait from. "You are not Geet's father; you have no relationship with her. You know better than me that the girl will never go against her father!"
"This shouldn't have happened!" He screamed throwing his arm in the air, his breathing loud and furious as he threw the newspaper into the air.
"It has happened and you can't change it. It would be better for you to just accept it!" Kirty stressed, tightening her grip on the tea cup as she tried to make him understand.
"I don't care! It shouldn't have happened! I am not going to let her stay with Maan Singh Khurana!" He screamed, anger cursed through him, he could not stand the thought of Geet with Maan! A man who was known for his short temper, obsessive nature and the many love affairs! that man & his whole family was surrounded with controversies!
"Must you be so difficult?.... she is married now, YOU can't do anything, it's too late!" Kirty screamed back at him, frustrated at his stubbornness.
"How dare you! After all that you know, you actually expect me to let it go! To give up on her?" He asked, he was furious at everything especially at Kirty, for he never expected her to tell him that. How can she, didn't she know how many years he had waited to have Geet with him….. how many years he had spent with guilt and helplessness…. Waiting, planning on how to rescue Geet from that hellhole! Now…. now…. it seemed like she was transported from one hellhole to another!
"Why can't you be just rational for once!" Kirty asked, dragging in a shaky breath. She counted backward from 10 to 1 to try and calm herself, anger won't do any good! "Aap please, thora shant ho jaiye…. aise gussa hone se koi hal nahi niklega…." Kirty said trying to calm his anger down.
"What do you want me do? I… j-just… I…. d-don't…" He stammered in dejection, his shoulders sagged as he finally accepted his defeat… his failure at having Geet with him. She belonged to Maan Singh Khurana now…. something he could never accept…. "I can never accept Maan as her husband!..... never…." He whispered.
Kirty bit her lower lip, her eyes stung with unshed tears as she heard his broken voice. She knew how much this news hurt him, knew there was nothing she could do for the pain he must be feeling… she never realized the pain he would go through once he learned about Geet's marriage, at that time she was only thinking about Geet's wellness not about the pain it would cause him… "I am sorry, but we can't do anything now…. Maan is now her husband and he really is a good man… she will be happy with him.... I am sure of that!" Kirty said softly, giving him assurance.
"What will I tell my son now?" He asked instead, he didn't believe her; he knew Geet would never be happy with a person like Maan.
Kirty sighed at his mention, biting her lip from reprimanding him at his reference to his son "Don't worry about him, I will talk with him…. he will understand… he will see the good in this…." Kirty whispered her lie, knowing that she would have a hard time with his son when she broke the news to him.
"No! I will talk to my son! I will talk with him now! he must know… maybe he can do something!" He ranted with enthusiasm, suddenly finding the last hope in his son… yes he will figure something out to get Geet away from Maan and his family and then… then… Geet will finally be with him and his family….. just like it was meant to be…
"YOU will do no such thing! your son will not know of this till he is back in India! This isn't something that you can tell him through the phone!" Kirty voiced, reprimanding him, her face scrunched with slight offense.
"You want me to wait for one year to tell him this? You know he will never forgive us for hiding this from him! you know that!" he screamed at her in anger, he knew no one would understand this, not even Kirty…. just him and his son understood this, just him and his son felt the pain, the guilt and helplessness for Geet…. for themselves…..
"I bloody well know that! Your son doesn't need to know this…. at least not now…. I won't have you ruining his career…. And have you thought about how this could affect his health? The damage the shock might cause to his brain?..... are you forgetting the fact that he is still recovering from his surgery?" Kirty questioned him, rubbing her temples with her fingers, her head hurt…. She laughed inwardly, at how easily he could give her a headache whenever they talked….
"I don't care! Nothing matters… I need him to be with me for this, he needs to fulfill the promise he made me!"
"I am warning you…. I will not stand by and watch you destroy his life by your impulsiveness…. do not forget he isn't just your son….." Kirty warned him, angered at his carelessness over such a serious matter. No matter what she will make sure he won't come to know of this until he is ready for it…. it was too soon… he was still recovering from his surgery and the heartbreak he suffered…. The last thing he needed was a defected young girl in his life….
"Just trust me on this okay…. I met Geet the other day and I know she is not ready for this… it won't be good for her if you suddenly claimed her…. you don't understand the impact it can have on her mind…. and do you possibly believe that she will remember you? She was only a child then…. she might have no memory of you!" Kirty pointed out to him, as she leaned back on the chair, stretching her legs on the carpet.
"I don't expect her to remember me but…" He stopped, knowing Kirty was right, there was no way Geet would know him… too many years passed since they met… too many years since he taught her how to play chess only to lose at the game by her…. too many years since she came running to him and pestered him to play with her…. too many years…. she was only five then…..
"As it is, the girl is already scared and apprehensive about everything…. The sudden change is too much for her but if you decide to jump back into her life again and drag your son along with you then…. do you know what it can do to Geet… she is really fragile, her mind is not stable and the shock might be too much for her mind to handle…. she needs time… you need time… and our son needs time" Kirty explained, warning him about the mental trauma both Geet and him can suffer from if any wrong action was taken.
"woh theek tho hain na?" He asked softy as he tried to control the tears of defeat.
"She… is…. will be…" Kirty stammered not able to lie to him, she was glad that he wasn't in front of her for she knew she would have told him everything that happened with Geet on the muh-dikhai….
"I must see her… I must" he murmured in frenzy, his mind playing the image of a beautiful five year old who laughed at his stupid jokes and annoyed him with her not so innocent questions….. he wondered if she was still as inquisitive as she was as a child……
"You can't, not now… wait till I come there…" Kirty said, her voice low but insistent.
"No… I must… you do-don't understand… I need to see her…. I need to"
Kirty didn't stop the tears that slipped from her eyes, she knew he was crying she knew the pain he was in… she knew he was again remembering her, it hurt her… "You can't, please not now" Kirty pleaded, knowing nothing would stop him from seeing Geet but she still tried.
"No! I must go now… I must" He cried, as he sprang up from his chair and strode out towards the door ending the call.
"Su-" He hung up without listening to her plea. Kirty sighed as she stared at the phone, her mouth half open in shock.
The phone rang mere seconds after he hung up on her, Kirty answered quickly hoping it was him calling her back…
"Kirty, hum kab se phone try karrahe the…. Kisse baath karrahi thi aap itni der tak?" Naintara questioned, she had been trying to call her for the past hour…
Kirty sighed, leaning back in her chair, closing her eyes as she listened to her friend's questions. She tried to control her tears of frustration and anger….
"Kya hua? Did something happen?" Naintara asked again not receiving an answer from her friend. "Who were you talking to?"
"My husband" with that simple statement, Kirty allowed an unseen tear to roll down her cheek as she gripped at the mangalsutra around her neck.
************ Angel ************
This part was actually Part 20 but I decided to switch it with Part 19….. Yah, I can do that without editing the parts! Genius aren't I?..... 😆
Sorry no Maaneet in this part.... but good news, from now on all the mysteries have been put on hold – okay, I am lying! The mysteries will still creep in but it won't be the main focus for very long….. which means a lot of maaneet and not so few family scenes! So yah…. from next part it will be more about Naintara's manipulations, Myra's treatment plans..... and the slow progress in Maaneet's relationship.....
Aiming to post the preview on Wednesday.... and will update Part 20 maybe on Friday.... let's see, how things go in my busy life.... 😕
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