Part 31:
Geet walked admist the not so welcoming faces. She was shocked to see her entire family standing by the door. All her happiness vanished in thin air as soon as she saw them. She looked at Meera for support but she too gave her a helpless stare.
Geet entered the house waiting for the thunder to strike. No sooner had she gone and settled on the couch, than her troop was standing in front of her. She had no guts to face them, but alas she had no choice. Apparantly they had planned to give her a surprise visit and boy, wasnt it a surprise?
"Puri raat kahan thi thum?" Daarjee's voice thundered in her ears. Geet was about to reply but daarjee held his hand to stop her. "Kya isisliye bheja tha thujhe yahaan, thaki thum puri raat kisi ladke ke saat guzaar sako?" He stared at her in anger.
"Daarjee wo..." Geet attempted to speak but Brij stopped her.
"Ab bhi kuch bhaki reh gaya hai kehne ke liye? Puri kahaani tho humne apni aankhon se dekha hai! Agar kal logon ko iske baaren mein pata chal gaya tho humaari izzath ki dhajiyan ud jayengi. Hume thumse yeh umeed nahin thi Geet." Brij nodded his head sadly.
Papaji didnt even look at her once as he said, "Meine fesla kar liya hai. Mujhe Maan Singh Khurana Ji se baat karni hai."
Geet looked at him in surprise. She reached home late. It was her fault. What had Maan got to do with that? Why would her Papaji want to speak to Maan. That made no sense.
"Papaji, hum kal phas gaye the. Isiliye mein ghar nahin aa paayi. Usme unki koi galthi nahin hai." Geet made an attempt to explain to him but he was already on the go.
"Thune jo karna tha, kar liya. Ab jo bhi karenge, hum karenge! Ab hum Ghar wapas aakar hi baat karenge. Chalo Brij!" Papaji asked Meera to write down Maan's adress. Meera having no choice asked Aadi to give her M.K's address and passed it to Papaji. With a frown on thier faces they left home, while Daarjee too joined them.
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The situation was very tense at home. Her mother was walking around the hall in tension while Geet just didnt know what to do. She could explain what exactly happened to them, but she knew that she would be on the next train home if she did that. Under no circumstances would they continue to work. She tried talking them out of meeting Maan, but her family had admance running in their blood. Thinking about what Maan would reply to their family when they hurled curses at him was freaking her out. What would her family say? Would they have a nice fight with him? She knew that Maan would emerge a clear winner whatsoever the fight, but she was scared. One thing was for sure. Her life would never be the same after today. Either her family would declare their verdict once they reached home, or Maan would fire her from the job knowing very well how her family would treat him. Either way she was doomed.
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It was afternoon and they hadnt yet returned home. Geet was having a nervous breakdown just thinking about what a scene her family must have created in front of his mansion. Babaji! please please show me the way. Tell me what to do.
Geet had joined her mother in pacing round the hall when the door opened and Papaji and Brij came in doing Bhangra while Daarji held a sweet box in his hand.
Either the mornings events never happened or these people had completelylost their mind. Either way Geet was getting scared. Papaji came and hugged her while Daarji stuffed sweet in her mouth.
"Badaiyaaan ji! Badaaiyaan. Geet puttar ki shaadi hone waali hai. Ladka isse shaadi karne ke liye thayaar hogaya hai." Papaji was jumping around with joy while all the women of the house stared at him incredulously. Geet did not know what to react. Which boy in heaven's name where they talking about?
"Kaun ladka ji?" Geet's mother dared ask.
"Aji Maan Singh Khurana ji! Aur kaun? Hum bata nahin sakthe ki hum kitne khush nasib hain ki who humaari beti se shaadi kar rahen hain. Woh kisi Raja se kam nahin hain. Humaari beti ne bhi kya kismat Paayi hai!" All started rejoicing while Geet thought that she didnt hear it right.
Wait a minute! Did her father say Maan Singh Khurana? The Maan Singh Khurana? Had he actually agreed to marry her. This was definetely not possible. Everybody around her danced in joy with Pinky and Meera giving her surprised looks, but Geet looked lost. She walked to her room as though in a trance.
She thought her heart would burst, owing to the various emotions coursing through her veins. She was getting married to her love, her Maan. Her mind just couldnt accept it. She slowly went over to her cupboard and took out the newspaper cutting of Maan which she had hidden. Was he rally getting married to her? Her eyes filled with tears of joy. She clutched his picture to her heart and started turning round and round with joy until she fell on the bed panting. She was closing her eyes thinking of him when suddenly Garcia's image hugging Maan flashed accross her mind.
Oh God! What was she thinking. How could she ever think that events could happen so easily. After all it was her? Nothing came her path the straight way. Why did he agree to marry her when he had already got back with his ex-girlfreind! This was ridiculous. Moreover, wasnt he the man who sheid away from commitment as per many of the sources? She remembered exactly what her colleagues had said. He did not beleive in marriage and saw it as a threat to his independence. Besides, as newspapers claimed, he was something of a casanova. So why did he want to marry her? Ofcourse he was physically attracted to her. She had no doubts about that. But he would not sacrifice his entire life just for that. Besides she was nothing compared to his list of smoking hot girlfriends. She knew he had taken care of her the previous night, but he would have shown that sort of a concern to any other woman in trouble. SO why did he agree to marry her?
The more she thought about it, the more she came to a conclusion that her male family members had blackmailed him to marry her, and Maan taking pity on them had obliged. Gosh! she couldnt beleive that he would marry her against his wishes. As much as she loved him, she knew he would feel trapped if he married her. She couldnt sacrifice his happiness for her sake. She selfishly wanted to hold onto him but she knew she could not, since he was never hers.
She cried silently as she hugged his picture to herself. She couldnt do this to him, or herself. Even if she married him selfishly, she would die a slow death everyday, thinking he didnt love her. And he would have to bear her because of the promise he made to her family. Wiping her tears she decided that it was time to take matters in her hand. She would have to talk to her family before it was too late.
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All her family members were talking animatedly when she entered the hall. Ranu came and hugged her while Papaji gestured her to come and sit next to him.
"Puttarji, hum tere liye bahut Khush hain. Shaadi agle hafthe hai aur ithni saari thayaariyan baaki hai. Hum tho bahut khush hain puttar. Thu khush hai na?" Papaji asked her while writing down the list of things they were going to need.
"Papaji, mein yeh shaadi nahin karna chahthi!" Geet said with a straight face and everybody stopped their work to look at her.
"Ab thujhe kya huva? Thu yeh shaadi kyun nahin karna chahthi?" Brij asked her angrily.
" Bas mein yeh shaadi nahin karna chahthi." Geet said adamantly.
"Thujhe jo karna tha, thune karliya. Humne teri har ek baat maani. Thu humaari ek baat nahin maan sakthi? Bas itna hi pyar karthi hai thu apne papaji se? Kya hum thujpe zabardasthi kar rahen hain? Agar log sunenge ke thum puri raat ek ladke ke saath thi tho pata hai thumhaari kitni badnaami hogi? Phir kaun karega thujhse shaadi? Yeh tho bala hai Maan Singh Khurana Ji ka, jo wo thujhse shaadi karne ke liye thayaar hogaye. Ab chup chaap jaake apne kamre mein so ja. Mujhe is baarein mein aur koi baat nahin karni." Papaji said angrily and Geet ran to her room crying.
Her family was in no mood to listen to her. She had to meet Maan. She had to explain her situation to him. She had to ask him to tell her family it was a mistake and that he did not want to marry her. She had to talk to him. She cried herself to sleep.
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The next day as she was getting ready for office, Papaji came and told her that she was given permission by her future husband to stay at home until the marriage. Despite her protests they dragged her from shop to shop to buy suitable dresses for all the ceremonies. Geet couldnt concentrate on anything. She just wanted to talk to Maan. By the time they reached home, Geet was exhausted and unhappy. Everything was happening so fast that she thought she was in a nightmare.
The next day Maan's daadi maa came home with his brother and sister to give her the shagun. Daadimaa was an awesome lady and Geet took an instant liking to her. They had a long conversation during which daadima gently asked her whether she was happy with this marriage. Geet decided that she would not say anything to anybody until she met Maan. She just smiled and they chatted for some more time. When daadimaa hugged her, she bit back her sobs thinking about how this beautiful lady could bear the harsh truth of reality.
The lehenga which Geet was to wear on her wedding was given by Daadima. Geet did not even glance at it. What was the point in creating dreams when evrything was just an illusion! The remainder of the day passed by with shopping for jewellery.
The next day Geet decided that she had had enough. 3 days had gone by with only 4 days remaining for the wedding. She had to meet him today. She dialled his number with trembling fingers. When he answered the phone a tremor ran through her body but she controlled herself and told him that she wished to meet him and it was urgent. He calmly told her to meet him at a restaurant.
Geet somehow managed to escape seeing that her family was busy and reached the restaurant. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves she entered the restaurant to find Maan waiting for her patiently. She ignored the sheer pleasure which ran through her on seeing him after what felt like ages. As usual he looked stunning in his business attire.
He stood up to pull back a chair for Geet and then seated himself. He was about to speak when Geet interrupted him and started with her rehearsed speech.
"I'm sorry to have put you in such a situation. I know how manipulating my family can get at times. I know they must have forced you to take the decision of marriage. We both know that we do not want to marry each other. You have your life with Garcia and i have mine. We would never be happywith each other. I tried talking to my family but they will not listen to me. Our last chance is you talking to them and convincing them that nothing happened between us that compel us to marry each other."
Maan was surprised when he heard Geet talk like that. Now where did this Garcia topic spring from? Ofcourse his employees were gossip mongers and he couldnt do anything about that. He simply placed his hands on hers to calm her down.
"Geet, listen to me. You dont need to panic. I promise i will do something about it. I will talk to your parents. ont worry. Just go home and take some rest. Your family may panic not seeing you at home. Here, let me drop you home. " Maan led her to the car and they drove towards her home in silence.
When they reached her home, Maan stopped the car and got out of the car to open the door for Geet. She got out of the car but she was still disturbed. Lost she walked in front when she felt an arm on her shoulder.
"Geet?" and that was enough to break through her barriers. She ran back into his arms.
"I'm scared." She murmered into his chest,as he soothed her hair.
"Geet, do you trust me?" when he felt Geet nod her head against his chest, he continued. " I wont let anything wrong happen to you Geet. I wont let anything happen without your wishes. I promise you, i will set things right. Before you know it, you will be free from the burden disturbing you." Hearing Maan's words Geet felt a peace surround her heart. They were still in each other's embrace when somebody coughed and they broke apart.
Papaji asked Geet to come inside once she was done as she had to select some more jewellery. Dread filled Geet as she pushed him away.
"Here we are trying to stop this marriage and we just convinced Papaji that nothing better than a marriage would be a good option for us." Geet ran away from him crying while Maan just stared at her back for sometime and left.
Ishaani
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