~ Chapter Fifteen ~
Sprinkles of water cascaded down his dripping hair as he closed the distance between them by leaning dangerously closer. 'Death or incarceration?' he asked again, his eyes were daring her to defy him. Geet closed her eyes and tried to get rid of his haunting image. She had foolishly admired him from afar in the past, amazed and in complete awe with his lack of fear. His strength and courage had been inspirational, but that image only seemed pleasant from afar. Every step she took towards him, revealed an ugliness and cruelty so unfathomable that even she was tempted to tear her dreams into pieces. To live everyday of her life with him, witnessing such cold blooded scenes at every minute, hour and corner would be equivalent to dying everyday.
'Death' she whispered, slowly opening her eyes. 'I choose death'. Maan's eyes showed no flicker of emotion, expressionless and devoid of life as usual. 'I'll ask again. Death or incarceration?' he questioned calmly. Geet's eyes flared in anger and defiance, 'Isn't the first answer satisfying enough for you!?' she shouted, 'Living trapped with you is no less than death, so I may as well take the short cut and plunge for my freedom!' Maan's eyes narrowed, 'You would give up your life so easily without fighting back? Is it that simple?' Geet lifted her chin, 'getting cold feet Mr Maan Singh Khurana? And here I thought it was your motto to never think twice whence facing a coward'.
'Do you consider yourself a coward?' he asked, his eyes igniting with the initial signs of rage. 'If living with a man that has no heart nor soul is an option. Then I would rather death even if that makes me a coward' she retorted. 'Then so be it' he whispered vehemently. 'Remember you asked for this, it was your decision. There is no going back or time to repent' he promised. Geet began to smirk at him only to stop short as Maan's hands tightened painfully on his grip of her hair. 'Two things I can never forgive is cowardice and betrayal. You were kept alive for this long because of your display of courage by continuously standing up and defying me. But for the first time, my judgment of character had been wrong' he stated with a hint of regretfulness.
Without waiting for a response; Maan plunged her head into the water watching her struggle to catch her breath. Seconds later, he lifted her head as she wildly gasped for breath, spitting and choking on the mouthful of water. Once again, he plunged her head in and kept it underwater for longer than several seconds. Eventually as Geet found her lungs constricting painfully from the pressure, the truth dawned to her. She was going to die. The thought was so terrifying that she began to fight against his grip, arms and legs flaying desperately to find fresh air. Nothing made sense anymore. How could the very same man unhesitatingly attempt to kill her, when days ago the notion of her death had petrified him beyond words.
She was going to die. The thought haunted her as the darkness began to creep through her mind. Her eyes began to drift close as she felt her soul paving it's way from her body. All thoughts were interrupted the moment Maan pulled her head back to the surface and allowed her to inhale the air. Coughing and choking, Geet doubled over, unconsciously aware that she was gripping onto Maan's shoulder for support. She felt his hands grip onto her cheeks, compelling her to face him. 'This is the reality of death!' he shouted at Geet. 'You take life for granted and once faced with a problem, death seems to be the only option'. He pushed her away in disgust, his chest heaving in unrestrained fury. 'I have been shot, stabbed, attacked in so many forms and ways that I have completely forgotten how it feels to experience pain' he retorted. His breaths cut short and his eyes clouded in sorrow, 'I saw my sister getting raped when I was to young and to weak to protect her' he confessed, clenching his hand into a fist. 'I heard her scream for help, I heard her begging me to run away before I got hurt' he whispered.
'The feeling of failure that overtook me was so overwhelming, that for one slight second I wanted to end my life in self pity' he whispered harshly. He gripped the side of the pool and leaned towards it, doubling over in pain. 'They tore her into pieces' he said, whilst a single tear streamed down his cheek. 'Ripped her from limb to limb. Her screams of anguish still haunts me every night. I can never sleep peacefully' he confessed. 'From that moment onwards, I realized that if one had feelings of fear or cowardice lodged into their hearts, then they don't deserve life. If any problems, whether minor or major comes into their life, they will run away with no regards to their loved ones' he said, regaining his usual composure. 'My experience strengthened me. And I used each ounce of that strength to avenge the rape and murder of my sister' he said in a cold voice. 'Knowing that you are also the type to run away from your problems disgusts me' he stated as he climbed out of the pool.
'Then why did you not kill me?' she whispered from behind. 'If you feel so passionately about cowards, then why was I any different to anyone else? Why was I the exception' she said with a croaked voice. Maan stopped short and stood there for several minutes. Silence, after silence, he eventually looked at the side and whispered 'I don't know'.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Three nights after, Geet found herself sitting opposite him from across the long dinner table. Maan was concentrating solely on slicing his food with his knife and fork; completely ignoring her existence. She could not taste the food in her mouth, for all she did was awkwardly stare at him in silence. Was she angry at him? Was she still disgusted with him? Everything seemed to have changed from that night when he had confessed his inner feelings to her. It was a bit difficult trying to maintain a hatred for a man who after trying to kill her, announced with a tearful expression that his sister had been raped and torn apart.
'The foods lovely' she commented calmly whilst her heart nearly thumped out of her chest in extreme nervousness. Maan simply replied by sipping on his red wine and continuing with his dinner. 'There is a new movie coming out in the cinemas' she stated as a matter of a fact. Maan responded by chewing on his chicken and staring romantically at his prized food. 'I like talking to walls' she announced in a bored impatient tone. Maan wiped his lips with a napkin and gulped down the remainder of his wine. 'I finally decided to shave my legs' she confessed, waiting for his response. To her satisfaction, Maan choked on his drink and began to cough.
Serves you right for ignoring me, she mused to herself in triumph. Murmuring a curse, Maan stood up and began to walk away from the table. '...Maan' she said, finally urging herself the courage to confront him. 'I just wanted to say'...
'Sir' the footman interrupted, 'Ms Sanjana has arrived to meet you'. Maan nodded his head, 'send her in'. Geet's mouth hung open in shock; how dare he ignore her! She was willing to give him one more chance to listen before she was forced to tai chi his ass, when an extremely beautiful woman came strolling through the hallway. Geet's jaw slackened in mute amazement. The lady was dressed in a tantalizing red backless dress that hugged onto her every curve. Her hair was raven black, straightened up to her lower back. Her brown eyes had an exotic slant to it, thus beautifying her otherwise perfect features. Her lips were full as she pouted at him, trying to gain his sympathy for neglecting her attentions for too long. Then with a laugh, she wrapped her arms around Maan and kissed him full on the lips.
'I've missed you handsome' she purred, outlining his lips with the tip of her tongue.
Geet waited for Maan to push the disgusting woman away. She waited for him to shout at her for daring to touch him. She waited and waited. However to her dismay, Maan's hand slid down to her waist and squeezed the flesh. Afraid that she was going to vomit the food and blame her sudden need to become a vegetarian, Geet turned around and walked swiftly away.
She could still hear the pounding of her heart as she sat on the toilet seat and thought about life. Covering her face with the palm of her hands, Geet leaned over and tried to push with all of her might. Apart from not being able to digest the food, the ache in her stomach was murdering her. What could they possibly be doing now whilst she continued to sit here trying to chuck a shit. Of all the free days and opportunities that she could have had to poop in peace, today was definitely not the right one. Giving up, Geet flushed the toilet and washed her hands.
Too tired and sick to think of doing anything, Geet laid down onto the bed and tried to block the image of that random woman kissing Maan from her mind. As her eyes began to drift closed, a noise from the room next door caused her to jump out of the bed like an accomplished ninja. Geet stared at the adjoined door which connected to Maan's room and realized that he had forgotten to lock it from inside. 'Geet Handa you have much more self respect than to peak on someone's privacy' she said to herself as she walked towards the door and began to twist the door knob. 'Shame on you for being so noisy' she reaffirmed herself to ease her guilt for stalking.
As gently as possible, Geet twisted the doorknob and had a peak inside. The woman whom was clad in a red dress was now lying in bed completely nude, whilst Maan was covering his body over hers from under the coverlet. Quickly closing the door, Geet tiptoed back to her bed and laid her head back onto the silken pillows. It seemed like hours went by as she continued to stare at the ceiling. In the middle of the night, Geet turned to her side and tried to sleep only to notice that her pillow was completely damp. Surprised, Geet stared at the damp silk and wondered how that occurred. The answer to her puzzled question slipped down her cheeks and dripped onto the silk. With a muffled sob, Geet bit onto her clenched fist and began to cry into her pillow.
Why she was crying? ... she did not know. Why she cared? ... She did not want to know.
~ Authors Note ~
Alright I'm retiring for a week. That's 2 in a row so count your blessings. I need time to think of where the hell my story is heading off too. 😆
Until then. Kiss me, miss me say that you love me! 🤣
Good day!
P.S. John is hot
P.S.S
I'm hotter
Roar.
JOKES.
HA!
He!
Ho!
Hu!
Book Talk
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
29