CHAPTER-2
She sat in her cabin, holding her head in her hands. Why the hell was he here? Why did Mk have to be Maan Khurana? THE MAAN KHURANA!! If there was something Geet Handa hated, it was arrogance, self-importance, conceit, superiority and pride. And Maan Khurana was made up of these negative elements.Pata nahin kya samajh ta hain aapne aapko.. tewar toh aise hain jaise ke koi raja maharaja ho… saddu kahika.. and I have to work with him for 6 months… itne dino mein toh main suicide kar lungi… waise itna sab hone ke baad jab marne ka nahin socha, toh aab kyun sochu?
She shook off her thoughts, before she was drifted back into the depthless pain, got up, picked up the blueprints, and made her way to the conference room. As she entered, she saw Maan, all alone, staring intently at the huge design in front of him. His face was serious, his dark black eyes hovering rapidly over the paper in front of him absorbing everything, and his forehead was crinkled in concentration. Geet felt a small smile creep on her lips, as she remembered what her mother had once told her, Geet, tujhe pata hain, tu jabbhi koi kaam karti hain ya parhai karti hain, tera chehra bilkul serious ho jata hain its as if you're absorbed in concentration..you get creases on your forehead… She continued to stare at Maan for a few more minutes, her head slightly tilted on one side, the smile still plastered on her face, but then, quickly shook herself, Geet, kaam kar,...yeh sab kya soch rahi hain??
She walked across the room, towards the table, and cleared her throat. Maan grunted, without looking up, and as Geet cleared her throat a little louder, he said," Agar gala kharab hain toh jaake dawai lelo, aur agar kuch kehna chahti ho, toh just spit it out, kyunki I don't have time to waste on you!!"
Another burst of lava exploded in her brain, as she processed his rude words. If he had looked up, he would have seen blazes of anger and irritation burn the otherwise blank eyes. WHY? Why did he always infuriate her? Why did he always threaten to destroy her perfectly maintained calmness? WHY? Geet closed her eyes, trying to control her temper, opened them slowly, and slammed the blueprints in front of him." Yeh designs maine complete kardi hain…you just have to combine them with your own ones, and tomorrow, we have to check out the site, Mk.."
As she turned to leave, he growled, " Sir, Maan Sir..Call me Maan Sir!!"
That was the last straw. She stiffened, curled her hands into fists so strongly, that her nails started hurting her. She spun around, placed both of her hands on the table, leaned closer to him, and spoke as composedly as she could, " Main aapko Sir nahin bulaungi!!"
Always… always this girl had to refuse what she was told to do.. what HE told her to do. She took his anger to new heights. Her very presence agitated him beyond limits. WHY?? Maan looked up to her, his eyes burning holes into her, and said between his teeth, " Kya kaha tumne?"
" Maine kaha ke main aapko sir nahin bulaungi. I am not your employee…I work with you, not for you… so I REFUSE to call you Sir Mk..and yeh aap nahin badal sakte!! Kyunki yahaan pe aap MD nahin hain!!" Her eyes didn't leave his, as she spoke determinedly.
He pushed the chair behind with a creak, got up, and before she could register his actions, grabbed hold of her wrist, and pulled her closer to him. She gasped, as she felt his grip tighten on her wrist, and tried to wriggle out. His fingers stubbed into the soft skin of her wrist, causing sharp pains to shoot down her hand. He moved his lips close to her ear, and whispered roughly, " Tumhari himmat kaise huwi? No one disobeys me, samjhi tum?"
She could feel her blood flow stop under his dangerous grip, as he continued to increase his hold on her wrist, increasing the ache every minute. But she refused to budge an inch. She had taken a lot more pain than this in her life, and she could bear this. Yes, she was strong enough to tolerate this. However, her eyes betrayed her very tough and immune mind, as traces of hurt and pain floated into them involuntarily, and as he looked into her hurtful eyes, something within Maan snapped. He loosened the painful pressure on her hand, held it gingerly in his larger one, and ran his fingers lightly over the red mark, caressing it gently, tracing circles on her wrist. Geet looked into his eyes, and as he held her gaze tenderly, they felt the deep magnetic pull between each other yet again. He continued massaging her hand slowly, softly, soothing her pain, while she let him do it, all the while losing herself in the depths of those dark black pools.
" Sssiirrr… maine yeh prints check kar diya hain!!" As Adi entered, fixing his glasses nervously, the two broke out of their own unexplainable world. Maan scowled at her, while she glanced back hard at him, smiled slightly at Adi, and left the room, the fragrance of her perfume floating all over. He sat down heavily on the chair, and now turned his murderous glare on Adi, as if it was his fault that he had ended up losing himself into those beautiful hazels yet again.
He thought again of how he had caressed her hand, soothing her pain, how her soft white milky skin had felt under his fingertips.. she was so delicate, so fragile. Wait!! What the hell… He straightened himself immediately, and the momentary tenderness on his handsome face was transformed into the cruel ruthless frown, as he recalled how useless females were. And Geet Handa had proved to be worthless quite a couple of times earlier..
**************
ONE MONTH EARLIER- MUMBAI
He stormed through the floor of the huge shopping mall, trying to find any traces of an elusive Adi. He hated these malls. They were so crowded and so noisy, full of people who were enjoying, laughing, having fun with their families and loved ones. Wasting time…He thought scornfully.
Maan whipped out his cell phone, and punched in the numbers angrily. As he held the phone to his ears, trying to get through to Adi, he felt a warm sensation rip his body, as a girl collided hard with his chest. She tripped on her own feet, and was about to hit the ground, when she quickly grabbed hold of Maan's shirt for support. The shopping bags which were clutched tightly in her knobby hands landed on the ground with a thud. She held his shirt more securely, her eyes tight closed, hair flying all over her face. She opened her eyes slowly, and as Maan stared at them, he could see the glint of happiness and twinkle in it. The eyes were full of energy, joy, and warmth and he couldn't help feeling slightly calm himself. The eyes had a soothing effect on him, as if, almost taking all his troubles and problems away. However, the magical trance shattered, as a distant voice called out, "Geet!!". The girl jerked herself, trying to stand up straight, and ended up ripping the first two buttons of his shirt against her necklace. The beads of her thin necklace scattered on the floor, while Maan glared at the torn shirt, which now exposed almost half of his toned chest. The girl gasped, and when Maan grabbed her arms, twisting them painfully, she winced, but still looked at the destructed necklace on the ground.
" Cant you see what you're doing or where you're going, girl?" he looked at her angrily, still holding both her arms tight.
" Sorry!!".The girl muttered almost inaudibly, still staring down at the broken beads of the necklace on the ground as if looking at ir fot the first time. As Maan looked at her in disgust, her eyes, fixed on the ground filled up with tears, and threatened to trickle down. Her nose turned red immediately, and Maan let go of her arms brutally, causing her to almost lose balance again.
" Is that the best you girls can do? Cry? Are all your nerve endings wired to your tear-ducts? Whatever happens, you start crying, thinking you can get away with everything… Well, not with me certainly, do you know how much this shirt costs?? Have you ever seen anything like this in your life?" he sneered at her, throwing her a dirty look, " you're busy lamenting over this cheap, useless piece of chain."
Geet looked up, her eyes already red, but this time with anger and pain. She glanced down at the torn part of his shirt, and said, " Woh.. main.. I am extremely sorry, maine dekha nahin ke aap…" stopping halfway, when Maan sneered at her and said," Is that all you've got as an explanation, woman?"
Geet wiped her tears, placed her hands on her hips, and gave him a long deliberate look. Then slowly, she smiled cheekily, and said, " Sorry, I didn't recognize you earlier. But now, since I know who you are, I wont apologise anymore!!". Maan stared at her, a thin film of confusion lining his otherwise angry eyes, when Geet raised her eyebrows and continued, " What?"
" Tum kehna kya chahti ho, do you know who I am?" Maan gritted his teeth, and spat out angrily. His nerves were already blazing with sheer loathing, as he looked at the cheerful and happy girl in front of him, and they threatened to burst as soon as heard her next answer, " Yes, I know. You are a male chauvinist.. Aap woh ho, jo khud ko koi devta ya maha purush manta hain.. lekin, unfortunately, they are the only ones who think like that, No one else agrees with them!!".
She started laughing, throwing her head back, and for a moment, the enchanting sound of her sweet laughter, caused a softness to appear on Maan's rough face, something, which none of them were aware of. He looked at the girl, who was literally vibrating positiveness, energy, and hope- things he had long broken his relationship with. But when her eyes fell on the broken remains of her chain on the ground, she stopped laughing, and bent down hastily. Cupping the remains of the beads, broken pendent, and tattered string in her hand, the hazel eyes again filled with tears. She looked at the chain, and softly whispered, " I am sorry, Mamma..I am sorry Naani…", something, which didn't go unheard by Maan. He scowled at her, and muttered, " Useless Creature",when Geet got up on her feet, and almost stubbing her index finger into his rock hard and half exposed chest, yelled out, " You broke my chain!!"
******
Geet Handa sat curled up in the soft, comfy couch of her flat, her index finger tracing slow circles round the rim of her coffee mug, as she immersed in deep thoughts. She stared into space, as she thought about herself. Being head- strong and independent from her school days, Geet had always solved all her problems alone. They lived in a strictly nuclear family, and her parents were extremely liberal and open minded. They never interfered, or intervened. They never questioned, they never bothered, they never cared. And Geet was thankful about that. That's the major ingredient which helped in creating the Geet Handa that existed today. The last time Geet cried in front of strangers was, as far as she remembered, in Grade 7. Over the years of her school and college, she had built an invisible wall around her. No one could break it, no one could cross it, to reach the other side, which contained the weak and vulnerable Geet. The Geet who still cried the night before a major presentation, the Geet who still panicked before talking to the clients, the Geet who was scared of darkness, failure and betrayal. And she had experienced all three in just the last two weeks of her life. There were only a few lucky people in the world, who were allowed to see her when she cried. When she was in such a weak, defenseless and vulnerable state, and the list consisted of her parents and Meera. She had never even let HIM see her tears. They were somehow, never that close, though they were always there for each other. They were different, things between them were extremely different. Everyone said they were not normal, but they didn't care. Because they didn't have to care.
However, Geet straightened up, banging the coffee mug on the walnut-chest table in front of her, as she thought- there was one exception to her rule. And she had given birth to the exception herself. She had broken her own rule, she had let out her emotions and pain in front of a stranger. The stranger had seen her in the most helpless and susceptible state. Something, which no one else in the world had ever done… Yes, Maan Singh Khurana had seen tears in her eyes. Maan Singh Khurana had seen her cry, weakly, feebly.. and he hadn't cared!!
The beep of the microwave whirled Geet out of her thoughts. She quickly crossed the living room, and entered her open-plank kitchen, to take the chicken out. As she served it in a bowl, she muttered to herself, Yeh Meera kidhar reh gayii? Maine kaha tha ke aaj mere saath dinner karle!!"
As if to answer her question, the doorbell rang. As soon as Geet opened the door, her only best friend and colleague burst into her flat, and grabbed her in a bone-crushing hug. The two girls held each other silently, as Geet started sobbing quietly, emotions and memories finally overwhelming her, while Meera patted her back reassuringly. She softly whispered against her shoulder, " Aab toh yehi rahe gi, haina? Are you gonna go back?"
" Kahaan jaungi? Khud hi toh sab kuch chorke aayi hoon!!" She cried, thick tears soaking the back of Meera's shirt.
As the girls sat having their dinner silently, Meera looked up, stealing glances at a subdued Geet, who was eating mechanically, her eyes still red and swollen from the emotional burst out she had just a few minutes back. Meera tried to make small talk, but Geet only answered with a yes or no, or worse, with insignificant nods of her head. Her mind was somewhere faraway, her eyes were blank, but the pain and anguish was evident in them.
Meera stared at her friend sadly, painfully aware of what life had done to her. She racked her brains trying to look for a topic which would at least make Geet talk, if not react. But, unfortunately, she could come up with nothing. As Geet sat eating quietly, looking down intently on her plate, Meera's eyes fell on the file, perched precariously on the sideboard. She looked at it, and said nonchalantly, " Arre, Geet yeh toh wahi Khurana wali project file hai, haina?"
It was as if, someone had breathed life into her. Her blank eyes blazed fire, threatening to burst. Her forehead crinkled in anger, as she slammed the fork down on the table and said in a loud voice, " Ha, yeh ussi insaan.. nahin sorry robot ka project file hain. Saddo kahika… pata hain, aaj mujhse kehraha tha, ke main usse Sir kehke bulao. Samajh ta kya hain aapne aapko? Usse Sir kahegi meri juuti… Khadoos kahika.. Jitni baar zindagi mein mujhse milta hain, kuch na kuch aisa bolta hain ke mann karta hain wahi pe zor se ek…."
Geet shook her head, still muttering profanities to herself, as she picked up her plate, and took it to the sink. Meera followed her, an amused glint in her eyes, and a slight smile illuminating her face. Kaun kahega, ke yehi ladki kuch der pehle bilkul laash ban kar bethi thi…Maan Singh Khurana ka nam lete hi jaise isme jaan aa jaati hain… Meera continued smiling, as they washed the dishes.
" Tu abhi tak uske baaremein aise hi behave karti hain?"
Geet flung the sponge fiercely in the sink, spurting the soap water all over themselves. Meera cried out exasperatedly, but Geet was still busy complaining about Maan. She picked up the sponge again, and started cleaning the plates furiously, " Toh kya karun? Mere dimaag mein glucose char jaata hain, whenever I am near him. It takes every ounce of my self-control to maintain my calm in front of him. I somehow start behaving rashly whenever I am anywhere close to him."
Meera chuckled, Woh toh dikh raha hain.. and then turned seriously towards Geet. " Geet, you met him that night, right? Does he know?"
She stopped wiping the plates, and looked at Meera, a cloud of confusion lining her angry and red face," Uss raat….". She thought for a few seconds as the visions of that fateful haunted her yet again, and as a reflex, she shut her eyes tightly. Her whisper was almost inaudible, as she said, " Ha mili thi unse, uss raat ko. That was the last time I saw him in Mumbai.."
PRECAP: He saw the laughter blur and then disappear completely from her beautiful face, as she looked at the screen of her vibrating cell phone.
Hello hello everyone!!!😃 So that was your chapter two... and now, tell me your views!!
Did this chapter clear doubts and confusions or increase them even more? If they have increased, then good for me, coz thats what I wanted to do!!😆 And if they havent, then plz tell me so that I can make sure, I confuse you even harder in the next update!!!😈muhahaha..
Thank you all so much for the overwhelming comments, and likes you have given me. It really means a LOT to me.. I hope you like this chapter also. Please motivate me, by pressing the like button, and leaving comments which say, for instance, that you're confused...😆😆
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Love you all
Sarzah
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
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