Chapter 12:
The last twelve hours had been eventful to say the least; they had literally changed Manyata's life. At some point early in the morning, Uday had phoned Daadisa and informed the family of everything that had happened. As she made her way towards Devghar with the other three, she tried to figure out how she was going to get out of being sucked into her old life. Millions of questions and concerns swarmed her mind as she tried to figure out what to do. Uday clearly doesn't believe what I told him…will he tell Daadisa that he thinks I'm lying? There is obviously no way I can disappear again so how do I get out of marrying Uday? Ma, Baba…what am I going to say to them? All these years….and Buasa, I have to talk to her…she will know what to do…
Manyata hadn't realized how long she had been lost in her thoughts until she glanced to the side and saw Jai intently staring at her. She had hurt Jai, she knew…and if Jai was anything like what she was as a child, that was bad news. A hurt Jai meant an angry and spiteful Jai. Just as Manyata was about to talk to her, Jai quickly turned around and looked out her window, effectively ignoring Manyata. She had been like this since last night. Unlike Uday, Jai had believed Manyata's explanation of her absence over the last ten years and was therefore pissed. That much had been clear with the cold shoulder she had gotten last night after her outburst and the complete lack of conversation so far this morning. Really, how could Manyata even blame her? She had basically told her sister, she rather be alone than with her own family…she knew she had to talk to her …and Unnati for that matter too, but it would have to wait for later. She wasn't about to do it in the car with the tyrant watching her like a hawk from the rearview mirror.
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Uday had slept poorly to say the least. He had tossed and turned all night, alternating between being pissed off at Manyata and trying to get the breathtaking image of her in a sari out of his mind. And then when his mind brought him to his reaction to her at the party and their subsequent conversation, he only became more aggravated with himself. Their interaction that morning had only worsened his mood. "Stop calling me 'Yuvrajsa,'" he had wanted to scream at her. How dare she outright refuse the clothes! What was I even thinking going out of my way to apologize and get clothes for her? And what the hell is she thinking about? She hasn't said a word since she got in the car over an hour ago…she is definitely hiding something. One thing was for sure, even though Manyata was with them now, there was no way he was stopping his investigation into her disappearance. Nothing added up and now with her ridiculous explanation things made even less sense. He was sure she was lying and if there was one thing he would not tolerate, it was lies…specifically her lying to him…And for that matter, he would be looking into her little majnu too. Once he knew more about that Akash, he could take care of him and put the matter out of their lives forever.
Even though he had been furious with her, he couldn't help but stare at her through the rearview mirror as he drove. The longer he stared at her, the angrier he got…at her, at himself. He still couldn't figure out what it was about her that drew him. When he had seen her this morning with her face scrubbed clean of makeup she had looked even more beautiful than last night. Her simplicity, her innocence...and those eyes, he couldn't help but continue to look at her. As he glanced back at the mirror, his hands itched to move those bangs from her eyes. Ugh, what the hell is wrong with me? Focus Uday, focus on what needs to be done as soon as we get to Devghar and then you can think about the rest…
"There are a few things we need to all take care of," Uday broke the silence. "I spoke to Daadisa and as happy and relieved everyone is that Manyata has been found, we agree that we will not be releasing this news to the press just yet. Manyata should have a chance to meet everyone privately, without the media and all of Devghar watching. It will be emotional for everyone and not to mention a potential security risk. We still have no idea who took Manyata or why and so we are operating under the assumption that the threat to her still exists," Uday concluded as he carefully watched Manyata's reactions. She too was staring back intently; refusing to back down at his instigating.
"Pff. Jiji was quite clear last night she hadn't been forced to stay away Veer. If anything , we are the threat to her freedom and may be the cause for her to stay away again, kyun Jiji," Jai jibed.
"Jai mera voh matlab—
"Bas Jai. Joh hua so hua. Par ab toh Manyata humaare saath hai. Hume tode der yeh khushi koh mehsoos karni chahiye. Khaas jab saare gharwale Manyata ko mil rahe ho. Kyun Dada," Unnati finally spoke. The melancholy in her voice was not missed but Manyata but she noted the composure and maturity with which she handled both Jai and the situation. She felt both proud and sad in that moment. Pride at the young woman Unnati had grown into, clearly capable of calming down the most tumultuous of situations, and sad that it was she Jai listened to and not Manyata's numerous pleas to her earlier this morning. It had only been a few hours and things were already becoming so jumbled up and confusing for Manyata. She didn't want to be forced to marry Uday, didn't want to live her life according to the rules set forth by traditions, but even in the few hours she had been around them she was already finding the thought of leaving them hard to digest. And she had only met half her family so far, what would happen when she would meet the rest in a few short hours?
Manyata closed her eyes and tried to stop the bile that rose in her throat from her guilt and anxiety. She continued to sit back with her eyes closed for god knows how long when she finally drifted to sleep. It had felt like she had barely closed her eyes when she was awoken by a ringing noise. Momentarily disorientated at being woken up from her slumber, it took her a few seconds before she realized it was her phone that was ringing. "Akash," she carelessly whispered to the occupants in the car as she started at the name flashing on the screen. She had just been about to pick up when the car screeched to a halt. Confused, Manyata looked up to find herself pulled up at the grand entrance to the place she had called home for the first 12 years of her life. She stayed glued to the seat and just stared at her home, thousands of memories and emotions rushing through her. It wasn't until her phone was snatched out of her hand and she was yanked out of the car that she even noticed it had been constantly ringing. Apparently Akash had been calling her nonstop. "Voh humaara phone—," Manyata tried saying as she reached for her phone. "Chup. Iss waqt aapka phone maayine nahi rakhta. Hum baad mein waapis kardenge," Uday growled as he led Manyata through the front doors. Manyata had no chance but to comply because in that moment she was engulfed by her family…
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Thanks for being patient guys. I know the last few updates have been very sporadic but it's been a little crazy for me and I really haven't had much time to write. Also, this chapter is definitely a little uneventful but I think necessary after all the dhamake in the last few chapters. I don't normally give previews of my chapters but I will give you a little insight into the next one; I will not be going into the details of Manyata's reunion with the rest of her family. I already went through the explanation, doubt, anger, and tears with her reunion with Uday, Jai, and Unnati and I think it will be utterly repetitive to do it again. So I will simply skip over that and get to more ManVeer for you guys!
Happy reading!
Simi
Edited by penit - 12 years ago
CID
Web Series
