A Sudden Change Of Heart - Page 66

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CHAPTER-29

It was strangeness an unknown unhappy sensation which gripped the hearts of the two people under the dark and lonely night. Maan stared at Geet who sat in front of him on a rock, wearing a lavender saree, her face slightly tear stained and her eyes distant. Her hair flew all over her face giving her a soft look which melted his heart almost at once. He had been hearing her talk about her life, past and about herself for almost the whole of the last hour and yet, he couldn't find anything which was wrong or incorrect. Then why? Why was she acting as if everything was over? As if nothing good could ever happen in her life?

His thoughts broke as Geet spoke, "Dev Malhotra and I had been asked to go alone and choose the mangalsutra. Even though I never expected much from him, this was the one thing I wanted to do with my future husband. He was reluctant at first, but then, after a lot of cajoling and convincing on my part, he agreed grudgingly. We had just entered the shop, when he got a call and told me something about a caterer and that he had to leave at once. I was too proud to seem like the jealous or pushy types, so I didn't bother when he left me alone. I wish I had though," she said, with a soft sigh,"Probably, then, things would have been so different."

"And then, the days began to pass in a blur. It was as if the entire city of Mumbai was gearing up for my wedding. The hall was booked, the preparations done, even the flowers ordered. It was the night of our Sangeet, with two days left for the wedding." She trailed away as the music almost floated back to her ears.

*****

6^th June-Mumbai

"Are you tensed about something?" Geet asked for the millionth time, as they sat beside each other in the middle of the brightly lit hall.

Dev didn't reply, but nodded his head for a no, smiling for everyone around.

Geet opened her mouth to ask him again, when his parents came up. The two of them stood up to seek their blessings when his mother said, "I always knew you people will get married some day. I'm so glad you decided it so soon."

"Yeah, same here. Congratulations, Geet beta. Hum bohut khush hain. This is the one of the best decisions of Dev's life," his father said, placing a hand over Geet's head.

She smiled happily, sneaking a glance at Dev, but what she saw stunned him. She saw fear in his face, almost as if he was afraid of his parents liking Geet as their daughter-in-law. yeh Dev ka chehra itna uthra hua kyun hain? It's as if he's worried dead about something'lekin, bol bhi toh nahin raha hain, and he tells me everything' her thoughts trailed away, as her parents walked up to them

Rano grinned widely and hugged Geet. She whispered in her ears, "Tu khush haina?"

"Jee," Geet said, almost as a reflex.

Rano stared at her for some time strangely, and then, turned leaving abruptly. She had made no movement to bless Dev and had not even smiled at him.

*****

"Pata nahin kyun, lekin Mumma ko mere liye Dev Malhotra kabhi pasand hi nahin tha'according to her he was too different and too similar for me all at the same time. She didn't get a good feeling about him and I had no idea why. Neither did she. I still remember the day I had announced that we were going to get married. Dev Malhotra's parents were thrilled, but there was a lingering anxiety in my parents, almost as if they didn't want it. But, they had never interfered in my life and so, they made no move to object or stop me. They just respected my decision."

She stopped, suddenly her breath becoming constricted. Maan stared at her as she lowered her eyes down and held her head in her hands. She braced herself to tell him the darkest part of her past. Pata nahin bol bhi paungi thik se ya nahin'woh samjhenge ya nahin'.Geet, tu unhe kuch samjhane nahin aayi hain, you don't owe him any explanations. You just want to tell him everything and then, leave. Just like you had planned earlier to day.

But her strong thoughts went away as she stared at him. Maan had a tenderness in his face, lined by a slight confusion. His forehead was slightly, almost unnoticeable crinkled,tugging at Geet's heart. She couldn't stop the tears which rolled down her cheeks. I knew that this part would make me cry, it always does' she thought angrily, trying to brush off her tears stubbornly.

Her voice was heavy and laced with a sort of menace as she said,"Every time I met you back in Mumbai Mk, it had always been a very important day of my life. For different reasons, I will never be able to forget those days. And then, I met you another time. One last time in Mumbai. On that night. The night of 7^th June."

"7^th June? I came back to Delhi on the afternoon of 8^th June, Geet'" he trailed away, slightly confused, when she said in a flat tone, "And, I came back to Delhi on the morning of 8^th June."

She went silent for a few more minutes and took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the air around her. She closed her eyes firmly and then, opened them again, preparing herself for the last blow. And then, looking straight at Maan, she started talking. She started taking him to the last and darkest part of her past life. She started giving him all the answers he had wanted from her. He had asked from her.

"7^th June was the day my wedding dress arrived. 7^th June was the day all my jewellery arrived. 7^th June was the day before my wedding. It was my mehendi night," she stared at Maan who was too stunned to speak, with a lone drop of tear in her eyes which trickled down

*****

7^th June-Mumbai

"Hogaya?" she said, taking her hands off the pillow for what seemed like the longest 3 hours of her life.

"You sound as if this is a pain, and not a ritual," Meera said from beside her, in a subdued voice.

Geet rolled her eyes, staring at the intricate design adorned on both of her hands, going up to the middle of her wrists. It was usual tradition for a bride to decorate her hands till the elbows with wedding mehendi, but somehow, Geet didn't want to do that. Doing that is not important'it doesn't change the way your married life will turn out to be. She had thought back at that time.

"Pain hi toh hain. Itna laga liya yehi bohut hain, samjhi? Aur tujhe mehendi itna pasand hain, toh mere hisse ka tu hi laga le," Geet said, with a chuckle and raised herself carefully from the ground, holding her hands away from her heavily embroidered lehenga.

"Shaadi meri nahin hain," Meera murmured, but Geet had already walked away.

The whole house was full of people and music. It was, after all, the day before Geet Handa and Dev Malhotra's wedding. Geet smiled at everyone, as she walked past the crowd and entered her room. She had not been allowed to step outside the house once she had the haldi rasam. Tradition had it, that it was inauspicious for the bride to step out of the house before her wedding day. She sat on her bed gently, with her hands held in front of her and stared at her room with a sigh.

My last few hours in my room. Tomorrow, at this time, I'll be with Dev. My best friend and by then, my life partner. Her thoughts were broken as the shrill cry rang in her ears.

"GEET!!!!!!!!!"

Geet stood up, straining her ears as she heard Meera shouting. A few seconds later, the room of her bedroom flew open and a few of her friends entered, giggling loudly. They stood in front of her, closing in on her dangerously, when she asked,"Kya hua? Itna shor kyun hain?"

"Tu hamse pooch rahi hain, ke shor kyun hain?" Pari asked loudly followed by a giggle,"Tu bol. Jijaji ko toh sabar hi nahin hain."

"Huh?" Geet asked, opening her eyes wide,"Dev ne kya kiya?"

"Kya kiya?" everyone started laughing again, when Meera stopped and managed to say, "Chitthi bhijwahi hain, janab ne aapke liye, Ms.Handa. Mujhe toh baara kehti thi, ke we're mature, not hopeless romantics, aur aab yeh. Mehendi ki raat ko, chitthi'.shaadi ke pichle din chitthi!!!!!"

"Hain, woh yahaan aa toh nahin sakte, haina? And, everyone from his place, his family,sab yehi hain'bechara tujhe miss kar raha hoga, haina?" Pari said, flaunting the white envelope in front of Geet's eyes.

Geet tried to catch the envelope, feeling a tug at her heart in a strange way. Dev ne chitthi kyun bheji hogi? Phone bhi toh kar sakta tha, haina?

"Mujhe de," she said, desperately, as her friends held it way above her reach.

"Yeh lo..yeh bhi toh bechain hain. Aag toh dono taraf bara bar ki lagi hain," Meera said with a snigger.

"Kal toh shaadi hain, itni bhi kya bechaini Geet," Pari said, giggling louder than ever, joined by Geet's cousins as well.

"Hopeless kahike," she bit out, wrenching the letter out of Pari's hand. Opening it, she ran her eyes over and read it.

Geet had always been a fast reader, and within 30 seconds, she knew what the letter had written on it. She murmured,"Nahin, yeh kaise ho sakta hain!" and pushed past her friends, running away from them.

The girls stared at her retreating figure, as she grabbed her cell phone, and crumbling the piece of paper in her mehendi adorned hands. She ran past all the guests and her parents and stepped into the dark and chilly night, before anyone could stop her.

My car, I need my car' it's in Delhi'Babaji, meri madat karo, I need to get to the station, Geet thought desperately, as she ran on the streets, holding the letter and cell phone tightly in one hand. Her henna, which was still wet had already ruined some parts of the paper, but she didn't have that in mind. She already had the whole letter memorized. As she glanced about the dark road, looking for a lift or some kind of help, the words on the paper ran in on her mind relentlessly.

*****

Geet,

I know this may seem strange and unfair to you, but, I have no other option apart from sending you this letter. The fact is, I cannot marry you. You're not a good choice, you never were. I'm sorry, but you can't handle relationships, you're only good in your career. You're only good for earning money and I thought that would be enough. But, that was only when Neha broke off with me. You have to understand,Geet, I asked you to marry me only to out of depression. I almost didn't expect to agree. But, you did.

Then, on the night of the bachelor party, I saw that Neha was affected by my presence around you. She was getting jealous, and I thought I might still have a shot with her if I pretended to be with and around you. And, it worked. I know, I should have told you that we might have to call the wedding off, but, trust me, Geet I told noone. I didn't want to risk it. It was going great. I needed everyone and especially you, to behave genuinely. The day, when you came at Rahul's place to ask me about Neha, I was so scared. Because, Neha was right there, in that house. Just that, she wasn't with Rahul, she was with me. She had come back to me the night before, apologized, and we had given in to our passions. But, I couldn't admit it to you 6 days before the wedding, right? What if, Neha snapped again? It was too much of a risk to take.

I'm sorry Geet, but I cannot call off the wedding on the day of the wedding itself. It would be too humiliating. But, I cannot marry you. Atleast you'll have a day in hand to warn everyone. As you read this, I will probably be at the station with Neha. We plan to move to Calcutta for a few days till everything gets sorted. Please explain everything to your and my parents. I'm sure you can do that for a friend, right?

I wish I could say I hope you find love too, but Geet, you can't. Noone can fall in love with you. You're just not the type.

All the best for your future.

Dev.

*****

"Stop, please stop. You gotta stop. You gotta help me," Geet shouted, as she spotted a black car driving towards her on the road.

She almost leaped in front of it and the car screeched to a halt, the tires squeaking angrily in protest. Geet panted and walked over to the car, holding the handle tightly to open the passenger seat door. She wrenched it open and looked inside.

*****

"It was me," Maan said quietly, as the night flashed in front of his eyes vividly. He stared at Geet with a horrified look on his face. She went through all that? All that humiliation for that man? His fists clenched almost as a reflex, but his thoughts were interrupted.

'It was you," Geet replied, without looking at him, as tears crowded into her eyes. She blinked quickly trying to get rid of them, but that resulted in the drops trickling down her cheeks. She closed her eyes, knowing that this was inevitable. No matter how strong she was, she always felt her tears at this part of her life.

She stared at Maan with teary eyes and whispered,"You wanted to kill me that night, haina? For stopping you like that?"

"Yes," Maan whispered back, staring at her intently.

Yes, I'm kind of at the end of the past track! I just hope you all are liking my pace and story.😳

I want a lot of likes and comments on this update. Finally, all my "A Sudden Change Of Heart" readers are coming around!😃 Also, I updated on time.😆

Love you all

Sarzah

just kill tat Dev for once and all..