romancing..my wife!! completed! - Page 28

CHAPTER 19

Maan

As we entered hoshiarpur evry1 s demenour changed!! Bauji seemed 2 4gt his illness n seemed more alert even waving at a few ppl.. after all mohinder handa still had d respect of d ppl of hoshiarpur!! Geet was out of her trance n a smile on her face, probably remembering her childhood days!! Maahi on d oder hand seemed sad.. guess she was expecting smthng else

As we entered d grand entrance of d handa haveli..

"maa.. we r gonna stay here?"

"yes dear..n u wil luv it here.."

Though geet answered maahi, her voice lacked d conviction..

"it luks like a dump!!" maahi exclaimed..

'twas hard to disagree wid her.. Even frm d last tym I hd seen it.. der was a horrible transformation of d haveli.. d plants were overgrown almost covering d entrance.. d lawn too looked unkept..!! It needed more thn just a few thngs!!

"it was a beautiful place wen ur mother was young.. nd it can b.. wid d ryt attitude!!" bauji added

N not to mention a few crores.. I thot!! hw much bauji was in love wid his inheritance.. n he nvr gave On it.. who'd know better thn me..

But I dint want maahi to think of it tht way..

"maahi.. it's a part of ur heritage from ur mother's family n u its only heir.. so u shud b proud of it!! I added..

"unless u n mom hv another kid!!" maahi countered..

Oh dis gal never gave up.. bt ryt nw I dint want to again restart d whole issue n create a scene.. already geet seemed to b uncomfortable n I dint want to add to it..

Luckily we had reached d mansion n atleast it seemed fyn.. it was two storey grand building.. built in d nineteenth century.. a legacy of d handas!! The care takers welcmd us..

In order to break d sudden awkwardness.. I tried to change d topic.. I asked maahi to help me unload d luggage while geet helped bauji settle in!! finally as we finished, i was exhausted bth wid d luggage n maahi's questions.. I realized she was very observant, inquisitive n a confident kid!!

"did u n mom cm here often?"

I remembered hw we used 2 land up here almost evry month as geet used 2 worry abt bauji as he dint keep well esp aftr our marriage n tht he was staying here alone bothered her a lot.. it used 2 b a break fm our schedules n we njoyd our tym here inspite of d fact tht bauji n me were only formally cordial!!

"yeah.. often.." I finally answered as I realized maahi was waiting 4 one..

"nanu doesn't like u ryt nor u him?"

"I guess u shud ask him!"

"but u know d reason na? is it bcoz of me?"

Her question shook me.. I hadn't realized tht all dese circumstances were affecting her too.. or probably previously I was nvr bothered.. bt nw aftr knowing her my heart had accepted a fact tht whtever happened btwn me n geet, maahi was innocent..

I closed my eyes trying to think of an answer

"its nt your fault.. its just me I guess!!"

"sorry??"

"I mean bauji nevr considered me worth ur mother.. n probably I wasn't too.."

"thts weird.. I don't know abt him.. but I like u!!"

Well her approval made me feel so much better.. she had inherited her mother's innocence n charm!!

"so wer did u n maa meet d first tym?"

"tht's enuf maahi.. lets get sm work done.." it was geet's voice which interrupted us.. her eye met mine n from her expression I cud guess she'd heard d question n was probably remembering dose beautiful memories too.. just as I was!!

"yes maahi.. lets help ur mother.. ders a lot 2 b done!!"

Geet

After settling bauji in, I had cm out to help maan n maahi wen I heard maahi questioning maan.. n heard him tk all d blame on himself.. I stood thr numb wid d pain in his voice.. n for once I felt probably he too missed our 2gethrness!! Bt wen maahi questioned him abt our first meeting..i knew I had to interrupt.. it brought bk dose memories n remembering dem now wud just mk d situatn more vulnerable for me thn it already was..

As we settled in.. maahi was impressed wid d grandeur of d place.. it lacked maintenance bt still its royalty shone thru.. I cud imagine bauji attachment to dis place n his desire to get it bk 2 its original state bt sadly I cud nvr work out dt type of finances!!

While I was busy setting up d room.. I realized maan was nt thr.. did he just leave without telling us? Without saying a good-bye to me?!!!!!!!!!!

I suddenly felt so restless n even angry.. hw cud he just leave us like tht.. agreed he had already done more thn he shud hv.. bt still..

Bt then he appeared talkin on d phone n felt my whole body relax.. though I wanted 2 really shout at him bt..

"ummm. Geet.. I guess we shud arrange for lunch!! its quite late n bauji cud rest aftr tht"

He seemed to b trying 2 avoid ny questions from me.. I wondered whose call it was.. den suddenly I realized it cud b sameera.. I fought hard dose tears trying to escape my eyes..

Nt wanting to say anything.. I just nodded n left to prepare lunch!!