Beauty and The Beast||Thread 1|| - Page 68

The stares are like lasers

Every eye filled with intrigue

And everyone coming up with their own answers

Not once asking me, they rather judge.

"It's never okay to call names and it isn't okay to accept them"

Her words never stopped ringing in his ears, Maan wondered how had he become this person? A shadow of his former self.

As he dressed today, he thought of his previous life before the incident. He was young, filled with zest and had a goal. He looked forward to the future, he loved life and tried to live it to the fullest for he knew he wouldn't be getting another shot at this life. And life was simply too small to not live it properly.

Now, he didn't see a future ahead of him, he didn't seem to have goals and he couldn't continue like this. He stared into the dull eyes of his reflection, they once shone brightly with dreams and aspirations, and he wanted to feel that again.

"Someone better had died" Geet groaned as she finally answered her phone. She'd ignored it, she'd just arrived back in India and had returned to her apartment to sleep. However just as she dozed off, it rang. She'd ignored it at first but the person on the other side seemed to be insistence.

"It's time" Sean panted over the phone.

"What's time?"

"Geet, it's time! We're on our way to the hospital" he answered.

"Good for you buddy" she mumbled cutting the call and flopped back closing her eyes.

A moment later she jerked upright, "it's time" she murmured and clambered out of bed. "Where's my clothes?" she screamed to herself. She snagged on her shorts, grabbing a t-shirt from the closet and slipped into her sandals. Grabbing her car keys, she ran out the door hurrying towards the hospital. "Who's got Nick?" Geet asked Sean once he answered his phone.

"Mum's got her" he responded.

"Hasn't she got like 3 weeks left?" Geet questioned. "Why do babies not pop out at the right time?"

"Beats me" Sean responded. "Get here quick"

"On my way boss" Geet cut the call and sped down the empty roads.

16 hours later

"C'mon Tar, you can do it" Geet urged her sister, their hands clasped together tightly. "You better give me a niece" she muttered.

"Mrs Jaxon, 3 big pushes okay?" the midwife looked at Tara.

"Pull the baby out, I'm dying here" Tara cried.

Sean pressed his lips to Tara's temple, "C'mon you can do this. You're strong love"

"If you ever knock me up after this, I'm going to kill you" Tara sniffed.

"Okay" he smiled. "C'mon let's get our baby into this world" he told her pressing his lips against hers. Geet smiled admiring her sister and brother in law together, she turned as the midwife urged Tara to now push.

"I can see the head" the midwife announced.

"Baby's going to be here" Geet grinned. "C'mon Tar..."

"Nearly there... One final push Mrs Jaxon" the midwife called out.

Tara tightened her fingers around both her husbands and her sister's hand, groaning loudly as she pushed with all her strength.

"Yes, yes... it's a girl" the midwife informed as they wrapped the new born baby girl up and placed her on Tara's chest.

"Aww Tar, she's gorgeous" Geet mumbled looking down in awe at her niece.

"She's here... she's finally here" Tara looked at Sean. "Our daughter is here"

Sean nodded, he pressed his lips to his wife's temple and looked down at their daughter.

"I'll go call mum and dad" Geet told them kissing Tara's cheek then walked out leaving the couple alone to spend some time with the new daughter.

Geet wondered whether she should text her parents or call them, she had been ignoring them for the last two weeks since that day. She decided to call them, her niece was here and it was going to be a new beginning in their lives.

"Geet..." Suneel answered.

"Hi dad... Tara had a baby girl" she informed.

"We're on our way" he told her. "How are you?"

"I'm good, I know Tara's been keeping you up to date" she replied.

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"I'm sorry too" she responded. "I'll see you when you get here" she told him.

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit" he replied and cut the call informing Marissa the news of Tara having a baby girl.

Geet was informed that Tara and her niece were moved into a recovery room, she went to the recovery room Tara was placed and smiled as she entered. Sean held his daughter cooing to her.

"Can I have bad ass brother in law back please?" she strolled in.

"This face is going to melt even the hardest asses" Sean laughed as she joined his side.

"She's so cute" Geet gushed. "Gimme" she settled on the chair, Sean lowered down and placed his baby girl in Geet's arms.

"Aww... She's so adorable" Geet pressed a kiss to her niece's nose. "Have you thought of a name?"

"Theresa Jaxon" Sean answered.

"Tess for short though" Tara piped in and grinned as she noticed her parents coming with their son Nick. "Hey baby boy" she pressed a kiss to his head as Nick settled beside her.

"Why didn't you buy me a baby brother?" he looked at his mother in disappointment.

"Because the hospital only had a girl available" Sean responded. "But look how cute your sister is"

"No, I don't want a girl" he scrunched his nose.

"C'mere buddy" Geet lifted him up in her arms. "How about we go get something to eat? I'm starving" she told him as she placed him on her hips.

"Can you get me shake?" he asked.

"Depends on how good you are" she answered.

"I'm good gigi" he pouted.

"I know you are" she winked and peppered kisses along his cheek.

"Before this incident, what did you see for your future?" Shirley questioned Maan as they strolled out the garden. The day was beautiful today, the sun high up, clear blue skies.

"I had a goal, I wanted to be the General like my dadaji" he answered turning his head to her. "It obviously didn't work out"

"You must've had new goals when you started working with the Federal Agents?" she arched her brows questioningly.

"What do I become after a security analyst?" he responded. "There isn't really room for progression because I can't go back out into the field" he added.

"It'd take time Maan" Shirley responded. "You need to take it a day at a time, maybe set a weekly goal" she informed plopping down on the bench and patted the place besides her.

He sat down and looked around the garden, it seemed so peaceful here.

"What was your personal goal?" Shirley turned to face him.

"What do you mean?" Maan frowned.

"Did you see yourself in a relationship? Engaged or married?"

Maan tensed momentarily as he thought back to his previous life, "I assumed I'd be married by now" he responded slowly. It obviously didn't work out like I'd seen... he thought inwardly.

"Would you do something for yourself if I ask you to?" Shirley questioned.

"Depends..."

"No, no depends" she shook her head. "Before our next appointment, you're going to do this"

"I'm guessing you're not giving a say here" he smirked.

"I've got Gaurav on speed dial" she threatened jokingly.

Maan sighed. "Shoot away"

"Okay, you're going to spend half an hour each day taking a walk in the local park. Early morning"

"Hang on a seco..."

"No, you're not arguing. You're going to do this, you can't lock yourself in the perimeter of your house and assume this is your new life. This country is yours just as much as it is everyone else's. You need to stop hiding. This is your first goal"

"Shirley... Please don't d..."

"Maan, you pay me to help you. I can't help you if you don't let me" Shirley placed her hand on his shoulder. "At least 3 times this week, in the mornings take a walk around the local park"

Maan slowly nodded, he wasn't looking forward to it. The mornings are usually the busiest, people on their morning jogs/runs, college kids crossing through the park to get to their college.

"I'm hoping a new challenge each week will shed away the fears and give you confidence in accepting and adjusting. I want you to wear these marks as pride. You fought for us all here, we're proud of you Maan"

He listened silently, all the while wondering if he'd be able to do this.

3 months after

"You meeting me there?" Geet asked Adhira over the phone as she slipped into her jump suit.

"Yeah, I'm here already" Adhira informed.

"How big is the house?" she questioned smearing a layer of gloss on her lips.

"4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms" Adhira informed as she walked around the new property they were going to do up together. "They'd seen the updated gallery on the site and wanted their garden done" she told Geet as she stepped out in the garden. "It looks a little boring"

"Alright, what do you think?"

"Profit of around 17-18 lakhs" she responded.

"I'm on my way" Geet cut the call slipping into her Louboutin heels, she snagged her sunglasses from her drawer and grabbed her car keys.

She put in the address in the sat nav and drove towards the new potential client's house. Once she arrived, she parked up and walked up the path already noticing Adhira stood outside talking to the clients.

"This is my manager, Geet" Adhira introduced.

"Morning" Geet smiled holding out her hand.

"Rudra and Aanya Desai" Rudra responded shaking her hand, Geet then shook his wife's hand.

"Nice to meet you both" she told them and glanced around the house. "Your house is pretty"

"Well, we were hoping you'd be make it much prettier" Aanya spoke.

"We've got a new addition soon" Rudra smiled down lovingly at his wife. "So we wanted to get the house done properly, change the 4^th bedroom into a nursery for our twins"

"Congratulations" Geet smiled, "how about you show me around and I'll draw up some ideas for you" she told them.

"Sure, this way" Rudra nodded and led them inside.

"I've got colours already in my head for the nursery" Adhira whispered to Geet as they followed behind Rudra and Aanya.

"Don't say blue" Geet responded.

"Yellow and white" Adhira informed. "It's a neutral colour, it can be for boy and girl"

"Get that written down so we can go over it later" Geet replied liking the idea.

"What is your budget?" Geet asked Rudra and Aanya as they stood around the kitchen island.

"I don't mind, we want to the best for our family" Aanya replied. "We're both working"

"I understand that but everyone has a budget" Geet responded. "I don't come cheap" she teased.

"What do you think it's going to cost for the bedrooms and garden? I really do want the garden fixed more than anything as I want my kids to have a safe place to play"

"You're looking around 75-90 lakhs, that includes materials, labour, our pay" Geet explained.

Rudra whistled, "Wow... that is quite a lot" he chuckled. "But we'll go ahead with it"

Aanya grinned feeling excited.

"Alright, we'll get to work on it from Monday" Geet informed. "Will you be continuing to stay here whilst we work?"

"Yeah, my work is closer to here" Aanya replied.

"What we'll do then is, we do two bedrooms first then you can move into one of the bedrooms then we'll do the other two, making one into a nursery" she explained. "Then we'll do your garden"

"Sounds great" Aanya nodded. "I'm so excited"

"Over the weekend, I'll be going over the ideas and bring them to you on Monday" she told them. "I'll be managing this myself, though I wouldn't be here full time. Adhira will be overlooking when I'm going to absent" she added.

"Oh we were hoping you'd be overlooking it" Aanya replied.

"I will be over every week to keep up to date with everything" Geet assured. "I'm an air stewardess as well so I wouldn't be able to overlook it all the time"

"Two jobs? How do you manage?" Aanya asked surprised, there wasn't a look of judgement in her eyes as she learned about Geet's job.

"Interior designing is more like a hobby, I don't take projects on all the time. It's something I do, maybe 3-4 times a year" Geet answered. "When it's not me, it's my colleagues taking on the projects" she pointed to Adhira. "They learned from the best, so they'll give it their all" she winked.

"I do have better ideas than Geet" Adhira joked.

"Mmhmm whatever you say" Geet laughed. "Anyway it was nice meeting you both" she glanced down at her watch. "I've got a meeting that I've gotta get to, I'll see you both Monday"

"Yeah, it was nice meeting you too" Aanya shook Geet's hand. "I'm already wishing Monday is here soon" she added.

Geet bid bye then walked out of the house with Adhira, "What are you thinking?" she asked.

"Nothing" Adhira shook her head.

"C'mon I've seen your eyes, what is it?" Geet turned to her colleague as she stopped by her car.

"Is it just me and you on this project?" Adhira asked.

"You'll get 35 percent for this project" Geet answered.

"How did you know what I was going to ask?"

"Because I know you" Geet laughed. "Seeing as you're going to overlook this, I'll give an extra 5 percent than 30 percent"

"Thanks" Adhira exclaimed.

"So go on, what do you need the money for?"

"I've hired a divorce lawyer, I need to get away from Vijay. I'm earning more than enough, I decided to take your advice" Adhira admitted.

Geet smiled, "You're going to get someone much better than that rotten Vijay! Your kids are going to be better without him in their lives, he's dragging you all down"

Adhira nodded, "I'm looking to leave the small apartment and buy my own place"

"Let me know if you need anything, I'll look around for you as well"

"Thanks Geet, I appreciate it" Adhira responded.

"Don't mention it, anyway I'll catch you later. I've got a meeting to attend" she excused herself climbing into her and drove away.

Gaurav stared in pride as Maan walked through the doors, he limped but he manages to go a few hours without his cane. Maan had been out again this morning for his walk, these days his beginning half an hour had turned into a hour's walk in the local park.

"Morning dadaji" Maan greeted.

"Morning son" Gaurav patted Maan's cheek. "Come sit down" he gestured to the chair besides him.

"Is everyone still sleeping?" Maan asked glancing around.

"Rhea is in the kitchen making breakfast" he informed. "How was your walk?"

"It was nice, it was slightly breezy this morning but it is getting warmer now" he responded.

"I'm so proud of you Maan" Gaurav told him, the small changes that occurred in Maan over the last few months were positive. He knew Maan suffered with the nightmares and was still battling his PSTD and depression but the small steps he's taken has impacted greatly even if no one else seems notice much. Gaurav notices it. He'd been through these stages, seeing Maan go through the same made him ache.

"Thanks" Maan responded softly, "I'm going to see if mom wants some help" he told Gaurav standing up and walked inside.

"What's wrong?" Savitri walked over noticing her husband sat outside on the chairs.

"Nothing, I was just concerned with Maan" Gaurav answered shaking his head. "Did I do this to him Savitri?" he asked turning to his wife.

"No one is to blame" Savitri placed her hand on her husband's shoulder. "Maan is going to get better, he's our grandson and he's determined like you" she told him.

"Where are we going wrong? He doesn't believe there is anyone out there for him" he sighed. "If only she..."

"You don't need to bring her up now" Savitri told him. "He's better than her"

Gaurav sighed heavily, he glanced over his shoulder for a glimpse of Maan and noticed Maan speaking with Rhea as they walked to the dining table placing down the breakfast plates down.

He stood and walked inside alongside his wife.

"Put your laptop away" Rhea scowled at her youngest son as she brought out the fruit bowl.

"Can you leave me alone mama?" Kartik rolled his eyes then gasped. "Oh my days! Look at this" he squealed like an excited child.

"What happened?" Rhea looked at the screen, it was a picture on Instagram of Kartik's favourite models hugging the interior designer Geet Pearson. "You and your models..." she shook her head.

"You know, if bhai married her. I could've met my favourite model" he grouched.

Rhea glanced a look over at Maan, then looked at her in laws who'd quietened.

"Excuse me" Maan pulled out his phone. "Hello" he turned and walked away.

"Hey jammy dodgers! So I wanted to check what you're doing tonight" Kirsten spoke excitedly.

"Sleeping" Maan replied entering his office. "Why?"

"Well I've got this party to attend"

"Sorry doll face, you got to ask someone else" Maan shook his head.

"Cupcake please..." Kirsten pleaded.

"Kirsten, I know what you're trying to do but I'm serious. I'm really not in the mood to attend a party" he responded.

"You're never in the mood, I so hate you right now! I can't believe th..."

"Bye doll face" Maan cut her off then cut the call shaking his head.

He looked down at his screen when it vibrated with a new message.

You're lucky, you're scrumptious or else you would've been splattered on the wall by now like a fly

Thanks darling, you're so kind - Maan tapped his response.

Managed 3000 words for this FF 😆

Precap - ???

Hope you've enjoyed it, please spare a moment to like and comment 😃