Winter's End T2 - Epilogue - 15.7.14 - Page 18

This is just a filler, the next chapter will follow on Saturday/Sunday!

Chapter 37

Downstairs, the employees saw Adi, Vicky, Riya, Armaan and Pinky sit quietly in a room. Armaan, not used to so much silence asked.

"Riya di, why are we not going upstairs?"

"Armaan, you know na that Geet bhabhi is talking to Mr. Khurana."

"Riya, I think you will have to stop calling him Mr Khurana and start calling him bhai or jiju." Pinky said with a bright smile. This confused little Armaan even more.

"But Geet bhabi is married to Sohan bhai so why will we call that man bhai or jiju?" Riya looked gravely at her little brother.

"Armaan, you know that Sohan bhai is not coming back. Please don't make it difficult for Geet to move on." But Armaan was in no mood to understand.

"But why? She is happy with us, isn't she? Why does she need to move on?"
"Armaan." Riya was getting frustrated. It didn't help them that Geet and Maan came into the room, holding hands.

"Well, knowing you all are eagerly waiting to know what we have decided, I just want to let you know that Geet agreed to marry me as have I." A cry of joy escaped their mouths, followed by a loud cry of anger.

"NO, you cannot marry him." Armaan came forward and forcefully separated Geet's hand from Maan's.

"You are married to Sohan bhai, you love him, don't you? You said..." Armaan was crying now.
"You said you will never love anyone else. Then how can you marry him now?" They saw Geet slump down. All of Maan's hard work went out of the window when Geet started to cry with Armaan.

"Baccha, I love Sohan, I will always love him. Please try to understand. I am doing this for us all."

"NO, you are lying. You don't love me anymore. I don't want to see your face." Armaan ran out, leaving a devastated Geet on the floor.

"Vicky, take care of Geet. I will see him." Vicky wanted to stop Maan, not sure whether he will be able to handle the little boy. But then, he needed to make sure that Geet doesn't change her decision.

"Vicky...Vicky he hates me." They cringed at the pain in her voice. For the first time, they realised how attached Geet was to the two.

"No Geet. He just feels a little insecure. Things are changing and that is scaring him. But once he will get used to this idea, he will be happy for you."

"But I can't build my live on his sorrow." Riya intervened.

"Bhabhi listen. Listen carefully please. Sohan bhai asked you for one thing before he died, didn't he." Geet looked up right into Riya's face while hers was being held by Riya.

"He said that you should not hold back to your past after he is gone. He wanted you to remain the Geet he came to know and got married to. And he said..." Riya stopped, encouraging Geet to complete her sentence.

"He said that I should not turn Armaan into another him. I should be strict and make sure that I don't give into all his wishes." Riya hugged Geet, knowing that Geet will not change her mind now. She was glad that Sohan had had the presence of mind to tell this to Geet. Knowing Geet's nature, he knew that she would sacrifice all her happiness for that of Armaan and her and Sohan would never want that.

Maan had caught up with Armaan. The little boy struggled in Maan's grip but Maan just carried the boy to the relaxation quarters where he put him down on the couch.

"Armaan, look at me." The boy, stubborn as a mule didn't turn his face. Maan sighed and kneeled down so that his face was lower than that of Armaan.

"You love Geet a lot, don't you?" Armaan nodded, not looking still.

"And Geet loves you a lot, too."

"No she doesn't. How can she marry you when she loves Sohan bhai?" Maan saw an angry little boy in front of him, maybe a younger version of himself.

"Do you know what the first condition Geet gave me when she agreed to marry me? She said that I will have to accept you and Riya as my own if I want to marry her. She said that you hold so much importance in her life that she will never leave you alone." Armaan's expression softened.

"Imagine, if with your Sohan bhai, Geet would have died too wouldn't you be lonely?"

"No, I would have Riya di with me. She loves me a lot and she would take care of me." The little boy argued.

"But one day she would get married and stay with her husband. When Geet married, didn't she leave her home and started living with you guys?" Maan didn't know if Geet had any family or not and hoped that this would do the trick.

"Geet bhabhi cried a lot when she married Sohan bhai. I thought she didn't love Sohan bhai and didn't want to marry him."

"What did she say to you then?"

"She said that she is sad because she is leaving her parents to start her own family. She also had to leave Rajji." Maan didn't ask who Rajji was.

"So, if Riya would have married and left you, wouldn't you feel alone?" Armaan nodded half-heartedly.

"See, Geet still loves Sohan and you and Riya. She is not marrying me because she loves me, she told me herself. We are marrying so that the two of us are not alone when you all grow up and are married. Being alone is not easy, you understand that champ, don't you?" Armaan looked at Maan, small and vulnerable. Maan took the boy into his arms. It was then, that Armaan understood. He felt that he had been selfish and wanted to talk to Geet.

Downstairs, he ran into Geet's waiting arms.

"Geet bhabi, you can marry him. I don't want you to be alone." Geet smiled and cried, her gratitude showing clearly in her watery eyes.