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Chapter 19: Letting Go
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"Hello, Nakul," Geet murmured, nodding absently to the man after entering the house.
She hadn't wanted to come back. Not for a while. Not until she got control over her disappointed heart, but that hadn't been possible. She owed it to Rahul to stay and take care of him. He did not deserve to have another person disappear from his life without warning.
She briefly rubbed at her heart, wondering when the pain would go away. It was unlike anything she had suffered before. Not even when her world had imploded and she had had to deal with the fallout. Not even then ... she blinked the memories away. What was the use of thinking about what the worst pain had been when pain was pain. Geet sighed softly, shaking her head. She needed to stop thinking about what had happened. She couldn't change anything. And it was no use thinking about the what ifs.
"Geet Ma'am," Nakul's voice called out from behind her.
Geet turned to look at him.
"You dropped this," Nakul said, holding out his hand.
Geet looked closely and saw her necklace.
"Darn it!" she muttered, plucking it out of Nakul's hands. "Thank you, Nakul!" she said, flashing a quick smile.
"You're welcome."
Geet quickly put it on, silently instructing it to stay in place with one final pat. She turned and ran up the stairs, eager to see her little charge.
"Rahul, let's do your homework!" she called as she entered the little boy's room. "Rahul!" she called again, surprised to see the room empty. "You can't hide from me. And believe me, you can't hide from homework. Come on! I know that you have that book report due."
There was a moment of silence. She then heard laughter from the adjoining room. Her brow furrowed in confusion. She knew that Maan wasn't home, so why the laughter from his room? Was there someone else in there with Rahul?
"Rahul Saab, come out of there right now," she ordered, pushing open the doorway to enter his room. She hesitated for a moment. What if he was there? But no, it was the middle of the day, so he had to be at work.
She shook her head decisively. She wouldn't see Maan today. She nodded her head at that logical thought. Which was good, right?
She nodded again. She couldn't face him . . . not after what happened two nights ago, and definitely not after what happened this morning. Would she tell him ... could she tell him that she had seen his brother today; the man whose desertion had sentenced him to years of a hellish marriage? What would she say? Was it her place to say anything?
Her heart clenched again. Only this time it was for him ... for the pain that Maan would go through if he had to face his brother once more.
Her thoughts were interrupted by another giggle. Swooping into the room, she saw a laughing Rahul on Maan's bed. He was surrounded by all of his toys. And the room was a mess. "Your daddy's not going to like this," she muttered under her breath.
"Geet didi!" he squealed joyfully. "You're here!" He got up and began to jump delightedly on the bed.
"And you're here," Geet murmured, with a mock frown. She rested her hands on her waist. "What are you doing in your daddy's room when he's at work?"
"Daddy's not at work!" Rahul shouted back. "He sa-"
"So, why are you here?" Geet insisted, coming to stand next to the bed. Rahul was just confused. Of course, Maan Sir was at work. She caught the giggling boy, as he launched himself at her. She hugged him close, her heart filling with love as she cradled his little body close. Breathing in his little boy scent, she set him back on the bed. "Maan Sir is at work and we should get to work, too, right? Come on."
"Didi," Rahul said, tugging at her dupatta. "We had a slumber party last night," Rahul said in a whisper. "Daddy came home and he sat downstairs for a looong time. I know because I was spying on him. I must have fallen asleep, because he just brought me into his room. I woke up when he set me down here," he said, pointing at 'his' side of the bed. He paused for a minute, pondering something else. "He smelled funny. He had that in his hand." Rahul motioned to a glass on the side table.
Geet turned to stare at the near empty glass. Picking it up, she sniffed at it. Her eyes widened when she recognized the smell of whiskey. She had close familiarity with that drink. She set it back down, backing warily away from it.
Geet moved toward Rahul once more, intent on getting him out of here and focused on doing his homework.
"No, I don't want to do homework!" Rahul shouted rebelliously, jumping off of the bed. "Geet didi, I don't want to do it now!" He backed toward the door.
"Rahul, if we do your homework now, we can play later," Geet promised.
"No! Let's play now and homework later," he yelled, darting through the door.
"Rahul! Stop right there, mister!" Geet shouted, running after him. She exited into the hallway, scrunching her brow when she couldn't see the young boy anywhere. "Rahul!" There was no answer. She moved through the mansion, her eyes searching for her charge.
"Naughty boy. Watch, when I catch you, you're going to be in so much trouble. I'm going to make you read two books," she muttered to herself, unable to believe that she had been looking for the brat for 10 minutes. "How big is this house?" She heard thudding noises in the distance. Smiling to herself, she made her way toward the noise, knowing that she was about to get her hands on Rahul.
Sneaking into the room, her eyes widened when she realized that she was in a courtyard, the sky visible in the center. She hadn't been in this area of the house for so long. Not since she and Rahul had played in the rain. She shook her head silently at just how big this house really was. Sidling over to one of the pillars, she peeked around it, knowing that she would find her charge engaged in some sort of mischief. And she was going to jump out and scare the daylights out of him.
Her eyes widened when they landed on the figure standing in the middle of the courtyard. She let out the air that she had just inhaled, coughing slightly. Maan sir? What was he doing at home? What was he doing glaring at the wooden ... figure or whatever in front of him.
She jumped slightly when his hand shot out and hit the side of the wooden figure, and then moved in to do some work against the different bars sticking out.
As he moved through a shaft of light, she saw that he had no shirt on, leaving his upper half bare to her hungry gaze. Her mouth fell open, running dry as her gaze lovingly traced over the muscles of his back as they moved under his glistening skin. Her eyes followed a drop of sweat as it made its way down the middle of his glistening back.
She jumped slightly as a dove set down on his shoulder and then flew away. She snorted softly at that, quickly covering her mouth before she could make any further noises. She didn't want to interrupt this any sooner than she had to.
"Geet Didi! Where are you?" Rahul shouted in the distance. "You were supposed to be chasing me! I don't want to chase you! Where are you hiding? Come out," came the petulant demand.
Geet gasped, the noise loud enough to catch Maan's attention this time.
He turned his head sharply at the sound.
Geet silently gasped once more, quickly hiding behind the pillar. What had she been thinking? If he caught her here, how embarrassed would she be? She looked from left to right, trying to find a place to hide. She sidled behind another pillar, peeking out to see him where she had just been. Her heart jumped at that. So close. Her hand clenched at a filmy curtain. Moving stealthily around the pillar, making sure to stay out of his sight, she moved one pillar closer to the doorway.
And another step. And then another. She was so close.
Looking behind her, she turned and made a mad dash to the door.
"Eeek!" she shrieked, slamming against a body ... his hard body. Gasping she put out her hands to brace herself, but they slipped across his wet skin, and her face smashed into his very naked shoulder.
There was a moment of frozen silence.
Geet pulled back, gasping slightly to see an imprint of her lips on his shoulder. "Sir, I'm so sorry," she muttered, grabbing a corner of her dupatta to clean at the offending mark.
His hands arrested her attempts.
Silently he held up a chain.
Her eyes widened when she realized that her necklace had fallen once more. She reached out a trembling hand to take it.
He pulled it back, shaking his head. Letting go of her hand, he stepped closer.
Geet began breathing quickly, her heartbeat quickening at his proximity. She wanted to lean in closer. She wanted to place her lips against his skin once more. Her eyes closed, as his fingers touched the back of her neck as he fastened the clasp. She wanted to inhale deeply, taking him inside of her. She wanted to . . . she wanted him so much. Her body shuddered as she felt his breath against her lips. She cried out softly when she felt a touch against her forehead.
Her eyes popped open. Had he just kissed her?
She pulled back, her eyes heavy as she fought the sensual feelings trying to pull her under. She couldn't forget why she needed to keep her distance. There were so many ... so many reasons. Sobbing softly at that cruel reminder, she pushed him away, stepping back at the same time.
She turned to go.
"Geet . . .," he began, grabbing her wrist.
"Have you talked to Pari?" she asked abruptly, her voice breaking at the end.
He gazed at her for a moment, trying to read her eyes. His mouth tightened when he saw that her lips were trembling.
"Tonight," he responded, his hand falling away.
Geet stared at the wrist that had been in his hand a moment before. Her other hand came up to cradle it. Her eyes filled with tears, and she quickly turned away. She closed her eyes, trying to stop them. She couldn't do this anymore. She swallowed with difficulty. She couldn't see this man, knowing that he would never be hers. She'd never said anything. With her past, nothing had been possible. So why was her heart broken? When had she dared to fall in love? She began to walk away, knowing that he would never stop her.
And he didn't.
He watched her walk away, his hands clenching into fists. Her figure grew smaller in the distance, until she completely disappeared from his sight. He sighed deeply. Rubbing at his heart, rubbing away the mark she had left behind, he turned his thoughts away from her. He was hoping the act would be enough to remove her from his heart. Knowing that it wouldn't be.
He hadn't told Dadi Ma anything. He hadn't wanted to, not until he talked to Pari. Not until he found out what was going on and what she wanted.
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Pari moaned softly, her hands patting the barely perceptible bump that her baby made in her stomach. "I know you're worth it," she said softly, "but mommy still doesn't feel too good." She hadn't been feeling well all morning, probably owing to the morning sickness that had kicked in over the past few days.
"Well, back to work. These contracts aren't going to review themselves." She sat back down at the desk, taking a gulp of her ginger ale, before turning back to the papers in front of her. She looked up when the door opened to the study, her eyes falling on Maan standing in the doorway. Her eyes widened at the look in his eyes.
"No," she declared, getting up and moving towards the doorway.
He grabbed her by the arm, stopping her in her tracks.
"Yes," he replied implacably. "We have to talk about this."
She turned and stalked toward his desk, thinking that they needed some space between them for the upcoming conversation.
"I can't believe that Geet told you," she said suddenly, struck by that betrayal. "I told her not to say anything! I told her that I would take care of it."
"Did you really think that she would keep it a secret?" Maan asked. "Her first loyalty is to me," he pointed out with a pained look. "She needed to make sure . . . to make sure that you were taken care of."
"And why should you be the one who makes sure of that? Why are you on the hook again?" she demanded, sitting down in his chair and staring at him across the expanse of the desk. She crossed her arms in front of her, waiting for his response.
He crossed the room and leaned over the desk, putting himself within reach of her.
"Because you're pregnant with my brother's child. I owe that child . . . I owe both of you my protection so that you don't have to face the discrimination, the contempt that I have seen my siblings face. Do you have any idea how much ridicule Kamya and . . . Dev suffered for being my father's bas***d children? Do I want another innocent child to go through that? Especially when that child only exists because I brought you into my brother's life?"
"What are you talking about?" she demanded, leaning back in the chair to put some distance between them. "You didn't bring me into Vicky's life! I came here chasing you! I came here because . . . "
"Because of me," he concluded quietly.
"But what happened between Vicky and me was my choice!" Pari shouted at him, jumping back up. "I fell in love with him. I made the choices I did that resulted in this situation. I got pregnant because it was me and Vicky in that room! You were nowhere to be seen! So why should you take responsibility for what happened? Why should you be made to suffer because someone else around you made a mistake?"
Her voice broke on the last few words. She turned around, unable to continue.
Maan slowly came up behind her.
"Pari," he murmured, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know that you never meant for this to happen, but it did. You can't be alone. You can't..."
"I trusted him, Maan," she murmured brokenly. "I never wondered for a moment that there would be a day that I would turn around and he wouldn't be there. Never wondered until I came back from my holiday, a holiday where he was supposed to meet me, and I found an email saying that he was leaving, and, oh yeah, that he was f**king sorry! Sorry? What the hell was that?" She turned and fell into his arms, needing some comfort. Where else could she turn?
"We'll get married," Maan murmured into her hair, squeezing her in his arms. "We can do it before anyone knows. Your parents won't even need to know."
"No! I'm not doing that. You're not going to sacrifice yourself for me. I love you too much to do that to you. You think I don't know how much you love Geet. Be with her!" she urged him, stepping back and shaking his arm in her urgency.
"She knows what my responsibility is," he said, pulling away from her. He turned and walked to the window, staring out at the dark night with a bleak expression on his face. He couldn't see any stars. There was no light. "She was the one who told me that I had to go to you, knowing what I needed to do. She has accepted that I need to do this."
"Do what? Make a sacrifice?! You think that I want to know that the man I marry has sacrificed his heart and his love for a mistake that I made?"
"Pari... , "he began, frustrated by her intractability.
"Maan, in the years that I have worked for you . . . you don't understand what our relationship has become. I came here because I had a crush on you. I became your assistant. I respected you ... I came to like you, and not as just a handsome man. I came to love you."
"So that means it shouldn't be too hard..." he began.
"No," she interrupted. "Let me finish. You know, I don't have any brothers. I've always wondered what it would be like to have someone to look after me . . . to coddle me and care for me. To worry about me when I wasn't where I was supposed to be. To be my protector."
She walked over and put a hand on Maan's shoulder.
"You became my brother, Maan," she said softly. "And I like to think that I became a sister to you."
He turned to gaze at her, smiling softly.
"Maan, I can't marry my brother. It would feel too incestuous," she pointed out, shuddering at the idea.
He opened his mouth, about to object.
"No, Maan. I don't want to discuss this anymore! Please. I have plans. Don't worry! You'll have a part in this, just not the role you thought you would have to play. You'll be my brother and my child's uncle. And those are very important roles, too," she said with a smile.
There was a quiet knock on the door, interrupting him before he could say anything more.
"Who is it?" Maan barked at the unfortunate individual on the other side of that door. He folded his arms, glaring daggers at the individual poking his head in.
"Nakul, I told you that I did not want to be disturbed," Maan ground out.
"I know sir," Nakul said, sidling sideways into the room. "But it was . . . Maan sir, you have a guest," he said plaintively.
"Who is it?" Maan asked, his arms falling to his sides. More than intrusion now, his attention was focused on Nakul's worried demeanor.
There was a sound of footsteps climbing up the stairs in the distance and cries of surprise from other servants. "Sir, you have to wait to be allowed in. I don't think . . ."
Sound of footsteps crossing the marble floor could be heard by the pair in the study. Pari's eyes turned to the door, her stomach churning in anxiety. Why all the mystery? Why was Nakul so stressed by this guest?
"It's me, big brother," a slurred voice called out, revealing the identity of their visitor before the man had even entered the room. The lanky figure stumbled in through the doors and fell over a chair, landing on the floor in the middle of the room. The two stared at the drunken man practically lying down on the floor in front of them.
"It's me, brother," he repeated, staring up at them sleepily. "I'm home."
He turned to look at the pale woman at his brother's side. "Neeta, I'm back."
She gasped softly. "Vicky."
A/N: Chapter 19 for your reading pleasure. Please go to my blog, I have attached a Youtube link to this chapter that I don't think I can attach here. Don't forget to leave lots of comments. The more I see, the faster I will update. 😉
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