Thank you everyone for such overwhelming response. Before I start I would just say this is not just an ordinary story. Neither Maan nor Geet are perfect people here. they are both imperfect and here's a story of few people who are no where near perfects. This is the story of their flaws...their imperfections...their incompleteness. Do comment and press like. They inspire me to write better. In case anyone wants pm please add me as buddy. Awaiting your honest opinions.
Please stay safe everyone. Let's do everything that is in our power to help people who need it in these turbulent times. Take care everyone.
Guys I am sorry for being so late but December has too many birthdays and marriage anniversaries in our family and I was busy with those.
Part 49
New beginnings are always hard
“They look so right don’t they?”
Brij looked down at Pari. He was happy that both Geet and Pari had agreed to come to this party.
“Yes, Pari. I have known Maan for years. With Geetu however he becomes a complete different person; lot happier and lot more thoughtful.”
“Geet brings out the best in him. Similarly, he brings out the best in Geet as well.”
“I sense a hesitation Pari.”
“I am just worried I guess. Sometimes, I feel like they are rushing it.”
“They have known each other almost a year now. They have been friends to each other in this time. I don’t think they are rushing into anything.”
Pari was silent. Brij didn’t know the entire history and Pari wasn’t going to share. It wasn’t her secret to share.
“I don’t want her to get hurt Brij.”
“We can’t protect her from ever getting hurt. We can only hope she won’t.”
“Then I will pray.”
Brij was soon called away by one of his client and Pari took a deep breath. The people attending were not entirely unknown to her and many of them sought her out and told her that they were happy to see her at a party again.
They reminded Pari of a time that seemed like it was a lifetime ago. She had been a party girl before life had sobered her up. But this was not the time to be maudlin.
“Here’s the person I was searching for!”
“Rehaan!”
“Come on, there’s someone I wanted to introduce you.”
Pari followed Rehaan as they made their way through the crowded room. If this was a small get together for the Khurana’s she wanted to see what real big parties looked like.
“Pari, Meet Vickram Kaul, Annie’s boyfriend.”
Pari understood why Rehaan introduced them. Pari had strangely wanted to meet the guy that Annie had chosen. They exchanged some small talk. As she observed them something about the way Vicky and Annie interacted felt absolutely right.
“So did he pass your scrutiny Angel?”
“Huh?”
“You have been observing Ann and Vicky quite seriously. So did he pass?”
“I don’t know Vicky enough to pass a judgement Rehaan.”
“Are you always this cautious?”
“What do you mean Rehaan?”
“Are you always so careful with everything you do?”
Pari was silent for a minute trying to compose her answer.
“I have spent too much time with Geet. I am not at liberty to divulge her secrets but word can hurt worse than physical wound Rehaan. I take care not to do that to anyone.”
“And the fact that the last interaction you had with your husband was a fight doesn’t play any role in this habit of yours?”
Pari reeled back with shock. Her eyes showed her pain for a moment before she composed herself.
“How do you know about that Rehaan?”
“Once I had heard Brij talk about it with Maan. Of course at that time you were just a name of someone in Brij’s family. Now, seeing you being so cautious all the time I just had to ask. I am sorry if I am overstepping.”
Pari nodded. She stayed silent. When Rehaan was almost sure that Pari won’t speak she spoke.
“I am not sure Rehaan. I want to say no but that might not be true. The last thing I heard my husband tell me was how he hated what I had become. I don’t think that was his final opinion of course. I know he told Brij veerji he loved me. But my last memory of Yash was that of bitterness and anger and that’s not who he was. And nothing in this world would change that. My last moment with my husband was that of anger. If I had known I would have stopped him, kissed him maybe one last time…. anything other than being angry with him. So I try to atone for that by treating everyone with consideration.”
Pari’s eyes were teary and as she looked up at Rehaan’s eyes. His eyes held compassion and understanding and Pari remembered that Rehaan had known sorrow as well.
“Pari, you are brave but I believe I can speak for Yash here. He wouldn’t have wanted you to atone for something that wasn’t a mistake to begin with. Stop punishing yourself Pari.”
“It took a lot of time but I did realize that.”
“Then why?”
“It just have become a habit.”
Rehaan was silent for a minute and then smiled mischievously.
“You can’t be cautious about everything Pari. That’s no way to live life. Somethings are worth taking a leap of faith over my dear!”
Pari looked at him as Rehaan smiled.
“Such as?”
“There’s numerous but the list varies from person to person. The question is Pari what is the one thing you can be reckless about?”
“I don’t think I am ever going to be reckless Rehaan. I am not the reckless type Rehaan.”
“Never say never they say! “
“We will see then.”
*******
The lights were showing from under Arjun’s office. He had been working late almost every night this week but she had expected him to be somewhere else tonight at least.
Knocking on the door she entered into his office. He looked up to see who was entering the room and smiled at her.
“Hey Aru! I thought you would be home by now.”
“I just wanted to finish up some of the files. But I thought you would be somewhere else tonight.”
“I had some work.”
“I thought you would be at Khurana’s.”
“I can’t.”
She just raised her eyebrows and he gave an exasperated sigh.
“Aru, I can’t show up at Khurana’s. Not so soon. And definitely not at a party that was thrown to celebrate Annie’s homecoming.”
“So it’s done. Everything between you and Annie is just over?”
“Yes. There was a finality in her voice and I must say, I didn’t really realize how much I hurt her Aru.”
They were both silent for a moment before she spoke.
“You never told me why you broke up with her. You both had been so much in love and then bam! Suddenly you broke up and you became so busy. Do you want to share?”
Arjun was quiet for sometime before he spoke. She was silent as he spoke only sometimes shaking her head at his stupidity. Men! Sometimes they are so oblivious!
“I want to smack you Arjun. You idiot!! Who does that? “
“I understand now.”
“Do you?”
“I think I do.”
“You treated her as a little girl Arjun, not as a partner life.”
“Is it wrong for me to want to protect her?”
“No, of course not. But it is the way you went about protecting that was wrong Arjun. You might have protected her from physical danger but what about her emotional wounds? She is going to have this wound for lifetime.”
“I did protect her though, right?”
Arjun asked and he looked quite wretched.
“I don’t know if she was protected because you distanced yourself or because she is a Khurana and is always well guarded.”
“So it was all for nothing?”
“Arjun I am not going to sugarcoat things. You did screw things up with Annie badly. She really did not deserve what you put her through. But you can learn from this and be a better man. “
“In few days may be I will try to see this as a lesson but till then I need to just grieve.”
“Of course. So what are you doing here in office? Anything I can help with.”
“Actually a fresh eye might help Aru! It’s a corporate malpractice case. Here’s the file.”
“I will in a minute. I am going to call MacDonald for a meal. You want me to order for you?”
“Sure!”
She ordered their meal and she made herself comfortable to read through the case file.
“Arohi?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for being there. I really needed to talk to someone tonight.”
“Hey, what are friends for? You are a good guy Arjun, just a tad bit immature.”
Arjun laughed at her teasing tone. It was so easy to laugh when she was there to share a laughter with him.
Part 50
Breaking the barriers
Geet was standing at the balcony. Away from the crowd she felt more at ease. She did meet few people she used to know, some of them friends of her parents. These interactions always took toll on her. She needed to take a breather.
The garden was a good place to be. She had just started enjoying her solitude when it was disturbed.
“Geet Handa in flesh and blood! I couldn’t believe when Mrs. Mathur told me you are here.”
Geet turned to find her mother’s friend Mrs. Meena Sood walking towards her. While it was not polite this self important lady was always the biggest supporter of her mother.
“Hello Mrs. Sood!”
“Hello! That’s all you have to say? First you ran away from your home and marry some good for nothing fellow breaking your poor mother’s heart. Then you couldn’t even save your marriage. Now here you are flaunting yourself and throwing yourself at MK! What are you hoping that he would marry you…? Don’t even dream such absurd things.”
Geet listened with utter astonishment at the way this woman was rudely spouting out spiteful things at her. What had she done to deserve such things?
The old Geet would have cowered at such display. But she is not a sixteen-year-old anymore forced to stay at her mother’s drawing room and endure such comments.
“Mrs. Sood! I think you have mistaken me for someone you can bully! Just get out of my sight and leave me in peace.”
“Is this how you behave with elders?”
“This is exactly how one should behave with someone who is as rude and incapable of common courtesy as you. What? You thought it was okay to insult me and you deserve respect for that?”
“No wonder your husband left you. Who wants such brash wife!”
Geet watched her silently before she chose to respond.
“My husband didn’t leave me. I left him.”
“I know girls like you very much. You are here to trap MK now that he is single again. But you don’t have the qualities of becoming Mrs. Maan Khurana. He would be better off with someone like my Sweety. He had always been quite lovely towards her.”
Geet couldn’t help it. She burst into peals of laughter. So that was the real reason. This woman wanted Maan to marry her daughter and felt threatened by her dance with Maan.
But unbeknownst to both of them a third person was witnessing their interactions. Maan had seen Geet go out and had followed her. He had seen Mrs. Sood follow her and attack her. He had thought to intervene but Geet was truly a lioness today.
Maan felt immense pride for Geet. Geet had been so broken when he first met her and now it looked as if she had been reborn from her ashes. He would have let them continue if his name hadn’t been dragged out.
A sharp retort made both Geet and Mrs. Sood aware of his presence.
“Mrs. Sood maybe you shouldn’t speculate about Mrs. Khurana’s qualities. You will just embarrass yourself.”
Geet looked at him and her amused eyes twinkled. Suddenly for the first time Maan saw the Geet Brij had described in the past.
“Maan, come on! Mrs. Sood here was just beginning to describe the qualities of your future wife. We shouldn’t stop her.”
Mrs. Sood was now quite scared. Mr. Maan Khurana was a ruthless businessman and they depended on Khurana corporations for their business. She tried to do some damage control.
“Mr. Khurana! You misunderstand my intention. I just wanted Geet beta to be aware of her situation and not reach beyond her limits.”
“Mrs. Sood, at least respect me enough not to lie to me. Why don’t you go inside and enjoy the party?”
The utter dismissal in Maan’s voice made her leave. Geet still continued laughing. Maan watched a smiling Geet. Geet had never really laughed in front of him. Maan just soaked in her countenance.
“Maan! Don’t be angry with her.”
“Why is that? How dare she come and insult you in my house?”
“She didn’t insult me Maan.”
“How can you say that?”
“Very easily. I don’t give her the power to insult me. I neither care nor respect her opinions Maan.”
“Still?”
“Don’t let her ruin this night for you Maan. You not enjoying your own party will destroy my peace way more than she ever could.”
Maan looked at her again. Her eyes were clearer. It was like suddenly somebody had come and taken away her burdens.
“Something have changed Geet!”
“I have suddenly realized how silly I had been! Oh Maan! I cared so much for people who didn’t care for me a tall. Why the heck should I look for validation from them? Being me is just enough! All along I just needed love from one person only. Me.”
And she smiled. She smiled a bright, happy smile. And Maan smiled watching her smile. He couldn’t hold back. He reached up, held her by her waist and twirled her around.
“MAAN! I will fall down… hey Maan!”
He placed her back on the ground and locked his hands behind her back keeping her captive.
“I will never let you fall.”
“If I still fall?”
“I will believe you can stand up again. Only when I know you can’t will I pick you up.”
Her eyes locked with his as they spoke numerous things. He knew that she was still not ready for anything more but oh! She was in his arms.
The faint music from party inside was reaching them. His eyes dipped down to her lips. She could feel his eyes trace her lips and brought out the tip of her tongue to wet them. His breath was hitched and her lips trembled slightly.
A deep ache within her filled her. She needed him in that moment. She needed something from him though for the love of God she didn’t know what it was exactly. He brought her even nearer to him and raised one of his hands to touch her curls.
Her hair had felt as silky as he remembered. He tucked her hair behind her right ear. The tip of his finger traced her skin from the back of her ears down her neck right to the edge of her dress. She reacted as his finger went down that path. A soft gasp left her lips and she closed her eyes.
She anticipated that he might kiss her. He reached her face but instead of kissing her lips placed a kiss on her cheek before kissing on her forehead. She was surprised with this gesture of his and opened her eyes.
He was looking at her within finite tenderness and chuckled at her outraged expression.
“The next time I kiss you Geet I want it to be because you love me too.”
He heard her gasp of surprise and wide eyes. He knew what he had implied but then, it wasn’t the first time. Only now Geet was in better frame of mind to appreciate it.
“Yes Geet, I don’t want to kiss you because we are drunk or we are in acute emotional pain and needed solace or I needed to stop your downward spiral. I want to kiss you when you love me. I want you to kiss me because you can’t imagine not kissing me for another second. I want you to kiss me like nothing makes sense to you unless you kiss me.”
He whispered the words into her ears and the repressed passion in his voice overwhelmed her. She placed her arms around him and hid herself from the world. She had never felt this safe or secured ever in her life. No! that was not true. She had felt this safe once before. That night when they had made love.
Geet was startled by her own thoughts. When had she begun to think their memory of that night as making love? What did this mean? She needed to look deep in her heart and understand her own heart. But right now she wanted to enjoy this moment with Maan.
Maan tightened his arms around her and Geet closed her eyes breathing in his scent and enjoying their togetherness.
**********
“Brij!”
“Hey Sam! Wow you look good”
“A compliment from Brij Handa! It’s my lucky day.”
“As if I haven’t ever complimented you Sam!”
“True! I am just kidding. So how are you?”
“I have decided to shift. Papa is stable now and I think this is the right time. I would hire some people to work round the clock and will visit daily. But the environment is not helping me.”
“That is great! Have you looked at your living arrangements? There is a flat up for renting at my apartment building.”
“I will check it out. Your place is quite near our house so it will be really preferable.”
“You can talk to Maan! He would be happy to rent it out to you. I am sure.”
“I will.”
“Where is Maan? I haven’t seen him. But the room is buzzing about him dancing with some lady.”
Brij was silent. He was dreading this particular question. He didn’t want to lie to Sameera yet was the truth his to share?
“I didn’t know you would come for this party Sameera?”
Sam looked up. Brij was hiding something. He had always been honest with her but it seemed that he didn’t want to answer her earlier question.
“Brij you are changing the topic.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“I am not sure if I should answer.”
“Maan did dance with someone and he is serious about her.”
Brij didn’t say anything but then she hadn’t asked anything. After an uncomfortable amount of time he spoke.
“Sam, I am not sure I am the right person to answer.”
“Relax Brij. We are divorced. It’s not as if Maan is cheating on me with a one-night stand.”
Brij was about to protest that Maan wasn’t a cheater but something in Sam’s eyes stopped him.
“Sam!”
“I am okay Brij. He has every right to move on. I don’t have any claims on Maan anymore.”
“You are hurt.”
“Curious! She must be a very special lady for Maan Sing Khurana to be public with her.”
“She is. But frankly I am not sure where their relationship stands.”
“As long as he is happy I suppose.”
“You didn’t answer me Sam!”
“Annie invited me. And just because we are divorced doesn’t mean that I need to break contact with everyone of his family. I just met Vicky. They both look really well together.”
Brij was trying to distract Sameera. He knew that she was hurt. He wanted her to enjoy the night.
“Come on!”
“Where?”
“Let’s dance”
“Am I dreaming? Is Brij Handa asking me to dance?”
“I am. A rare opportunity so you shouldn’t waste it.”
Sameera laughed as she was pulled by Brij towards the make shift dance floor. Her laughter made Brij feel lighter but he didn’t question why?
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
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