"A CHANCE TO LIVE"
On the first day away from home, Geet felt free...
On the second day, she felt guilty...
On the third day, she decided to cut short her trip and go home...
On the fourth day, she was in Chandigarh yet again...
As a distraught and pale Yash sat in the garden waiting for some news about his princess, he heard soft snivelling. He turned around and saw his baby sister standing at the periphery of the garden'crying. He ran towards her with such speed that had he taken part in Olympics there was no way he would be any less than first. He was rather relived to see her. He enveloped her in his arms as he held onto her like his life depended on it. He held her so tight that her breathing was becoming difficult. But Geet did not mind it one bit, she hugged him with the same force as she cried her heart out "I so sorry veju... I'm so sorry... please forgive me... I'm so sorry"
She kept apologising as her tears made their way under his shirt soaking it wet.
"Don't you ever leave me again Geet" Yash said as he cupped her face.
"what the hell were you thinking... where were you all this time... how could you do such a thing as running away" he yelled at her for the first time in his life as the realisation of her stunt of running away dawned on him.
Geet had never seen her brother get angry at anyone let alone at her, she was terrified of his outburst.
"Vvveju... I...I...I am...ssorry" Geet said between her sobs "please... don't... hate me"
No matter how angry Yash was at Geet, there was no way whatsoever he could see her crying let alone sobbing.
"It's okay... shh... I can never hate you, you know that don't you. Stop crying princess I cannot bear to see you like this. Please baby stop crying" Yash said as he wiped her tears "it kills me to see you cry"
"I am sorry veerji... I am an idiot, stupid, fool that I ran away. I am so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I felt I was doing the right thing but I never wanted to give you pain. I swear I did not know you would suffer so much because of me, had I the slightest idea it would give you so much pain I would have never run away. I am very bad veju, I gave you pain. I am really bad. But veju I was suffocating in this life, I was... I am so sorry" Geet snivelled.
Yash pulled Geet into his embrace and said "what's done is done. We will not talk about it. All that matters is you're back now"
"You don't hate me na" Geet asked innocently.
Yash placed a kiss at her forehead as he said "how can I ever hate my baby sister"
And then Geet fainted---
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For the past two days Annie and Vicky did all they could to try find that girl from the mall, but much to their frustration they were stuck at the same spot they started with. They asked each and every shopkeeper in the mall about her, Annie described her appearance to one and all present in the mall but it just wasn't her day. No one seemed to know a thing about her. Defeated they decided to leave it on god.
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Khurana Construction was in huge trouble. Maan needed a few temporary architects for the next project undertaken by the KC as almost each one of his architect was down with dengue fever that had hit Delhi recently and those who were not were already working on other projects. Apparently it had been two day's since he'd been interviewing candidates for the job and yet no one seems to fit the bill perfectly. He was frustrated beyond his wits.
One... he had been slapped by a woman two days back.
Two... Savitri Devi was constantly trying to set him up on blind dates.
Three... his brother dev had been missing from home for the last two days though that was nothing new, it was a monthly routine for dev to go missing from home for at least a week.
Four... he knew Annie and Vicky were up to something but he couldn't figure out what.
Five and last... his work was not on track.
All these factors mingled together infuriated Maan to no end.
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"Anything serious" Yash asked as Meera finished examining Geet.
"Nothing to worry about" Meera assured him.
"You sure"
"Yes Yash I am very sure and as matter of fact I'm a reliable doctor, well at least that's what my patience tell me" Meera said placing a hand on his shoulder "jokes apart... there is absolutely nothing to worry about. She fainted due to emotional stress... sometimes emotions like pain, anxiety, and shock lead to a drop in blood pressure and person faints. That's the case with Geet. It's absolutely normal considering how emotional she is. Just make sure she intakes a lot of fluids and keep her happy"
"Thank you Meera"
"She is not just your sister but also my friend so save the thanks for someone else" Meera got a call from the hospital informing that one of her patient required urgent treatment "I'll be going now, duty calls"
Before leaving, Meera turned to face Yash and said "She deserves a chance to live life"
Yash thought about what Meera had just said and somewhere deep inside he knew she was right; Geet deserved a normal life.
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The street lamps twinkled in the gathering dusk as Yash walked through the broad and well laid lanes of Chandigarh; he was going to his place of escape. He walked in the wild as he reached Sukhana Lake from the forest side. He sat there on the edge of the lake looking at placid waters in front of him. Sometimes he wondered this place which in the day time was as lively as a kid, with families enjoying the pleasure of boating, children playing with each other running back and forth, couples eating chana together, young kids pouting for ice cream and in the night it was so serene, so calm like it's no longer the same place.*(I wrote this as fiction, the lake is as lively in the day as in the evening only no boating after seven rest the same)* He comes here often to seek answers to his doubts and now that he was facing the biggest dilemma of his life he knew this was the one place where he'd find his answer.
He sat there lost in thoughts. Was he being unfair with her? Was he depriving her normal happy life? Was his fear of losing his princess above her happiness? He had lost so much at a tender age that the very thought of losing Geet shook him to his core. It was this insecurity that did not let him acknowledge the truth. His mother left him and never looked back, his father lost himself to his mother's betrayal, his family disowned him and his sister coz they considered his mother to be the reason for their son's death and while doing that they did not even once consider the idea that Geet and him were also their son's children. He became Yash Handa from Yash Malhotra, his identity was snatched. Now the only thing he was left with was Geet, his baby sister; he couldn't afford another loss. He knew he was being selfish but he had to be.
As he averted his gaze from the calm waters to look at the mysterious forest, he watched a bird leave her nest and fly away. After five minutes he watched the same bird fly back to her nest.
And he knew---
He had got his answer---
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Geet opened her eyes as she felt a tear drop fall on the back of her hand. Her elder brother, her veju was sitting next to her holding her hand and crying silently. She felt someone stab her right in her heart as she saw the horrific sight in front of her. She was the reason for those tears, she knew it. It was making her hate herself, she despised herself; how could she do that to her brother. In her stupidity she made her brother suffer. She couldn't fathom her own actions as tears welled up in her eyes.
Yash noticed a tear on the side of her eyes as he realised she was awake. He wiped it away with his thumb as he said "princess... please don't cry... it was my fault... I should have---
Geet did not let him finish his sentence as she cut him mid way "no veju... it was my fault. You can never be at fault. It was me---
Yash stopped Geet from speaking by keeping his hand on her mouth "no baby... it wasn't you... it was me... I always knew I was being unfair by locking you here but sweetie I was scared, scared of losing you and this fear prevented me from accepting the truth. Geet I haven't told you anything about our mother... I did not want you to go through what I went through but I want to tell you now... She left us. She ran away with someone... Papa... papa loved her more than his life, he could not endure her betrayal and he committed suicide. Our grandparents disowned us as they did not want anything in their house that reminded them of our mother. That was when Nanu brought us here. I was a kid when she left but I was big enough to understand she did not love us. Within the span of a few days everything that was ours was snatched away, even our identity... I am afraid... baby you are all I have. I cannot afford to lose you, if you leave me I'd die"
Geet had never known the full truth about her mother. All she knew was that her mother had run away. She had not the slightest idea her father had committed suicide, she had been living under the false impression that he died in an accident. That was what grandpa had told her. Now that she knew, she was shattered... no... Not because of what her mother did but the thought of her veju going through all the pain all by himself was unbearable. It killed her to think how he must have controlled his emotions when she asked him about their parents as a kid. She understood his pain, his fear... his love for her. She would never leave her brother, come what may.
"Veju---
"Let me speak first. I am not done" he got up from the chair and walked to stand next to the window while Geet sat on her bed "I was wrong princess, my fear was baseless. I know you will come back to your veju. So... go live life... I want to give you your chance to live life the way you want to... a normal life"
Geet was now no longer sitting on her bed rather she was now standing right next to her brother. She did not want this, though she yearned to be free but not like this, not at the expanse of her veju's happiness; it was way too precious.
"I don't need any chance to live veerji... I am living my life the way I should... I do not need anything else, just your happiness" Geet said.
"My happiness is you being happy and I know you are not" Yash replied.
Geet tried to speak "but---
"Listen to me first. I am still the same selfish brother. I have my conditions" Yash said.
Geet raised an eyebrow and said "conditions"
Yash looked at her with a smirk and said "first... you can go wherever you want but 4 bodyguards will always be with you. Second... you will call me thrice a day. Third... you have 2 months to enjoy your life as grandpa will be coming back after 2 months and he is never to know any of it and the rest of conditions I'll tell you depending upon your plans"
"Veju... wasn't grandpa coming back in three weeks" Geet inquired.
"Yes princess but apparently he has to go to London after his treeth yatra so that gives you more time" he answered.
"I love you so much veju... thank you but I don't want to go on a trip" Geet said.
"But---
This time Geet cut him "now you let me finish first... I want to do something else, give me a day I will let you know"
"Geet---
"Veju don't worry I am not going to leave you and now can you let me sleep... Oh sh*t" Geet closed her eyes as she realised what she had said.
Yash kept his hands on his waist as he looked at Geet with fake anger.
"Oops... I forgot, no using the word sh*t... sorry" Geet said with a cute grin "it completely slipped my mind I had something to give you... stay here I'll get it"
Geet ran towards her bag that was carefully kept on the table besides her cupboard. She undid the zip and took out her purse. She walked towards Yash who looked at her with suspicion.
She came in front of her and gave him a cute smile. She asked him to close his eyes which he happily obeyed. She slipped her hands inside her purse and took out the wooden art piece that was carefully wrapped in paper. She threw open the packing and asked Yash to extend his hands forward. She kept it on his extended palm as she told him he can open his eyes. Yash slowly opened his eyes and he was overwhelmed to see the simple gift his baby sister had given him. It wasn't expensive but it was still priceless for him. Everything that Geet gave him had to be priceless nothing less nothing more.
At that moment there was just one thing that Yash wanted to say and he did say it "you're the best sister anyone could have but I am the lucky one... love you princess"
With that said he kissed her on the forehead and asked her to go to bed. Just as he was about to exit her room he saw something lying near the bed. He bent down to pick it up and realised it was a mobile phone. It was then that Yash thought Geet was not smart enough to have planed this entire escaping thing on her own. Someone must have helped her.
Geet saw Yash looking at the cell and she got a faint idea about what he could be thinking. Geet did not have a cell of her own as she never left the mansion and Yash was not dumb enough to ignore it. Geet was in a fix as Yash looked at her as if asking her where she got the cell from. There was no way she could involve Pari into all this. Arjun though a very good and sweet person, he was a strict disciplinarian and insanely possessive about his sister. Geet had to keep Pari out of this.
Before Yash could voice his question which Geet had already read in his eyes Geet replied "veer I bought that in Delhi in case I needed it"
Though Yash wasn't satisfied but now that Geet was back he let it slip.
"Princess you really need to learn how to lie... you're pathetic at it" He said before exiting her room.
Geet bit her lip as she realised she had been caught. Yash was right she was a terrible liar. Her face, her eyes, her body language all betrayed her when she lied.
Once Yash left her room she tiptoed to her study, picked up her laptop that was kept on the study table. She opened the drawer and took out the charger and a dairy that was kept hidden under the newspapers in the drawer. She sneakily entered her room, closed the door behind her and turned on the side lamp.
She opened her dairy and penned down her feelings.
She was on cloud nine. Her veju had given her the biggest happiness of her life and now she had to make a proper schedule of how she would enjoy the two months of freedom.
She put her laptop on charger and turned it on. She connected to broadband and logged in Google.
And then---
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Maan could not sleep all night. As he closed his eyes that one face always flashed in front him, the image of her hand on his cheek was live in his mind. He hated it. He was beyond enraged, it was not his left cheek that she slapped but it was a slap at his ego. Maan Singh Khurana wouldn't spare her.
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Her eyes fluttered open as she heard the morning alarm. She threw the covers away as she made her way to the washroom. She had a quick shower, got dressed and hurried down the stairs towards Yash's room. She knocked at his bedroom door waiting for him to open it. It had been 10 minutes since she had been standing outside his door with no response from his side; she was getting restless with every passing second. That was it. She had no more patience to wait. She banged at his bed room door vigorously until she heard approaching footsteps towards the door.
On the other side of the door Yash was lost in his peaceful slumber. It was the first night in the past four days that he slept peacefully, content that his princess was back safe and sound.
He woke up with a jerk as he heard violent bangs at his door. He jumped out of his bed fearing if something was wrong with Geet. What if she had run away again? No... She wouldn't do that.
He rushed to his door and as he opened it he came face to face with Geet.
"Veju... kitna sote ho aap... ab chalo mere saath" she did not let him speak a word as she pulled him to her room. She made him sit on the bed as she gave him a paper and asked him to read it.
He looked at Geet with shock and surprise written all over his face as he finished reading that piece of paper.
"What is this" Yash asked flabbergasted "why would you want to do this?"
"I told you I have something else in mind" Geet replied.
"Out of all things you chose to do a job... I thought you wanted you wanted enjoy your life"
"yes... I wanted to... lekin veju... now I want to try myself... I have always got everything without even asking... jabse choti hun apne meri har jayas najagas zid puri kari hai... it's like I have grown up while being spoon fed, you know, constantly babied... when I was waiting for my train to arrive at the Delhi station so I could come back home, I saw a kid not more than 3 standing bare feet wearing an oversized partially torn shirt---crying. I saw a woman probably his mother rush to him and scoop him in her arms. She wiped his tears as she consoled him. She told him usse rone ke zaroorat nahi hai uske papa ko aaj wage milne waali hai and they would get a proper meal then... you remember veeji when I was 8 and I wanted to eat butterscotch one evening. It was raining heavily that day. ghar pe vanilla and chocolate ice cream thi but I only wanted butterscotch. You drove all the way to sector seventeen just to get the ice cream for me. It took you 2 hours to bring it for me because of the rain. Ek taraf I have always got everything I ever desired without doing anything to earn it. Aur dusri taraf there are people who can't even afford a proper meal... I want to something on my own. I have to prove myself that I can make it on my own. Before you protest let me tell you one thing I know you can provide me with everything but I don't know if I can provide for myself. Just one month veer... please"
"meri pyari choti si baby sister itni bari hogayi and mujhe pata hi nahi laga... I am really proud of you"
"does this mean you agree?"
"the way you like see it... well then yes it is"
"love you veju... thank you so much"
"btw princess I gave you two months didn't I... what's this one month thing"
"I am not interested to spend my entire time working, you see, I just want to try my hand it but it's not like I will continue working and for that matter I don't think you will let me. ok now coming to the point. The first month I want to work and the next month I want you to take me on a world tour"
"you want me to what" Yash asked.
"Take.Me.On.A.World.Tour." Geet replied.
"what about nanu" he raised his eyebrow.
"that is for you to handle... like you said he is never to any know of it and he will be in London anyway. So I spare you London tour. Main internet pe dekh ke kaam chala lun gi but leaving London aside you better plan a nice vacation. You have a full month for the preparation. And mind it, it is going to be Geet Handa's very first trip so you better make it worthwhile" Geet said with a smirk.
"your wish is my command" Yash smiled.
"Geet... how were you so sure that I would let you do a job. I mean you already applied." Yash inquired.
"let's just say you under esteemed my judgement. For a fact I know my veju quite well, you see, unlike you" Geet replied with a smirk.
Though Yash had given his consent to Geet he still did not want her to go. he tried reasoning with her "but... um... uh... you don't need to do a job in Delhi... you can join me"
"aagaye na appne asli avtar mein, over protective brother... first... I have done my bachelors in architecture and if you need to be reminded you are in hotel management, so working with you ruled out. second... I wouldn't work with you anyway as what would be the use doing a job then, you wouldn't let me do a thing. Third... grandpa is never to know about all this so if I join you there is no way you can stop him from knowing" Geet said in a matter-of- fact tone.
"okay... if not me you can at least do a job here in Chandigarh. Why Delhi in particular" Yash wanted her to stay with him.
"if I do a job here certainly I will be staying in the mansion because as far as I know my veju there is no way he would let me stay anywhere else... my point is simple, if by chance my boss shouts at me for some mistake of mine and you find out about it which is guaranteed coz I am very miserable at hiding things from you. so like this way, you will leave no stone unturned to make my boss's life a living hell thereby ruing my job which is something I do not want should happen considering this will be my only chance. Now about Delhi, it was nothing particular about the choice of place. I was surfing the net last night and came across this advertisement on the net. I liked the job and above all its a temporary setting, they need a few architects for their upcoming project. It is a month job only. So basically it met all my requirements and I applied." Geet said.
With that said Geet told Yash all about the job. They spent the next two hours discussing about her interview. Yash gave her some tips regarding how she should behave and conduct herself during the interview. Then, around 10 in the morning Yash left for his office. He had a lot to do in one day as Geet would be leaving for Delhi the next day.
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It was the third day and not even a single architect had been hired. Maan was angry beyond his wits. He took out all of his frustration on poor Aditya. Maan blasted at him every five minutes. To add to his frustration Savitri Devi had just called him to give him yet another reason to be enraged. One of her friends' grand-daughter was coming from London the next day and his sweet-sweet dadi had invited her to come stay with them in the mansion. Her motive was not hidden from Maan. He knew exactly what was cooking in her evil mind. And just in case this was not enough she had also promised her friend that Maan would personally receive Naintara at the airport. There was no way whatsoever he would receive that uh... what was her name... whoever she was. He is THE MSK, he doesn't receive people, well his family members are fortunate enough to have him receive them and they better be content with it. But here the case was different; Savitri Devi's reputation was at stake. She had given her word and Maan would abide by it. He wouldn't let her down, not ever.
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The next day Geet left for Delhi with Yash, she tried her level best to talk him into not coming to drop her all the way to Delhi. But it was of no use.
There were three reasons for Yash going along with Geet to drop her to Delhi...
First... he wanted to.
Second... he had to make sure everything was right for her and moreover he knew no one will be able to convince Geet about his plans apart from him.
Third... he was pretty sure Geet will not be selected for the interview.
Yes, it was evil on his part to think so but he had his reasons. Geet was not experienced and the company where she applied was one of the best in the country. Besides, he personally had met the owner quite a few times in business parties and from all he knew he was sure this man despised women especially the ones who talk nonstop and his baby sister for one headed that category and he knew Geet would be her real self during the interview; she was way too innocent to fake. He was happy in a way, he never truly wanted Geet to do a job but at the same time he wanted her happy. He was proud of his princess there was no questioning the fact but still he was the same brother, he hadn't changed and being true to his demeanour he still didn't want his princess working under anyone. She was born to give orders, not follow them. Above everything else, he knew how delicate his princess was.
"ek chitin ko dekh ke darr jati hain" he chuckled as he remembered how she'd clung to him the first time she saw an ant in her room. She was hell scared. She did not enter her room for the next five days.
She'd been brought up in a very protective environment, not even an ant was allowed in her room. She was completely oblivious to the reality of the outside world. She was too naive and innocent to survive in this cruel world. Or so he thought. But he also knew how much she wanted this and moreover it was not like he would leave her. A minimum of four bodyguards will always be near her actually that's what he told her in reality not less than ten but she needn't know that. She will stay in the villa he'd bought for her yesterday though he knew he was going to have a hard time convincing her. He'd made sure to appoint the best security agencies for her safety about which she was never to find out a single thing. After all he was well aware she would virtually murder him if she finds out she was constantly watched by live cameras. He had two cars ready for her; she will definitely not use public transport. He'd arranged her house keeping staff, cooks, and everything else she was used to. She wanted to a job, fine, but she never said she wanted to amend her lifestyle. He knew his reasoning was vague but she would have no option but to oblige. Anyway, if she would crib about it he had another card to silent her. He had already made it clear that he had his conditions and his baby sister will have to agree. He was the elder one, she had to obey him but he also knew who the boss was and definitely it was not him.
He braced himself for her reaction as they neared Delhi.
She had her interview scheduled at 12 noon and it was 11 already. She asked the driver to directly go to the interview centre as she was not going to be late.
About an hour later she came out all smiling and cheerful as she hugged Yash.
"I made it... can you believe it... I am going to do a job... Oh my god... this isn't real... veju I'm so happy... appko pata hai jab main andar gayi na meri jaan atki hui thi, mujh se pehle jitney bhi candidates andar gaye sab ka bura haal tha interview ke baad. Sab ka face was like they'd seen some ghost. But it was smooth... I mean least for me it was... and you know what---
And she continued with her blaberring as Yash looked at his baby sister in awe...
THANK U😳... will add u😃Originally posted by: luvabbybaby
Oh this is awesome please add me to ur pm list!
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