Destiny's play-Last Part, Epilogue-Pg 74,81 (2/4) - Page 48

Originally posted by: kadydeep

Ishaan is already a budding businessman....😆.......and is jealous of his papa demanding his mom's attention.....3 babies are already exhibiting their personalities......The fic has wrapped up too soon for me.😔

I am really gonna miss your daily fic updates ....

Yes, the babies are distinct from each other, having their own personalities although Maan is a little too hasty to draw conclusion about their careers based on that. Thanks Deeps.

beautiful ending!

Epilogue

Six years later

Arjun sat at his desk in his office looking at the wedding invitation and smiling ruefully. It was the invitation to the wedding of his first wife Anwesha with Yash. There was a letter accompanying the invitation, which was written by his sister, Geet.

Arjun, I am sending you the wedding invitation of Anwesha and Yash not because I want you to attend it but to just keep you informed that Anwesha has moved on with her life. Please do not show up at the wedding and make us unhappy. While I bear you no grudge I would still like to keep you at a distance because your presence would open up a lot of old wounds. At the same time I want you to find your happiness wherever you are for all said and done, blood is still thicker than water.

Geet.

A single large tear fell from his eye on the letter and blotted her name. She had simply signed it 'Geet', no 'Yours lovingly' or 'Your sister'. He guessed he has no right to expect anything more, for he was at his despicable worst with his own flesh and blood. Inspite of it all, he has received far more kindness than he deserved. After being locked up in prison for nine months, he was let off relatively unscathed, thanks to Maan's generosity and sense of righteousness. He had dropped the embezzlement charge against him, granting him freedom from prison life. He had also given him the money equivalent to fourteen percent stake in the erstwhile Handa Group of Hotels, which was originally willed to him by his father, at the prevailing market prices of the merged Harana Group of Hotels. As the market prices had gone up substantially after Maan took over the company, this was a pretty decent sum of money. Maan gave him the money under the condition that he would use it to set up business in another country and never step into Handa House again.

When Rano asked her son-in-law why he was being so generous and magnanimous with Arjun, he responded that he had his reasons. He dropped the charges against him because he did not want Arjun to suffer for a crime he did not commit. As to the crimes he did commit, he was not competent enough to mete out punishment to him as he was a mere mortal. Arjun will receive his due from the one above. The reason he gave him the money was because it was something his father left him. Although he did not want him in his company as he could not trust him, he was not in favour of depriving him the wealth which was rightfully his. So he had given the equivalent money instead and asked him to start off independently. Moreover, for all his depravity, it was Arjun who united him with Geet, although his intentions were not honourable. He will never forget that as long as he lives.

Arjun was shamed by Maan's acts of generosity. He vowed not to interfere in their lives again and left for Turkey where he started his own group of Hotels, Rano Group of Hotels in honour of his mother, whose strength of character he admired. He owned three hotels and was doing reasonably well financially. His only remorse was that he lost out on a beautiful family, thanks to his own wickedness. He felt his penance was to lament this loss in solitude for the rest of his life.

Maan's acts of generosity did not stop with his family alone. He had engaged many people from his chawl in different positions in his hotels. He had also set up a school for the under privileged in the outskirts of Mumbai and made Manju and Venkat the Principal and Correspondent, respectively, after the two of them took voluntary retirement from their services. He had also set up a fund to help street kids in Mumbai and worked with Mr.Patekar in this regard. He continued to sponsor the expenses of the orphanage Ashadhan.

Geet resumed her singing career after the children started schooling. Only now she limited herself to playback singing and did not accept invitations for stage shows or music videos. She also continued painting and sketching during her free time. Maan had organised an exhibition of her art collection which was received well.

Anwesha and Yash finally tied the knot in a simple yet meaningful ceremony. Although Maan wanted to celebrate his sister's wedding grandly, Anwesha preferred it to be low key, especially after the debacle of her first marriage. Maan had respected her wishes, for after all they had waited six years for this day and he wanted nothing to displease her. Immediately after her divorce came through, Yash had proposed to her but she was reluctant to accept. Her first marriage had made her so bitter with the entire institution of marriage that she did not think she can go through it again. She also felt that Yash deserved better than a 'second-hand' wife. Although Yash tried reasoning with her, assuring her that there was no one more important than her in his life, and her past would have no bearing on their future together, she was resistant. Yash was equally stubborn and refused to marry anyone else other than her. He waited patiently for her acceptance for nearly six years, despite pressure from his family to get him settled down. His parents were retired civil servants and lived in New Delhi. He was their only son and although initially they were not too pleased to hear that their son was in love with a divorcee and was determined to marry her only, they gave in when they realised the strength of his love. Finally Yash's perseverance paid off as Anwesha realised she loved him as much as he loved her and accepted him into her life.

Soon after their marriage, they left for their honeymoon to the paradise on earth, Switzerland, courtesy Maan who sponsored the entire trip. Rano and Baba went on a pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi to give thanksgiving for all the happiness their families have got. Maan, Geet, Sameera, Dev, Adhi and Pinky decided to go on a short trip with their kids to Alibaug. They stayed at Maan's hotel and visited the nearby beaches.

That morning they went to the nearby beautiful Kashid beach. As the adults sat together on the pristine sands staring out at the blue green sea, the children went around collecting the colourful pebbles and shells that dotted the beach.

Soon Sahana came running to Maan, squeezing her eyes with her hand and pouting her pink lips.

"Dadda, Ishan pushed me down!" she wailed, complaining about her brother and showed him her bruised elbow.

"Chh...chhh.. my poor baby, don't worry," he said sympathetically, examining her bruise. "Dadda will make you as good as new, sweetheart." He blew on her bruise and asking Geet for water, he washed the bruise. Opening the small first aid kit he always carried with him whenever he took his kids out, in anticipation of such exigencies, he found a band-aid and spread it on the bruise.

Looking sternly at his son who was standing nearby, he ordered, "Ice, say sorry to your sister."

"Sorry," said Ice in a small voice.

"Louder!" he commanded.

"Sorry, Sahana," Ishan said in a slightly louder voice.

"I'm sure you have a louder voice than that!" persisted Maan, raising his own voice.

Ribby tried to bail her brother out. "He did not mean to push her, Dadda. We were playing and by mistake he dashed against her and Sahana fell." Sanaya, Sameera's and Dev's four-year old daughter nodded her head in agreement.

"Maan, leave the poor boy alone. Go on kids, go and play. No more pushing and shoving," Geet intervened and sent the kids back to play. Bhavya, being the eldest of the lot, protectively led the others away.

The men wanted to swim in the sea and stripped down to their swimming trunks. They called the kids back to join them.

"Ice darling, are you angry with Dadda?" Maan asked him, kneeling before him so that he could look him in the eye. The little lad shook his head.

"Petal and Ribby are your sisters, aren't they? Isn't it your duty to take care of them?" The boy nodded his head emphatically.

"Good, now get ready to go swimming with Dadda. Petal and Ribby you too join in."

The kids excitedly changed into their tiny swim suits and ran with their fathers into the sea. Geet shouted out to Maan to keep an eye on Ishan as the boy had a weakness for water and may run too deep into the sea. Maan nodded understandingly and kept him close to him but managing three excited kids was difficult. He called out to Geet to help. Initially Geet resisted but then gave in and stood at the edge of the sea, holding the hands of her two daughters. Maan who was standing further in with Ishan, stretched out his hand and pulled her arm in order to draw her close to him. A large wave came just then and drenched them all. Meghna and Sahana squealed in excitement and fell on top of Geet who went sprawling on the wet sand. Maan fell on his knees and enveloped his entire family protectively in his large arms. Sanaya, who was on Dev's shoulder, clapped at the sight of her triplet friends entangled with their parents. Adhi walked up to them and pulled up Maan with one hand, holding on to Bhavya with the other. Soon the Khurana family was back on their feet. Dev and Adhi turned around and asked their wives whether they wanted to join in but seeing Geet drenched like a wet crow, Sameera and Pinky politely declined.

An hour later the two women called out to the rest at sea for lunch. While the men and the kids changed into their clothes, Geet looked pathetically at her wet dress. She had no change as she did not expect to go into the sea. Understanding her plight, Maan asked her to change into his shirt in their car. He covered up the windows and the front and rear glasses with the many towels they had and stood outside guarding her while she slid into the car and changed into his shirt and wrapped a large towel around her waist. After washing the bonnet of the car to get rid of the dust and grime, he spread out her wet clothes on it.

As the kids all wanted to sit together for lunch, the three women decided to make them sit in a circle in the middle facing them out and started feeding them so that they don't mess up their dress and also eat faster. Maan took care of feeding his daughters, while Geet fed Ishan, Sameera fed Sanaya and Pinky fed Bhavya. Once the kids finished up, their parents had their lunch. The kids sat close by playing word game where one kid starts by naming a place and the next one names another place which begins with the last letter of the first place and so on. As Sanaya was too young to know names of many places, they relaxed the rule for her, saying she can give any word that begins with the letter they give. The adults were amazed at how many words little Sanaya knew.

After the adults finished their lunch, Maan called the kids and asked them to help him build a huge sand castle. The children excitedly agreed and brought their buckets and spades, furiously digging out sand and passing it on to him so that he can build his castle. "Bhavya, bring me some more water, dear. Ice, a little more sand please. Petal, come here.. pat the sand a little more. Ribby, dig slowly dear. The sand is flying all over the place! Sanaya darling, don't go too close to the castle. Stand here and watch. Bhavya, darling, can you get me some weeds?" He kept giving instructions, totally absorbed in his task. As he was clad only in his vest and bermudas, having given away his shirt to her, Geet could not help but admire the rippling muscles of his biceps which glistened with sweat. Soon the kids and he were successful in building a huge castle replete with a moat and a garden. The women clapped their hands appreciatively.

"Dadda. Can I ask you something?" asked Ice.

"Yes, darling. What is it you want to know?" asked Maan genially patting his hands together to get rid of the sand and dragging his son on to his lap.

"Why do you call us Ice, Ribby and Petal and not Ishan, Meghna and Sahana as everybody calls us?"

Geet glared at Maan, "I told you this will come up sooner or later."

"Yes, Maan why have you given them these weird names when they have such beautiful ones?" asked Sameera curiously.

"Yes, tell us Maan," goaded Dev, Pinky and Adhi in unison.

Geet's face went red but Maan seemed unperturbed.

"Do you really want to know, kids?" he asked.

The triplets nodded their heads. Bhavya and Sanaya were equally curious.

"Well...." he turned to give Geet a meaningful look. She shook her head vigorously, indicating that he should not spill the beans.

"I gave you these names because...... Ice, you are a super cool dude, as cool as Ice." His son lifted his collar up and looked proudly at the girls.

"Petal darling, you are as soft as the petal of a flower," he said caressing her cheek with the back of his fingers. Petal smiled coyly.

"And Ribby here is short of Ribbon." He dragged his ever smiling, bubbly daughter to him.

"Darling you are like a colourful ribbon which binds things together. You are the gregarious peace maker of the family."

Ribby looked pleased with the compliment although she did not understand the meaning of either gregarious or peace maker. The three kids trotted off with Sanaya, Bhavya as usual playing the mother hen taking the rear and herding them.

Once they were out of ear shot, Sameera who was not convinced with his lame explanations, persisted. "Come on Maan, you can fool those innocent kids, not us. I am sure there is some other meaning to your strange nick names for your kids."

Geet's face was turning increasingly red as Sameera went on prodding Maan. Maan scratched his head, wondering what to say to shut her up. Noticing the discomfiture of the couple, the rest of them sensed what could be the real reason. Dev pulled Sameera's arm and whispered to her to stop embarrassing her friends. Sameera was still dense and did not know what he was hinting at. Finally Dev whispered to her that it must have something to do with the babies' conception.

"Ice, petal and ribbon.... I still don't get how these can be associated with conception," wondered Sameera aloud, making Dev hit his forehead in frustration.

Maan smiled sheepishly realising that his friends had guessed the truth. Geet punched Maan's chest saying that he invited this on himself by continuing to call them by their nick names he had given them when they were in her womb.

"Darling. Why are you probing their bedroom secrets? Leave them in peace, baby." Dev tried shutting up his loud mouthed and tactless wife.

The rest of them burst out laughing as finally it dawned on Sameera what they could possibly mean. "You have some nerve Maan, to keep calling them those names. Soon your kids will also not be convinced by your lame explanations and would demand the truth."

"Well, if they do, then I will sit with them and explain everything. After all it is a good way to start explaining to them about the birds and the bees, isn't it?" he laughed at Geet's angry look.

"By the way, when are you guys going to give Bhavya a baby sister or a brother?" asked Maan looking at Adhi and Pinky.

"We are not intending to, not after I witnessed what Pinky had to go through with the first." Adhi said categorically. Maan nodded understandingly. He wouldn't have had the guts to see Geet go through the entire process again. Good that they got three at one go.

"But does she not need company?" asked Sameera.

"Look who is talking! What about you, young lady? When are you intending to bless Sanaya with a sibling?"

"Soon," said Dev confidently. Sameera looked down shyly and admitted to being six weeks pregnant.

"That's great news! How come you are telling us this good news only now?" asked Geet hugging her friend. Sameera said that she wanted to break the news at an opportune time. Maan and Adhi slapped Dev's shoulder and congratulated him.

"Have you told Sanaya, yet?" asked Geet.

"Yes, we have. She is very excited. She wants a baby brother. She says there are too many girls and Ishan is the only boy. She wants one more to give competition to Ishan."

"I can understand that," said Maan and pointed to his son. "Look at him strutting around like a lion amongst a pride of lionesses."

Sure enough Ishan was busy trying to boss over the four girls. The rest of them burst out laughing at the sight. Geet and Maan walked up to their car to check whether her dress was dry. Realising that the afternoon sun had baked it dry, Geet went in and changed into her own clothes, handing over Maan's shirt to him. Buttoning up his shirt, Maan whispered in her ear that he enjoys wearing his shirt now more than he did that morning since it has caressed her body and has absorbed her fragrance. Geet blushed a deep red and punched his arm.

Later as they all sat on folding chairs under the casuarina trees that lined the beach, their kids on their laps, sipping hot tea and munching at the hot bhajjis bought from the nearby tea stall, they recollected the amazing moments of their lives and how they were all intertwined. None of them, except Adhi who had always loved Pinky, ended up with partners who were their initial choices but they couldn't have asked for more suitable life partners than they have, thanks to the intervention of destiny. As Maan put it, they were indeed truly Destiny's chosen children.

Maan really has a golden heart and righteous to the core...Arjun finally realized his follies...An awesome day at the beach..Ice finally asking the reason of their nicknames......😆....Maan to got away this time...I am sure the kids would figure it out on their own in a few years.....Poor Geet....so embarrassing for her. I agree with Maan,what ever is written in our destiny is bound to happen for our betterment...

Thanku Opti for giving us a very nice ff. Are you planning on a new one anytime sooner?
Once again congratulations for another superb ff.

loved the part 😊

Maan still calls the kids Icy ribby and petal..😳

thanks for giving a wonderful ff...hope you would definitely write a new ff something for us soon..tc

Originally posted by: kadydeep

Maan really has a golden heart and righteous to the core...Arjun finally realized his follies...An awesome day at the beach..Ice finally asking the reason of their nicknames......😆....Maan to got away this time...I am sure the kids would figure it out on their own in a few years.....Poor Geet....so embarrassing for her. I agree with Maan,what ever is written in our destiny is bound to happen for our betterment...

They truly are Destiny's chosen children.

Do you plan to write any more fics?😳

thanks Deeps. Yes, Ishan asking the question Geet always dreaded he will ask someday. Geet will just have to pray her kids do not guess when they grow up. Yes, they are destiny's chosen children. No I'm not planning to start any new fic. Will try to complete the existing one. If you have not read my other fics, here is the link to them.

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/geet-hui-sabse-parayee/1601740/my-fanfics-on-maaneet-links-updated-16-3

Originally posted by: scorpiodreams

Thanku Opti for giving us a very nice ff. Are you planning on a new one anytime sooner?
Once again congratulations for another superb ff.

Thanks scorpio. Not planning anything in the near future.

Originally posted by: zaara2212

loved the part 😊

Maan still calls the kids Icy ribby and petal..😳

thanks for giving a wonderful ff...hope you would definitely write a new ff something for us soon..tc

Yes, Maan is still using their nick names. Thanks Zaara.

lovely epilogue. loved the way maan explains Ice, petal n ribby. end of an awesome ff. congrts 4 this one n hope 4 da next. enjoyed reading this.