SS: 'RECYCLED DESTINY' epilogue pg 87 - Page 20

Originally posted by: mchopra

Mmm tht was cute...No wy doesnt she rem anything...thts not at all HINDI FILMY style..hehe..

ok sorry stupid Joke..

will be waiting for more..

thnks for the Pms bindu..u are a real sweetheart..

Ps: I sort out the stuff..it was nothing..i was just being stupid..but she being a sweetheart just laughed at me ..

14. Story time

He observed her closely as he continued at her insistence, seeking for signs of recognition but all he could find was shock and sympathy for Geet at times and the rapt attention of a very involved listener. He stopped at the point were Geet had lost the baby.

While they were talking they had moved closer to each other, he purposefully and she unknowingly. Now, she was within the range of the span of his arm, which he had stretched out on the back of the sofa. She had tucked her feet under her and her legs touched his. A slight pull, and he could have he flush against his body, a body that heated up with the mere thought! His hands itched to do just that, but a small but sane part of his brain mocked him... imagine how she would see that action... here he was in reminiscence of his of his great love for his dead wife and using that opportunity to make a move on another! What an image to present to the woman you wish to impress, to whom you are about to declare your undying love!

But Baabaji, how long would he have to suffer this torture?  He knew he was her husband and he craved for her with every cell in his body. Being with her so close all made all his senses alert to her and the perfect atmosphere of romance he created, now became a terrible test to his self-control! The fragrance of her hair dampened the smell of the roses and the wet earth... The shadows in the room  highlighted her glowing face, casting his eyes off everything but her... The warmth of her legs that touched his started to burn ... In the silence that now prevailed as she absorbed their story, the sound of the rain became a background score to the rhythmic whisper of he breath... he just needed to lean in a bit to taste those soft lips...

"Maan ..." those lips opened with his name, jerking his attention back from the fantastic world of his senses.

"Maan," she called again hesitantly. "Would you be offended if I say something about your life with Geet?"

"No," he replied eager to know what she wanted to say...did his words strike a spark on her subconscious?

"Promise me!" she demanded.

"I promise," he said solemnly.

"Your life with Geet is no less than a romantic movie...at times I felt a kind of deja'vu, as if I have experienced what Geet went thru' ... May be I've seen what you have told as a part of a movie..."she looked at him suspiciously and asked "Are you trying to pull my leg by telling me a movie track as your life with Geet?"

After the initial shock, Maan burst out laughing and hugged her close.

"Oh, Mishty! What am I to do with you?"

She tried to push herself free so that she could look at his face and asked him when she managed to do that, "Why are you laughing, Maan?"

"Nothing. I was laughing at life in general... sometimes it throws the most unexpected at you!" he soothed her indignant expression with a gentle caress on her cheek.

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He kept his arm around her and adjusted himself so that her head rested on his shoulder and his right arm encircling her anchored her to his side.

"Why don't you try to sleep? It's late into night."

He felt her nod on his shoulder and smiled.

"Maan...can I ask you something? I'll understand if you don't want to answer." She said quietly.

"What?"

"Why did you separate? Annie said the accident occurred when Geet left you and came to Amritsar alone... I don't want yoou to answer if it will hurt you to remember!"

"No, it wouldn't hurt me to tell you. In fact I want you to know... I told you Dev was back in KM and Geet was forced to endure his presence. I did not like it, placing Geet in a position were she had to attend to him coz she was the Khurana Bahu. I told Dev to take charge of the Gurgaon office. But then we lost our baby and I was more concerned about Geet's condition. Then I saw Geet telling Dev that she forgave him. I was so furious abt her decision that I walked off without confronting them. I couldn't accept that she did that without talking to me. We didn't get a chance to talk it out...may be I was so disturbed that I didn't listen when she tried to. Then on the day of Holi I saw Dev with the rest of the family, they all accepted him back and played Holi with him as if he did nothing wrong! As if he hadn't destroyed the life of an innocent for his gains! As if he didn't cheat an 18 year old and left her to the mercy of her brutal brother!!"

He took a steady breath and sat up straight, making her face him.

"It made my blood boil, to see Dev wish her Holi, to see him touch her cheeks with his stained hands! She just stood there accepting his touch and instead of moving out of reach, as I wanted her to, she put tika on his forehead...a mark of respect that a Bhabi gives her Devar! I cud hardly accept what I had just witnessed, when I saw Dev following Geet to the kitchen."

Looking into her eyes he continued, "The tight rein of anger I held broke to see them together in the kitchen...facing each other as if they had a perfectly normal Bhabi-Devar relationship. I accused Dev of charming his way back into into our lives, of having hidden motives, of trying to create problems between us. But Geet, she got burned coz she was there. When Dev said she had forgiven him it was like pouring ghee into the already raging fire. I turned at her then and judged her to be guilty of that crime. How cud she forget all that he did to her, I asked? How cud she let herself be charmed by Dev?I accused she had 'safed khoon' running thru' her veins which made her forgive Dev for all the sins he had committed!"

He bent his head down and covered his face with his hands, the guilt of his remembered words making him tremble with remorse. Her gentle caress soothed him, it reminded him that his harsh words had not cost him his life, no Baabaji had forgiven him. He gave him back his Geet, gave him another chance with her.

  She hated seeing him like this. His head which always had an arrogant tilt to it, bent down as if in guilt. Poor Maan, she thought as she caressed his back, after all he did for Geet...to loose her forever coz of his temper and that too more directed at his brother than Geet. She understood that Maan never meant to hurt Geet, then why didn't Geet? May be coz she was thinking from a third person's perspective. She put her arm around him and pressed her cheek on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Maan. But I feel any person who loved like you did and who saw her suffering wud have reacted the way you did. I can understand her being hurt, but how cud she forgive Dev? How cud she leave you coz of your anger at the obvious?"

He turned his head to look at her and saw pain and anger for him reflected in her eyes. How many times had he imagined pleading her forgiveness, how many times had he raged at Baabaji for not giving him a chance to do so? But never in his dreams, never in the million times he asked her pardon in his dreams, had he felt this relief... a relief so great at her acceptance of his action. He cud leave the matter here...accept her support for him as her forgiveness. What she didn't understand wudn't make him unworthy. But this was his Mishty...he didn't want any one judging her wrong, even if it was she herself!

He pressed a kiss on her forehead and placed his hands on her cheek.

"No, Mishty, don't judge her so, don't misunderstand her...don't do the same mistake I did! Forgiving Dev was the ultimate selfless act from her, a sacrifice she willingly made coz of her love for me. Once she had accused me of wanting to marry her to save Dev, by this she was trying to make right the wrong she felt she did to me. She forgave him coz he was my brother, she wanted to give me back the relation I had lost coz of her. She believed that by forgiving Dev, she severed the last tie that bound her to her past. She wanted to start afresh you know, to be mine completely, without the shadows of her past misfortunes clouding our life."

He took a deep breath, "but instead of cherishing her most precious act of love, I threw it back at her in contempt! I let my anger cloud my mind and branded her unworthy, accused her of falling into Dev's charm again. I ripped opened her barely healed wounds and made her bleed! Bleed from the wounds of betrayal and humiliation that Dev inflicted, bleed again for her baby. In a span of seconds I made her relive her dreadful past, not just  dev's betrayal, but also that of her family and left her all alone again without any support, without hope, without a cause to live. Coz this time it was I who slashed her with my thoughtless words, her saviour, her protector who had vowed to shield her from all pain"

The only sound that followed the confession was the sound of the now quietened rain.

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Maan was relieved that the final hurdle was over... That which he thought was necessary to be cleared before he reclaimed his Mishty. He wanted her to know that he understood her being hurt and the extend of the hurt he inflicted. It may have taken him years to confess but the weight was off his chest, now. There was nothing more important to be said at present. He had planed to declare his love for her when they had started this evening out. But now he was happy, that Baabaji had given him this chance to resolve a much more important matter. May be he will have to wait for another day because he didn't think tonight was the right time to do it. Tonight he wanted to sleep calmly with a soothed soul.

He wondered what was going on in her mind. He pulled the center table closer and stretched out his legs on it. He looked at her and found her watching him. When he opened his arms to her, she leaned into him without hesitation. She adjusted herself to lay her head on his chest and hugged his waist, as if it was the most natural thing to do. His hands closed around her and he pressed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. Why was there a need for words when the actions spoke volumes!

"Goodnight, Mishty." And added in his mind, "my love!"

"Goodnight, Maan." She replied quietly.

With a contented sigh he closed his eyes and gave himself up to sleep.

Simi listened to the strong heart that beat against her ears. She was amazed at the greatness of him and wondered if he would ever love her as deeply as he loved his Geet. But it didn't matter anymore, because he had already etched himself in her mind and soul. If he loved her even to a small extend of the way he loved Geet, then she would be the happiest woman in the world...if not, she loved him enough for both of them. How could she not, after tonight! She cudn't sleep, no not yet...she waited for that slow rhythmic breath that told her that he was asleep. Then she stretched up a bit and tilted her face to touch her lips to his. "I love you, Maan" she whispered softly.

She went back to her original position and closed her eyes with a contented smile, unaware that a similar smile stretched across the lips that she had just kissed!

So, how is it this time? Did I make you happy? Or are you still unhappy that Geet didn't remember their love? Hope this part will remain in a corner of your mind if I don't get time to write another update... In case you need an incentive to do that...

Geet rubbed her cheeks on his chest in sleep and whispered, "Maan..." His Mishty was probably dreaming about him, he smiled at the thought. He wondered what she was dreaming ... Would it be some 'x-rated' ones, like some of his? No, better not let his mind wander to those pastures, not in the present condition he was in!