Chapter 9:
Unfortunately for Geet, what she wanted and what actually ended up happening were two very different things. Within two days of finding her again, Maan had snapped up control of her life, and taken care of everything, absolutely everything that was necessary for her and the kids to move back to India with him.
And less than a week later, Geet found herself landing at the airport in India, seeing the smiling faces of Dev and his wife Dhara, ready to welcome them back.
"Bhabhi!" Dev yelled out, enveloping her in a bear hug before he turned towards the kids. "You have no idea how excited everyone is back home to meet you all! Who knew that Bhai would go alone and come back with his family in tow?"
Geet gave a heartwarming smile to her brother in law, who had quickly become one of her closest friends, a confidante, someone she could go to for absolutely anything as she tried to adjust to her new life in upper class society soon after she had married Maan. She had definitely missed him in the last six years, and was genuinely happy to see him once again.
"It was a surprise for all of us, but well, now that your brother found us, there was no other option. He always gets what he wants, now doesn't he?" Geet responded, shooting a glare at her husband through her sugar coated words.
And of course, dear Dev was, as always, clueless to the tension that was floating around him. He cheerfully picked up Diya and Dhruv, and walked ahead, leaving Dhara to walk with Maan and Geet, who were both lugging all the luggage that they had carried back.
-|||-
Nothing had changed in the past seven years. The house itself nor the people that lived inside of it. As the six of them entered the driveway of the Khurana mansion, they were welcomed by Lalit and Gayatri Khurana, Maan's and Dev's parents, and Annie and Avinash Saxena, Maan's sister and brother-in-law. Geet was swept up in a series of hugs, and was welcomed back into the house with a huge smile from everyone.
But the people who drew the most attention?
Easily Diya and Dhruv.
Lalit and Gayatri were overwhelmed to see their oldest grandchildren, with tears easily falling from Lalit's eyes as he hugged them close. Turning to Geet, he took her hands in his own, and said "Thanks so much Beta, you don't know how much it means to me to be able to finally meet my Maan's kids. I thought I would leave this world before ever seeing them"
And Geet quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, before he could utter another word.
"Shh Bauji, don't say that. You'll be here for a long time, you have to play with these two and Dev's kids as well" Geet softly smiled, wiping away the tears from her father in law's cheeks.
She had come to love Maan's parents as her own, after all, that was the first taste of a real family that she had ever experienced. And they were wonderful during the initial stages of their marriage as well, supporting her and encouraging her not to give up on her husband as he did his damned best to ignore her presence in his life. Lalit Khurana was the absolute perfect father, someone who had always been there for his kids, every step of the way, someone who loved his wife to pieces, even to this day, forty years into their marriage. And the soft smile that was playing on her face quickly turned sour, as she thought about how unlike his father her own husband was, someone who could never strike that perfect balance between family and work.
She was disrupted out of her thoughts by a baby giggling, and looked up to see Diya and Dhruv playing with a baby girl, maybe a year or two old. And she smilingly made her way towards her kids. "And who might this little cutie pie be?" she asked in a baby voice, slowly lifting up the baby and blowing raspberries on her stomach, making her giggle some more.
Annie smiled up at Geet as she responded "Geet bhabhi, meet your little niece Ishita. She's Dev bhaiya and Dhara bhabhi's daughter"
Geet turned to her brother in law and berated him playfully for not even mentioning his little angel to her. And she carefully made sure to avoid the eyes of the man sitting right next to Dev. Everything was perfect now, she was actually with her family, and looking at Maan would only trigger the release of all those unpleasant thoughts. No need to ruin the moment by thinking about all the problems that would present themselves really soon.
And right then, she decided.
She would enjoy her time with the rest of the Khurana family to the fullest. And Maan? Well she would just deal with him later.
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Soon enough, the ladies were congregated in the kitchen, with Dhara and Annie filling Geet in on all the gossip she had missed in so long. Gayatri was standing on the side, watching her daughter and two daughters in law with an amused look on her face.
"And that Chopra uncle, you know, the fat one?! He disowned his daughter after she married tha ugly pothead son of the Raichands" Annie was saying.
"Ew, you mean the one that was caught up in that drug scandal a while ago? Poor Chopra uncle" Geet answered back, her lips pursed together as she tried to hold back her laughter. But one glance at the other two women, and the three of them burst out laughing.
"Poor man my foot! He totally deserved it, for being such an old, fat, grouch"
A hand came over Geet's shoulder, and she looked back, startled, only to find Maan standing right next to her, a tiny smirk playing on his face. "So what are you beautiful ladies laughing about?"
Annie and Dhara glanced at each other, an eyebrow quirked, "Bhai, Bhai. Sighh. You have a lot to learn my man, a lot"
"A lot" echoed Dhara. "We get that you want your wife, but this is simply just horrible. You're obviously in need of some serious practice" she continued, shaking her head disappointedly.
Maan rolled his eyes, while the other two women were giggling. And Geet? She was standing stiff, expressionless in his hands, biting down on her tongue to keep herself from saying something that was simply cruel.
Gayatri stepped up in front of Maan and Geet, and, taking both of their hands into her own, she thanked them again for coming back. "I feel like the happiness has returned back to this house with you Geet." She smiled.
"And I'm really glad that you both are together again. Whatever this buddhu did last time, just forgive him for it, and start anew. Just don't throw us another shock like this, my dear, I don't know if Lalit and I will be able to handle it this time around."
And Geet smiled back queasily, while Maan jokingly answered, telling his mother that now that he had found Geet, he would never be letting her out of his sight again.
And at that, she shot him a death glare.
-|||-
Maan and Geet found themselves shoved upstairs to freshen up. And as soon as they had entered Maan's room, well technically, what was once their room, Geet simply stopped walking as she took in her surroundings.
"So Geet, changed your mind about staying at the Khurana mansion, remaining my wife and the mother of our kids?" Maan's voice interrupted her thoughts, and she glanced back to see him leaning in the doorway, his hands crossed over his chest, as he had a devilish smile lurking on his face.
She turned back and marched into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her, trying to shut him out of her life. But he had already taken over it completely.
She couldn't leave the Khurana mansion now.
Not after everyone expected her to stay. And she definitely couldn't leave Gayatri and Lalit like that, hurting them again.
Splashing water on her face, she looked at the hollow and pale face that stared back at her, dark circles under her eyes, her hair all messed up.
He had trapped her successfully.
And now, she was stuck doing exactly what he had intended for her in the first place.
😊
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
Arjun
Cricket
