Maaneet SS: Waiting for You *Complete* - Page 35

Chapter 11:

Geet was growing more and more exasperated by the minute. The entire morning, Maan seemed to have spent ignoring her very existence, from the minute she stepped downstairs. Sure he had made her breakfast, but the fact that he just placed it in front of her, and sat across to eat his own silently, drove her nuts. When she tried to make conversation, he seemed to be looking right through her. Sure, she had brought up the oh so wonderful topic of weather, but still, he could have made some sort of conversation.

"Maan?" she said again, hoping he would respond this fifth time that she was calling to him.

But all she was met with was a blank stare.

He wanted to respond, he really did. He absolutely positively wanted to laugh the entire morning as he watched her try to make conversation. Why she was so insistent on talking to him with the situation the two of them were in, he really didn't know. But he knew he would continue to ignore her. Make that would quell that inner turmoil that was raging through him.

Picking up his plate, he slowly got up and walked towards the kitchen, noting the absolutely exasperated and angry look that was resting on her face.

And that made her absolutely furious.

She jumped up from her chair, marched over in front of him, and poked him square in the chest.

"MAAN! Seriously! This has got to stop. Now. You've insulted me, humiliated me, took your revenge, whatever the heck you want to call it. And I'm sick and tired of the damned situation we're stuck in. How the hell are we supposed to survive this entire week together if you're out to get me, and aren't even willing to listen to a single word I say?!" She huffed angrily, staring at him with a fierce look in her eyes, and he was momentarily taken aback.

"Fine. Let's go sit in the living room, and you can say what you have to say."

-|||-

Maan took his seat directly opposite that of Geet's and stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to offer her explanation.

"What do you need to tell me?" He asked grouchily, his arms folded over his chest as he leaned back in his chair and watched her.

Geet refused to let her anger get the better of her and ruin this situation. Trust, Maan was acting like a first rate jerk, but she couldn't, she wouldn't let her temper loose. It would defeat the whole purpose of this talk.

Sighing, she began, looking him square in the face.

"Maan. I don't know how many times I'll have to apologize before you truly do believe me, but I'm really sorry. I know I made a few mistakes-"

"A few?! You think you only made a FEW mistakes?" he interrupted her with a look marked by disbelief etched on his face.

She raised her hands in surrender, "Fine, a lot of mistakes. Happy now? Can you just let me freaking finish what I'm trying to say. It's already difficult to put it in words without you interrupting me every few seconds" she answered back, exasperated.

And he merely grunted in response.

Taking that as a sign of his agreement, Geet continued.

"I'm sorry for all my mistakes. I didn't obviously set out to hurt you. I loved you Maan, and I honestly couldn't bear the thought of you with another woman. I simply couldn't stand it. No woman can. And that's why I ended up running away, not wanting my kids to be brought up in a situation where they knew their dad cheated on their mum, in an unhappy home, and just a never ending mess."

She glanced up at him from under her lashes to see that he was actually paying attention to her words, his hard glare softening a bit as he heard her voice tremble with each word she spoke.

"Last night, I did some thinking. I thought about everything from your point of view. I thought about your words, how you said I hurt you. Because I thought about how hurt I was when you pushed me away from you, when you left me yesterday."

She closed her eyes, willing the tears that were now clouding her eyes to not fall.

"And I realized how much I hurt you by leaving you, then not telling you about our babies, and just not trusting in you completely. And I'm so sorry Maan. I really hope you can forgive me because I really would like to start anew this time." She broke down completely by the time she finished, as the tears freely dropped and she buried her head in her hands.

"And you think that's enough?" came the biting reply, shocking her out of her wits. She looked up sadly to see Maan staring at her, annoyed. "Actually no. The real question I have for you is why you never trusted me the first time around. I was your husband. I told you I loved you. I was with you every free second I had. And you still found a way to jump to conclusions and run out of our marriage at the earliest chance you got. Care to explain why?" he growled, as he stood up and walked up to her, stopping only when he was towering directly over her.

And that's when Geet knew she couldn't keep everything a secret from her husband.

If she wanted him back in her life, if she wanted them to be happy again, she would have to tell him the truth, the whole truth, and well, nothing but the truth.

"Because of my dad, Maan. Because of my disjointed family" she answered quietly, as she stood up slowly, and clutched his shirt collar, burying her face in his chest and letting out a sob. Maan's hands automatically went around his wife, smoothing her hair over, as he waited for her to speak, confused as to what she could possibly mean.

"Everyone thought they knew my dad, the great and perfect Mohinder Handa. But they only knew what a great businessman he was. Not the true nightmare, horror he embodied. How he cheated on my mum every chance he got. And how he didn't give a damn about her ever in his life. Especially after she failed to produce the male heir he so earnestly desired" she continued to cry, her voice muffled now as she refused to bring her head up.

Maan was suddenly shocked, surprised to find out this new piece of information about his father in law. Tightening his hold around Geet, he slowly sat down on the sofa, and seated her on his lap, whispering soothing words in an effort to calm down.

The Mohinder Handa had cheated on his wife? Maan's eyes widened as realization finally dawned upon him. But before he could say a word, Geet continued, sniffling, her voice all raspy because of her crying.

"And I know it's my fault. But I couldn't trust you completely Maan. What if you did the same thing to me that my dad had done to my mum? What if you just cheated on me like that? My mum never said a word against him, but he ended up killing her Maan. That bas***d killed my mom because of his actions and I didn't want that to happen to me!" she cried out in an anguished voice, the pain that she was feeling evident in every word she spoke.

"And you never thought to tell me Geet? You didn't to tell your own husband what was going on, how you felt?" he asked silently, his voice reflecting the hurt that he felt.

Geet slowly cupped his face with her hands, as she leaned in to place a soft kiss on his forehead, before she rested her forehead against his. "I wanted to tell you Maan. I did. But I didn't think you would believe me. My dad never believed me, never trusted my mum. And I thought what if you ended up like my dad, cheating on me, first with Naintara then with someone else?"

She slowly pushed herself back, and got up from his lap, walking over to the window on the side of the room, before she continued what she was saying. "I know this doesn't excuse me for what I've done Maan, but I really do hope that you understand now. That you understand why I left at the first sign of trouble, why I never was able to completely trust you, or any man for that matter. I know I should have told you this before as well, but I just couldn't. I never told anyone else, and never realized that this was what was holding me back from trusting you. I made a mistake in jumping to conclusions, and assuming you were having an affair with Naintara. I'm sorry." She ended so softly, that her last words were barely audible to Maan, who was standing right there.

And Maan was silent, not really knowing how to respond, how to react to what Geet had just told him. His anger was now replaced with sorrow, at the fact that he had missed out on all these years with his wife and children just because she couldn't trust him, but the other side of him saw where she was coming from, finally found her actions justified by her reasoning.

And he knew what he had to do.

Getting up slowly, he walked up behind her, holding her by the shoulders as he turned around. Lifting her chin up with one hand, he dropped a feathery light kiss on her mouth, as he mumbled apologies against her lips.

"I'm sorry Geet, I'm so sorry for not trusting you. I should have tried to understand, tried to figure out what was going on, and I hurt you so much, both in the US and back here, even yesterday. I was just so angry and thought that hurting you would make me feel better"

"Shhh, I understand Maan. You don't have to justify yourself to me. Because the both of us were wrong. And now we just have to start again" she smiled through the glistening tears.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I'm so sorry" was the only whispered response she got from Maan. The man she had always seen as undeniably strong, ready to face anything and everything that was headed his way. That same man was now breaking down right in front of her.

And the dam broke then, tears pouring down Geet's cheeks as she gripped Maan's shoulders tightly, as he placed kisses all over her face, as he pulled her towards himself, and buried his head in her neck.

"I've missed you Maan, So much"

"And I've missed you too Geet," he answered back hoarsely.

And the two of them cried.

This time together.

But this time, they were tears of happiness.

Happiness that they had finally forgiven each other.

Picking her up in his arms, he carried her to his room upstairs, ready to rediscover the love that had remained buried for so long, restaking the claim that he had on her.

-|||-

Maan woke up a few hours later to see Geet staring at him with adoration, her eyes lighting up as she saw him look towards her.

"I love you Maan" she whispered softly, a smile dancing in her eyes.

"That's good Geet" he responded promptly, and hid a smirk as he saw how her face fell at her words.

"Good?"

"It's fantastic. Absolutely wonderful. Want to know why?"

When he saw her nod, he smiled, reaching over to pull her towards himself.

"Because I never stopped loving you Geet. You've always been on my mind these past years, and you don't know how happy I am to have you in my arms again. I love you Mrs.Geet Khurana" he said, his hands already roaming everywhere on her bare body.

She snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his chest, as she heard him continue "And this time, we're going to make our marriage work. We'll learn to trust each other, actually talk to each other, and love each other more. Because I don't think I'll be able to stand being away from you ever again."

And in response, she captured his lips with her own, ready and willing to transport themselves to a different world altogether.