Chapter 6
Sukhdev Lal Handa was a man who lived life according to his code of honor. It was how he had made decisions from the time he could do so. It was how he had managed to obtain so much respect in his village and even in the region beyond. When that honor and respect was threatened, he could see the life he had built for himself and his family crumbling. He was not happy to be put in a situation where an alliance with the Khurana family was the only option, but he could see no acceptable alternative. Maan's agreement went a long way to easing his deeply hidden fears, and he was only too ready to agree with any condition. His son saw things a little differently.
"Wait, Daarji," requested Mohinder, stepping forward, "before any arrangements are discussed, I want to know what these conditions are."
"Chachaji, he has agreed to the marriage. That is enough. All this talk is useless," stated Brij, who clearly wanted things done and over with.
"No," Brij's uncle stated firmly. "Last time I kept silent, but not this time. I won't see Geet married without clearly knowing what these conditions are, and how they will affect her."
Daarji and Brij looked warily at Maan, as if they thought he would object to his would-be father-in-law's declaration. On the contrary, Maan felt a slight admiration for this man, the first he had felt for any of the Handas. At least one of them was finally showing some genuine concern for their girl. He could see that Savitri was going to respond to the girl's father, but he stopped her. He preferred to explain things himself.
Crossing his arms, Maan began. "I have two conditions. The first is that nothing will happen until Geet and I have spoken together, privately."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Geet, who had been looking down at the floor, glanced up in shock. Her eyes dilated and her breathing turned shallow, as memories began to race through her mind. It was all so much like that first day when Dev came to see her, that there was almost no difference between memory and reality. Brij veerji objected that their family did not allow boys and girls to meet together before marriage. A small argument ensued, after which Daarji agreed that they could talk for a few minutes. Only her father seemed a bit unnerved by the whole thing as he asked what the other condition was.
"I am an extremely busy man, and I do not have time to waste on a lot of ritualistic nonsense. This marriage will be a very simple court marriage. Tomorrow we will visit the district marriage office and file an application. After the thirty day waiting period, we will return and complete the necessary procedures. During this time Dadima would like to get to know Geet better and wishes that she should stay here. However, I think you can understand my reluctance to have you all as house guests, considering the situation. You all can return briefly in a month, but after that, I expect that you will leave. I do not want any disturbance in my house over this matter, nor do I want a bunch of uninvited guests to be occupying my home indefinitely."
Maan's statements again outraged the Handas, especially Brij. How could they be expected to leave Geet alone in Delhi before she was properly married? Daarji also took issue with Maan's assumption that they would turn into unwelcome houseguests. It was not their sanskar to live in the house of their damaad, and Daarji was highly offended that Maan would suggest such a thing. Maan was unrepentant over the offense, in no mood to apologize or pacify.
Naintara watched secretly from the balcony as the people below discussed the marriage of Maan veerji with that girl. When she and Dev had first discovered that the Handa family had come to the Khurana mansion, they both beat a hasty retreat, fear of physical reprisal from Brij their main emotion. Yet, Naintara was unable to stay away, curiosity to know what was happening eating her insides. As shocking as the idea of Geet and Maan marrying was, she would deal with that later.
Seeing the Handas standing in the main room of her home, Naintara was struck with an idea to end all her problems. It was so simple and obvious that she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. With the Handas here and their presence occupying Maan veerji's attention, she would have no trouble doing what she wanted. With a new focus and confidence, Naintara quietly moved away from the balcony's edge, and back down the hall.
She quickly walked back to the room that was shared by her and her husband, face furrowed in thought as she considered her plan. Dev was still there, pacing back and forth, clearly worried. Naintara rolled her eyes at how helpless he was. This entire situation came about because the man she had married was a weak fool, unable to solve his own problems. He had always relied on Maan veeji to get him out of trouble, and once she came into his life, her.
Naintara didn't necessarily have a problem with this kind of dependence. It made it easy for her to manipulate Dev and see that things turned out the way she wanted. At least that was how it worked most of the time. When Dev did something stupid, like running up such high gambling debts, that was when she wished she could have found someone smarter, like Maan veerji, to marry. But, if that had happened, then she would have had a much harder time controlling her husband. No, Dev was the best one for her. She just needed to keep a closer eye on him and make sure that he didn't do anything stupid again.
"Sweety," she crooned, walking over to him and putting her hand on his arm, "what's wrong?"
"What's wrong? What's WRONG?" Dev looked at his wife like she was crazy.
"The Handas are hear in the house, probably telling Dadima everything that we did, or after my blood, and you ask me 'what's wrong'?"
"Dev sweety, don't worry about it. Nothing will happen. This is our home, they can't do anything to us here."
"But why did they come, Naintara? What do they want?" Dev played with his glasses, a sure sign that he was upset and uncertain.
"Don't worry about what they want. Maan veerji is handling them," she assured. Putting on her best cajoling face, she said brightly, "The most sensible thing for you to do is to go to work, so that you aren't late and get written up. That would be a sure way to get Maan veerji angry after he gave you this chance. He will handle the Handas, I'm sure, so there's no reason for you to worry."
After making sure that Dev had all his things to go to the office and sending him off with a wifely kiss, Naintara got down to business. She pulled out her suitcase that was still mostly unpacked and began pulling things out. Hoping that the item she sought was still undisturbed, she threw her clothes haphazardly on the bed. When she reached the bottom of the suitcase, there it was, just waiting for her. Picking up the item, she smiled her first genuine smile that morning, happy that she could finally get her life back on track.
Precap
"Let go. Don't touch me!"
"Why? Will my touch ruin your purity?"
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