Chapter 42: Will you be mine?
You offer me the stars,
And I can only give my heart,
You ask for a piece of me,
And steal my soul.
The string of connection,
That binds me to you,
Makes me a part of you,
Never to be stolen away.
Geet just watched with a throbbing heart as the man she loved kneeled in front of her child. This is my world, she thought, these two are my life.
She had been worried about Mel, whether her daughter would be capable of accepting Maan in her life but Maan had somehow understood her doubts and had addressed them in the sweetest way. There could have been no better way he could have proposed marriage to her, no better way of showing his acceptance of Mel.
"Will you be my daughter?" Maan continued, while putting a hand on Mel's head. And at that moment it was about Mel. Maan knew that Mel was the most important person in her life and that she would sacrifice her happiness for her daughter's. But that wasn't the only reason he was asking Mel.
He had lost a child; one that he had not known about but he still felt the loss. He who had never wanted a child could now feel the attachment in the form of Mel. Almost unknowingly he had allowed Mel to enter his heart as his daughter, letting the grief of loss of a child die as he gained another one.
He watched the small girl nervously, wanting to appear calm and not pressure her but internally he was a mess.
"Mama said that my dad and mum died" Mel's eyes were big in their naivety and innocence but Maan was reminded that this child had already gone through a loss that no child should have to endure. "They are in heaven watching me."
"I know darling" Maan couldn't help but lean over to give a kiss on her forehead before continuing. "And I lost a little boy to heaven as well. So till we can meet them again, why don't I be your father and you can be my daughter?"
Mel looked intently at his face before asking, "Will you always be with me and never leave me?"
And how can one not love a child like this? Maan felt a pain in his soul at the child's question but the answer was simple, "Never"
It was only then that Mel gave a shy smile and nodded. "Yes, you can be my father"
For a second Geet wondered, how can the world be so beautiful? If there was one moment of her life that she would want to remember while dying this would be it. There could be no greater sign of love then to watch him accept her daughter as his own and nothing could give her greater peace then to see her daughter get the love of a father.
Maan picked Mel up and put her on his lap. He felt such happiness on earning the child's love. With it he could feel the sense of responsibility and a feeling of completion.
But there was more to achieve. "Well darling then from now on you are my daughter" He tweaked her nose while he said this, covering his emotions. "But what will we do about your Mom?"
"She can be with us," Mel answered promptly, not understanding she was saying exactly what Maan expected her to say.
"You want her to stay with us?" Maan sounded surprised, garnering an eye roll from Geet.
So dramatic, she thought with a smirk, understanding his tactics. Tricky man!
"Well, if she wants to stay with us, we have to get married darling. Only if you want her to stay." Maan continued on, studiously avoiding Geet's gaze and focusing on Mel. "But I don't think that your Mom wants to marry me, so you have to ask her."
Mel promptly turned towards Geet and said with an adorable grin, "Mama will you marry Knight?"
Geez, way to lay on the emotional blackmailing! Geet couldn't help but be amused. "Darling, why don't you go and get some ice-cream from the cart over there"
If anything could distract Mel it was ice-cream. She eagerly nodded, grabbed the money from Geet and run towards the ice-cream cart.
"That was low, using ice-cream to get out of a sticky situation" Maan shook his head in mock sadness.
"Oh I guess you are the only one allowed to use tricks" Geet raised her eyebrows. "Emotional blackmailing and using my daughter I guess doesn't count as tricks?"
"Using your daughter" Maan's eyes widened in fake surprise, "Whenever did I do that?"
Geet rolled her eyes at his comment, even while a smile spread across her face but just as quickly the smile softened with a dreamy look in her eyes. "You'.you always amaze me" The words were spoken with tender care and love. She didn't know how to explain the way she felt about him at that moment but that was the best she could do. "Why do you do things like this and make me melt into a puddle?"
"You are the one who is amazing" He looked at her with such intensity that it nothing else mattered, as if she was the focus of his being. "I have never met anyone like you and I know I will never meet anyone like you. You have such strength. I can't imagine what it would have taken to rebuild your life the way you did with Meliara and to raise her the way you did."
"Mel is my..soul. I would give up anything for her, do anything for her happiness." She looked back at her daughter who was cheerfully having her ice-cream cone while sitting on a swing. She didn't doubt Maan, not after seeing his love, but as a mother she had responsibilities. So she had to ask the question, "Maan did you truly mean what you said to Mel?"
A part of Maan felt a pang of pain that she would ask this but then he saw the look of trust on her face and the love for Mel. He understood her dilemma; this question wasn't really about them instead a mother making sure that she would make not the right decision but the best decision for her child.
"Geet, Mel is an extension of you" He reached for her hand in a subtle manner. "She is like an imprint of yours. I love everything about you, everything! So how can I not love her? But the truth is even if she wasn't yours, there is something about Mel that makes me feel as if she was meant to be mine. Both of you belong with me"
"I promised that I won't ask you after the three tries. So I won't ask. There is no need to ask because we were always meant to be together despite all that has happened. Every moment away from you just made me realise that there can never be anyone else for me."
His words took her to another world. It was a world where she had dared to dream and where they would have never spent a moment apart. It was where they were living happily with their child.
He gently slid on a ring onto her finger. "This was always meant to be for you. I was to put it on your finger the day I came back, so it has been years in waiting. But in end it is where it belongs. Just like we are and will be together."
He picked up her hand and pressed the softest of kisses. Geet felt a tear slide down her eyes at the overwhelming feelings. But he wasn't finished talking. "I won't ask you to marry you because in my heart you are already my partner, my soul mate. Words like proposal and spouse were something I had never considered and even today they have no true importance to our relationship. However I want to make sure that we are bound together for not only this world but forever. I just want to make sure that there is no doubt on anyone's mind what we are to each other. So that is why we are going to get married. To make sure that every morning I wake up in your arms and have my world right next to me. So that even when I take my last breathe I'll be in peace knowing that I can never be separated from you.
And that single moment made her yearn for something that she had thought she had come to accept as impossible.
This time it was she who picked up his hand and pressed her lips against his palms. She held it against her face for a moment more, wanting to feel his touch. He was so precious to her that she wanted to hold onto him forever.
"You never had to ask, I was always yours" Her words were barely above a whisper. "You are the dream that I never knew I had and the desire I yearned for secretly. From the moment I met you I think my soul knew that it had met its other half. And from that moment on I could never be with anyone else. It is why even at my loneliest moments I was never alone because you always lingered within me. Life with me won't be easy; I have issues that may never be dealt with. I am stubborn and come with emotional baggage but I promise that no matter what happens I will love you. I will be your wife, your partner, your other half...I'll be whatever you want me to be"
Maan had thought he had experienced happiness at its Zenith but nothing could compare to the sense of contentment on hearing her acceptance. This is perfection...utter perfection. Nothing else could describe how he felt.
He opened his mouth to say something but Geet pressed her finger to his lips.
"But I have one condition, one demand" Maan's eyes widened at her words and the slight pain in her eyes as she spoke. "Promise me you'll agree"
"I'll agree to whatever you ask" He meant it for nothing was too good for his girl.
"I want a child" She pleaded. "I want your child. There are a few things I can still dream and wish about...I have lost that ability...but this one of the rare things that my heart still yearns for. We lost our child once and gained a child in Mel. So it's not about being a mother, as I am already one. Still I want another child, someone to complete our family. Please fulfil my dream."
Maan immediately shook his head. "NO!" He knew the risks that having a child would impose on her, having read her medical reports. He had wanted a child for himself but nothing was worth her life. He could never risk her life. "I won't let your risk that. Never! You know that you could die while pregnant!"
He expected her to rant or get angry instead she gave a bitter sweet smile. "I don't expect you to agree...at least not yet. But I have time to convince you otherwise."
Maan was disgruntled by her response. "You cannot change my mind on this"
Geet giggled at his annoyed look and reached forward to press a kiss on the edge of his lips. "Don't sulk, my husband-to-be."
Those words soothed his heart, knowing that she was willing to be with him. "Well you do know that traditionally the wife is meant to obey her husband. Husband knows the best." He smirked, knowing that she hated his arrogance.
Geet raised an eyebrow. "Well...we will see who will do the obeying Mr Khurana. Don't forget I cut people open for a living, so a little blood and knives are a common thing for me"
Maan burst out laughing at her comment. "Oh god, you are crazy."
"Only for you" She winked at him, reminding him again of his Belle. "Anyways we better get up before my...no our daughter decides to ask what we have been talking about."
So with hands intertwined they walked towards Mel, ready to take the next step in their life.
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Virender could feel the excitement at being set free. Even the few days behind bars had made him crave for his freedom.
And it also had strengthened his anger at his son.
He would make sure that his son will pay for his arrogance and wouldn't let him sleep in peace. It would take time to plan but Virender was confident that he could destroy Maan.
This time he would make sure that his son was permanently put out of action and would never dare to go against his father. He would also teach Vicky a lesson, that upstart would understand the cost of messing with Virender.
It was with as Virender was having these vicious thoughts and walking towards his car that he suddenly saw headlights flash in front of him. Before he could react the car crashed into him, slamming his body away.
"Are you sure you didn't kill him?" Amru said in her usual emotionless voice, clearly not caring much either way.
"Sadly no" Sanji smirked, "I wasn't going fast enough to kill, just to maim and fracture"
"Seeing as that is what we planned, it's all good" Aashu didn't even bother to lift her eyes from the newspapers, instead continued to read.
"Let the asshole lie on the ground for a while" Amru finally grinned. Even she gained some enjoyment in seeing the man crumpled on the road.
"Well, he can be wherever he wants but we need to get out" Aashu reminded while turning a page.
"Right you are" Sanji retorted while speeding away. "And we have to tell Vicky darling that things are, like usual, going according to plan"
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Vicky was grinning, ecstatic at the success so far. He watched through the window of the room to see Virender bandaged while lying on the bed.
Virender wasn't seriously injured but would need to stay in hospital for a few days. The point wasn't to hurt him but to nurture the feeling of helplessness.
We will see how much more of this you can take, Vicky smirked at the thought. He again wondered whether it was normal to feel such glee in seeing your own father in such a state but then again Virender wasn't like any other father.
Vicky picked up his mobile and made the call he had waited to make.
"Hell bro, its time" Vicky said while still staring at Virender.
"Is it?" Maan sounded calm, surprising Vicky. "He isn't too badly injured, is he?"
"No bro" Vicky answered back, "Just enough but nothing that won't be fixed in a couple of days. He will be out of hospital soon."
"Good" Maan smirked, knowing that everything was going to his wishes. "Remember you have to follow my plan Vicky, we have to be circumspect. It will ruin everything if anyone understands what we are doing"
"I understand" Vicky agreed but he couldn't help adding, "Still it does make my hands itch to beat him with my own hands."
"I know how you feel Vicky" Maan sympathised with him. "But we have to look at the bigger picture. Make sure that he suffers every moment for the rest of his life. Only then can we get peace."
Vicky sighed. "I hate how you are always right. Anyways what are you doing there for so long over there?"
"Just needed to tie some loose ends" Maan couldn't help grinning as he said that. "Fixing some mistakes."
"You sound smug, well more so than usual" Vicky could read his brother's voice easily. "Is there anything I need to know?"
"Well...she agreed" Maan couldn't keep the happiness out of his voice. "She is finally willing to move forward"
"Poor girl" An evil Vicky couldn't help retorting but just as readily felt joy for his brother. "And congratulations to you. She is certainly a lovely woman. If you weren't in love with her then...well lets say she would have found it difficult to resist the Vicky charm"
"Brat!" Maan chuckled at Vicky's attempts at teasing him. "Put the phone down before I decide to go back and kick your ass"
"Well you are coming soon anyways. See you then" Vicky reminded him.
"Of course"
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Geet was on cloud nine as she went to bed that night. Never had she felt such happiness!
She couldn't help but replay the whole day over and over again in her mind. He had made it perfect; making sure that she made up with her parents and then making sure that her daughter would accept him.
That is love, she thought with a smile. The ability to understand and trust without inhibitions.
Suddenly her phone rang, breaking Geet's dreamy state.
"Hello" She answered, not recognising the number.
"Evil witch, how are things?" A familiar voice made her smile widely.
"Sebastian Petrelli!" She smirked. "Do you have no sense of time? It's nearly midnight"
"And I knew that my insomniac friend will be awake." He smoothly retorted back. "Need I remind you the numerous times you woke me up! Plus you are in my bedroom, so you should be grateful."
Geet gave an inelegant snort, "Grateful my ass. Need I remind you all the times you crashed at my place. Anyways do get to the point"
"I am hurt!" His mock sad voice didn't fool Geet for a moment. "Do I need a reason to call my best friend?"
"Such a drama queen!" Geet giggled. "Fine, I have all the time in the world to chat with my best pal"
"Well...now that you do mention it there is a reason for calling you" Seb admitted with another laugh. "See when one is about to get married, one calls his best mate and asks them to be the best man. So seeing as I only have you, I'll have to make do with a best woman"
If it was possible, Geet felt even happier. "Oh my god Seb! This is great! I am so pleased for you and Naina!"
"Naina?" Seb teased her. "Whoever said I was marrying Naina the she devil? I am marrying Angelina Jolie."
"Shut up you dork" Geet reprimanded fondly. "I hope Naina puts some sense in to you!"
"Fine, I'll get Dev to be my best man if you are going to be like that" Seb joked. "He'll do a better job."
"Again shut up!" Geet laughed. "I love you, you crazy boy, so of course I'll be your best woman."
"Love you, my evil witch." Seb said fondly. "Even if you did shove mud pies down my throat"
"We were three and you shoved a spider down my top, so it was fair retribution." Geet smirked. "Now tell me the date"
"Well I need you back in India by the 10th. You better be there!"
"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world."
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Precap:
VSK...ummm...LOL again evil moment and won't say anything!😆
AUTHOR's NOTE:
I hope you all enjoyed the update!
Again I loved writing this part...it reminded me when I started the story😳
Okay...not many updates now...maybe two...and if I am particularly kind an epilogue😆
PLEASE DO COMMENT and press the LIKE button!!
Nothing motivates me as much as reading your comments!😃
-SanjanA
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