Chapter 1
Maan walked into the mansion-only to find the entire mansion horrifyingly silent. "That is unusual", he thought. He was used to listening to the loud talking, screaming, and roaring laughter of his family members- irrespective of which part of the mansion, they were in. This sort of silence- existed 3 months before- but not now. The house was never silent in the last three months of his life- where everything changed drastically- at a pace that he had never imagined. His quiet and secluded life was substituted with laughs, giggles and naughty childish behavior. What amazed him was that everyone in his family- now behaved like a kid. His grandma- Savitri Singh Khurana- a woman who was 75 year old- thanked him every single day for filling the mansion with such joy and happiness. She felt his boring and mechanical life was now colorful and vibrant.
Maan's heart started to beat faster at the thought of his grandmom. He came back to reality. He just hoped everything was okay with her. He could not afford to let anything happen to her - she was the only woman in his life who understood him, stood by him, and loved him. He looked around the magnificent living room of the Khurana Mansion for her. She always welcomed him at the door- irrespective of which time he came back from office. He brushed his negative thoughts away and quickly ran up the stairs to her bed-room and found it empty. Maan picked up the intercom in her bedroom and called the servant quarters. After three rings, Nakul answered the phone.
Maan- whose insides were already boiling- erupted like a volcano.
"Kahan hain sab? Aur phone uthaane mein itna waqt kyun? Mar gaye kya sab?"
Nakul was neither scared nor shocked. He had seen Maan since the age of 3- so he was very much accustomed to Maan's tempers and rapidly fluctuating moods.
"Chote Saab- sab aapke kamre mein the. Ek baar wahan dekh liye", he said, calmly.
"Hmmm", said Maan and hung up. "What is everyone doing in my room?", he thought and walked towards his room, when he heard his sister-in-law speak.
"Geet, bahut chot lagi hain. See, please apply this medicine", said Naintara.
Maan stopped in his tracks and took a deep breath.
"No wonder the mansion is dead silent", he thought rolling his eyes, "When the cause of all sounds and chaos is itself silent, then where will the other additional and unwanted sounds come from?"
Maan stopped at the door of his bedroom. Geet was sitting on the bed- clad in a green sari. Her curly hair was left loose and her maang was filled with sindoor.
"Beautiful", he thought as his heart skipped a beat. He brushed those thoughts away as well and walked into the bedroom.
Naintara stood up and smiled and he surprisingly returned her smile.
"Veerji , please sit", she said, standing up from her chair and offering the place to sit.
"No, I'm fine. What's wrong?", he asked, looking at Naintara and Daadima.
"Ah well, some bruises on Geet's feet and she says she's going to be fine without the medicine. Now you convince her Maan, while Naintara and me get some work done", said Daadima, standing up.
"Bruises?", asked Maan and turned to look at Geet's feet. One closer look he understood what was wrong. He took a deep breath and shook his head in frustration. He yelled at her, "Mana kiya tha na tumhein'" and he heard the bowl of medicine in Naintara's hand fall to the ground in a loud clatter.
"Maan", hissed Daadima, walked to the phone, and called the helpers to clear the medicine and shards away.
"Daadima woh'" and he was cut midway by Daadima, "take care of her Maan. You have to learn to be patient Son, you're married now- you will have to learn to take responsibilities of your wife as well".
"Daadima, please don't tell me what''" and stopped, realizing he would hurt her. She smiled and said, "I know I know don't tell you what to do".
He looked away. Geet was a silent spectator to the entire drama that was happening. She had luckily escaped Maan's wrath just a couple of minutes back but it would be impossible to escape once Maan and she would be alone in the room.
"Alright Naintara- let's head down honey", said Daadima.
"Sure", she said and followed Daadima out while gesturing to Geet to apply some cream. Geet plainly smiled and nodded.
"Maan", she said softly and visibly scared.
"Geet, didn't I tell you to stop interfering with my life? Who asked you to go the outhouse? I told you that the entire place is in a bad shape because of renovation. I also told you that Whatever is in the outhouse is something that relates to the months gone by- something that I do not want to re-collect, something that I have left behind and moved ahead in life", he said taking a pause trying very hard to control his anger.
Geet tried standing up to walk to him, but almost fell back when he held her by her waist- taking a long step towards her.
"Maan main'" and he pulled her towards him and tightened his hold around her, indicating her to keep quiet.
"Geet, three months is a fairly long time to understand the person you are staying with and three years..", he said pausing for a brief second to examine her. Seeing her lower her eyes, he continued, "Three years is a fairly long time to'" and looked back into his eyes, with her eyes slowly getting teary. He immediately let her loose and made her sit down.
He walked to the cupboard, pulled out the box of medicines and gave it to her-"Apply the cream and take a pain killer- might help you get some sleep". She did not take the box, but looked at him with absolutely no expressions.
He left the box by her side and walked away, pulling out his tie, and unbuttoning his shirt a little.
"You care for me, don't you?", she asked.
He smiled sarcastically and turned towards her, "The mind I tell you Geet is a very powerful thing. It almost makes you believe everything you want to-irrespective of whether it is true or not".
"And the heart?", she asked, with a broad grin on her face.
"If at all the heart could think- you wouldn't be standing here today and I wouldn't be regretting letting you stand here today as my wife", he said and walked away into the bathroom. Tears rolled down her eyes but she controlled them. She wiped her tears away and applied the medicine. She took the painkiller and moved to her side of the bed. She switched off the lights and pulled the quilt up still recollecting what Maan had said.
Maan was the only early riser in his house apart from his grandmom. His brother Dev and sister-in-law Naintara usually stayed up late and woke up late. But Dev ensured to get to office on time, in order to avoid irking his brother Maan- who's temper was unbearable at times. Therefore, the morning stretch until Dev got into his car to head to office- was a very busy time for his wife and his grandmom as well. These days his bhabhi Geet also joined the league. She had no choice. Dev created so much confusion and chaos at home- that everyone would be running around the mansion to get him ready for office.
Maan, at times, would be the only one who would be silently watching the entire drama unfold- with his insides boiling but would make no nasty comments- as that would only lead to arguments between his daadima and him- and delay Dev's process of getting to office on time.
Maan, like any other day- walked up to the breakfast table sharp at 8:15 am. She found Daadima and Geet already sitting there and having their morning coffee. He left the newspaper to his left- on the table and looked at the women at the table to greet them. Neither of them looked up, from their newspapers. He cleared his throat and Daadima said, "Yes Son! You're breakfast is getting ready, please have some coffee or juice until then". Saying so, she pushed the juice jar and the coffee pot both towards him- without lifting her head from the newspaper.
Maan, poured some juice into the glass while staring at his Daadima and Geet. "What's wrong with these women? They don't even bother to look up is it? No courtesy at all but I'm the one who gets lectured by Daadima about table manners and courtesy. Non-sense", he thought.
He quietly sipped his juice still staring the two women at the table. "Maan, don't stare at us. There's a newspaper lying by your side as well- you can read it", said Geet, softly hiding a smirk.
"Do not tell Maan Singh Khurana what he should do- Miss Geet Handa", he said.
"Ahaan!", she said, nodding her head disagreeing to him. She folded the newspaper put it aside and said, "I was Geet Handa- I am and will always be Geet Maan Singh Khurana".
"Suit yourself!", he said, picking up the newspaper, rolling his eyes.
"Oho-which pre-school do you two go to- jab dekho ladhayi", said Daadima, finally looking up.
"Excuse me- I do not fight", said Maan, throwing his newspaper aside.
Daadima raised her eyebrow and Maan quickly added, "I only argue cos I'm always right. And I don't understand- you always talk about table manners and courtesy. I'd like to know what kind of courtesy do you people have? I've been sitting here and you look at me after full twenty minutes".
"Well, we were giving you a taste of your medicine Maan. That is how we feel when you have those long business conference calls at the dining table- where you anyway wont talk to us and you expect us to not talk at the table. We, open our mouths only to eat. Now, you know how it feels?", she asked.
"Daadima, I run an empire of 30000 crores. And this is the very empire that you handed over to me, after dad passed away", he said, "Such calls and meetings are inevitable and you out of all people should not be complaining- as it is your dream and vision that I'm heading".
"That doesn't mean you compromise on your personal life", said Geet.
Maan examined Geet for some time and said, "Geet, I will come back to you later on this", clearly and slyly stating that he did not want to react to Geet's statement in the presence of any Khurana.
"Haan bhabhi, abhi aapka number nahin aaya", said Dev walking in and sitting opposite to Daadima.
"You're ready?", asked a puzzled Maan.
"Yes bro", he said, chuckling.
"Dammit then I must be getting late. What time is it?", he asked, looking at his empty wrist realizing he had forgotten his watch.
"Hello Daadima", said Naintara , taking her seat beside Dev. "Veerji, today Dev got ready early- for a change- and ofcourse once in a blue moon", she said. Geet and Naintara hi-fived each other, laughing.
"Yea, and that too without troubling us", said Daadima.
"Oh cut it out all of you", said Dev, "I have meetings today in office", he said, taking a slice of toast that had just arrived.
"Meetings?", asked Maan.
"Haan Bro- yaad nahin hain aapko?" asked Dev. Maan looked a little confused wondering how he had forgotten his meetings.
"Arey Bro, we have to meet Maria- the lady from Turkey- jisse dekh kar aap bhi kahin kho gaye the- itni hot aur happening hain", he said naughtily.
Geet and Naintara looked angrily at each other. "Accha tuo isliye aap jaldi ready hue aaj devar ji?", asked Geet, gritting her teeth.
"Arey bhabhi- mujhse pehle tuo Maan Veerji ready hue the. Dekhiye Dekhiye- Maria ke khayalo mein bro ne watch pehna bhi bhool gaye. And he always says- I might forget anything but not my watch".
Geet quickly looked at Maan's bare left wrist.
"Dev, if you could please cut out the gibberish and have your breakfast- we shall head to office", said Maan seriously.
"Dekha dekha- now who's in a hurry to go and meet Maria? Until now- he did not even remember about a 200 crore project, but as soon as I mentioned Maria's name- now he's in a hurry to go to office".
"Dev", said Maan loudly, "Only you will be meeting Maria". Naintara stopped sipping her coffee and looked at Maan worried, "Oh god! That is even worse. Atleast Dev remains in control if Maan Veerji is around. Oh boy- now what?"
To Naintara's tensed and worried expression was Geet's smirk and exactly contradictory reaction- thanking her babaji that Maan would not be meeting Maria. Before she could really dance to her happiness, Maan said, "I have to go and meet a client with Sasha".
"Eh lo-satyanash ho gaya! Woh chudail to Maan ko ghoor ghoor ke kha jaegi. Hey babaji ek musibat khatam dusra shuru", thought geet, drawing circles on her plate with a fork.
It was two in the afternoon and Geet was standing in the balcony of her bedroom. It was sunny outside, but the large trees around the Khurana Mansion- provided enough shade and coolness. She looked at the lawns of the Khurana Mansion blankly. She lost track of how long she had been staring at the green grass and the sparkling waters of the fountains in the lawn. She looked at the waters flow in one particular direction so systematically and wished her life were like that too- with a definite direction and specific goal- like how it was when she had moved to Delhi from her village. She never specifically liked Delhi as much as she liked her village-Hoshiarpur. However, Delhi was where she pursued her higher studies and worked. Since, she was married to a businessperson based out of Delhi- there was no looking back now! She had to eventually start liking this city.
Her thoughts were broken by a knock on her bedroom door.
"Ji kaun?", she asked, turning back to look at the door.
"Nakul", he said pausing for a few seconds and continued, "madame juice aap ke liye". She walked to the door, opened it, and took the glass of juice, smiling at him and thanking him. He smiled back too- while retreating to his work.
Geet walked back to the balcony again and sat on the chair there. She sipped a glass of juice and smiled. Her life was so sophisticated and different now. From being a simple, innocent, middle-class girl ' she was now the wife of a man who led India's largest construction group. But still, somewhere in her heart she liked being the simple Geet- who could count every single penny she spent and go out of her way to save those extra bucks just to get her mom and sister some dresses and her niece and nephews some chocolates from her salary money.
She remembered an incident where she almost broke down crying cos she couldn't find her wallet in the shopping mall where she had shopped for her family. It was after she joined Khurana Constructions as their intern architect. She had received her first salary- so she saved as much as she could so that she could take home some gifts. She had picked up some really nice stuff for almost everyone in her family0 her parents, sister, bhabhi, veerji and their 2 kids and her daadiji. However, at the billing counter she couldn't find her wallet and was holding a long line of customers that was waiting to be billed. She just moved out of the line apologizing to the man at the counter and her eyes got all puffy and teary. Her hard-earned money was lost. She cursed herself for being so stupid and careless for not being able to get anything for her family that supported her so much.
"Hey babaji, ab kya karu. Ghar jaane ki paise bhi nahin hain", she thought and walked out of the shop leaving all the stuff she had chosen for her near ones. She walked out of the mall- sad and confused. How would she pay all her bills for the month? It was only the beginning of the month and all her money was gone. She sat outside the mall- on the stairs.
"Babaji please kuch kijiye", she kept pleading the God she believed in and meddled with her phone. "Oh god! It would have been so nice if I had lost my phone instead of my wallet", she thought and pressed random keys on the phone. Without her notice, the call connected to Adi- her manager in Khurana Constructions. He was an intelligent and a simple man- who directly reported to the top management. He also took great care of his team members irrespective of which cadre they belonged. By the time she tried disconnecting the call, Adi answered the call, "Haan Geet, bolo!", he said.
"Kuch nahin Sir. Sorry, ghalti se connect ho gaya", she said, trying very hard to speak.
"Geet, anything wrong?", he asked. "Tum to shopping jaane waali thi na, isiliye office se bhi jaldi chali gayi", he asked.
"Ji sir", she said, trying to find some energy to control her tears and answer his question.
"To kya hua?", he asked.
"Sir, kuch nahin. I'm sorry maine aapko disturb kiya".
"No, you haven't disturbed me. I just got out of a meeting with MSK. And btw, I have approved your leave as well, so you can happily go home for the weekend and take an off on Monday. I'll see you in office on Tuesday", he said, laughing in a weird way.
She couldn't control her tears anymore and burst out crying. "Geet everything alright?", he asked tensed and puzzled.
"I lost my wallet and hence no money to go home", she said.
"Oh no! kahan ho tum?", he asked. "I'll ask Pinky to help you", he said. Pinky was the receptionist in Khurana Constructions head office. She was a foodie and a very good friend of Geet. Geet and Pinky had become friends on her first day at work itself. Pinky took her around Delhi and also took her to her home occasionally. Pinky lived with her father- who seemed to like Geet for her bubbly and lively nature.
Geet gave the details on the mall she was in and Adi told her to say there itself. He immediately contacted Pinky and ensured that Pinky came to her rescue. Geet was also given cash and train tickets to Hoshiarpur. She couldn't believe her luck. Her boss- Adi had helped her so much that she couldn't thank him enough.
She called him that night after she boarded the train to thank him. "Geet mujhe nahin- Dev Sir ko thank karo. He was with me when I was talking to you on phone. He sent the money and got your tickets booked", he said.
"Dev sir?", she asked, confused.
"Haan Geet- Dev Singh Khurana- Chief Financial Officer of Khurana Constructions".
"Hey babaji", she thought, as she heard his name. She asked Adi for his cell number and email ID. She contemplated calling him at that time. Well, he was a big shot so calling him wouldn't be the right thing. Moreover, how could she be sure if he actually remembered the favor he had done to her? This must be nothing to him. She decided to email him but that she couldn't do until Tuesday morning- her phone did not have internet option. So, she finally decided to text him. "If he saw the message-good. If he also responded- even better. However, if he deleted it not knowing/recollecting what it meant-it's ok. He's a busy man after all", she told herself.
"Thank you Sir for all your help. You saved a girl from being stranded on the streets of Delhi- after losing her wallet. I'm grateful.
Sincerely-Geet Handa- Intern Architect"
She had typed and re-read the message to ensure there were no mistakes. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and hit the send button.
The train had left Delhi station and caught up full speed. Geet slowly rolled off to sleep after a tiring stressful long day. The next morning- when she woke up ' only to find her home town a few kilometers away- she checked her phone for the time and was shocked to see a response.
" 😊 😊" She scrolled donw to see if there was anything else in the message- nothing else. She then checked the time of the message, "11:58:58pm"
She went back to her sent messages folder and checked the time she had sent him the message. It read "11:48:58pm".
"In ten minutes he responded and in that very ten minutes I had fallen asleep also", she thought, not believing that her message had received a response.
That was the beginning of her relationship with the Khuranas- three years back.
That's it for now! Waiting to hear from you- your comments- both in the form of appreciation and criticism are welcome.
Soumya😊
Chapter 2- https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/79032202 
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Financial markets and global economy
Ishaani
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