Shackles of Love#29#MG Pt 66 Pg 109 new thrd added - Page 23

CHAPTER 65:

It had been about a week since the eventful lunch and Geet's nerves were totally frazzled. She was ready to pull her hair apart. There was a four letter reason for her persistent headache and that was 'M A A N'.

She had been livid after his disclosure about Sameera the other day. True, she had been exhilerated by his explanation that Sameera meant nothing to him, but she was still angry over his actions. He had some cheek, getting touchy with that chudail and then expecting her to be okay with it.

Maan had tried to convince her and get her around to forgive him, but Geet was having none of it. Had he loved Sameera, she would have understood, but this was too much. She had decided that she was not forgiving him and was giving him the silent treatment since then.

Her talks consisted of monosyllabic answers, strictly when required; otherwise she was giving him a royal ignore. But did that stop the Dusht Danav? Nope! He ignored her rebuffs, acting as if nothing had happened. It was as if they had switched bodies, Maan had become Geet and Geet had become Maan of a few weeks ago.

He, who was usually quiet and reticent, was discussing everything with her. She had become like him, quiet and withdrawn. Somewhere in her mind the song came up. 'Ranjha, ranjha kar ke mein toh aap hi Ranjha hui'..' Quickly she shook her head. "No Geet, there is no Heer Ranjha here, stop the meltdown immediately!" She admonished herself.

However, day by day, she was finding it hard to contain her real nature and to continue to give him the silent treatment. To begin with she loved him and to add to her woes he was starting to pay extra heed to all her needs and her. He seemed attuned to her and this caring person, the one he was evolving him into was making it difficult for her to stay aloof. It was a battle with herself daily to stay immune to his charisma.

He had taken up her snubs as a challenge and was trying all crooked tricks to get her to bend. No wonder he was a good business man.

She knew, Maan on the other hand was enjoying this cat and mouse game. She sulked thinking of her predicament. Here she was finding it difficult to hold herself aloof from him while he was deriving great pleasure by making things difficult for her.

He was good at negotiating, as she now knew to her chagrin. After spending a day in bed, she had declared that she wanted to work and would look for a job. Without batting an eyelash, Maan had offered her to work in KRK as his secretary. Geet had straight out said no, her pride still smarting from his refusal last time and no matter how much he cajoled, she had not shaken from her stance. She would never work with him, she had vowed. She thought he would try to cajole and convince her more, but to her vexation, he had coolly agreed, provided she would work in a place he selected. Seeing no other choice, she had given in with ill grace.

And so she now was working at Khurana constructions (KC), a multinational company in Delhi as the PA to the MD.

It had been 4 days and she had yet to meet her boss. He supposedly didn't work from this office, as he had another company. She wondered if it was bigger than KC that he treated KC like a secondary business. Her boss corresponded with her via email and if she thought that was weird, she shrugged it off.

Must be eccentric old toothless millionaire, who didn't want to show his face, she concluded. But she was impressed with the amount of work he managed, if the piles of work he passed on to her was anything to go by.

For those who want to see Image provided by Sona 😉

She had tried to enquire about him but surprisingly the staff here was very tight lipped about their boss and very few seem to be in direct contact with him as he delegated most of the work through these trustworthy executives. But she had started building a good rapport with most of her colleagues, and was settling in nicely, she liked the atmosphere here, it was a little chilled out, since the boss was not in. However Adi Sir, the boss' right hand man, competently managed to get all work done.

Looking at him you would never believe that he was handling such a big company almost by himself, but then appearances are deceptive as she had learned.

Geet doodled over her writing pad, as she waited for a reply to an email, and her mind went over to its favorite topic of obsession.

Maan and his antics.

No matter how hard she tried, the man was melting her.

He had not left the bedroom since that night when they had returned from HP and had almost taken residence there. If that was not all, he did not let her sleep anywhere else. She had tried that for two nights, putting up a spare bed on the sofa like she used to earlier, but it had ended with him picking her up in his arms and taking her back to bed. And to cap it, he would then hold her close, cuddling against her, and claiming that she would get up and go if he left her. Admitting defeat she had promised not to go, at least that way she could have some space between them.

And space was something she needed very badly between them.

Every night she slept with the view of her man clad in those sexy black vest and tracks. The view was enough to make her heart go pitter patter and her senses into overdrive; she couldn't afford to have him close enough to touch her or heaven forbid, his aroma take over her sanity.

Also, his back pain seemed to persist and so she was on duty to rub some warm oil onto his back almost every night. It took her ages to sleep every night feeling his skin against her trembling hands.

Every morning she would wake up to the sight of him coming out of the shower with dripping hair and chest with a towel that flaunted more than hid his body.

He seemed to have lost all sense of boundaries; standing by her while she got ready at the mirror, sometimes reaching around her to pick up a comb or his cologne. That cologne, gosh she hated it. As if these sights were not enough that cologne and his nearness knocked the very earth from under her feet.

She was frazzled by the attack on her senses day in and day out, so much so that she would long to escape to work to get a few hours of relief.

However, on days like these, when work was slow, she found herself more often than not drooling over her hubby who was making her loose herself to him.

He, in his new convivial and irritating avatar insisted on dropping her off and picking her up every day. Then, of course, his ever helpful self had to lean in every day to do up her seat belt or undo it. His fingers found a way to touch her almost at every occasion. They seemed like innocent brushes (making her wonder if she had indeed lost her mind) while passing food at the table or brushing some hair away from her face or a slight hand at her waist while leaving for work. More often than not his chin had found a spot on her shoulder while he stood behind her watching whatever she was cooking. It was a wonder everything that she cooked had not burnt every day. It was a wonder she could stand on her feet much less speak a coherent sentence.

The MAAN bomb had exploded bringing his name to her mind nonstop day and night.

In all this, he had to smile all the time that intense smile that made his deep chocolate brown eyes go so soft and sweet to make her knees go weak.

If he smiled at her anymore, she was surely going to kill him today, Geet made up her mind as she looked longingly at her phone, willing it to ring.

He had taken up with surprising her at lunch times. He would show up at her office at lunch time and whisk her away for a cozy lunch despite her protests. The lunches were always at different venues in quiet and peaceful places. There was usually no one around at the time they visited, and she secretly loved these times she spent with him.

As the clock stuck one, she heaved a sigh of disappointment that he hadn't called. She had become used to their lunch routine. However, Pinky, the receptionist looked in and asked her to join them for lunch as they were all going out. She smilingly agreed, glad that she wouldn't spend the hour brooding over him.

But as she came out of the building, she saw him standing there nonchalantly against his car in yet another blue shirt. This whole week had been an array of blue shirts in different styles and different shades of blue. "Had he figured out her weakness to this shade on him?" She wondered. It made his eyes which were piercing to begin with almost too intense to bear.

She gazed at him, drinking in his pure masculine beauty. His arms were crossed against his chest causing the muscles on his chest to become more prominent when he stood like that. The office girls walking with her stopped to take an eyeful. He flashed his special smile at her making her insides melt at the sight before and she stiffly turned to the side walking slightly away, ignoring him.

However, her husband didn't seem to take in her snub. He came over to her and clasped her around the waist, flashing a killer look at her friends. With a, "May I borrow my wife for some lunch?" he whisked her away not waiting for a response from the dazzled crowd he left swooning behind. He calmly tucked her hand in his as he tugged her towards his car.

Today they were lunching by a lake.

He picked out a blanket from the car and spread it below a huge tree taking off his vest and tie and opening a few buttons on his shirt. She ignored him and settled herself down resting her back on the tree trunk while eyeing the calm beautiful sight in front of her. It was a pleasant day and a gentle breeze caused tiny ripples to form on the almost still waters of the lake.

"A loaf of bread, and thou beside me..." He was mumbling something like that under his breath while smiling. She still continued the same silent treatment she had been giving him this past week. He was emptying the food from a carry out bag on the plates they had provided. There were bottles of juice and water and soon they were tucking into the meal in silence. He was sitting very close to her so their arms occasionally brushed against each other. At least she was not jumping at his every touch. He started talking about his day so far, same as he had been doing every afternoon at lunch and at dinner every night.

They finished the meal amicably and then Maan dropped her back to KC.

And here, another ritual had been set. Every day he hugged her after lunch and gave her a kiss on the forehead just as she would get ready to step out of the car. After the initial stiffness her traitorous body usually melted in his arms, a reaction that try as she may, she could not suppress. She had become addicted to these small affectionate actions from him.

Today she expected him to do the same. However, his phone rang just as he pulled up across her office and in giving attention to that caller; he forgot her hug and kiss.

She waited for him to end the call, her feet unable to move out, however, looking at the time she had no choice. With a heavy heart she left and was despondently walking across the road feeling oddly bereft.

"Why are you feeling left out?" Geet questioned her mind. "You don't want to forgive and move on? so why are you feeling so bad?" She closed her eyes trying to drown out her mind and the thousand questions that usually pop up about him. All of a sudden she felt a hand holding hers, and she knew it was him without even opening her eyes. She turned back and looked into his eyes, and he whispered, "You forgot something'"

She felt his lips on her forehead and her arms wrapped around him to hug him on her own. He tucked her into himself and gave her a tight squeeze. "I'll pick you up at 6, be ready." She smilingly nodded, and he released her from his embrace.

Feeling loads lighter she watched him go back and sit in the car with a spring to his step. After he had buckled his seatbelt, he started the car and with a wink her way moved into the traffic. Color flooded her face as she waved back at him.

"Boyfriend hai...?" A middle aged passerby questioned her as she started walking back, making her blush.

"Nahi, husband." She replied shyly and ran to her office.

Precap:

How will maan break her silence?😉