Love you guys sooo much, many thanks for your likes/comments! They give me so much motivation! Lots and lots of hugs. Please see the next chapter below. :)
previous chapters:
ch 1 - ch 2 -
ch 3 -
ch 4 -
ch 5 -
ch 6 - ch 7 -
ch 8 -
ch 9 -
ch 10 -
ch 11
Chapter Twelve
"I can't believe this," Maan muttered, twisting the doorknob once more.
Geet bit her lip nervously. Had that witch-like woman really trapped her and Maan inside this "suite"?
Maan spun around. "We're stuck. I can't open the door."
"What do we do --" Geet began, before pausing to sneeze.
Maan eyed her carefully, observing that she was still wearing her damp clothes. In this drafty hotel, he wasn't surprised that they had yet to dry.
"You need to change before you get sick," said Maan, gesturing toward Geet's suitcase.
"I like what I'm wearing," said Geet, jutting her chin out stubbornly.
Maan crossed his arms. "I don't care," he said flatly. "Change."
"No."
"Geet . . . ." A note of warning could clearly be heard in Maan's voice. "Before you catch a cold, you need to get out of your clothes."
"Make me," Geet challenged. Gone were the days where she would heed Maan's advice without hesitation.
Maan raised an eyebrow. He stepped forward and grabbed Geet's upper arm. "Don't think I won't."
"Is that right? I'd like to see you try."
The two gazed at each other, lightning crackling outside, as Maan grasped the bottom of Geet's top and began to lift it up against her bare abdomen.
"Maan," Geet gasped, stepping away. Her heart was fluttering wildly, against her better judgment.
"I don't back down from a challenge, Geet," Maan rasped. "Change, or I'll do it for you."
"Who are you to tell me what to do, Maan?" Geet demanded. "Who are you?"
Maan shut his eyes momentarily. Why did he still feel such possessiveness over her?
"I'm someone who doesn't want you to get sick," Maan said finally, taking it upon himself to unzip Geet's suitcase, pull out a fresh outfit, and hand it to her.
Ignoring his gesture, Geet turned around to face the crumbling wall. "Funny that you suddenly care about my well-being," she murmured.
"What?"
"Nothing." Absentmindedly, Geet began to trace a deep crack in the wood paneling of the wall.
"No, tell me."
"I --" Geet stopped short as the panel she had been touching began to give way.
The two simultaneously took a wide step back. After a moment, it became clear that the part of the wall Geet had pressed against was actually a hidden door. It had swung open slightly due to Geet's touch, but only a sliver of darkness could be seen.
Geet's eyes lit up. "An exit!" she cried, reaching toward the door.
"What are you doing?" Maan yanked her backward quickly and tossed the clothes he had pulled out onto the bed. "You can't go through there. What if it leads somewhere dangerous?"
Geet stared at him. "Well, it's better than being trapped in here like this."
Maan felt his heart twist painfully. At one point in their lives, the two had wanted to be with each other at all hours of the day. And now, Geet was willing to risk potential danger just to escape his presence.
"I'm going through," Geet announced.
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
Maan rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "You really think a hidden door in a place like this, which is practically a haunted house, could lead somewhere safe? Geet, you know I can't let you go."
"Stop talking as if you have any right over me," snapped Geet. "First my clothes, now this. We're over, right, Maan?"
"Stop being unreasonable, Geet," Maan retorted. "Just because we're not together anymore doesn't mean that I don't . . . that I don't --"
"You don't what?" Geet prompted.
"That I don't care about you, all right?" Maan replied heatedly.
"Some good that did us," Geet said, suddenly feeling heavy with sadness.
Maan's eyes flashed. "Don't guilt trip me. We're apart now because of *you.* What did you want me to do, spend the rest of my life hoping for you to marry me because you actually wanted to instead of out of an obligation to make me happy? Do you really think I could have lived like that? I'm not about to twist anyone's arm to be my wife."
Angrily, Geet pushed past Maan and flounced down on the bed. She refused to be emotionally manipulated tonight. He knew nothing about how far she had come in opening up to marriage, and she doubted he would even care, especially with Zoya now in the picture.
Maan sighed. He had probably gone too far, but what he had said hadn't been untrue, after all. And anyway, at least Geet had abandoned the idea of going through the hidden door. Maan sank down onto the floor, hoping sleep would welcome him even on the hard surface. He would just have to figure out how to get them out of here after he got some rest. Fatigue was rapidly flooding his bones.
Geet rolled onto her side and saw that Maan had settled onto the floor to sleep. How dare he blame everything on her? What about his role in moving on with Zoya in a split second? Geet shook her head at the unfairness of it all. As soon as she ensured that Maan had dozed off, she was going through that hidden door. Maan had no say over her anymore, and she would make sure he knew it once and for all.
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Thank you so much for reading, really appreciate it! <3
Edited by kumari3 - 11 years ago
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