Black & White Love ~ MG ~ Chapter 15, page 24, updated 24/07 - Page 5

Chapter 6 - A wicked game

She stared back at him in disbelief.

"Have you lost your mind?" she whispered.

"He wants me to kill you. You have to marry me. If I let you go, you'll expose us to the world. Especially that policeman brother of yours. Who is probably already searching for you as we speak." Maan took a step closer, his poker face intact. "It's your only option."

"But why on earth would I marry you? How can I? I don't even know you. You kill people for a living!" She sighed deeply, her mind in a frenzy. "Besides, I'm in love with someone else."

"We'll deal with that. I can either pierce a bullet through you right now, or you can be my wife."

"I won't breathe a word. You have my promise, Maan." The tears flew hot and heavy from her eyes. "Please don't do this to me. I have a whole life to live."

His eyes narrowed slightly at the sound of his name coming from her mouth. Then he recomposed himself. "It is what it is. Your options are clear."

They remained still for a few moments. Geet stared at the ground in shock, trying to comprehend what was being asked of her. Maan watched her closely, his head tilted to one side.

Eventually, she looked up at him and with resignation, walked past him and back along the path they had just walked. Not a word was spoken, but he tucked his gun back into his holster and followed her. 

As soon as they approached the farmhouse, Maan took hold of Geet's arm.

"What are you doing?"

He didn't speak a word, but led her towards the back of the house. There were empty stables, and Geet realised what he was doing as soon as he began to walk towards the furthest one.

She began to drag her feet, physically protesting.

"Do as I say!" Maan exclaimed, becoming more and more frustrated.

"I'll marry you but don't lock me in here, I'm not an animal! This is insane! What about your patient? You can't do this!"

He pushed her in, sending her flying to the floor amidst the hay. He began to lock the gate, but Geet jumped up and grabbed his hands with hers. She looked up at him with fear and desperation.

"Please don't do this," she whispered. "I'll marry you, but don't cage me away like I'm an animal."

"I'll let you out in a few hours."

Her soft pleas turned into bitter anger. "You are inhumane. You disgust me. I wish I could vanish and never have to be around your toxic presence ever again."

Maan simply walked away, tucking the key into his pocket.

...

She didn't know how long it had been since she'd been in the stable, but the warm autumnal afternoon sun had turned into a chilly, crisp night. She sat against a pile of hay, her arms wrapped around her legs, and rested her eyes for a few moments. Moments that turned into hours.

It was 2am when Maan arrived to open the gate.

He saw her, with her arms wrapped around her black trousers, her hair dishevelled. He tapped the key against the gate once, and then twice to wake her up.

She shot up straight, staring at him. 

"Come and wash your face. I brought food."

"I'm not hungry."

"You can either get some fresh air, or stay here until the morning. I'm not going to plead with you."

He walked off, and Geet contemplated her options. It was dark, there was still a chance to escape. He had changed his clothes, which indicated he had gone away somewhere and then returned. His men were probably asleep, or occupied with the patient. 

She peeked her head around the gate. He was walking off into the night, his all black outfit blending in with the darkness. 

She spotted a mirror and a sink against the wall. Deciding to at least nourish her body with water, she walked to the sink and gathered water in her hands, taking a few sips. 

Geet tipped her head over and ran her wet hands over the back of her neck. She straightened up again, facing the mirror, and wet her hands again to run them over her neck. Fishing a hair tie from her pocket, she pulled the rest of her hair up and it was then that she realised he had been stood there, a few feet away, watching her the entire time. 

His hands were in his pocket, his head tilted to one side. Expressionless though he was, his dark eyes had softened.

She stopped, her hands mid-air, nestled in her hair.

"Is there a problem?" she asked.

He didn't speak, but his eyes remained on her.

She strode up to him, her eyes ablaze with fury. "Is that why you've kidnapped me? Is that the reason behind your persistence on our marriage? You've seen a shiny new toy, you want to take her home?"

Maan looked away, his jaw twitching. "Don't flatter yourself," he spat out. 

She pointed a finger at him. "Don't come near me. Don't even touch me."

He smirked. "I wouldn't dream of it. We're leaving in the morning."

"Leaving? To go where? And what about the patient?"

"He's been taken care of."

"Is he dead?"

"Do you ever stop asking questions?"

"Are you ever going to give me answers? Or is it just going to be these constant riddles that I can make no sense of?"

He motioned towards the porch. "Do you want your food or not?"

"I'd rather die of starvation than eat anything that you provide for me," she spat bitterly, before voluntarily walking away back to the stable which she had been occupying. 

...

The events of the next morning were a monotonous blur for Geet. She recalled being woken up. 

She was given water. 

A jacket was placed over her shoulders. 

Her feet seemed to move robotically behind his footsteps as he led her away from that ill fated farmhouse and towards the car. 

A car. 

She didn't remember any of its details; the make, the model, the colour. She was in the front seat, then out of it, then led up a path and inside a house.

When her conscious brought her back to reality, she was stood in front of five horrified faces.

"Maan. Are you going to explain this, or are you going to send me senile? asked his mother. Beside her stood Manyata, her eyes flicking back and forth between her brother and Geet. 

To his mother's left hand side stood his aunt, Priya and her daughter, Avni. 

It was then that the fifth face arrived. Vivek. His fists curled at the sight of the girl that he had ordered to kill being alive and well under his own roof.

Vivek stormed past everyone, squared up to Maan and spat out three words from his gritted teeth.

"My office. Now."

Geet felt the penetrating eyes of the four women. She didn't dare look around for an escape route; although she had been numb during her journey from the farmhouse to the mansion, she had been aware of the security guards that they had surpassed.

The small, flashing green light in the corner of the room that they were stood in.

The glass cupboard showcasing rifles.

She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and remained frozen. It felt as if her feet were stuck to the ground.

Suddenly, Maan's mother stepped forward and plastered a smile onto her face. "You need to rest. Let's have a lie down."

Geet's instinct was to move back. She shook her head. "I'm perfectly fine."

"I insist. She turned to Manyata, silently motioning with her eyes. Manyata's attention however, was fixated on the man who had just arrived into the house. Priya nudged Avni, who took a glance towards her husband then looked away.

Before Neil, the man whose appearance had distracted Manyata could question anyone on the new arrival in the house, Geet was led upstairs by Smriti and Manyata.

They entered a room which appeared to be Maan's. It was devoid of colour, or personality. It had the essentials that were needed. Geet shivered at the chill in the air that she felt as soon as she stepped into the room.

Smriti locked the door behind her and then turned on Geet. "Who are you, and why has my son brought you here?"

"You know the answer better than I do."

"Don't play smart with me. I want the truth, and I want it right now. What has been going on?"

Geet looked Smriti directly in the eye. "Ask your beloved son why he kidnapped a doctor from her workplace, kept her captive in a farmhouse for two nights, deprived her of the basics and then dragged her to the woodlands and forced her to agree on marrying him at gunpoint."

Smriti took a step back. "What are you talking about?"

"Look, all I want to do is go home. Whatever is going on here, I want no part in this. You have to convince him to let me go. This is sheer insanity."

"Did you lure him in?"

Geet scoffed. "Lure him in?"

"With your beauty, your powers of seduction. You saw a young man with status, power, money. Is that what you're after? Is this alliance going to benefit you in some way?"

"Now you're crossing the line."

"I've seen your kind before."

"Oh, so he does this regularly? It explains why he's so cold hearted, unaffected and quite frankly, psychotic. Just so we're absolutely clear, the mere thought of being anywhere near your son makes me sick to my stomach. I'm a doctor. I save lives. As far as I'm aware, he takes them. The sight of that man makes me coil with nothing but disgust. So please, I suggest you stop insulting me before you and I have a real problem on our hands."

Manyata stared between her mother and the woman her brother had brought home, fire blazing from both of their eyes. They would have remained like that as neither would have been willing to back down; if Maan hadn't have walked into the room.

"We're going shopping."

"Who is going shopping?" his mother asked, her eyes unwavering from Geet.

"All of us. She needs a wedding dress."

Smriti turned towards her son. "Why? Maan, are you please going to explain-"

"We're getting married. She needs a wedding dress. I won't repeat myself. Let's go."

He stood by the door, his cold eyes focused on the floor. His demeanour was enough of an answer for Smriti to know that he wasn't going to respond to any further questions. She walked out of the room, followed by Manyata. 

Geet forced her now heavy feet towards the door. As she passed Maan, she shot him a deathly glare. His expression remained as stoic as ever.

...

As he drove the car through the city, his mind replayed the conversation he had with Vivek.

Vivek was his uncle; albeit not by blood, but he had been told that he was a distant relative of his mother's. Vivek had taken Maan, Smriti and Maan's younger brother, Dev, in when their father had been tragically killed when Maan was 12.

Even to this date, 18 years on, his spine shivered at the memory of his father's lifeless body in his arms.

'Maan, you have 60 seconds exactly to explain why she is still alive. My orders were clear. I wanted her dead.'

'She knows too much. Her brother is in the force. Her death would be treated as suspicious. It would have been traced back to us. Her survival is more paramount to us now than-'

'I have spent my entire life evading the eyes of the police. Do you not think I would not know how to save us? Are you undermining my ability?'

'I did what was best.'

Vivek narrowed his eyes as he looked at Maan. 'Is this for your own desires?'

'What?'

'Do you desire the girl? Are you attracted to her? She's put up quite a fight with you. Is that what has drawn you to her?'

'Don't belittle me. Why would I willingly choose to marry the sister of a police officer? Isn't her brother going to be all over us when he finds out she mysteriously disappeared and has suddenly emerged days later, married into one of the most secretive families of the city? Our marriage is going to create problems, yes, but they are problems we can manage. Her death, we could not. I couldn't let her walk free; she knows too much. It's the only option I had.'

'You created this mess. You need to get yourself out of it. When do I need to be present for these said nuptials?'

'Tomorrow evening.'

...

The car rolled to a stop outside the bridal shop. No one moved.

"The shop closes in half an hour," Maan said. "So be quick."

Smriti bit back her tongue and climbed out, followed by her daughter. 

Maan looked at Geet's forlorn expression through the rearview mirror.

"Are the dresses going to come to you?"

"I'm not wearing a wedding dress."

"Now is not the time for your games."

"I could say the same to you, but then you're accustomed to thinking that people's lives are a game."

He smirked coldly. 

She looked away in disgust before getting out of the car.

Geet remained motionless throughout the entire process. Several dresses were given to her to try on; not a word had come out of her mouth. She had silently gone inside the dressing room, came out with the dress on, and repeated the process. 

Smriti had suggested an extravagant dress, which came out at the hips in never ending tufts of white feathered fabric.

It was the last dress they were being allowed to try before closure.

"Let me know if you need me," the assistant repeated in a monotone voice, perplexed at the robotic nature of the bride to be but decided not to question it further.

Geet entered the dressing room. She shut the door. She inspected the dress. She set it aside.

She turned her back to the window, which she had been slowly dislodging each time she had entered to try a dress on. This time, with her prayers and silent pleas, it creaked open.

As silently as she could, one leg went through the window. And then the next. She was sat on the ledge, and lay herself down as she managed to slide out through the gap. Her back felt bruised with the friction against the stone wall, but it was a small price to pay for her freedom.

She ran. Without thought, logic or hesitation. She ran down the street, turned the corner, looking for a telephone box or a taxi or something, anything, which would take her back to her brother, Ayaan, the hospital, a place of comfort and security and safety and-

She collided into a pair of arms, which steadied her around her waist. 

Chap 6

Maan is such an insensitive jerk, basically deal you being heartbroken or being killed. How callous? Why the proposal, is it because he likes her? Or does he hold a heart that's probably a little human considering his killing job role? I feel for Geet, what a predicament to be in?  How can she agree to marry him but then its life or death, and quite literally in her case lol. I hate myself for finding the funny in such a situation too, but like I previously mentioned I too like tales as such. It excites the bored blood within lol. Hit men and their female victims are my weakness lol

Oh gosh, I so feel for Geet being locked within a stable, why though? Like Geet asked what about the old man? Did Maan no longer care, was keeping Geet safe far more important now because I clearly remember the uncle asking for her death. Was this a secret he shall keep?

So Maan took her to meet the family, Vivek is the uncle isn't he? So would this cause a family riot lol, would the uncle turn against his nephew for opposing his orders, will? You know what I shall freeze the questions and just read lol

Does Manyatta like Neil, her cousin Avini's husband, please say no. I hate infinity and more so when it breaks families? Maybe that's what that causes the uncle to turn against his nephew, after all a hurt father can be vindictive.  My theory is that the men that were after Geet and Maan were Vivek, if it isn't then my assumptions fail lol

The mother is clearly disillusioned, she does realise her son is a cold-blooded murderer which makes him instantly undesirable especially for smeone like Geet whose a doctor, why would she?

Vivek is looking shady by the minute. But can I just question wasn't Maan's younger brother called Vicky as per chapter 3 or 4 (I think when he steps out to get food). Hence I recall no dev, unless Vicky was born after his father's death? Was it a murder?

So swifty maan explains it and it makes sense, but even a fool would know Maan is interested IN Geet lol. I like Geet never give up attitude, she tried running away but looks like Maan's found her at the nick of time, I am hundred percent sure it is him, there's no denying it. If its not him then that'll be a shocker, for her sake I hope it is and for my sake I hope not. I want to know how they amrry and what happens afterwards lol

Thank you and already waiting for 7

Sorry for being late