Posted:
Heya people! Here is the next update. Sorry for the delay was caught up with work and fell sick and the cycle repeated 😆 I also had difficulties typing up the chapter because I was completely stuck on what to write. So after a lot of additions and deletions here is the next chapter. 😃
"I
lost him," Geet repeated not registering anything around her. Dark clouds of
gloom enveloped her shutting her heart completely. Even the loss of her mother didn't evoke such
emotions in her. She felt crushed and her head swam with regrets of letting the
man she loved go.
Chapter 44:
Realizations and Repercussions
Geet stood tensedly by
the door clutching and releasing her duppatta. She was shocked and surprised he
had come to meet her. Not a day had passed without her thinking about him. It
had almost become inherent to start her day with his thoughts and end it with
his. She hoped her walking away would finally give him a chance at happiness.
She gulped while
adjusting her duppatta for the nth time. The nausea swirled
unrestrained in her stomach and her head swam with regrets. It felt like a wolf
eating at her chest, tearings it's way to her trembling heart. It threatened to
devour her and leave nothing behind. Hearing him knock the door she took a long
breath before opening the door. She watched as he stood clutching a big yellow
envelope with his left arm while his other hand held a small bag.
The person that stood
in front of her looked completely different from one she left behind seven
months ago. There was an aura of grey around him. His shoulders sagged as if a
giant boulder was laid on him. His face was stubbornly dry and numb of any
feelings. She wished she could just erase the past and walk into his arms
professing her love to him. But reality mocked her back.
"Hi Geet." His voice
sounded rough even to his ears.
He scanned her from
head to toe. She looked daungtingly thin and her skin looked alarmingly pale
and clammy. It seemed like she never had gotten enough sleep over the months. Her
eyes reflected an attitude of profound distress beneath a projecting mass of
rock and robbing them of their usual warmth.
"Hi Maan." Her voice
sounded hollow.
The apartment was much
smaller than the penthouse he had rented for her. Yet it seemed to be well
maintained. Maan looked over her shoulder to see everything placed in order.
There was a small couch and a table with a chair in the name of furniture. An
old oil painting of a lonely child watching kids play around in the park hung
by the wall. A clear vase with wilted red and yellow tulips was kept on the
table.
"Nice place," he said
without any emotion in his tone.
No one made a move.
Both stood facing each other but neither of them looked into each other's eyes
as they spoke.
Geet wished to clarify
why she moved away from the place he had gotten for her but suddenly she seemed
to run out of words. She blankly stared at the yellow envelope he held before
looking at the clock.
"Is it always busy
down here?" he asked as he watched another car pass by through the window.
"Ji?" She scrunched
her eyebrows confused at his sudden change of topic. She tried to read his expression
but he seemed to show none. Did she expect any better after crushing his hopes
and walking away like that on him? She gulped ignoring the huge lump forming in
her throat while tears seemed to prick her eyes. "Ji," she replied casting her
eyes down.
The atmosphere was highstrung
with tension that one could cut through with a knife.
"Please sit down, main
paani laati hoon," she said before hurrying towards the kitchen.
He took slow steps
towards the couch. Placing the bag on the floor, he sat down while holding the
envelope. She came out with a glass of water and held it in front of him to
take. He took it from her, took a sip before placing it down on the floor. He
stared out the window while she stared at the clock once again.
"I think it's gonna
rain today," he remarked out of the blue.
"Ji," she replied in
monosyllable looking at the dark grey clouds lining the horizon. "Dadima kaisi
hai?" she enquired hesitantly.
"I guess she is coping
well after all the things that happened."
She could read his
subtle taunt was aimed at her. Afterall, she had broken his family apart and he
had all the rights to point a finger at her. She looked away sniffing back her
tears.
Another bout of
awkward silence settled between them. The only sounds in the room were the
ticking of the clock and faint sounds of honks and sirens from outside.
He had noticed her
frequently looking at the clock from the corner of his eyes. He vowed that none
of her actions would bother him but her constantly looking at the clock pricked
him somewhere. Of course he hadn't expected her to run into his arms and with
her eyes roving around the clock, he decided he would just hand her the papers
and make a move. There was really no use wasting his time in a place where he
was not wanted.
Clearing his throat he
placed the envelope beside him on the couch before getting up in one quick
move. "These are for you," he said pointing at the envelope and bending down to
get his bag. "Jab tumhe time mil jayega, take a look and mail them back to me."
Geet looked up to see
him hurriedly get up and wondered what that yellow envelope contained. "Yeh
dene ke liye aap itni taqleef kyun uthaayi?" she blurted completely unware of
his irritation.
He stopped to look
directly into her eyes. Her question was the final nail in the coffin. His
suspicions were right he was never welcome here. Had he become such a stranger
that he wasn't even allowed to visit her?
"Taqleef?" he asked
with a cynical smile, "tumne mujhe sivai aaj tak taqleef ke diya hi kya hai jo
aaj taqleef ke bare mein baat kar rahi ho?"
She heard the door
slam behind him. And he was gone.
A lone tear slipped
from her eyes, followed by another and another until it became a steady stream.
"You are right Maan,
maine aapko taqleef ke sivai kuch nahi diya," she mumbled sniffing back her
tears. "Aur kuch nahi."
Slow desolate tears
ran from her unblinking eyes and dripped steadily onto her pyjamas. Each new
tear a hot trail of agony as slim, bare shoulders shook in each rake of emotion
through her frame. A deep emptiness filled her heart. Breathing hitched and her
knees grew weak causing her to slump on the cold wooden floor.
She didn't know how
long she sat there staring at the door magically hoping he would come running
back through them. Only when the phone blared through the room, she blinked her
eyes away from the door.
She walked into her
room wiping her already dried tears with the back of her hand. The incessant
ringing seemed to momentarily stop only for it to start ringing again. Slinding
it open, she held the phone near her ear only to hear the person on the other
end scream in panic.
"Geet where are you?
Why are you not picking up my calls?" Geet heard her panic-stricken voice.
"Angie, Angie," Geet
intervened trying to calm her friend down. "Angie listen I am fine. I was
working on something when you called so couldn't pick up your call," she said
lying smoothly.
"Geet, you sound
awful, you sure everything is fine?" Angie asked skeptically.
"I, I just woke up
that's why I sound gruffy," she said swallowing her urge to sob.
"I ain't buying your
excuses darling," Angie said shaking her head solemnly.
"But I'll keep the grilling sessions for
later. For now hurry up or you are going to be late for the exam!"
"I'll be there soon,"
Geet replied before ending the call.
A feeling of dread
crept over her as she mechanically gathered her books and other necessary items
and shoved them into a bag. In this frozen state, her mind offered the only
available thought about the exam that would help her attain her goal. Getting
the apartment keys she unlocked the door with a click. Even the simple act of
opening the door seemed laborious. She pulled harder and walked out. Locking
the apartment she took the stairs down.
Her brain had switched
into autopilot mode as she walked through the busy streets of New York City to
her examination center. Her love had walked through those doors once again and
she had stood helplessly watching. Dodging the many tourists who crowded the
city to get a glimpse of the magic, she walked like a zombie into the testing
center. Her head stayed bowed until her face had been dried by the wind and her
composure regained.
Angie saw her walk
into the center like a robot and hoped Geet was just tensed about the exam and
nothing else.
Anjali Mehra known as
Angie by her close family and friends had met Geet for the first time sitting
lonely by the lakeside in Central Park. Growing up by the park she had seen
many visit this place but none of them looked so emotionally bankrupt. Her eyes
held a faraway look as though she had lost something she would never gain back
in life. Unable to take her eyes off the pain she exuded, Angie went to sit
beside her and strike a conversation. But nothing seemed to work as she saw
Geet reply in monosyllables. Getting no proper reply, she decided to leave her
alone.
Slowly this became a
habit. Angie found Geet sitting by the lakeside every single day around the
same time she came back home. Although Geet refused to reveal the pain that
enveloped her soul in swirling blackness, she did open up to Angie. They
realized both had finished their medical school and was in the process of
writing the last exam. Having found common grounds both hung out together and
many times teamed to study together.
"Baby is everything
alright?" Angie asked with concern. "You look like you saw a ghost. Is it exam
tension?"
Taking a long breath,
Geet looked up to give Angie a small smile. Angie was her only solace in this
huge unknown city. Geet had grown fond of her company and felt grateful for all
the things Angie did for her. She couldn't put Angie through more trouble by
revealing her woes. It was her pain and she would bear it in spite of the high
intensity of heartache it caused her.
"Everything is under
control," Geet said managing to put up a smile. "It's just im nervous about the
exam."
"I'm sure you can solve
these questions even in your sleep. Stop worrying and let's go and kick butt!" Angie
winked as they entered the examination room.
They were taking the
second part of Step 3 Exam that consisted of computer simulations of patient
care. Geet sat at her computer station waiting for the screen to prompt her to
begin.
Case history of the
first pateint scenario read about a girl who is brought to the emergency room
by her husband after her fall from the stairs. And instantly her thoughts went
to the first day of their marriage when she fell down and sprained her ankle.
She remembered his anxiety and his care.
She remembered how the
pain in the ankle was throbbing and her eyes had welled up with fresh tears due
to extreme pain. Maan had noticed her pain and rushed to sit by her side to
help her ease her pain. And she let him lift her her and gently placing her on
the cement ledge on the corner of the road.
Her eyes stung with
fresh tears as she recalled their encounter. Biting her lower lip she bagan to type
the answer. It was your decision,' her mind reminded her as she paused to
blankly stare at the screen, you let him go. It was the best decision for him
and you.'
Minutes ticked by and
a message popped on her screen reminding her screen was inactive and the time
was running out. Wiping away a tear that blurred her from reading the next
question, she continued mechanically typing on the screen.
She never seemed to
register anything around her and refused to take a break in between. She kept
typing away while occasionally rubbing off a lone tear that trickled down her
cheek to the neck and chest before melting into the cloth she wore.
Finishing the last
question, she got off her seat and walked out solemnly. She waited for the
proctors to finish up other formalities before giving her results.
"Wow Geet you finished
already?" Angie came out looking surprised. "Tum itni nervous kyun ho darling,
I am sure you would have done exceptionally well."
"Well congratulations
Miss Handa, congratulations for completing the exam and I shall print the
results in a few minutes," the guy printing out the results said. Placing all
the papers into a folder along with the results he gave Geet her packet. Thanking
the guy, Geet got up and let Angie complete her formalities.
Both walked back to their
respective lockers to get their belongings when Angie looked at her test
results. "Oh shucks yaar!" she exclaimed with a sigh, "Sirf 165 out of 190. I
studied so much for this and look at the results," she said disappointment
evident in her voice. "Ugh whatever, now that I am done with this, I am free!"
"How did you do Geet?"
Angie asked closing the locker.
"I didn't check," Geet
replied nonchalantly, folding her jacket. "Here you could check," she said
handing the file to her.
"But baby you work so
hard for this and now you don't wan"" her eyes widened in surprise and
happiness. "Wait what!" Angie screamed unable to contain her excitement looking
at the results in front of her. "Oh my God! That's brilliant baby! I'm so proud
of you!" she screamed hugging Geet. "188 out of 190, Geet! We need to celebrate
this!" she said hugging her and jumping at the same time.
Angie realized all
this time it was only her who was screaming with joy while her friend didn't
seem to register anything going on around her. "Geet?" she called with her
brows scrunched in confusion. "Geet you okay?" she asked once again shaking her
shoulder. "Geet aren't you happy you did so well on the exam?" she asked only
to find her still as a statue. Confused at Geet's reaction, Angie shook her
slightly causing the yellow envelope to carelessly fall on the floor while some
other papers flew out.
"I lost him forever,"
she whispered aimlessly staring ahead.
"Geet!" Angie
exclaimed trying to gather all the papers when her eyes fell on the bold
letters staring in front of her that read Deed of Mutual Divorce'. Shocked,
she proceeded to read further only to realize it was divorce papers of Geet
Handa with her husband, Maan Singh Khurana. "Geet, yeh sab kya hai?" She tried
to make sense of things going around her.
Precap: "Wo Mohabbat Ka Sauda Bhi Ajeeb Karti Hai...Bas Muskurati Hai Aur Dil Kharid Leti Hai..."
Like I mentioned before this story is going to end in max 4-5 updates. If there is anything you guys want to read in particular please let me know and I will try my best to include. Also I may have left some loopholes so please do let me know so I can close those up too 😳 I have planned something for the next update but I want to know if you guys want anything specific for Maaneet meeting or the way Maan reacts or accepts.
I know many of you want Geet to suffer and Maan to hate her. But incorporating that will number one, stretch the story and also she has been suffering all along. So to show more suffering will get too boring. Anyways let me know people! 😃
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