Aankhon Mein Teri
A Maaneet Fan Fic
Chapter9
"Sonali, I am just as worried about Dev as you."
"Then you will speak to Maan about finding him?" Sonali asked with hope.
"Nahin. Maan Dev se bahut naraz hain, aur iss police case ki wajah se bahut pareshan hain." (No. Maan is very angry with Dev, and very worried because of this police case.)
"But..."
"I've hired an investigator to look for Dev. What I want to talk to you about is Maan and Geet's situation."
Geet had been walking in the corridor past Dadima's room when she heard those words uttered. Quickly hiding behind the door, she strained to hear what was being said. Normally she did not like to eavesdrop, but given the state of her marriage, felt she had no choice. She listened as Dadima told Nani of her plan to insist that Geet do her Masters in Psychology at the University of Delhi as suggested by the Principal, instead of Chandigarh University. Maan was staying at the Khurana mansion and Dadima was going to take Geet there to stay for the two years it would take to complete her courses. She was sure that in the time they spent in Delhi, she would find a way to bring her stubborn grandson and sweet bahu together.
Geet was sure that Dadima would find a way to make her grandson angry. Quietly tiptoeing away, Geet went to her room, trying to think what she should do. If she only had to think of herself, Geet would jump at the chance to go and study in Delhi. It was basically all she had ever wanted, and unfortunately Dadima knew that. No, the problem wasn't Geet, the problem was her husband. Or, more accurately the problem was her husband's problems. Geet knew that Maan was could not be bothered about their marriage, and she also knew that he was under a lot of stress recently. That was why she determined to try and dissuade Dadima from her plans.
She first tried to persuade Dadima that she didn't want to go to Delhi, but would prefer to stay in Chandigarh. Dadima had trouble believing that, but regardless, maintained that her exceptionally intelligent bahu should go to the best university in India. After a lot of disagreements Geet finally agreed to go to Delhi, but insisted to stay in a hostel. That plan was met with less enthusiasm than her intention to stay in Chandigarh. Savitri Devi's granddaughter-in-law was not going to stay in a hostel when they had their own residence in the city. Geet then tried to suggest that she could stay by herself at the mansion, on the pretext of Dadima staying in Chandigarh so that Nani wouldn't be alone. No one was willing to fall in with that plan and even Geet's mother protested the idea.
"Geet, I don't like the idea of you staying in that city alone. Who knows what would happen. Savitriji theek keh rahe the. Tu Delhi akele mein nahin reh sakti." (Savitri was saying correctly. You can't stay in Delhi alone.)
"Maa, I wouldn't be alone. There are the servents, and of course, Maan is..."
"Don't even think of suggesting that Damaadji is there. From what I have heard, he always seems to be away for business, and I doubt you coming to Delhi would change that."
After doing all she could to try and convince the elders with no success, Geet was stuck. She felt that she had no choice but to try and contact Maan. Ever since New Years, when the government corruption scandal broke the news, and the facts surrounding Khurana Constructions being a target of sabotage came out, Geet had stopped phoning him. He never answered her calls anyway, and she had the feeling that her messages were nothing but an irritant, especially with all the difficulties he had to deal with. However, knowing how he felt about their relationship, and Dadima's plans to meddle, she felt she had no choice.
"This is Geet. Please call me back. I need to speak to you about something important."
"This is Geet calling again. I realize that you are very busy, but there is something that I really must speak to you about."
"This is Geet speaking. I really need to you call me back. There is something we have to talk about that I can't explain in a message."
Months went by without any contact. Geet left message after message, but Maan never responded. Her graduation happened, and she still hadn't been able to speak with her husband. Finally, in desperation, Geet called up the company and tried speaking to him at work. That turned out to be a dead end. She was informed that Mr. Khurana never took phone calls himself, and was directed to various underlings instead. Geet obviously couldn't speak about their marital issues with strangers, she didn't even know if the employees of Khurana Constructions knew that Maan was married.
Finally, Geet hit upon the idea of speaking with Aditya Ghosh, Pinky's boyfriend. He worked with Maan, and had been at their marriage, so he must be at least partially aware of the situation. If she could just speak with Adi and explain how important it was for her to speak with Maan, maybe he would be able to help her. Geet felt like this was the right way to go, but things still didn't turn out like she hoped.
Aditya Ghosh, Khurana Construction's CFO was just has hard to get ahold of as his boss. When she called the company the first time, she was told that he would call her back. When a week went by with no response, she called again, finding out that he wasn't even in Delhi. It seemed to take for ever, but Geet finally got the number to contact him in Rewari, without much result either. The whole fraud and sabotage case was such a complicated mess, that Adi never seemed to be available when she called.
Finally, it was the night before she and Dadima were to leave for Delhi, when Geet took the last option she could think of. She was spending the day at Pinky's house, since neither knew when the next time would be that they would see each other again. At some point it occurred to Geet that Pinky would talk often with Adi and must have his number in her phone. When her friend was off to get more snacks, she quickly looked through the phone's contacts until she found the number she needed. Putting it into her own phone before Pinky came back, she determined to place the call as soon as possible. Time was running out!
Time was indeed running out. Geet stayed at Pinky's too late, requiring her to wait until the next day to make the important phone call. With one thing and another happening in the morning, Geet had no chance, and then she was in the car with Dadima for over five hours. By the time they arrived in Delhi, it was early afternoon, and Geet was desperate. If she did not get to speak with Adi before Maan came home, she had no idea what would happen. Finally, when Dadima went to phone Nani about their arrival, she was able to make her own call.
"Hello, Adi, I mean Mr. Ghosh?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"This is Geet Khurana, Maan's wife."
"Oh. Mrs. Khurana it's...ah...it's a pleasure to hear from you. How can I help you?"
"I'm glad you asked that question Mr. Ghosh because I need your help to get in touch with Maan."
"Get in touch with Maan? But, surely you must have his number."
"If having his number did any good, then I wouldn't need your help. I have left dozens of messages over the past few months, and he has yet to reply to a single one. I also tried contacting him at the company, but had no luck there either. You are my last hope."
"What is it you need to speak with Maan about? Perhaps I can talk to him for you."
"I'm afraid that it is a personal matter."
"I really don't know how I can help then. If he's not able to respond to your messages, I don't know..."
"Mr. Ghosh, you have yet to ask me how I obtained your personal mobile number."
Adi blinked, and realized that it was quite odd for a woman he had never spoken to, even if she was Maan's wife, should be calling him up on his mobile. "How did you get my number, Mrs. Khurana?"
"Through Pinky. I do believe you know who Pinky is."
Adi's mouth dropped and his eyes widened as he exclaimed, "You are Pinky's friend Geet? The one she keeps talking about all the time?"
Geet confirmed that she was Pinky's friend Geet and that she had gotten his number from Pinky's phone without her being aware of it. Adi still was not too keen on helping her, not because he didn't want to, but he knew his friend well. Geet also knew her friend well, and had no trouble threatening to tell her everything. She asked Adi to consider what he thought Pinky's reaction would be to finding out that her boyfriend was not willing to help her best friend get in contact with her absent husband. Adi wasn't happy with the emotional blackmail, but he eventually gave Geet a way to communicate with Maan that he assured would succeed.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: DO NOT DELETE! Important, please read.
Maan, I realize that you are very busy and that this email would be unwelcome. However, as you have never responded to any of my phone calls, I took the only avenue left for me to contact you. Considering the letter you left me regarding your views on our marriage, I felt it was only right to inform you that Dadima and I have arrived in Delhi and will be staying at the Khurana mansion. I also felt you should know that inspite of my efforts, Dadima has insisted that I stay in your room. You can probably guess that she is hoping this will cause us to spend time together.
I regret that I was unable to inform you about this before we arrived, but as I mentioned previously, I did try to contact you several times with no response. I hope that you will not be too angry at the intrusion. I truly did try every option I could think of to try and dissuade Dadima, but obviously I was unsuccessful. I really hope that you read this email, as I don't want you to be upset by my sudden appearance.
Thank you for your time,
Geet Khurana
Geet felt that the email was a little impersonal and sounded like she was applying for a job. The thing was, she didn't want to sound too familiar and make him even more angry than he was already likely to be. She just hoped that Adi was right about the importance given to this business email address. That Maan would read her message, even though her address would be unfamiliar to him. Feeling she had done her best, Geet hit the send button before she could change her mind. The only thing left to do was wait.
She didn't have to wait too long. Within less than half an hour she saw a reply to her message appear in her inbox. At first she was thrilled. Finally, Maan had responded. Then she became a little frightened, unsure what his reply would contain. She debated for a few minutes, but then decided that she must face reality. Whatever he had written, she could not run away from it, but instead should accept it with as much calm as possible.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: RE: DO NOT DELETE! Important, please read.
Madam, to say that I was surprised by your email would be an understatement. I'm not even sure how you came by this email address, but considering the nature of your message, I can hardly find fault with it. As it happens, only today I made a last minute decision to leave tonight for a three week tour of some of the company's international projects. Under the circumstances I think that I might extend the trip. My previous views have not changed, and the extra time will allow me to try and think of some solution to the issue that Dadima would agree to.
As a matter of personal curiosity, how did you get ahold of this email address? I only ask, because I use it purely for important business emails, and the number of people who have it are very few.
Maan Singh Khurana
Geet didn't know exactly what she had been expecting as a response, but at least her husband didn't seem angry. Although, it was hard to tell with writing, as there were less ways of easily conveying emotion, and Maan hardly seemed like the kind to use emoticons. However, Geet still felt like the wording held no hidden meanings or sarcasm. It felt more like a straight forward communication, giving her the feeling that she had done the right thing by emailing him. She even thought that it would be safe to give a reply to his question, and she set out to do so when Dadima came and interrupted her.
Laxmi's Lafz:
Wow! Over a month since my last update. Hey, but at least I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows today.😊
| topics | author | replies | views | reply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Srishti_124 | 5 | 345 | ||
| Rizz-ington | 34 | 4709 | ||
| Srishti_124 | 3 | 541 | ||
| Srishti_124 | 3 | 427 | ||
| Srishti_124 | 1 | 416 |
comment:
p_commentcount