~BEZUBA~
I would have updated days before but you all just took ages to get to the target. So this time the delay wasn't my fault.
~PART 16~
Bas. Maan
showed her a hand and Geet jumped back as if electrified. Mai lad kar aaya apni maa se wo kafi nai hai tumhare lie? Akhir aur kya
chahti ho tum. Mai jaan gaya tum koshish kar rai ho par agar maa tumhe apni
bahu nai maanti toh isme mai kya karu. Mai unhe force toh nahi kar sakta.
Geet shook her head. He was taking her words wrongly. She didn't mean what he
was thinking. She wasn't complaining. Mai
thak gaya hu. Waha maa se aur yaha tumse. Well, I have news for you. Mere paas
aur bhi important kaam hai so get lost.
Geet kept a hand over her mouth to muffles the silent
sobs n rushed out. Maan punched the mirror; blood trickled down his hand
dripping on the floor. It would leave mark on the carpet, Maan thought with a
hysterical laugh. Some stains could never be cleaned.
This was going to be another sleepless night. Maan
lamented making his way back into the bedroom after taking bath. His migraine
had amplified. This was why he didn't want to come home. Every second here was
a torture. He could handle dozen of projects and clients; could bear any amount
of workload n still smile in the BOD meeting but he couldn't take this
emotional trauma. Funny, by now he should have gotten used to it. But it was
the opposite; he couldn't just keep up anymore because he was living this
damned life for too long. No one was to be blamed though except for he himself.
His gaze fell on the paper lying on the table. Pathetically, his heart missed a
beat. He had locked the door so Geet must have kept it before he made her run
out of his bedroom. But she didn't know he had come back from the trip. For
some reason his hand shook as he unfolded her words.
Maan, mai apko
phir se pareshan kar rai hu. Par yeh baat zaroori hai. Abhi tak mujhe iska
ehsaas nahi hua tha par aaj hua hai toh mai isse bahar nikalna chahti hu. Mujhe
lagta tha ke aapko pata hai par ho sakta hai mai galat hu. Agar maine aapko
nahi bataya toh yeh baat andar hi andar mujhe kha jayegi aur apse chupana apke
saath dhoka hoga. Mujhe pata hai ke aap ek acche insaan hai aur issi lie apne
meri madad ki. Issilie mai apse yeh baat kabhi chupa nai sakti. Apka jo faisla
hoga mujhe manzoor hai bas mai apko batana chahti hu ke mai saaf nahi hu, Maan.
4 saal pehle-
He folded the paper back hurriedly, more of crushed it,
throwing it as far away as he could. The thing burned his hand and the sting
swallowed him. His skin had turned blue n the migraine pulsated in his head
like a beast. His palms tightened over his knees, fingers digging into the rotten
skin. Tears collected and eventually spilled. Only living wasn't his punishment
as he had thought earlier. It was much worse. Much. More. Worse.
Next morning, Geet found a note under her pillow,
sticking out just a bit for her to notice. Confused, Geet opened it n
recognized the hand writing instantly.
Mujhe pehle se
pata tha.
She read it again n again. A mountain shifted off her
head. The five words meant so much. It meant that he wasn't disgusted by her
otherwise he wouldn't have married her. It meant that she wasn't betraying him.
And, most of all, it meant that they might have a future, together. She held
the paper to her chest. That she had been worried seemed stupid now. Didn't she
always know that she could trust him? He was not like everyone else. Her
husband was different. He didn't work by the shallow principles of the society.
He lived on his own terms and more than everything else he understood that it
wasn't her choice or fault.
Surely, he had his own reasons and resistances and he
wasn't exactly a easy person either. That much she had learned but then she
wasn't a perfect bride everyone dreamed of.
Geet decided that she would wait and give him as much
time and space as he wanted. She wouldn't crowd him and would just stand by him
in everything, like he had been with her. She would become his strength and
never his weakness. With the thought-forgetting all about his anger and harshness-she hurried to his room but it was
deserted.
Wo Bangalore gaye
hai shayad 4-5 din ke lie. A servant answered when Geet asked. She made a
face but the news didn't faze her, her whole life was laid ahead, there was no
shortage of time.
After days when Maan returned she went to him. Her eyes
craved to see him n ears to hear his voice, even if he scolded her she wouldn't
mind. *Aap gussa bhi unhi pe karte hai jinhe aap apna maante hai, haina babaji?*
Mai tumhe hi
bulwane wala tha. Maan told hearing the sound of her anklets. Geet drank
him in through lowered lashes. He was wearing polo shirt n trousers n looked
really handsome, his hairs were wet n she had an urge to touch them but
obviously was scared of him. Baitho.
She settled down on the chair n cursed the table between
them. Maan pushed a file before her and kept typing rapidly on the laptop.
*Yeh meri taraf dekhenge nai toh mai inse baat kaise
karungi.* She opened the file and couldn't believe her eyes. It had... her
boards' mark sheets and passing certificates. She blinked, a lump forming in her
throat. He looked up when she shook her hands to catch his attention. Her face
had a broad grin n eyes were filled with tears. Slowly. He told because she was moving her hands so fast. Geet
gulped n signed again. *Aapko yeh kaise mili, inhe toh taayi ji ne jala dia
tha.*
I went to your
school n talked to the principle. She told that it would take few days but she
would get new mark sheets n certificates made. She didn't even have to check
records n remembered you clearly since you were the topper of your batch. Geet
didn't know if she saw right or not but something akin to pride shone in Maan's
eyes. I saw your name on the toppers'
board.
She blushed n grinned, her marks hadn't meant a thing to
her family or people of Hosiyaarpur but her father took proud in them n perhaps
Maan did too. *Mai hamesha bahut intelligent thi kyuki papaji mujhe rooz badam
khilate the aur kam marks aane pe daatte bhi the. Par aapko mere school ke bare
me kaise pata chala, mai Hosiyaarpur me nahi rehti thi tab.*
Itni choti si baat
pata karna Maan Singh Khurana ke lie koi mushkil kaam nai hai.
Geet stared at the table and nodded. She was too much
overwhelmed with the emotion of gratitude and her heart thudded with something
she had never felt before. It was so big n consuming. Little tingles raced up
her body as she dared to look up into Maan's eyes. They were beautiful, so
soft... and wide. Oh, wide because he found her staring. She diverted her gaze
immediately. She wished she could thank him in her way but things had changed
since the last time so she just signed. *Thank you. Jab taayi ji ne mark sheets
jalayi thi toh mujhe laga sab khatam ho gaya par aapne ek baar phir meri madad
ki taki mai college jaa saku-* Maan cocked his head in confusion and she
stopped.
College?
*Wo aapne meri aur Dadimaa ki baat sun li thi na?* Why
else would he arrange for the mark sheets.
Which talks? Maine
yeh humare marriage registration ke lie arrange karwaye hai, Geet. They are
needed as your age n identity proof. I don't want any legal issues arising
because of your family as you are staying here. So marriage registration is
important.
Sheer disappointment sweeped over her. She thought he
brought it for her. *Geet tu kya soch rai hai. Wo lekar aaye na kya wo kafi
nai.* She smiled despite herself n thanked him again. Kal hume court jana hai
so be ready by 11 in morning. He got back to work n it was a signal for her to
leave. At the door she looked back. Why work was so much important to him she
didn't know. It felt it was his food, sleep and air. You worked for a good life
or you lived to work? Geet wondered.
Maan sighed n leaned back. Every conversation with her
was a test of patience n wits. He had to watch out for each word and action. Being
with her was like walking on eggshells. The worst thing was her being an open
book, she practically wore emotions on her face and that's why it hurt so much.
Indeed, just living wasn't his punishment.
Just a like n comment to make me happyπ³
Waiting eagerly
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