Dheere Dheere Se – Part 32

“We’re on a business trip, so let’s keep it professional and finish our meals,” he urged her.

Geet was just shoving the deliciou food into her mouth, oblivious to its flavor. But Maan chose to ignore it; he couldn’t allow her to go hungry because of his foolish past.

They arrived at the Manali Art Center right on schedule. Geet had remained quiet the entire journey.

“And you truly believe this silent treatment will fix anything? The only way I can explain is if you actually talk to me. It’s merely a coincidence that she entered my life before you did, and I was too young back then to grasp the meaning behind the words I said. Geet, she holds no significance.”

But Geet was deeply absorbed in gazing out the window, as though any captivating show was being telecast in the sky.

As they entered the art center, the wonderful traditional setup and décor of the center brought a smile to her face. Maan noticed it and found some relief seeing a smile on her face. Maybe this setup can help.

He badly wanted her to know what she meant to him. If her anger and her silence have the power to kill him, that says it all.

Mr. Chandra asked them to check out the art center and feel its atmosphere. He will arrive in an hour.

Geet was captivated by the traditional shops. Her first stop was the Chunri shop. Maan stood at a distance, entranced by how she draped various vibrant chunris over herself, at times partially veiling her face, playfully teasing his gaze as she peeked through the delicate fabric, looking like a bride concealed in a veil, occasionally fumbling with the slippery material as she attempted to position it on her head. Maan was so absorbed that his feet instinctively carried him closer to her. He gently slipped the soft, thin fabric from her hands and arranged it gracefully on her head.

Geet, for a moment, forgot her pain at his sudden appearance and gesture.

“It looks beautiful on you. You look so beautiful,” came from his lips, bringing her back to reality.

“Hmmm… but I don’t like it much.” She looked at the shopkeeper, “Bhaiya, I will come back later.”

But Maan instantly picked the other one. “I know you like this one by the way you have been looking at it for a long time.” He gave it to the shopkeeper.

“Pack this.”

“I don’t want anything. If I really want it, I will get it. My boss pays me enough for me to buy one dupatta.”

“And your fiancé, Geet? He doesn’t have the right to even gift you such a small thing?”

“We are here on a professional trip.”

“I told you, this is a personal trip as well”

“I don’t like mixing two. For now, if you can allow, I will look at other counters,” and she left for the Bangles shop.

Maan looked at the shopkeeper, “Pack this”

Maan, having paid for Chunri, turned to look for Geet. She was nowhere in sight; his gaze swept in every direction, but she was absent from this circle.

“Geet…,” he scanned his surroundings.

“Where has she gone?” His first impulse was to call out to her, yet he refrained at this sensitive moment.

He looked around everywhere in that section and, not finding her, moved to the other section. And as he stepped, his eyes fell on her playing with colorful bangles in her hands. The smile that adorned her face was simply mesmerizing. A unique girl with a simple heart, who loved the simple, basic things. His complex past had definitely disturbed her.

He might call her a dreamer, but her deepest wish is to have a loving family and a husband who truly cares for her. What more did she seek in life? If he can’t even provide that, then it’s a shame for all the significant achievements he has made.

‘But only if she talks to me, can I make her understand how Nikita cannot be even compared to the lingering effect she leaves on me.’ He thought.

But then he noticed her having trouble fitting into a set of bangles. The shopkeeper took her hand to assist her. Without a moment’s hesitation, Maan rushed over to her side.

“I’ll help,” Geet knitted her brows and saw from where he suddenly appeared.

“You will not be able to, sir. Let me help,” the shopkeeper intervened.

Maan displayed his big, round eyes to the shopkeeper, causing him to release his grip on Geet’s.

“He is an expert and knows how to assist. You don’t have to.” Geet attempted to intervene, but Maan dismissed her concerns entirely. He simply couldn’t allow anyone else to hold her hands, no matter the issue.

“You don’t need any special skills for this little task.” Maan’s temper flared slightly, and he thrust the bangles firmly into her palm.

“Aaahh.” Geet winced slightly with the pain, and that brought clarity to him.

“Dard hua?” He tried checking her hand, but Geet jerked it away.

“Only if you care what others will feel with what you say and do.” And she again left that place in anger.

Maan paid the money to the shopkeeper.

He turned around, and once again, Geet was nowhere to be found. Maan scanned the area thoroughly before wandering into another section, where he discovered a circle of people laughing heartily. Just as he was about to step away in search of Geet, he spotted her at the center of the crowd.

He stepped closer to figure out what was going on, concerned that someone might be bothering her. They better not, as he would completely turn things upside down if anyone dared to entertain such thoughts.

“Mil gayee…mil gayee… Bunty ko aakhir Babli mil hee gaye”

“And how beautiful she is? Bunty finally got his Babli” and then a lady placed chunri on top of her head”

Geet was attempting to hold back, but when they said something to her, she couldn’t help but smile.

“She is smiling? They are trying to hitch her with someone and she is smiling?”

“Bunty ko mil hi gayee uski Babli,” they all exclaimed, chuckling. A woman then slipped bangles onto her wrist. Just as another was about to drape a dupatta over her head, Maan arrived, parting the crowd.

“Banti ko Bali mil hi gayee”

“Koi Banti ki Babli nahi hai yeh. She is my fiancé. Meri, Maan Singh Khurana ki mangetar hai yeh”

And he held her wrist in his fist and dragged her from there and kept walking till the other end of the hall, leaving the crowd behind to watch as he took her away from them.

After they were away from that crowd, 

“Leave me!” Geet shouted at him, yanking her hand free from his grip.

But Maan has lost his cool seeing people pairing her up with just any random guy.

“Yes, why not, so you can give your hand in the hand of that Bunty?”

“Do you even know what was happening there? Thorda sa khush thi main, but you want my mood to be exactly how you wish”

“Yeah, I noticed how ecstatic you were tying the knot with Banti.” Maan completely forgot for a moment about her upset mood and the fact that he had to address to it.

“I need some space and I need to breathe fresh air. I’ve already sent you all the details for the meeting. You don’t need me there,” she said as she walked away.

“Wow… and she thinks I should not react”

Maan remained standing for a while, watching her figure fade away. Geet had already left, yet Maan felt lost in the whirlwind of events that had just happened. What wrong had he done to stop that insane union they were attempting to force? And as for Geet, why was she even permitting them to treat her that way?

Maan’s phone chimed with a meeting notification, and it dawned on him that Geet had left a long time ago.

He tried calling her, but she never picked it.

He arrived at the central hall, eager to meet Mr. Chandra, only to discover that he was the very man who had been attempting to arrange Geet’s alliance with some Bunty.

“Mr. Khurana”

Mr. Chandra welcomed Maan heartily, “Well, very possessive Mr. Khurana … hnnn” teased the happy-faced Mr. Chandra.

Maan gave a hesitant smile, “hnnn”

“Umm.. Geet will not be joining us. We can get started.”

“No problem. I already had a discussion with Geet and we had a long discussion. You remember she was the center of that act to which you reacted like a movie hero coming out directly from the poster and saving you heroin… hahaha…” laughed Mr. Chandra

“Act?”

“Yes, Mr. Khurana. Hahaha… I will tell you”

“Miss Geet was in the hall when I arrived. She seemed a bit lost or troubled, so I approached her. Our art center aims to bring joy to people’s faces. I decided to engage her in conversation and found that she was Miss Geet who was to accompany you for our meeting. We chatted about everything she had observed, and she expressed happiness that our plans for the new art center included modernization while preserving its original charm. I then invited her to experience a unique tradition held at our ceremony center.”

“Unique tradition?”

“Yes, Mr. Khurana. The purpose is to bless unmarried girls, ensuring they find a wonderful life partner and enjoy a joyful married life. I believed that Miss Geet was an excellent candidate for this ceremony. We randomly select the girl’s name and pair it with a boy’s name, conducting a small ceremony to bless her and express how fortunate the boy will be. Miss Geet truly seems like a gem to me. You’re lucky, Mr. Khurana.”

“Yes, I am very lucky”.

But Maan was in disbelief. How much more foolish could he be? Reacting so rashly without knowing the full story? His behavior was shockingly rude. What made him so reactive? Why did seeing Geet getting engaged to someone else send him into a rage? Anything related to Geet elevated his emotions to the extreme. If she had this effect on him, then what was he trying to escape from? He had never been this triggered by anyone or anything, as he was with Geet. His past held no weight anymore, and Nikita was a mere story of his life; there was no need for any mention of that past. Yet, he did it—for Geet. He wanted to start fresh with her, completely unburdened. Why was it so crucial for him to start anew with her that he risked causing her pain? And now, when he needed to mend her hurt and fix his actions, he lost his temper once more and treated her poorly.

“Should we start this meeting, Mr. Khurana?”

“Maan thought, ‘Hmmm sure,’ it was a good idea to give Geet some space since he was doing everything wrong and being overly reactive.”

The meeting with Mr. Chandra lasted quite a while. They talked about design concepts, partnership shares, funds, and more. It spanned two hours, and by the time they concluded, it was already getting a bit dark and the weather was starting to turn bad.

“Mr. Chandra, I should leave now. We have a flight later in the night.”

“The weather is getting very bad, Mr. Khurana. It seems like it may even snow. I think you should leave sooner for the airport; traffic can be very bad.”

Mr. Chandra quickly checked the weather.

“It is expected to snow heavily, Mr. Khurana. Please leave early.”

Maan hurried outside, repeatedly calling Geet, but she never answered her phone.

“Geet, please answer the phone. I’ll definitely do whatever it takes to win you, to show you just what you mean to me. I fully understand your significance in my life. There’s no more confusion, no doubt, Geet.”

Maan jumped into the car and instructed the driver to speed to the hotel. Without waiting for the vehicle to come to a complete halt, he dashed out and headed for the elevator to find Geet’s room. He pressed the doorbell repeatedly, yet there was no response.

He unlocked his room to get his long suit on. He looked outside the window, and far away he could see a girl seated on the bench. Snow had already started, but she sat there unmoved.

“Geet” he immediately ran down

Geet was deep in her thoughts—Maan had told her that he had confessed his love to another girl. It was effortless for him to declare his feelings for her, yet so difficult for him to do the same with Geet. He treats her with kindness, almost like a charity case. He lends her a premium safe in the bank, gifts her expensive jewelry, ensuring she presents herself well in his social circle. He is diligent in fulfilling all his responsibilities. Yet, providing a family, status, and material wealth to a girl who is to be his wife feels easy because he’s a good human. He is indeed a good person. But falling in love—how could he possibly love a girl who is not his equal? And if he is incapable of loving her, how could he ever bring himself to confess it?

“But that’s why it hurts – I love him, but to him, I’m merely a substitute.”

Tears roll down her cheeks.

Geet was lost in her thoughts when she felt a strong hold on her arm. She was pulled up with a force and then landed on something strong. But the fragrance, the feel of him, she didn’t need to see who it was. Ohhh how beautiful it was to be so close to him. But she was a replacement for him.

“Are you crazy? What are you doing here? Do you see it’s snowing heavily?”

 She pushed him “I’m fine. You are hurting me”

Maan caught her wrist and yanked her back in a sudden jerk, pulling her straight into him once more. Geet despised the way this closeness stirred such a beautiful feeling inside her. She shoved him away again, but Maan’s grip tightened on her arms as he held her steady.

“We will talk, and you will understand what you mean to me. But now is the time we leave for the airport, and before that, you need to dry yourself,” he said, taking off his coat for her.

“I am fine. I do not need to know what I mean to you.” 

She turned to walk away, but her heels slipped on the snow, making her twist her ankle. Maan immediately rushed to her side, concern flashing in his eyes as he bent to check on her.

“Abb yeh banki tha…” he said, looking at her ankle “Aaa… I’m fine”

“Yes, I can see that,” and without waiting for a moment, he wrapped his hands around her and picked her up in his arms

“I’m okay. I can manage on my own; I don’t need your help.”

Maan stopped for a moment and looked intently into her eyes. “Chup, bilkul chup. Ek aur shabd nahi.” The snow was getting heavy, and all Maan knew at this moment was that they should immediately leave for the airport.

Maan placed Geet in the passenger seat, placing her seat belt around her “Jyada dard ho raha hai” 

“Kaun sa?” she looked at him. Maan did not say anything and moved to the driver’s seat.

Due to bad weather, he requested the driver to depart and proposed that the car be parked at the airport, where he could retrieve it the following morning.

The airport was an hour away, but due to snow, it would take around two hours as he could not drive at speed.

Maan was concentrating on driving, but the snowfall intensified, and after thirty minutes, the road became entirely impassable. Dressed in their work uniforms, members of the town and municipal department came to a halt in front of them.

“Sir, you cannot drive further. The road is blocked. Order has been passed that there can be no vehicle on the road till early morning tomorrow”

“We have the flight to catch”

“Sorry sir, you cannot. Its life threatening”

Maan understood their point. “I am also not allowed to go back to my hotel” He gave them the hotel information

“No sir. You can’t drive back. You can walk to the nearby lodge. It doesn’t have much in the way of facilities, yet it’s almost fully booked due to the weather conditions. But you can give it a shot; hopefully, you might snag a room there.”

Maan nodded. He got out and then before Geet could step down, reached her side

“I’ll manage” “No you’ll not with your twisted ankle and this road” and ignoring her resistance he picked her in arms.

It took Maan a good fifteen minutes of walking to finally arrive at the lodge. Although the place was entirely booked, after a great deal of persuasion and handing over a considerable amount of cash, the clerk managed to secure a corner room for them.