Fida's Corner: His Wife, Mrs. Khurana!!! (Chapter 23)

Chapter 23

As the car drew up to Priya’s house, he wondered what kind of woman could love a man who had committed such heinous acts in the past.  He couldn’t help but wonder what was it about Dev that made women fall for him so easily, then grimaced inwardly as he realised that somewhere inside him he still couldn’t handle the fact that Geet had once thought herself in love with Dev.  His fingers tightened around hers as he tried to deal with his jealousy, then when she smiled shyly every angry thought left his head as love flooded through him.

He got out of the car, then walked round to help Geet out, taking her hand to lead her towards the main entrance.  As they approached, the door opened; an elegant sari-clad woman stood there, obviously having been watching for their arrival.

Geet took the lead, stepping forward to take the woman’s hand.

“Priya, aap kaisi hain.  Hum aise aagaye, maaf karna, magar yeh aap se kuch baat karna chahte the” “Priya, how are you?  Forgive us for visiting like this, but my husband wanted to talk to you”.

Stepping forward, he shook her hand, then followed the two women into the house. 

Before he could say anything, Priya Paatil spoke “Khurana sahab, I know why you’re here.  You’re wondering why I want to marry your brother, despite what he did in the past.”

He admired her for her forthrightness, and decided to be just as open about his concerns.

“Ms Paatil, let me be frank.  All I want to be sure is that you’re not marrying him because you have to, because you need money or support or help.  If you’re marrying him because you love him, as my wife thinks you do, then I will support you, but I need to know that there is no other reason”

She smiled “He told me you were a good man.  I see that he was right.”

She paused then took a breath before speaking “Khurana sahab, aap se main sirf itna kahoongi ke main aap ke bhai se shaadi karna chahti hoon.  Aap yeh bharosa karlein ke agar Dev ne mujhse shaadi karli to main phir kabhi usse kamzor nahin padhne doongi.  Kabhi phir ussko gunaah karne nahin doongi.” “Mr Khurana, all I will say is that I want to marry your brother.  You must believe that if Dev marries me, I’ll never let him be weak again, I’ll never let him sin again.”

Inviting them to be seated with a simple gesture, she rang a bell then watched as a uniformed maid brought in a tea tray.  As he watched Priya pour tea with a steady hand, he wondered again what this self-contained woman saw in his brother.

After a moment, Geet’s phone rang; as she took it out of her bag, she said “Dadi ka call hai; main abhi aayi.”

As Geet stepped away to take his grandmother’s call, he took advantage of her absence to ask, “You know what he did to Geet, and yet you want to marry him?”

“I know what he did, and still I want to marry him.  I truly believe that he has changed, Khurana sahab, I truly do. I think the realisation that he was capable of such evil shocked him, and made him re-evaluate.  Whatever he was, he isn’t the same person any longer.  And I promise that I’ll make sure he never is again.  Ever.”

Priya looked at Geet, who stood to one side talking on the phone.

“Khurana sahab, when Geet told me her side of the story, I wept.  For her to have suffered so much..........”  She stopped as she saw his fists clench.

After a moment, she continued “And then I looked at her, and realised that despite everything she had beaten him.  He means nothing to her now, doesn’t have any power over her anymore.  She has made her life a success, she has found someone who loves her and who she loves.  And she did that despite everything he did to her.  Dev means less to her now than an ant or a fly.”

She took a deep breath and said “And I love him.  He means a lot to me.  I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but he has become necessary to me.  Aur main uss ke baghair nahin rehna chahti.” “And I don’t want to live without him.  Whatever his flaws, I care for him very much”

He looked over to where his wife stood and thought about the way she still loved him, despite everything he had done to her.  Priya hadn’t experienced anything bad from Dev himself, she’d only heard about it. 

As he looked at the woman he loved, then at the woman who loved his brother, he came to a decision.  Geet was right, it was time to try and move on.

He looked back at Priya and said “Theek hai, Ms Paatil, main aapke aur Dev ke beech mein nahin boloonga.  Agar woh aap se shaadi karna chahta hai, to yahi sahi.  Magar Dev ko raazi karna aur usse samjhane mein na main boloonga na Geet; baat itni bhi purani nahin hai ke hum donon uss se shaadi ke liye raazi karoon.”  “Alright Ms Paatil, I won’t interfere between you and Dev.  If he wants to marry you, then that’s ok.  But I won’t speak to Dev and I won’t persuade him to marry you and neither will Geet.  What happened is not so far in the past that either of us would feel comfortable persuading him to get married”

Standing, he walked over to Geet, waiting until she finished talking to Dadi; as she turned towards him, he murmured “chalein Geet”. He put his hand in the small of her back to guide her towards the door and turned to find Priya watching them. Geet smiled at the other woman and said “Dadi ne aap ko bahut yaad kiya hai, Priya ji. Mere khayal se hum log jald hi milenge” “Dadi said she is thinking of you Priya, I think that we’ll meet soon”

As Priya walked with them to the door, he turned to her and said “Ms Paatil, main aap ke kaam aasakoon to mujhe yaad kijiyega. Dev aur aap ke beech jab koi faisla hojaye to hum donon uss faisle mein aap ka saath denge” “Ms Paatil, if I can be of any help to you, then please remember me. Whatever decision you and Dev come to, then we will both be with you, no matter what decision you make”


“Khurana sahab, aap mujhe abhi jaante nahin hain. Mere khayal se aap mujhe Priya kehne lagein, kyunki faisla to ho chuka hai, chahe Dev abhi maanne ko tayyar ho ya nahin; meri aur Dev ki shaadi hone waali hai aur aap mere Jeiyth Jethaani banne waale hain. Ab sirf yeh dekhna hai ke Dev kitne dinon tak meri baat taalte hain”
“Khurana sahab, you don’t know me very well yet. I think you should start calling me Priya, because the decision has been made, whether Dev understands that yet or not; Dev and I will get married and you are going to be my Jeiyth and Jethaani. Now all that is let is to see how long it takes Dev to listen to me”


As Maan and Geet sat in the car and were driven away, he turned back to look at the woman standing in the doorway. There was a smile on her face and he knew just by looking at her that she would get her way.


Turning to his wife, he said “It seems we had better start preparing for a wedding”

Fida's Corner: His Wife, Mrs. Khurana!!! (Chapter 22)

Chapter 22

As they ate breakfast, they kept stealing glances at each other, as if trying to assure themselves that the conversation they remembered had really happened.  Nakul buzzed around them, quietly happy for once that they were eating rather than just pushing the food around their plates as had happened more and more over the past weeks.

They chatted about desultory topics; work, Pinky and Adi’s relationship, when Dadi might come back from her friend’s house.  As they were just about to leave the table, Dev wandered in, looking shell-shocked.

“Kya hua Dev?” she said.  “What happened Dev?” she said

Dev sat in his normal place, not saying a word in response to Geet’s query, then leaned his head into his shaking hands.

“Bro, main kya karoon?”  “Bro, what shall I do?”

“Dev, hua kya hai?” he said brusquely.  “Dev, just tell me what happened” he said brusquely

“Aap se baat karke main Priya ke ghar gaya, pata nahin kyun.  Shayad main usse yeh kehna chah raha tha ke main usse phir nahin milsakta.”

“After I talked to you, I went to Priya’s house, I’m not sure why.  I think I wanted to tell her that I could never see her again”

“To phir kya hua?” “So what happened?”

“Bro, she asked me to marry her.  I think I said yes.  Bro, what have I done, what should I do?”

“Dev, get a grip on yourself.  Calm down.  Go upstairs, get some sleep, let me sort this out.”

Dev continued to look shattered, his eyes wild, but his brother’s words seemed to reach him.  He stood slightly shakily and made his way up the stairs to his bedroom, leaving behind two slightly startled people.

Geet watched him go, then turned back to look at her husband.  He had a disbelieving smile on his face, his eyes filled with laughter and sadness as he watched his younger brother climb the stairs.  He turned back to her and saw the questioning look on her face, then said “Geet, I think I need to meet Priya, don’t you?”

“Aap kya karenge?” “What will you do?”

He sighed then said, “Geet, perhaps you’re right.  Perhaps it’s true that we all deserve a second chance, even Dev.  Perhaps if he is married and settled with his own family, I won’t want to rip his heart out everytime I see him.  Perhaps the time has come to just move on.  But I need to know that this woman knows what she is doing. And if she does..........”

As he spoke he stood and walked over to stand behind her saying, “If she really wants him, despite everything he has done, then she can have him.”

He paused, then bent to whisper in her ear “And then we can get on with our life”.  As he straightened, he saw the blush rise over the slope of her shoulders; he put his hand on her shoulder as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled Dadi’s number.  After a moment, he felt her fingers come and rest on his hand, holding on to it as tight as she could.

When Dadi answered, he told her what was going on and agreed when she said it was probably time for her to come home.  And the whole time he felt Geet’s hand on his, all he could think about were the days (and nights) to come, and how much he would enjoy showing Geet how much he loved her.

After finishing his conversation with his grandmother, he asked Geet “Kya tumhare paas Priya  ka phone number hai?” “Do you have Priya’s phone number?”

She nodded, then drew her hand away from his as she stood.  Looking up at him, she smiled then blushed again at the look in his eyes.

“Number mere phone mein hai, woh oopar rakha hai, main laadeti hoon.” “The number is in my phone, it’s upstairs, I’ll bring it to you”.

He stopped her with a touch as she went to walk away from him, then held out his arm in a silent invitation.  When she placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, he smiled then led her upstairs. 

Once in their room, she handed him her phone, then went to the wardrobe to pick out some clothes as he made his phone call.  She listened as he spoke to Priya Paatil, appearing unsurprised as he asked politely if they could meet her today.  As he ended the call, he looked over at her and nodded just once.

She took her clothes into the bathroom to change, leaving the door open.  As tempted as he was to follow her in, to press his case, to use her physical response to help him prove his love, he resisted; too much too soon would just make her keep her barriers high.

Instead, he called in after her “Geet, Priya ke baare mein tumhein kya pata hai?” “Geet, what do you know about Priya?”

He stood in the bedroom, changing his clothes as he listened to the information she had; by the time she emerged from the bathroom, he knew as much as she did.

As she sat in front of the dressing table to brush her hair, their eyes met in the mirror.  A moment passed before she said “Aap Priya ko darraenge to nahin?”  “You won’t scare Priya, will you?”

He lifted an eyebrow at her question, then gave a half-smile as she said “Aise mat dekhiye, aap jaante hain ke aapse sab darrte hain.  Aap agar wahan Maan Singh Khurana waale roop mein gaye, to woh bechari pata nahin kya sochengi” “Don’t look at the like that, you know that everyone is scared of you.  If you go there as Maan Singh Khurana, then I don’t know what that poor woman will think”.

Walking over to stand behind her, he said “Tum to mujhse nahin darrti ho na Geet?”  “You’re not scared of me, are you Geet?”

When she didn’t say anything, he put his hands on her shoulder and turned her towards him.  As she looked at him silently, he said “Aur kissi ko bhi mujhse darr lage, magar tumhein kabhi mujhse darrne ki zaroorat nahin hai Geet.  Tumhara ek aanso to main bardaasht nahin karsakta, tumse naraaz kaise ho sakta hoon?”  “Whether anyone else is scared of me or not, but you know that you don’t need to be scared of me.  I can’t bear it when you shed a single tear, how could I ever be cross with you?”

He held her gaze for long moments until she smiled and nodded, then let go of her shoulders and leaned forward to pick up his watch.  Placing it on his wrist, from the corner of his eye he saw her fill her maang with sindoor.  For a moment, he clenched his teeth against the need to ask for the right to fill her maang, his jaw aching as he held his breath.  The moment passed as she turned and stood, but as she faced him he noticed  that her bindi was slightly off centre.

With a gesture, he stopped her; a moment later he had replaced the bindi exactly where it should be.  As he stroked his fingers down the side of her face, just touching at the corner of her lips before bringing his fingers to her halt at the point of her chin, he said “Shayad mujhe hi roz tumhari bindi lagani chahiye; Maan Singh Khurana ki biwi ki bindi tedhi to nahin ho sakti”. “Maybe I should put your bindi on every day; Maan Singh Khurana’s wife can’t possibly be seen with a crooked bindi, can she?”

Unable to stop himself, he leaned forward and kissed her on her forehead before taking a deep breath; if he didn’t stop now he would end at her feet begging for just another touch, and she would balk and turn away.

As he drew back, he was relieved to see the smile on her face and the way she raised her hand to touch the skin his lips had just caressed.   Before he could say anything else, she looked up at him and said “Mere khayal se chalna chahiye, warna Priya hamara intezaar hi karti rehjayengi”.  “I think maybe we should go, otherwise Priya will be waiting for a very long time.”

She whisked herself out of the door, leaving him standing behind trying to decipher what she meant; as her meaning sank in, he cursed his slowness and chased after her but by the time he caught up with her, she was sitting in the car and the driver was holding the door open for him.

Her cheeky smile and the blush in her cheeks warmed his heart as they began the journey to Priya’s house; it seemed his declaration of love had reassured her enough to truly give him a chance to regain her trust.  As he put his hand out and watched her take it, he realised couldn’t remember ever being happier.

Fida's Corner : His wife, Mrs. Khurana !!! (Chapters 7 & 8)

CHAPTER 7

Her demographic details were on the first page; as he calculated her age, he was shocked; she was so much younger than he was.  What had he been thinking, marrying a child?  Not wanting to think about the age difference between them, he moved on swiftly.

The first item on the next page was a police report- Geet Handa had charged her cousin brother with attempted murder. There was a copy of the statement she had given the police; as he read it, he felt the pounding start behind his eyes.  She had been trapped in a false marriage by a man called Dev Khurana, had fallen pregnant and had then been abused by her family when she refused to have an abortion.

It had to be a coincidence.  Dev would never have done that.  He couldn’t have done that.  He couldn’t.

As he looked through the next few papers (interviews with some of Geet’s family members, his stepmother’s statement together with various other items of corroboration), realisation dawned; it had been his brother, Dev Khurana, who had used and abandoned Geet.  He slammed the file shut, clenching his fists tightly as he resisted the urge to find Dev and rip his heart out.

Moments passed as he controlled himself, then he opened the file again.  From the summary timeline he learned that after she had her cousin brother arrested, Geet had come to Delhi and had, through her friend Pinky Manchanda, ended up working at Khurana Constructions.  The next item in the timeline was a newspaper article about the launch party for one of KC’s projects- the photo showed him dancing with Geet.  He did not look happy.  Had that been the moment she had told him about Dev’s crime, made him believe the unbelievable?  It didn’t seem likely, there was no corresponding article about Dev’s arrest.

He flicked through the next few items until he reached a newspaper announcement of their engagement.  How had they become engaged without Dev paying for his crimes?  Had she withheld the information deliberately, had she been trying to take some form of revenge?  He was almost convinced about that when he saw that she had gone AWOL on the night of their engagement, leaving him open to public humiliation.  But why take her revenge on him, why not Dev? 

A further news article, dated a fortnight after one detailing an accident he had been involved in at the KC building, settled some of his tension- it listed the charges brought by Geet against Dev Khurana, citing him as the main witness.  The charge sheet listed Geet as pregnant, so at least he knew she hadn’t hidden that from him.

Sitting back for a moment, he tried to put all the pieces together.  What on earth had he been thinking to get involved with a woman who had every reason to hate his family?  Was it guilt that led him to marry her, a need to protect a child of his blood?  But if that were the case, why on earth bother to hold such a well publicised engagement ceremony, why not just marry her quietly?

He opened the file again, looking for some answers—all he had found so far were more questions.

The next article was more surprising than all the preceding ones- a report of an impromptu news conference held by Geet Handa outside the KC building. Reading the report detailing the way she had attempted to ruin his reputation in public, he couldn’t help but wonder what spell she had cast over him to convince him to marry her.

He turned page after page, reading articles detailing his sister-in-law’s attempts to kill Geet, others reporting the drama that had occurred on their wedding day and one tiny column reporting that he had been involved in a car-accident whilst returning from their honeymoon.

The last item in the file was a medical report, giving details of a hospital admission for Geet Khurana.  He paused, uncomfortable reading such intimate information about her, then started skimming the page. 

She had suffered a miscarriage, five months into her unwanted pregnancy. 

He hesitated for a moment before continuing to read; the details of the scars on her body, of the difficulties she had gone through, of the precautions they had taken to try and safeguard the pregnancy and finally of the advice they had been given that they could now begin normal marital relations (now that there was no pregnancy to protect), all those details coalesced in his mind into one fact- despite knowing everything about what had gone between them, he still had no definite idea why they had married.

The most sensible conclusion he could draw was that he had married Geet for the baby’s sake- he would do the same again if there was a child bearing Khurana-blood involved.  His brother had committed a crime against Geet; considering his habit of cleaning up his brother’s messes, it was certainly believable that he would marry her in reparation.  If Geet had believed herself to be married to a Khurana when she had conceived the child, then he could have felt it necessary to ensure that she had been married to a Khurana when she gave birth to the child.

He looked at the date on the medical report- she had suffered her miscarriage over 3 months ago.  There was no information about what had happened over the last three months, about whether they had started to live a normal married life or whether they had been planning on separating now that the baby was gone.

Taking a deep breath, he relaxed.  Now that he had drawn his conclusions about what it was that had led to their marriage, he was more easily able to accept it.  Obviously, it had been a marriage of convenience, one that he had entered to protect the family.  There had clearly been some disagreements between them whilst they had come to a final settlement- perhaps the news conference had been an attempt on her part to force his hand or secure a better pre-nuptial contract- but it was obvious that in the end, she had understood that it was in her best interests to marry him.

Whether she had married him to protect herself or her child that was something he wasn’t clear about yet, but with time these nuances would become clear.

What was already clear was that the wedding photographs he had seen had clearly been posed shots taken to keep up appearances.  The reason for Geet’s current behaviour was now clear to him; she was hoping to manipulate the situation to her own benefit.  It was inconceivable that she had developed feelings for the brother of the man who had caused such turmoil in her life.  She was obviously hoping that by making him feel guilty, he would be more likely to give her what she wanted- financial security and shelter.  Clearly, she was hoping that he would be easier to manipulate if he thought she had “loved” him, whatever “love” meant.  He had to admire the little touches- the packing, the soothing, the grief-filled eyes, the tears, the emotional speeches- they had almost convinced him.

Well, no matter what her motivation was, they had made their deal; the terms had been agreed and the conditions set. He would just have to explain that emotional blackmail was not going to win her any more concessions.

(And if part of his soul cried out at the unfairness of his conclusions, he ignored it).

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CHAPTER 8

Being able to rationalise Geet’s behaviour made it easier for him to accept her; in some ways, having all the information that he now did actually made him admire her.  He watched her discreetly over the next few days, keeping an eye on the work she was doing, watching the way she interacted with Dadi and Dev.

Her work was good; for a woman who had little formal training, she managed the clients very well, seeming instinctively to know the best way to manage fractious clients or difficult portfolios.  She mainly concentrated on presentations and client meetings, and he had nothing but good feedback from the clients she dealt with.

Away from work, he took refuge in complete formality.  They travelled to and from the office together, sitting as far away from each other as possible.  They shared the same room, the same bed  but might as well have been living on different continents.  He stifled the urge to tell her that she didn’t have to keep pretending, that she had what she wanted; he found that he was interested to see how long she would be able to keep up the act.

Watching her at home was strangely unsettling.  Knowing what he now knew about Dev’s crime, he found her attitude towards him incomprehensible.  He wondered if there was still something between them, if she and Dev between them were hoping to pull the wool over his eyes, but he couldn’t find even the slightest hint of impropriety.  Geet treated Dev as her devar, albeit one who she wished lived somewhere else, whilst Dev treated Geet with the utmost respect.  It was as if he was desperate for her approval and forgiveness, even though he knew he would never have it.  Dadi treated Dev as if he had never sinned.  He found it almost impossible to talk to Dev without wanting to rip his heart out, so he spent a lot of time walking out of rooms when Dev walked in and otherwise generally ignoring him.  Dev seemed not to notice, but he had been on the receiving end of a few odd looks from their grandmother.

Things came to a head when his grandmother finally cornered him in his home office.

“Bete, yeh main kya dekhrahi hoon.  Kya Dev se aap ka koi jhagda hua hai, jo aap unse itni berukhi se pesh aarahe hain?”

“Dadi, don’t ask me about this, please.  I have questions of my own about your behaviour that you won’t like”

“Bete, main kuch samjhi nahin, khul khul ke baat kijiye”

“Dadi, Dev jail mein kyun nahin hai?  Yeh kaise hai ke Dev iss ghar mein hai jab ussne itna bada gunaah kiya hai?  Yeh kaise hai ke Geet ye bardaasht karsakti hai ke Dev uss ke saath ghar mein rahe?  Yeh kaise hai ke maine Dev ko ghar mein rehne diya?”

As she looked at him in shock, tears starting in her eyes, he said “Aap ne yeh kaise soch liya tha ke mujhe kuch pata nahin chalega?”

She sat abruptly, as if the strength had gone from her legs and began weeping.  After a few moments, she said “Bete, yeh sab meri wajha se hai.  Aap ne Dev ko meri khaatir jail se chudwaya, aur Geet ab usse meri khaatir bardaasht karti hai. Aur jab se aap ki tabiyet kharab hui hai, yeh sab cheezein to bhool hi gayi hai woh.”

Standing, she stepped forward and took his hands “Bete, yeh sab cheezein ab bahut peeche chod di hain Geet ne, agar aap ne yeh sab baatein phir se nikaaleen to woh bardaasht nahin karpayegi.  Please, for my sake, for the sake of the family, please leave things alone.  Dev bahut badalgaya hai, ussne apne gunaah maanliye hain, woh ab sirf praaschit karna chahta hai.  Please, don’t do anything now; I can’t take anymore”

Faced with her distress, he gave in and drew her close; she was the only woman who had a hold on his heart and her tears weakened his resolve.  As she sobbed into his chest, he said “Theek hai, Dadi, theek hai.  Main aur kuch nahin kahoonga”

He walked her to her room, then went to his study to think.  Geet had obviously accepted Dev’s presence in her life as a ploy to make Dadi indebted to her.  By seeming to forgive Dev, she must know that both Dadi and Dev would support her and expect him to give her what she wanted. 

Sitting back, he half-smiled; it was clear that Geet was a worthy player, one able to control her emotions if it was in her interest.  As long as he could make it clear to her that he wasn’t so easily manipulated, he could see this marriage giving them both what they wanted.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------to be continued