Is Love Enough ??

Chapter 21

Kirti looked at the reflection in the mirror. Another morning in Chandigarh. She had risen early and taken a bath and was combing through her hair, getting ready for breakfast. Her mind unwittingly going over the events of last two days. It had been two days since she had been here and it seemed to her as if it had been ages.

Alone.

She had felt so alone. Never ever had she felt this lonely. And the irony was, she was surrounded by so many people. People she had known. They all had been her family, her friends but they were strangers now. Maybe they thought the same way. That she was a stranger. She was sure if she was to tell this to anyone they would probably laugh at her. She didn't belong here. Not Anymore. That much was clear to her. Because she had changed. Living with Maan, living away from here, meeting others, having a life of her own had changed her. For the better or worse she didn't know. Neither did she care. After returning here, she had been exposed to the fakeness people lived by their everyday life assuming it to be the truth. Emotions, relationships had never seemed more pretentious or hollow as they did to her now. She was the stranger here. Maybe that was why she could now view the hypocrisies that existed their midst. Her chacha had spoken to her yesterday night after dinner...briefly...in a stilted voice he had told her that since she had married he might consider accepting her, but a lot depended on what her father finally decided. She had so badly wanted to tell him the truth, she might have, had her chachi not interfered and taken him away. By the time she had reached her room, she had had a massive headache but even that hadn't stopped her from sitting and thinking. She had taken a tablet to help ease the pain and then laid down to think things through. She wasn't ashamed of the choices she had made. In fact, she was glad she had made them. As sleep had finally taken over she had realized a few things for herself. She was sorry, her parents had to go through so much, she really was, and she would take whatever punishment was meted out to her by them but she would not take nonsense from people who had no business telling her what she should or shouldn't have done. She had come to a firm decision that the next day wouldn't be a repeat of what had gone on the previous day. As she had slept she had tossed and turned her mind not all at ease.

The reflection that stared back at her was somewhat of what she looked like but for the dark shadows under her eyes. Being as fair as she was, shadows under her eyes or bruising of her skin happened easily. The problem was it showed that easily too. She did try to hide it with some makeup but after a few attempts she realized she couldn't mask it all. Giving up she tied her hair in a loose braid. Her sea green kurta and white churidar and dupatta added a little color to her pale skin perking up her mood a little. She dabbed a bit of gloss on her lips even as she heard the doorbell ring. Of her own her glance went towards the clock. Seven forty-five. It wasn't too early for people to arrive. Her mama, mami and their family was to arrive today around ten in the morning. Another set of people she wasn't keen on meeting but...things weren't in her hands. Not thinking too much about who it could be she set her dupatta right and went out the room reminding herself of the decisions she had made last night.

She must have gone down a couple of stairs when the strange silence in the house made her pause. Why was there no sound? She had heard Suraj's voice earlier outside talking to the car cleaner. Her mother must have woken up too making sure the morning tea was made and served on time to all the guests. She had even heard Anika and Rupal talking a few minutes ago. So the suddenness with which all sounds had stopped made her curious. She went down a couple of more steps and paused again. From here she could see everyone gathered in the hallway near the door. Who had rung the bell? Who was here? She went down slowly and must have been on the last step when she heard Guddi bua say something that froze her where she was.

"What are you staring at Kamal?" Kirti heard Guddi bua say, "it is a good sign the older son in law of the family is here to attend Anika's wedding," she went on, "since you have decided to forgive Kirti and accept her it seems right that you should also forgive him and accept him as part of this family now," she finished motioning Kamal to move from where she stood stupefied.

What did Guddi bua say? 'Older son in law of the family'? Who was she talking about? She couldn't be talking about Maan? It wasn't possible. Maan wasn't here. He was in Mumbai. He would never come to Chandigarh. And it was not just because he wasn't invited or anything, it was because he had promised himself he would never set foot in the city that was the start and end of all his woes. But Guddi bua did say something about accepting her and now to accept 'him' too. Kirti's hearing couldn't be faulty. She wanted to rush to the front and see who they were all staring at. But when she did move finally, she went slowly. Her eyes glued to the tall figure who stood beyond the circle of all her relatives. The familiarity of the haughty angle of the man's head wasn't lost on her. The casual detached expression was dearly familiar too as was the enigmatic look in his eyes. The man's gaze flickering over faces that surrounded him with impatience which would be obvious to anyone who knew him, but to those who didn't it would seem extremely bored. And unknowingly Kirti sucked in a breath.

It was Maan. Looking devilishly handsome in his white polo neck t shirt and blue jeans. His hair combed back from his face in a neat tidy style. As she approached she saw recognition flare in his eyes, looking relieved. His expression softened just for a second before it hardened as his eyes narrowed at her while she drank in his sight. Was he an apparition? She hoped not. She hoped she wasn't still sleeping and dreaming this scene. She hoped he was here. Oh! How she had missed him? She had known that but now that he was here, she realized it was a lot more than that. He was here. Maan was here. She just couldn't get her head to wrap around that thought. Her heart had missed a beat before picking up pace. Everything and everyone seemed to melt away as she walked towards him. All will be fine now. There was nothing more to think. Her biggest source of strength was here. But how? Why? Maan never broke his rules? He never bent them? So then why....it couldn't be because of their conversation yesterday, could it? Her heart elated at the thought. Her eyes shone with her love for him. She went straight to him and put her arms around his waist hugging him. For a second she thought he wouldn't return the gesture, as he had gone stiff but then she felt his arms come around her and give her a tight squeeze before releasing its hold. Kirti heard someone clear their throat. And reality intruded with that. She looked up to see an amused smile on Maan's face. Only he wasn't looking at her. He was looking over her head. And she realized where she stood.

She turned around to find a myriad of expressions on the faces that surrounded them. While Anika's face reflected her surprise and amusement, Rupal's face displayed a shocked expression. Guddi bua's expression was more a mix of disapproval and calculation. Suraj seemed a bit nervous as he shifted from one foot to the other with a travel bag in his hand. Where was Suraj going? But then Kirti realized it must be Maan's bag. Finally, her gaze landed on her parents. Both her mother and father stood together in shocked silence. Where her mother's face showed her horror at this turn of events, her father's looked as if carved out of granite. The tight set of his jaw and the animosity in his eyes, Kirti instinctively stepped closer to Maan which seemed to aggravate her father even more. And Maan being Maan, placed an arm around her shoulders with a mocking smile on his face.

And all Kirti could do was pray, pray her father kept hold on his temper and Maan kept a hold on his arrogance.

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