Chapter 10: The Ego War

The past few weeks kept Maan & Geet extremely busy in their respective areas of work. Geet was occupied with her uni projects & assignments while Maan had to deal with business pressures. All this had caused them to neglect their health causing them to fall sick.

So when the doctor took leave after prescribing the do's & don'ts to them, Mrs D'costa eyed their pale faces sternly.

Maan & Geet didn't even dare to anticipate what she would speak!

"This clearly means that both of you don't make love daily!" she sighed, "Anyways, take care of yourselves & see to it that next time the doctor is called to declare Geet pregnant  & not any health issues!" she winked.

Maan & Geet were rendered speechless in shock. But by now they should have got used to their landlady's amazing talks, right?

"For the first time, I regret being 18+!" remarked Maan after Mrs D's  left.

Geet did not say anything which took him by surprise. She got up & headed towards the kitchen in deep thought.

"Something needs to be done! Aisa kab tak chalega? I mean...roz roz junk food khana is certainly not good. Maan ki tabiyat aur bigad sakti hai..." she was worried, " I think I must learn to cook food for him?"

She was actually caressing a utensil while thinking that!

Maan coughed teasingly making her aware of his presence. She turned around.

"May I ask what you are doing in the kitchen?" she asked him sternly.

"As if the kitchen is the most forbidden part of the house!" he snapped sarcastically.

"Don't act smart okay! Just leave the kitchen & me alone!"

"Why??Are you having an affair with the utensils?" he taunted her.

Now Geet was hell angry hearing that.

"Shall I call the carpenter to fix the screws of your mind??!!!!!" she sneered.

"Excuse me? You need a doctor so that you stop thinking about me!!!!!"

"Oh hello! I don't need license to think about you!!!" she blurted out.

He smirked while she realized what she had just said. She glanced away as he advanced towards her. She sensed his utter closeness when his heated breaths fanned her face…. Her eyes closed with the aim to control her rising beats when his stubble brushed past her cheeks...

"Were you thinking of cooking for me? Itni parvah kyun hai tumhe meri?" he whisper was dense.

He had just said that randomly but by her reaction, he knew he was right.

"G-Get your brain cells scanned, it's nothing like that!I was thinking about myself."

Saying that, she moved out of the kitchen with a swift. Maan followed her to the balcony.

The moon shone brightly above. He clutched her wrist from behind & pinned her to the wall. Their eyes locked & she realized he had left no space for them to even breathe. The air blew some strands on her face. The touch of his fingers felt like current to her as he sided the curls. His dark intense irises seemed to make a hole in her eyes. His nose touched hers making her lips quiver & her heart was forced to stop it's functions...

"Chodiye mujhe..." she let out a helpless voice.

"I have serious issues if you cook for me. I am well aware of the fact that you don't know the A B C D & 1 2 3 4 of cooking so spare me the horror. Its better you concentrate on your course & don't worry about me."

And he left her all shocked...or perhaps shattered with his words. The fact that he didn't want her to cook for him pinched her badly but she couldn't understand why was it affecting her to such an extent.

"He is right!!! Why should I waste my time behind him???I will see to it that my health is proper!!!!"

She walked into her room & resumed working on some designs for her assignment. And soon she was so lost in it that his words slipped out of her mind.

No wonder Geet was passionate about fashion designing so much so that she could even forget having her meals. Precisely, she had never given a thought to love & marriage. She has always been self centered & had plans to remain single all her life. It was all about her dreams & her ambitions but things seldom happen the way we want to. And for the first time, she was concerned about him...& not about herself...

On the other hand, Maan realized that he had spoken a bit too rudely.

"I don't think I have said anything wrong! She will cut her fingers instead of veggies & then her fashion course will be affected & I don't want her to have a setback because of me because she will blame me if that happens!"

He parked himself outside her room & saw that she was wholly engrossed in her drawings. He could see the passion in her eyes as her hands moved in an artistic way on the cardboard. It had been a Sunday and she had spent the entire day with paintbrushes & pencils. So Maan had decided that he will cook for her.

"No. I am not concerned about her. I will cook only to see whether I can become a Masterchef or not!" he assured himself.

So Maan called up Rano & asked her if she could e-mail him the names of Geet's favorite dishes. Rano happily obliged.

Then he called up his friend Akash who was the chef & owner of a popular restaurant in Singapore & asked him whether he could teach him to cook a few dished. Akash was more than happy to agree.

Geet, unaware of all these developments, was busy drawing a design using the corners of a razor sharp blade dipped in paint. Man! It was the toughest thing that was recently taught in the uni & she had been struggling to make it proper since hours.

Maan saw that her fingers especially her thumb was red & he could make out it was paining a lot. He couldn't think of anything else but rush to her.

"Geet! Enough for today ! Now take rest !" he help her hand, "I will apply ice, it will be fine!"

But she snapped her hand which startled him.

"I will manage. You don't have to care about me."

She got up.

"And you were right. We have only a few months together now. And we shouldn't get used to each other, otherwise it might be tough to separate ."

Her voice was hoarse. His face was grave.

Their ego wasn't letting them realize their brewing feelings for each other...