Forever His~MaNan

01

Nandini blinked her eyes, trying to suppress the yawn that threatened to escape as her economics professor introduced the basics that she had already studied last year. She straightened when her phone vibrated due to a message. She sneaked it under the desk and opened it, only to encounter a message from her best friend, Mukti. They shared a common class when they first met in college six months back and had immediately hit off.

Mukti: Come to my house tonight. My father is coming. We are having a small get together among his friends and I don't want to get bored. Also, I want you to meet him, finally!

Mukti is very close to her father but after her parents separated, though not divorced for unknown reasons, and she started staying with her mother, Neyonika. Her father shifted to New York to handle his business there, which led to slight distance between the daughter and father although they tried to maintain the close bond by Mukti visiting him during her vacations or him by visiting India.

Nandini: Okay!

Closing it, she focused back and the rest of the day in college passed away in a blur, her mind whirling over the night that was to come.

•••••

As she entered home, she walked to the kitchen and filled a glass of water. Keeping the half full glass, she hurried to her room as a shrill cry echoed in the house and cooed at the small baby, taking him from the caretaker, Manisha, as he cried his eyes out while his arms were forwarded towards her.

"Thank you. Aj raat ko mujhe thodi der jaana tha aap sambhal lenge?" Nandini asked, patting his back to calm him as he rested his head on her chest while his hand fisted her necklace.

"Jee. But, I will take an extra fee," she demanded and Nandini nodded, albeit dishearteningly since she too had bare minimum that she earned by catering in a restaurant to keep a roof over herself and her child.

As she left, Nandini pecked the top of his head and wiped his eyes, lined with tears, as she walked towards the bed with him and sat down with her back supported by the headboard. He fisted the hem of her kurti, whining in frustration before she raised it and unhooked the bra. His lips latched on her breast and he suckled the milk.

Her hand rested on his face, swiping his hair from his forehead as she stared at her year old son, Kabir, lovingly. He had been the most unexpected gift of her life and though his presence had led to a drastic change in her life when many important relationships of her life ended when she decided to birth him at the young age of twenty one as a single mother, she still wouldn't change it for the world.

As his eyes closed and soft snores filled in the silence, Nandini slowly unlatched her breast and made him lay on the bed comfortably, patting his back as he stirred slightly and wrapped him with a comforter before getting up from the bed.

After freshening up, it was nearly five when she had her lunch before she walked to the kitchen while tying her hair in a knot and prepared a slurry of vegetables for Kabir for dinner and wrapped it up in a silver foil before keeping it securely inside the microwave.

Finishing her work in the kitchen, she walked back into the room and changed into a burgundy waist cinching bodycon dress with full sleeves. She left her hair loose and paired it with heels after lining her eyes with kohl and painted her lips in a similar color while the chain of her name finalised her look.

Some time later, Manisha came in and Nandini checked up on Kabir one last time and kissed his cheek before she walked out of the room and said to the caretaker, "He is sleeping right now and will soon wake up. I have prepared the khichdi for him. Feed him after he wakes up and I'll return in just an hour or two. If he cries too much and can't be controlled just give me a call."

"Okay," Manisha replied and Nandini nodded before walking out of the flat.

•••••

As Nandini was encountered in Mukti's house, she smiled as she was engulfed by her friend as she frantically mumbled in her ear, "Thank God you came. I was so tired of watching these men prove who has the bigger dick by their arrogant talk and if looks could kill, my father and mother won't take long to turn me into an orphan."

"That's definitely a lot to take," Nandini laughed as she stepped back and Mukti nodded while leading her to a bar set up on the corner. She had water since she didn't drink because she breastfed Kabir while Mukti picked up a glass of red wine.

"How is Kabir?" Mukti asked while sipping.

"He is fine," Nandini replied before she smiled while recalling, "He had successfully learned eye roll from me. Whenever he disapproves, he rolls his eyes."

"That definitely sounds like him," Mukti said while she laughed and Nandini nodded. Since he was born, Kabir wasn't a loud kid and mostly liked to keep to himself. The only time he cried or grew frustrated was when he couldn't find Nandini close to him at the time she had set aside for him. After her college and work in the evening. And although it restrained Nandini's social life as compared to her classmates, still she couldn't find it in herself to abandon her kid alone with a caretaker and preferred staying with him, except on a few occasions like today.

"Come. Let me introduce you to my father," Mukti said with a huge smile, excitement lining her tone and Nandini followed her as she led them to a group of men.

A man, nearly 6 feet, whose back was to them, was busy in a formal talk with the men, when Mukti patted his shoulder and mumbled something in his ear. Excusing himself, he turned around.

Nandini felt her heart dropping, her breath hitching as her gaze clashed with the similar black eyes that she often wondered about in the darkness of the night before her throat constricted as Mukti said, "Nandini, meet my father, Manik Malhotra."

Thank you for reading! I know it was short chapter but will write longer ones from the next chapter since this was just a glimpse of what is to come. Hope you liked it!

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