Unwanted [COMPLETED]

Chapter 9

Third Person's POV

Entering Manik's room, Nandini places all her shopping bags on the recliner and slumps on the bed, too exhausted after a whole day of shopping.

Although exhausted, she was satisfied with the dresses and shoes she bought.

Yes, the dresses in that mall were too pretty, but she would not have been able to afford even one of them.

But from the market she went to, she has bought five decent dresses and three shoes. She had to bargain extensively for each of them, but it had been worth it.

'And I even saved 1000 rupees.' Nandini smiles at that thought.

Her smile fades when she sees Manik walking inside the room.

"Oh, you are back? So, how was your shopping? I see you have bought quite many dresses." Manik looks at the shopping bags on the recliner.

"It was good. I got what I needed at a reasonable price," Nandini replies, and standing up from the bed, she takes the shopping bags from the recliner.

She sighs, not knowing where to place them. Most of her clothes are still in her suitcase, and these new dresses will not fit in it.

"I guess I will have to buy a new suitcase," she says aloud.

"There is no need to do it. I will empty one of my cupboards for it. You can place your things there," Manik tells her, and noticed her surprised look.

"Don't look so surprised. I am only giving you some space in my cupboard. Never make a mistake of even expecting any space in my heart and life," Manik says severely, and Nandini nods.

"Don't worry, Mr. Manik Sisodiya. I have many years of experience in not expecting anything from anyone. So, rest assured, I would never expect anything from you. Not a space in your heart, life, home, or property."

Saying that, Nandini is about to walk away when Manik stops her.

"What the hell is your game, Nandini? How can you stay so calm even after I told you this marriage is nothing but a sham to me and I will never give you the status of being my wife?

"You also don't want anything from me, no money, no property, nothing.

"For some time, I had been baffled by you and had begun thinking you are really one of a kind. But the more you remain unaffected by everything, the more I doubt you.

"Are you thinking if you pretend to be a pure, innocent soul, I would forget about this marriage being nothing to me and accept you as my wife? If you think that way, you can drop your act now because I will never want you in my life, Nandini. You will always remain an unwanted wife to me," Manik finishes speaking.

He did not realize when he clutched Nandini's arms in anger, but when she hissed in pain, he immediately left her arms.

Rubbing her arms to soothe the pain and blinking back her tears, Nandini looks up at Manik.

"What do you know about me, Manik? How do you know what I think? How do you know if I am pretending?

"Did you say all that because you want me to give you explanations about why it is not so? Do you want me to request you to believe in my purity and innocence? Do you want me to fold your hands and plead to you to believe in my kindness?

"Well, if that's what you want, then let me make one thing very clear to you," Nandini says, walking toward Manik in anger, and he starts moving backward.

"I do not care what you think of me. I do not care if you think of me as a pure, innocent girl or a cunning, greedy girl. I don't give a damn. You can believe whatever you want of me.

"And about accepting this marriage and giving me the rights of being your wife. Well, even if you, Manik Sisodiya, came crawling to me one day and begged me to remain in this house as your wife, then too, I will walk away as soon as you achieve what you want to achieve from this sham of a marriage." Nandini stops when Manik's leg hits on the foot of the couch, and he fell over it.

When Manik stands up from the couch, Nandini turns away and starts walking toward the bathroom to freshen up.

As she is about to enter the bathroom, she turns toward Manik.

"I am tolerating you because I don't have any other place to go. So, this marriage is nothing but a deal for me. We will continue this sham until you get what you want, and I save enough money to move out. Once that happens, the deal will be over. And with that, this unwanted marriage will come to an end too.

"So, please, don't give so much importance to yourself by thinking I am pretending to be nice to get your love and the status of being your wife. Because while you, your love, or the status of being your wife may mean priceless to you, it means worthless to me now," Nandini finishes saying, and enters the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

Manik stands in the middle of the room, stunned for a while, but slowly he comes out of his stupor.

"What the hell is this girl?" He mutters.

Girls have been falling for his charm his whole life, doing everything they can to get his attention.

But Nandini--she does not care about it at all.

'She even called me worthless.' That thought angers him.

No one has ever insulted him this way. No one has had the guts even to open their mouth in front of him, let alone insult him.

'It is my fault. I am the one who has been going easy on her because of my guilt. But now, it is the time to show her how ruthless I can be.' With that thought in his mind, Manik dials a number, smirking as he sets the perfect welcome for Nandini in his office.

***********

Standing beneath the showerhead, Nandini lets the water flow over her shivering body.

Her tears intermingle with water as she continues getting soaked.

Although she always shows a brave front to those who try to belittle her, only she knows how nervous she gets on the inside.

She has never liked confrontations. It always makes her restless. A strange fear arises within her heart after every conflict, and the restlessness remains for a few hours before slowly fading away.

Now too, her hands and body were trembling as she took deep breaths to calm herself.

She does not want to keep crying and moping about her dead marriage. She does not want to regard herself as a victim and ask 'why me' every time something happens between her and Manik. In fact, she tries to remain strong after each confrontation.

But there are times when she can't help it. There are times when she feels just too tired of being strong.

Even a strong person needs someone to lean into sometimes, but she has no one to rely upon. Not a single person who she can call her own.

Slumping on the floor, she folds her knees to her chest and takes deep breaths while rocking herself back and forth.

"It's ok, Nandini. This will pass. Be strong until then. Please, be strong," she whispers to herself, taking care not to be loud because she does not want Manik to know that she is not as unaffected by him as she shows him.

'All I have left is my self-respect, and I won't compromise it by showing my weakness to Manik,' Nandini thinks, knowing exactly how Manik will trample all over her once he sees her vulnerability.