Unwanted [COMPLETED]

Chapter 18

Third Person's POV

Manik waited for Nandini to come out of the bathroom as he paced in the room, thinking about what he wanted to say to her.

As he heard the door being opened, he turned to look at her and sucked in a deep breath.

There is something that draws him toward her whenever he sees her right after she takes a shower.

Maybe it is her natural beauty that shines through. Her skin soft and flawless, not marred by any makeup. Her brown eyes that seem to exude compassion, and her straight nose and full, delicate lips that enhance her beauty. Everything is perfect about her.

Before he knew about her story, he misjudged her. Although he was attracted to her beautiful features, he always considered her beauty only skin deep.

But he knows now how wrong he was.

Yes, she is beautiful, but what is truly captivating is the way she carries herself with grace and poise. He has seen her breaking down a few times but other than that, he has only seen her bravely take whatever his rude self threw at her.

And after learning about her story, he feels more in awe of her.

It must have been hard enduring the indifference from her parents. Watching her parents love her brother but ignore her like a plague must have been terrible. It must have been a horrifying experience of getting molested yet unable to tell about it to her own parents for fear that they would believe her molester over her.

Yet here she is, still with a hope to make something of herself. She is still moving forward and not giving up even after life has thrown harsh experiences at her one after the other.

Her inner courage is what shines through her. Maybe that is what had been drawing him since the beginning. Not her skin-deep beauty, but rather something that comes from within.

Manik jolted out of his thoughts when Nandini clicked her fingers in front of his face.

"Did you hear what I said just now?" Nandini asked him, and Manik shook his head to clear all his thoughts about Nandini.

'What the hell is wrong with me? Why was I thinking all those things?' He wondered, but as he looked at Nandini looking at him questioningly, he thought to reply to her first.

"I missed it because I was thinking about something else. What were you saying?" He asked Nandini.

"I was saying I will be joining your office starting today. Since you do not want anyone to know we are married, I will introduce myself as Nandini Iyer to everyone," Nandini said as she took off her mangalsutra.

It is better she does not wear one. That way, there would be no questions about her husband or married life.

Manik frowned as he saw Nandini take off the mangalsutra. "I told you not to tell anyone you are married to me. That does not mean you need to take off the mangalsutra and tell everyone you are unmarried."

"And what will I say when they start asking me about my husband? What will I say if they ask me to bring my husband along to the office get-togethers?" Nandini asked him.

Manik opened his mouth to answer her but could not say anything. Those were valid questions.

"You are joining the office to work, Nandini. You are not going there to befriend my employees and share your life stories with them," Manik said to her.

Shaking her head, Nandini applied moisturizer to her face before turning to Manik.

"You had made me sign a contract when I came to your office that one time. According to that contract, I will be working as your assistant for at least six months.