Manan - Sunshine to her darkness

21

Nandini 

God doesn’t leave a single chance for me to prove myself wrong. I mean just looking at their faces, I’m as pissed as handling a 800 immature kids college seminar. 

Save me Aiyappa. I cried mentally, sitting in between Abhimanyu and Manik who were just checking their phones. 

And I’m craving to dump them in the toilet and flush them into black hole. 

“Abhimanyu Murthy and Manik Malhotra, if you want your mobiles to be safe, you need to put them away right now or you won’t have another look at them after tomorrow I promise” I gritted my teeth, adjusting my dupatta while Mukti who was sitting on the other side of Abhi covered her mouth laughing. 

“Wow Nandini, you look pretty darling” my mother complimented me with a smile on her face. 

If we were in the Harry Potter series and at Hogwarts, my mother would be in the bloodline of Salazar Slytherin for her evil nature. 

“Thanks” I scrunch my face, looking at Maa and Papa. 

“Come here” Papa patted the empty seat beside him and I rushed to him in an instant. He is much better than the boring doofus I’m sitting with. 

“I love you so much. Both of them are waste of space and oxygen” I rolled my eyes at Manik and Abhimanyu who looked clearly insulted at my comment. 

“I know. But what can we do? You and Mukti need personal guards so we personally produced them” Papa laughed, throwing his arm around my shoulder. 

“Guards who wear suits for a fucking family gathering? Ew! Your taste sucks in men” I told him while Maa laughed at Papa’s expression. 

“You are savage,” Navya muttered, shaking her head with a smile. 

“That’s the thing that clicked us in the first place” Mukti cheered. I blew her a flying kiss and she caught it with a cheeky smile. 

If Mukti and Abhimanyu ever break anything between them, I think I’ll live with Mukti and cry over my elder brother. What can I say? I have my priorities sorted. 

“Why are you guys here anyway?” I asked my parents, the silence getting unbearable. 

Aliya and Dhruv looked at me with wide eyes while Cabir was literally having a chill pill. The rest were waiting for their answer

My mother’s eyes almost popped out of her sockets while I had the urge to stick out my tongue while my father was just staring at me. 

“Because we want to be?” her answer sounded more like a question. 

“Mother, with all due respect I have for you, which is nothing above zero” I paused. 

“You guys aren’t the kind of people who have spare time or spend it on their family. I know that. So it’s definitely not for nothing. Why are you here?” I asked, folding my hands as I made myself comfortable on the couch. 

“We found a match for you” were the first words my father spoke to me today, only to break my remaining patience. Everyone gasped. But I looked at no one. Just stared at my father.

“No, you didn’t” my voice threatened to go loud, but I tried to control it. 

“We did, we want you to be responsible and be a housewife” he stated, leaning a bit forward with his elbows on his knees. 

“Didn’t you guys consider me telling since she is my only sister?” my brother asked. 

“We wanted to tell everyone together so here we are” my father looked clearly frustrated. But too bad, I have no fucks to give them. 

“Guess what? I’m not seeing the guy.” There it was, my answer. 

“You can’t say no to a person without meeting them,” he replied sternly. 

“And you can’t force me into something like this without even asking me or considering my opinion” I snapped, standing up in anger. 

“You are a kid Nandini” He glared at me. 

“So you are doing a child marriage?” Cabir snorted at my reply. Shut up boy he might kill you. 

“Shut up” he growled at me. 

“Watch your tone, old man. And what? I’m a kid huh?” I scoffed, folding my hands as I looked at him, not understanding how he even became my father. 

“If I was a kid, then why did you guys abandon me? Abandoning a ‘kid’ was okay. Getting a ‘kid’ married is okay, but you want a responsible and housewife woman to get profit for your business?” I spat. I feel filthy to even utter those words and I don’t know why. But I’m raging too much to realise anything. 

“Don’t forget that you are talking to your father” My father stood up, taking a step towards me. Next second, Manik and Abhimanyu were standing on either side of me while everyone was quiet. Good for them, because this is my fight. 

“And don't forget that you are talking to the girl you gave birth to, Raman Murthy. You have no rights to claim over me or to push your decisions on me. The moment you left me alone to die with a bunch of currency that was of no use, I was dead to you. So don’t play with the dead, until you want some witchy bitchy evil magic inside your home” I hissed, fisting my hands. 

These people literally lost their common sense. Their son is getting married in less than a month and they are already talking about their daughter’s marriage. I get  it you are rich Jeez, use money as tissues if you want, but don’t need to throw it on my face to push me away. 

“We found a good guy for you. He won’t mind if you are not working either. He won’t probably care too. You can spend as much as you want and live happily. He is rich, you’ll have workers, trips, parties, everything you want at your feet” my father offered. 

“Are you selling me a fridge or talking about a groom? People talk about the person’s qualities and emotions not qualifications. How hollow can you guys be? Seriously?” I chuckled bitterly. 

“We are thinking about your future Nandini” my mother intervened. 

“Just how you thought in the past ten years?” I asked, glaring at her. 

I know I’m being downright disrespectful to my parents. Every child deserves a parent but every parent doesn’t deserve a child and mine comes in the latter category. 

“We are older than you” she said, getting up looking frustrated. 

“Doesn’t make you any less stupid or heartless” I stated the facts. 

“There are more than a thousand languages but Nandini woke up and chose to speak facts. Ways to go baby sis” Cabir cheered for me despite the serious situation. 

I had to palm my mouth to control my smile. My father gave him a blank look to which he shrugged. 

“We are thinking for your well being Nandini” My father stressed on each word. 

“If that’s the case father dearest, you’d be searching a job for me instead of getting me married, just tell it on my face that I’m a disturbance to your perfectly planned to-do-list life” I know that fact which is why I wanted to stay away from them but they brought it upon themselves. Can I be really blamed for getting pissed off? 

“Your studies recently finished Nandini and you can’t work at any other company than us, almost everyone found out that you are our daughter” he sighed, rubbing his forehead.

“She was appointed as co-CEO of Malhotra industries just this morning” Papa stated, cutting me off. 

WHAT THE ACTUAL CHOCO FUDGE IN THE DRAINAGE HOLE OF A DAMN MANGO TREE? 

HOW THE HECK DID I BECOME CEO WHEN I WAS SLEEPING? 

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__books_and_coffee__ her book on Manan is really amazing!! Do check it out and shower love