NEVER IN A FOREVER (Manan)

34

Nandini

I took out his clothes and walked back to the balcony to find him staring at my laptop and I frowned. What’s up with him?

“Manik?” I called him but he didn’t move. He kept staring at the laptop like he was trying to figure out something. I called him a few times but he never replied.

I walked towards him and kept my hand on his shoulder. He looked startled.

He looked at me with wide eyes and shook his head again and looked at me.I blinked my eyes at him and he shook his head again.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“I need to go shower” He said and walked inside hurriedly. Woah. That was a first.

I turned off all the lights after I took the shawl and my laptop inside and folded the duvet before I started to unpack all my things.

I was arranging them in my wardrobe when Manik came out of the dressing room that was attached to the bathroom completely dressed. I smiled at him but it looked like he was here, but his mind was somewhere else.

“Manik” I called him out, this time loudly and he flinched before he turned to me.

“Yeah?” He for a moment didn’t like the guy who was taking care of me since morning.

“You wore your shirt inside out” I pointed at his shirt and he looked down at himself before he looked at me and walked inside the dressing room again.

I stuffed the remaining clothes on the ground messily into the wardrobe and closed the door and walked out of the walk-in-closet.

I sat on the bed on my side. Is he even going to talk? What the hell happened when I was taking out his clothes? I remembered he was looking at my laptop when I was not there. I grabbed my laptop and looked at the screen.

It was the story I was writing and the chapter was about siblings. What’s wrong with this? I read everything again and nothing felt weird or wrong.

My gaze fell on the last few lines. The chapter was something after I woke up instantly and the last lines, I don’t know how I wrote them. My fingers started clicking on the keyboard again.

“You will definitely mend a broken heart, but it would cost your own healed heart. Because everything that is broken hurts. A broken mirror, the edges are so sharp that you may bleed. It hurts to heal too. Pain is addictive, hurtful, filled with tears and harshness, nothing soft that’d comfort you. So don’t heal someone if you don’t want to get hurt.” I clicked enter as I saved this.

I heard maa calling me so I kept my laptop on bed and walked outside after closing the door carefully. I saw her adjusting two plates of food on a tray on the dining table.

“Haa Maa?” I went to her. She looked at me and her eyes looked puffy. I stopped in my place.

“Did you cry?” I asked but it felt more like a statement. She looked at me for a moment and smiled before shaking her head.

“It’s just a dust allergy. I had to get something from the store room and the dust there got me this” she said, not at all looking into my eyes and I’m sure she is lying but I didn’t press it further. I felt like intruding.

But I went and hugged her and mumbled “you can tell me anything maa, I’m here if you want to talk.”

I just felt like it. She smiled and nodded her head hugging me back.

“Dhruv slept off and Raj would be late coming. I’ll eat with him. So you and Manik have your dinner in your room. He even has a meeting now and he’ll throw a fit to come and eat with us” She said and her eyes said something else.

Space Nandini. Give her some space. You are the daughter-in-law of this house. They love you, but this is new to them too. Just some time.

I nodded my head and talked to her for a few minutes before grabbing the tray and started to go towards our room with careful steps. Aiyappa this tray is heavy.

I don’t know what’s up with everyone nowadays. I need to study, I mentally whine.

I should have taken literature as the main subject secretly. Business sucks sometimes. No sleep tonight Nandini Murthy. Aah Malhotra actually.

I smiled at my new name and stood in front of the door. I was about to open it with my foot when it opened itself, almost making me jump.

I looked at my front to find Manik decked up in a suit like he was going to the office. Oh yeah, he is having a meeting.

But he was looking like he was panicking. He looked relieved at my sight and I frowned deeply. Why does this guy panic too much?

“Mani” He didn’t let me complete as he grabbed the tray from my hands in a single hand and wrapped his fingers around my wrist before pulling me inside hurriedly and I closed the door with my left hand that closed with a bang and I almost winced at the sound.

He kept the tray on bed and turned to me, jerking my hand. Ouch.

“The next time you go somewhere, just let me know, don’t leave without saying” He almost yelled and I flinched.

He was having his hands fisted as if he was controlling himself from saying something. And that’s when I looked at him taking my own sweet time.

His suit wasn’t ironed, his tie was not made perfectly and his hair was a mess. Granted he looks hot but that kind of looks unprofessional I guess.

“Manik, I just went downstairs to grab our dinner,” I tried to reason with him.

“No arguments Nandini” He said sternly and I had an urge to smack his head. But it took me a moment to realise what was happening. So I stepped forward carefully and hugged him.

He wrapped his arms around me almost instantly as if he was waiting for me to come into his arms and held me tightly.

What’s happening Manik? I’m going to figure it out ASAP.