Upside Down: A MaNan Marriage

6: Nandini

So after a disastrous start to my 21st year on this planet, I am back home, to my Amms and Rishu. Facing Amms has been very challenging because I am withholding the truth about me drinking and about my marriage to a complete stranger. Withholding the truth is not lying and Nandini Murthy never lies.

I was just about to go outside for a walk, when a postman came with a parcel for Amms. Amms rarely gets letters, let alone parcels. So, this box definitely made me suspicious and curious.

The parcel was square with each edge about 6 inches and a height of 3 inches.
The 'to' section clearly said "To Chandrakala Murthy" ( my Amms). I looked at the from section, and there... There was my atom bomb for the day. It was from the Manik Malhotra himself. What did he want to send my Amms. I am his wife! His dealing is with me, not her! I have to find out what is inside, before Amms comes and checks it out herself. I quickly tore open the packaging and saw a sleek black box with "Malhotra Industries" printed in silver ink. Above the signature, he had taped a typed letter addressed to my Amms.

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Dear Ms. Chandrakala Murthy,
Please hand this box over to your granddaughter, Nandini. Its personal.
Thank you.
With love,
Manik Malhotra
CEO, Malhotra Industries.
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I opened the box, and found a Victoria's Secret pink lacy bra packed neatly inside. WHAT!!! A million questions flooded my mind. How the hell does he know my size! What if Amms had opened this parcel, she would have freaked out and killed me!
What was he even thinking addressing the parcel to her and posting a note on the box? Maybe he did this on purpose, just to make me get into trouble.  I took the box to my room and was about to throw it in the bin. Then I realized that if anyone sees such a fancy bra in the trash, they will start speculating unnecessarily. I took the lace bra out of the box and dumped it into a dark and deep corner of my cupboard so that it would never have to see the light of day again. I noticed another note inside the box.
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Dear Mrs. Malhotra,
You have 1 day to come to Mumbai. Or else...

Manik Malhotra
CEO, Malhotra Industries
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I have to admit, I was scared after seeing the parcel's contents and reading his note to me. My mind started wandering into dark places imagining all the things he could possibly do if I do not go to Mumbai by tomorrow. Nevertheless, the more I read his note, the angrier I got. Firstly, how dare he call me Mrs. Malhotra. Not all girls change their maiden names post marriage. Secondly, if  he expects me to leave everything  behind and go to him running saying " haan ji" he is highly mistaken. I tore the note and thew it in the bin. That note was a personification of that arrogant Manik, so let him rot in the trash where he belongs. I did save the box, it was pretty and could be put to some use later. So what? Everyone does it even if that makes me come across as cheap!

Thankfully, I didn't have to wake up in the next morning hearing Amms yelling as he didn't send anything else. Maybe he forgot! Good for me. Anyway, my friend Suhasini came over from Bangalore to meet me. Suhasini is a very close friend of our family. We are more like sisters than just friends. We decided to go out for brunch at this new restaurant called 'Peaches.' At around 11AM we were happily gossiping about other people when I noticed someone, someone I didn't want to see in Mangalore, someone Amms should never know about. Yes, I am talking about that person who I symbolically threw into the trash yesterday. Indeed it was my unwanted husband, Manik Malhotra. He was sitting at the table across me and wore a satisfied grin on his face. Like why does he have to smile. I have to admit his smile is contagious, and as soon as I saw him I had a faint smile on my face.

So sorry for the delay in posting this update. I just managed to get WiFi connection.
I am overwhelmed by the response you all have given this story! Thank you ❤️
Hope to keep entertaining you all!