Destiny's Gamble

Oh, You Devil

Manik's POV

Snapping out of my never ending train of thoughts, I begin to march towards the gazebo. I won't just stand here and allow that man to steal Angel away from me. Not that she's mine. All I want to do is protect her. After all, Angel is too trusting for her own good, and men are predators. It would be inhumane of me to allow him to snack on her, and so I am simply going over to help her out of his harmful clutches. Since I was at a disadvantage inside the haunted house I couldn't do anything, but now if this guy tries to act over friendly, my fist and his face will be dealing with each other.

Jealousy is definitely not guiding my actions. To harbor that feeling I need to feel something for Angel, and I simply don't. She's a nobody to me. Just somebody who lives in my house, occasionally we hold conversations, and bicker all the time. Yes, it's that simple.

"Babe," I say enthusiastically, laying great emphasis on the word. I lower myself onto the empty seat on her right side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and mistakenly poking the guy beside her in his eye. I place the candy floss and water beside me, and use my now free hand to rest above hers. "I tell you, you're just like honey, attracting all these unwanted annoying flies." 

I stare at the man beside her pointedly, ensuring he knows I'm referring to him. He's rubbing at his injured eye, staring right back at me. Through the corner of my eye, I can see Angel watching me with a confused expression. 

"Are you okay?" She asks me, leaning towards my ear. "Did you have a drink, or maybe ten, on the way back?" 

"Darling, not here." I grin, pulling her closer to my side, thereby increasing the distance between the guy's body and hers. "You're such an impatient woman." I kiss her on the head, my eyes meeting the guy's once more. "We have all night to fool around." 

Angel doesn't say a word. I bet the gears in her head are working over time, as she tries to figure out why I'm behaving like such a lovey-dovey husband all of a sudden. 

"I don't think I've had the pleasure." The guy says, extending his hand in front of Angel and towards me. "Hi, I'm Sushant." 

"And I don't care," I reply, ignoring his outstretched hand altogether. "How could I when I have such a beautiful wife to occupy my time with?" My eyes trail down towards Angel's face. I'm not lying. If she wanted, this woman could have whichever man she likes begging at her feet for just an ounce of her love. 

Sushant removes his hand from in front of Angel's body, placing it back at his side. Wise decision. But his other arm is still resting behind her back on the bench. I have a feeling my knuckles will become good friends with his cheekbones if he doesn't act sensible soon enough.

"You two are married, huh?" Sushant asks, his spirits deflating themselves. That word is capable of bringing an automatic frown to my face, but this time it's not one which I can't control. Actually, the word doesn't hit me like a boulder in the chest anymore. Am I getting used to this arrangement already?

"Matters aren't that serious." Angel says, offering him her award winning smile. Excuse me? What does she mean by that? "We're just engaged." Say what? "And I don't even think Manik and I will reach the wedding day. I mean, there are so many differences and issues popping up all the time." Angel looks at me innocently, pouting as if this news is the worst one she'll receive in all her life. 

What is she going on about? Of course we are married. I remember taking the rounds around the fireplace and fulfilling all the other rituals with her. What is she playing at? Fuck, don't tell me Angel's also interested in this dick.

"That's great!" Sushant exclaims, grinning. I cock an eyebrow at him, diverting my gaze back down at Angel.

"Oh please, you just love to tease me, don't you?" I bury my nose in her hair. Lord, even the scent of her hair is magical. I shut my eyes, losing myself in the softness of her strands. Could I sit here for a while longer?

"So, Sushant, you were saying?" Angel says, my eyes flying open. Why does she take his name like that? As if it's the most natural word to roll off her tongue.

"Oh yeah." He inches closer to her, my grip tightening around her shoulders. "I think it would be better if you went for the accelerated program. It'll be more work because you're doing half the time of others, but you seem like a determined girl. I think you'll manage just fine." 

Oh, so he has even managed to understand Angel's character in mere seconds of knowing her. And what is he talking about anyway? What program? What work? 

"Yeah, you maybe right. I'll look into this option for sure." Angel says, nodding her head in thought. I open my mouth to shoot down Sushant's useless advice - even though I don't know what they're talking about - but I'm sure it's pathetic. 

"You know what? Why don't we plan a dinner together and I can show you a few options," Sushant says, before a breath can even escape my lips. 

Dinner? Options? What the fuck are they talking about? I can see red flags all around Sushant's head. He's clearly a bloody player, and I doubt Angel can see that.

"That won't be possible," I say. "My honey and I are booked for dinners every night until her birthday." When is Angel's birthday? What am I even saying? Words that would make me puke if I heard them from another's lips are spewing out of mine. Who the fuck says my honey? 

"Oh, you're such a romantic, Manik." Angel says, patting my chest. "But I'm sure I can take a rain check for a night to go out with Sushant."

"That would ruin the entire plan, babe." I can't comprehend whether I'm more infuriated at Sushant, or Angel. 

"It won't. I'll make sure of it," she says, her eyes landing back on Sushant's ugly face.

"Perfect then!" He grins at her. "You have my number, so just hit me up whenever you want to discuss matters." My eyes land back on his hand behind her back, and then towards a plastic cup of coffee that's lying abandoned near me. Steam is rising out of its mouth. Hmm...What if I accidentally tipped this over and onto his hand? Maybe then he will learn how to keep his hands to himself. 

I take my hand towards my water bottle at first - to show as if I'm reaching for it - but instead of picking it up, I scoot my hand towards the cup and give it a light push. The cup tilts over, its contents spilling all over the top of Sushant's hand. 

"Crap!" He yells, jumping off the bench. 

"Bloody wind," I comment, rolling my eyes as if this force of nature is such a pain. "Well, I guess you should go and wash that off. Bye." I offer him a wave.

"I agree with Manik," Angel says, standing up as well. Why is her ass off the bench? I didn't drop coffee on her. "Go and wash this under cold water and if it's worse than we can tell, then get some burn cream for it." Her finger lightly trails over the back of Sushant's hand, my eyes blurring out all else except her touch on his skin. He isn't a child that he needs to be told how to handle a burn. 

"Touching it," I say loudly. A little too loudly. Angel jumps, startled and Sushant's head jerks in my direction. "Touching it," I repeat, putting in a shit ton of efforts to calm myself down. "Will only make it worse. You better wash it off before an ugly scar sets up home on your skin." 

"Bye, Nandini." Sushant says, caressing his hand as he turns around and walks off in search of the bathrooms. I turn around to pick up my water bottle, but truth be told, I'm only trying to conceal my triumphant smile from Angel.