Destiny's Gamble

Thank You!

Manik's POV

"Angel," I gasp, throwing open her room door. The nurse and the cause of my worry, jerk their heads in my direction. "What happened?" I step into her room, my eyes taking in Angel's state. A cast is wrapped around her leg till her knee. Other than that I see no external injuries. But a drip is attached to her right arm, and the nurse is taking her blood pressure.

"Get out." Angel says, tearing her gaze away from mine. Lord, my ears have gone sore from hearing those two words. 

"Sir, please leave," the nurse says. 

"I'm family," I argue, glaring at the latter. 

"No, you're not," Angel contradicts firmly. "And only family is allowed in private rooms, so leave."

"Sir, please leave before I call security." The nurse warns, my fist clenching at my side.

"Angel, I'll leave. Just tell me what happened." She continues to stare at the blood pressure band on her arm, as if I'm not standing at the threshold of the room. "Fucking hell!" I yell in exasperation, banging my fist against the wall. "Will you stop pushing me away? Yes, I made a mistake, and it's not one that can easily be forgiven. But please, just fucking stop asking me to leave, and treating me like I don't even exist. Don't make the same bloody mistake that I did." 

Backtracking, I throw my hands in the air with desperation. 

"Stop treating me like a goddamn stranger," I add in a low tone. "I'm your Devil for crying out loud." Pivoting on my heels, I head down the hall, back the way I came.

*****

"Manik?" I look up from my phone's screen to find Nyonika staring down at me, confusion masking her features.

"What a pleasant surprise," I mumble sarcastically. "Let me guess. You're here because you've got cancer. Perhaps a tumor? Or even better, your face is crowded with wrinkles and it's time for your weekly Botox treatment." 

"Not that you care, but I'm here because I had to visit someone." I'm probably giving off the wrong signals, considering how Nyonika is interpreting my disinterest as curiosity.

"So there is someone in this world who deserves your attention when sick," I comment. "Because I'm certainly not him." 

"What're you doing out here?" Nyonika asks, ignoring my words as usual. I glance around the ground surrounding me, enlarging my eyes with feigned incredulity. 

"Would you look at that? The pavement's so fucking dirty," I say, shaking my head in dismay. "And since I'm such a patriotic citizen, I thought I'd clean it up with my ass. Would you like to join me and dirty that Gucci dress?" 

"Will a day ever come when I can get a straight answer from you?" Nyonika asks, nearing her limit of patience. "From what I can make out, you're outside at the hospital because someone you know is admitted inside. What I don't understand, however, is as to why you're seated on the pavement near the entrance, instead of inside in the waiting lounge, or in a room?"

"Because Angel has sworn to turn me into a roadside beggar," I murmur, rolling my eyes. 

"Wait a second," Nyonika raises her index finger. "Let me get this straight. You're seated here because of that Nandini?" She spits my wife's name with disgust, as if she's the dirt underneath someone's shoe.

"Watch it," I warn, my tone dead serious. "Take Angel's name with respect." 

"Manik," Nyonika scoffs with disbelief. "Do you even remotely realize you're defending a girl who is making you wait outside on the pavement? Let me guess, you and her had a fight and now Madam Drama is throwing a fit by not letting you into her room. Yet you care enough to defend her when she's not even present here. Unbelievable!" 

"Are you done? Now get lost and let peace return to me," I say.

"Don't even think about staying out here, Manik." Nyonika spits through gritted teeth. "What if someone we know happens to pass by? Can you imagine the mockery they'll make of our name? Nyonika's son, Manik Malhotra, was seen sitting outside a hospital, like a fucking pauper." 

"You'll make the morning headlines. Congratulations." I haven't listened to a word that's fallen from Nyonika's lips in years, and so I don't understand why she keeps trying. Either she's an extremely stubborn woman, or a complete dumb-ass.

"Gosh, if you could just see yourself through my eyes right now, Manik. A weakling, that's what Nandini has turned you into. Even now - after she's kicked you out - you're still crying over her like a pathetic lover." Nyonika shakes her head with disgust.

"You won't understand, Nyonika." I say, genuinely feeling remorse for her. "The thing is, you've never been blessed with the touch of love. I rather suffer everyday with the pain Angel gives me, instead of living without knowing her." I smile, my words speaking nothing but the truth. "That's the beauty of love. Even the pain it causes you is mixed with its own kind of pleasure."

Nyonika stares back at me, her expressions telling me she's not comprehending a word I've said.

"Forget it," I flick my wrist dismissively.

"I never wanted my son to become such a sorry case."

"You never wanted a son, Nyonika!" I yell. "You never fucking wanted a son. Period." For once Nyonika is quiet because I've voiced out the unspoken truth between us; a truth that has been locked away for years now. 

"A man shouldn't love like this," she continues to argue. Lord, this woman is unbelievable!

"A Devil should not love, yes. But a man definitely should," I disagree. "A man is made to love, to cry his eyes out whenever the hell he wants, and to experience all the emotions Aiyappa has crafted us with. I'm not a Devil, Nyonika. You failed in making me one."

"Manik - "

"I'm human," I interrupt her. "Congratulations on losing the battle, Nyonika. Losing feels great, right?"

"Don't forget who you're talking to," Nyonika warns.

"Empty threats from a hollow woman." Adorning a bored expression, I offer her a two-fingered salute. "We've both now had our dose of each other. Goodbye." Nyonika opens her mouth to say something, but then re-thinks her decision and shuts it. Wise thinking. 

"One more thing," I say, as she's turning around. Nyonika stops and faces me. "In the past, I've always resented you for bringing me to this world. But not anymore. In fact, now I want to thank you for it. So here goes, thank you, Nyonika, for giving birth to me because if it had not been for you, I'd have never gotten to meet Angel and live a life I'm proud to be a part of." 

Nyonika's expressions make it seem as if I've slid the very foundation of her beliefs from underneath her and replaced them with something foreign altogether. I wish I could capture her expression at the moment and keep reliving it, especially because I have never seen anyone display such a mixture of emotions on their face at one time.

A/N: Hey ya'll! For those of you asking, yes I'm perfectly alright. The only reason why I'm unable to spew update after update nowadays is because of my workload. However, I do try my level best to type out a chapter whenever I can and publish it as soon as I'm content with it. Please do bear with my untimely, spaced out updates. But I do hope that you're still enjoying the chapters nevertheless. Thank you for bearing with me and being such lovely sources of encouragement for me. Take care and stay safe xx