Destiny's Gamble

Here, Always And Forever

"Listen," I say, staring at the breakfast tray. "Do you know where the man - the one who you went out to check on yesterday - has gone?" In all honesty, I felt great disappointment upon not seeing Manik on the couch today morning when I woke up. Unfortunately, I have no way to eradicate this emotion no matter how desperately I wish to.

"He was just - " The nurse gets interrupted by the opening of the room door, and in walks the Devil himself. 

"Morning, Angel." Manik greets, smiling. My eyes divert towards the brown paper bag in his left hand.

"Where'd you vanish off to so early in the morning?" I ask curiously.

"Oh, so you missed me?" The Devil smirks, amusement shining in his eyes. Frowning, I focus my gaze on the food in front of me. Of course I did, but soon I will overcome this bad habit. "In answer to your question, I went to get myself some breakfast." The nurse faces Manik with a confused look on her face. Ignoring her, he seats himself on the couch he's quite familiar with by now.

"I hope they're feeding you decent food here, Angel." Manik says, eyeing the bowls in front of me. "If not, you give me the signal and I'll sue these people for lack of care."

"Malhotra, keep quiet and let me eat in peace." I mumble, wrapping my palms around the warm cup of tea. The second my nose inhales the refreshing scent of the liquid, I know at once that there's cardamom in this. Eagerly, I take a sip of the tea. Indeed there's cardamom in the tea, and just the right quantity. 

"Is this how you make the tea here?" I ask the nurse, taking another sip. 

"How, Ma'am?" She asks, smiling.

"With cardamom," I explain. "Don't worry, I have no issues with it. In fact, I'm more than happy about it." Instead of giving me an answer, the nurse looks at Manik expectantly. Subtly, he shakes his head. Furrowing my brows, I replay this short exchange in my head. Does Manik have something to do with this perfect tea? I mean, it's too apt for my taste buds to be much of a coincidence.

"Yes, Ma'am." She says, looking at me again. "This is how we make it here. I'm glad you liked it." Liar! I glance over towards Manik. He's looking at every object in the room, except for at me. The fact that the Devil is avoiding my gaze further solidifies my belief that he's made this tea, and not the nurse. "Do enjoy your meal and I'll get the discharge papers ready."

"Thank you." Nodding her head towards Manik, she turns around and exits. "The tea's surprisingly perfect for me," I say.

"Really? That's great," Manik replies, still not looking into my eyes. "It's surprising how they added cardamom in it as well, huh? Lucky." 

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you have specially prepared this for me." 

"Me?" Manik jabs a finger into his chest, a nervous chuckle escaping his lips. "As if I would wake up before time, fight with the hospital staff to let me get into their kitchen, and make tea for you. Don't place yourself on such a high pedestal, Angel." Shaking my head at the Devil's stupidity, I continue to down the tea, ignoring the rest of the breakfast.

"Are you going to Chachi's house once you get discharged?" Manik asks after a few seconds. 

"No," I reply, pouting. "Rebecca's," I add as an afterthought. Aiyappa, this helpless feeling of being dependent on others is sickening. If only I would've said no to this marriage and given my career first priority, then I wouldn't be in this position. Alas, I cannot turn back time, and so now I'm a burden on Rebecca because returning home means undergoing a painful question and answer session, which I do not wish to be a part of. Maybe going home and announcing my separation with Manik will also bring me more to terms with the truth, and I'm not yet ready to face it.