MaNan: Breaking Free

39|Last straw

Nandini's POV-

"Nandini, there's something I have to tell you, beta." Pathak uncle motions for me to sit down. "Last night, as I was leaving the office, I saw Manik sneaking out of our building. I think he is up to something."

Bloody fantastic.

I settle down on the couch, at a complete loss for words, unable to articulate my thoughts. First Rose and now this?

"I think we should talk to Manik before jumping to conclusions." Jenny says firmly.

"He had refused to divulge any personal information during his interview. Do you remember, Jenny? I didn't even want to hire him. You forced me to." Pathak uncle is saying. They continue arguing in angry voices, but I am hardly listening.

My mind is reeling.

Manik and I had come so far in the last few days. I had opened up to him like I hadn't to anyone else. He was always so thoughtful towards me, always in tune with all my thoughts. I had started trusting him more than anyone else.

I was in love with him. And it had taken a great deal for me to get here.

Somehow, even though he had never said the words to me, I knew that deep down, he loved me too. He had proved to me again and again with his actions, that he did.

He had not only protected me from others, but also from my own self.

He understood me so well. With him, I never needed to be too vocal about my thoughts. He had the uncanny ability to gauge them without me having to say anything.

He had promised me he would never hurt me.

Could he have been lying to me from the beginning? And after everything we had shared and been through together, was it possible for him to still be lying?

No.

Absolutely not.

I refuse to believe this. There must be an explanation for all of this. The Manik I knew and loved was not a liar. He knew how difficult it had been for me to let him in. Surely he wouldn't betray my trust.

"He couldn't be up to anything bad, could he?"

This was all one giant mistake. I take my phone out of my bag and call Manik. It's unreachable. I try again and again, getting the same response each time.

"Nandini, has Manik ever told you anything about his family?" Pathak uncle asks seriously. I think about the question. The only person he has told me about is his mom. His dad is dead but he hasn't told me anything beyond that. On the few occasions that the subject of his father came up, he did seem reluctant to talk about him. I had thought he simply wasn't comfortable talking about his dead father, never once suspecting that there could be anything more to it.

"Nandini? Has he?" Pathak uncle asks again.

"He has only ever talked about his mom. No one else." I tell him honestly. My answer makes Pathak uncle even more uneasy.

"I am going to find out more about him. We need to know what he was doing in our office." Pathak uncle promises and leaves quickly.

"Where is Manik?" Jenny sits down beside me.

"He has gone to Delhi to meet his mom. He'll come back Monday morning."

"I have never been wrong about a person before, Nandu. And I believe Manik is good." She tries to calm me down.

"Trust me, Jenny. I want to believe the same."

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It's 3 am and I am stewing. No matter how hard I try, I just can't stop the whizzing in my head. I have been tossing and turning from side to side for the past 3 hours, hoping for sleep to strike.