In His Custody ✎ (MaNan)

✰ 26 - tangled ties

I sat back at my table, trying to stuff my earplugs back in as they were yanked out, and he bumshuffled on the two seater next to me, forcing me further in to maintain my distance from the revolting man.

"It's been eight years, Mukti, and over four of those I've been chasing you... barring the restraining orders in between, of course!" I rolled my eyes as I took another bite, remembering the multiple orders that were issued in his name when he could not stop stalking me, and would always appear near my work or where I shopped or where I ate. "How was what I did wrong? If we swapped places, would you not have done everything it took to protect Manik from–?"

"No,"

Harshad sighed, browbeaten by the unforeseen consequences for his actions. Life had come full circle with him. He went from being a stud in school, worshipped by teenage girls of all classes who gave zero fucks about anything in his life

Nursing in this institute was my second job in Bangalore, with the first one laying me off after one of Harshad's dramas.

Back then, I had behaved violently too, because he had truly affected me. Not anymore.

"Why can't you forgive me?" He begged, finding himself at wits' end. It was extremely satisfying to see Harshad so committed so something for once, determination of this sort I did not see in all the years I sought him. In a lot of ways, he deserved every bit of agony, and I meant it in the least sadistic manner though as crass as it seemed. After everything Harshad obsessively did to get back at our group, to break us and prove himself right, he had ruined himself, his peace and dug his own grave as well...

Who would have thought his craze would transform him into this whiny, crazy asshole who did not understand boundaries in the slightest?!

"Because I've forgotten you. You don't matter one bit to me. Not even one bit," Finishing one triangle of my sandwich, I picked up the other, all while not noticing the shift in his emotions, and how his eyebrows knit painfully together as if longingly staring into the depths of my soul... waiting to eternity...

"How am I still madly in love then?" The question rolled off so softly, had I not been sitting right next to him, I would have mistaken it as a hallucination.

My chest gullibly twinged at those words and I gulped, chewing my next bite. "Look that's your problem, leave me alone now," Without meeting his eyes, I took a deep breath and before he could respond, a colleague yelled out my name. "Yes, I'll be there in a second." I waved and put the last bit of my meal into my mouth, using the tissue to wipe my fingers and dab it over my mouth.

I crumpled it tightly in my fist, as Harshad blankly stared at it and then looked into my eyes, unsure of what he could do next. I tossed the ball of tissue onto my plate and with a steeling vision, I regarded him indifferently, "Do you mind?"

He shuffled out of his seat, his gaze lowered as I snuck out with my phone, earphones, and purse not bothering to pass a look in his direction as I made my exit.

⭒⭒⭒

Nandini

Rishabh carefully peeled the pieces of tape surrounding the perfectly wrapped box before him on the circular glass dining table. He wanted to keep most of the wrapping paper intact, it had been dotted with beautiful stars which he admired, much like someone I knew in my past. I slipped out of my chair beside him and went to my desk drawer to bring out a box cutter for him.

Amma was in the kitchen working at a mechanical speed to get brunch whipped up while Abhimanyu munched on an apple as he assisted her in the chores and with finding ingredients from the pantry. It was a little past noon and despite my attempts to help out in the kitchen, the two had barred my entry and taken over the responsibility of arranging a warm rasam, some fried okra and Abhimanyu had been busy making masala buttermilk to have on the side.