Let Me Love You ✨|| Completed

37. His Scars ~1

~Sometimes I might push you away but remember all I would want at the moment is to be pulled closer by you....~

Someone has said absolutely right- When you are with your loved one, even a decade seems like just a second. But when they are away, a second is more heavy than a decade. Well this was exactly what Manik was feeling. Nandini was gone, for a business work though, basically a presentation she needed to do at Pune and hence she left in early morning that day. She had promised to be back by the same night or at most early morning the next day, yet these some twenty odd hours also were seeming like a long time for Manik. He had by now been habituated to her presence around him whenever he would be home. Her inconsistent cribbing about his food, his few habits particularly the one of creating a havoc in the entire wardrobe to pick one shirt and so on, her innocent pouts, or in short everything. Lately, he had caught her staring at him unblinking, sometimes she would just out of the blue come and Peck his cheeks, sometimes his forehead and he never told her but his favourite was those mornings when he got the chance to be in her petite arms instead of her pillow or teddy bear. He loved waking up to her sleeping face buried in his chest. It was seldom, but topped his favourite list. But sitting by the window at night he was reminiscing these small things and missing her. She had texted sometime back that she would be back next morning and this one night seemed like a long desert walk in summer, to him. Even Kabir was out with his friends and hence Manik sat a little more grumpy, sulking. He wanted her to be in his arms, holding her by her waist as she would keep her head on his chest and his heart would almost threaten to jump out at the proximity. In simpler words, he was plainly missing her way too much. Majnu Manik.

Nandini, was damn exhausted by the time the presentation wrapped up and everyone decided to leave. It was more than 12 at the night but it was important for the deal and so she was here. Though she had informed Manik she would be back by the next day, at present she had an offer to be dropped back to Mumbai since one of her colleague was returning back and she happily accepted the offer with a hope to surprise Manik. She knew the smile on his face, when he would see her would be the biggest gift for her. And for that one glowing upward curve of his face, she endured the four hours journey at night, by car and stood outside malhotra mansion at 4:40 in the morning, tired but excited to surprise them. She took out her set of house keys, which she was really thankful to Manik for otherwise she would had to wake someone up and sneaked in the house. No one was up and it was dead silence in the house. She somehow dragged her travel bag and her handbag through the stairs to their room and then gently pushed open the door, not wanting to wake him up.

But to her utter surprise, there was no one in the room. For a moment she panicked, but then she found his cell phone lying on the bedside table along with his wallet and the car keys hanging on the key hanger.

He was home, just not in the room.

She sighed before dumping her bag and quickly taking a shower. She came out trying to dry her damp hair with a towel when the clock striked 5 am. First time ever in her life, she threw the damp towel on the bed, didn't care to settle the room or the luggage and simply ran out to locate that one face she was dying to have a look at. Kabir's room was vacant but so was his car keys which meant he was out. Nyonika and Raj weren't up. She searched the study, the library, the game room, the pool side but Manik was nowhere to be found. By now, she had started feeling anguish and her eyes had turned glossy but then it striked her.

She hadn't checked the most appropriate place yet.

The terrace.

She literally ran to the terrace and flung open the door and her breaths calmed down when she saw his figure lying on the mattress. She took few deep breaths to calm down and was all ready to scold him and be angry for the mess he had created early morning by not being in the room, though she knew it wasn't his fault. Yet, He was there, sleeping on the mattress that they had spread on the terrace beside the swings, holding a pillow tight.