Dedicated to nyctophile1698 SrishtiSharma9 adorable_angel14 ruchi_1990 ShagunSharma378 urvishah454 vidhiii_17 Anulov rashmi2121999 rangolijain navyajaya shriyajha purnima17 LekhyaKarri jaanus13creations KriyaRhiya Nidzz26
Special mention to the ones for leaving a bunch of beautiful inline comments in the chapter ashuban ashusingh678 dhatri22 user62894235 sivnapriya DivyasreeVajjala Vihaana1ahir darkangel142111 dishtaniya 2001Priyanshi Vihaana1ahir
Hugs🤗 and kisses😘 to the ones who voted as well.
----×----
Manik's outfit
"What exactly did she say to you?" Cabir questioned Manik about what did Nandini say to him about Meira and Shivraj's decision to press multiple charges on the rest of their family members.
"Nothing much, like I've already told you. It was two days ago when she dropped me here and right before driving away, she just said that she isn't onboard with this." Manik replied in a frustrated tone. He grumpily chomped on his breakfast while sitting on the kitchen counter where for a change, Cabir was on the serving end and not the eating end.
"You really eat like a pig. Now I understand, how much Nandini has to put up with just to feed your huge stomach." Cabir cut through their conversation as he served the sixth aloo paratha (stuffed bread) on Manik's plate. Manik royally ignored his comment and continued eating by which Cabir concluded that he wasn't full yet. He let out a tired sigh before rolling out more parathas and promised himself internally of never letting Manik stay over for such a long time ever again.
"So, are you telling me that you both haven't spoken to each other for another two days?" Cabir went back to their original conversation and his face was filled with disbelief.
"No, we have been talking over phone calls at night but not about this. I tried bringing it up but she refused to speak about it over the phone. We couldn't meet up either because she was too busy planning the engagement. I don't think we'll have time to talk about this tonight at the engagement party and Nandini is leaving for Goa in the next four days. I really don't want to go through with something that she clearly is so against. I have to convince her that this wouldn't affect us." Manik enunciated all that he was thinking at once.
"You don't actually think that this won't affect you guys, right? If you do then, brother, you are either clearly in denial here or maybe you're just really stupid." Cabir remarked making Manik frown at his words.
"What?" Manik uttered in confusion.
"Your uncle and Meira have decided to press multiple charges and that too for things that happened like twenty years ago. You know how courts in our country work. You aren't getting out of it for years once you step in plus you will have to face literally every single thing that you've detested throughout your entire existence. Even without all this you and Nandini have so much to deal with, for an instance her family. How do you think you are going to juggle this, your work and your relationship, all at once?" Cabir listed out a logical set of arguments that pushed Manik to think deeply yet not enough to drop the idea.
"Is it fair to abandon my family's wishes just because she has a difficult family that we have to deal with?" Manik quizzed something which made him regret to even have uttered it in that very moment because he got how awful it sounded.
"If only you weren't my best friend, I would have hit you already. And, what dealing with her family are you exactly doing-can you please explain it to me? Cause, as far as I know, you left Nandini there alone amidst the freakshow which also happens to be your house to which you haven't returned in almost three weeks." Cabir finished. Cabir had just broken a promise that he had made to himself on the day Manik came over asking to stay with him for a while. The promise was to not comment on or question the choices he had made for it might imply that Cabir was on Nandini's side which he wasn't. He wanted to be the supportive best friend he should be but after saying all that he knew that Manik was going to misunderstand his intentions.
"I had no idea that I was being such a burden on you. I'm sorry, I'll leave today and you can have your space back." Manik abruptly paused eating and stated that in a cold voice.
"See now, you're making this into something it clearly isn't. You know that I did not say or mean that. I'm just trying to point it out to you that you are expecting something from Nandini that you in the first place refused to do for her. You want her to stand beside you in whatever crazy adventure your family is planning for you but you walked right out of your own house and all because of her mother's crazy antics which Nandini is putting up with, every day, all by herself." Cabir elaborated while maintaining a calm demeanour and pushed the plate a little towards Manik implying that he should resume eating.
"Nandini and I are in a marriage, not some business deal where everything is give-and-take. Both of our situations aren't even remotely similar. I walked out of there because of the constant humiliation and also because I know that her mother would be at peace with me not being around. She is refusing to support me in something that could bring justice to my blown-up family. Sure, it will be difficult but, in the end, it would be worth something." Manik responded precisely.
"So, YOU want to file these cases for yourself?" Cabir asked the one thing that mattered the most.
"No, I don't want that for me but if Meira or chachu want that then I feel like I shouldn't be the one to stand in their way." Manik replied in a low voice. Cabir's question resonated something inside his head that said this was a bad idea. He realised that it took him a lot of time to get out of the trauma that family had caused him and if he went through with this now then it meant jumping right into the middle of it all over again. He anyway felt that it might be not worth it for himself personally but he'd be very selfish if he decided against supporting his sister and uncle, his only family after Nandini.
"You will not be standing in their way even if you decide not to get involved. This is something that they want for themselves, not you, so you can simply tell them that you do not want to get into the middle of this but you'd support them in any way different than this one." Cabir put it a way that made Manik wonder. Cabir was right afterall. He wouldn't be an obstacle for Meira and Shivraj. He'd simply be the person on the outside who will have refused to step back into a mess from which he had walked away from, years ago.
Manik never wanted to go back to the place that snatched everything from him. Nandini was simply reminding him of that but he refused to acknowledge that. He realised that the distance was making him lose his way in their relationship because this was just the kind of thing, he would have never done had he and Nandini been talking about everything elaborately like how they did earlier.
This distance had forced them apart in a way that Manik did not recognise naturally. Nandini was an extremely understanding and supportive wife since the day they met each other. He failed to recollect the fact that Nandini will never do anything that would jeopardize their relationship or in this case, his relationship with his family. She just wanted what was best for them and that she did not want him to do something he clearly did not want to, in the first place.
"I should go back home, shouldn't I?" Manik questioned in a rhetorical manner. This conversation had opened up a gate that he didn't even know existed. No matter how many reasons and logical arguments he comes up with, down the line, he always knew what he did wasn't right. He could say that he left their house for Nandini and Avantika's own good but deep down the reason behind it was that he had gave up in the fight. He chose to flee the scene when he should have stayed back and given Avantika hell.
"I don't know if you should or not but we both know that you really want to be back with Nandini. This arrangement is tossing your mind and you need to be home for your own sanity. Admit it, ever since you've come here, the only times that you've been like yourself were when Nandini was around or close to you." Cabir read Manik's subconscious mind for him out loud.
------
7pm: Venue of engagement
The arrangements were not even a sliver away from perfection because Nandini had taken care of everything personally. This wasn't her company's event so she was free to organise it the way she wanted to and without any kind of interruptions from her prejudiced boss. It was unreal, how she pulled it all together in a span of two days and in such a wonderful manner.
The party was a tight-knit affair because Alya and Dhruv did not wish to have a grand celebration. Manik's reaction to their news had brewed second thoughts about announcing it to everyone since a lot of people from their circle knew that Manik and Alya were engaged in the past and also that they had suspiciously broken up within a week of their engagement. Telling more people would mean more questions to answer so they chose against it. Now, this was a party in the interest of their families and extremely close friends.
All of their friends had arrived and had taken their seats around the round table that was closest to the stage. Abhimanyu was there as well making the atmosphere extremely awkward for everyone since all of them had gotten to know about the abrupt break-up of his and Mukti's relationship. The two of them avoided each other's gazes and kept making small talk with others to prevent themselves from talking to each other.
Amidst all this, Manik of all people was feeling the most anxious because it had been almost half an hour to their arrival and yet he hadn't caught a glimpse of his wife. He had asked Sanjana who was helping Nandini to see her but she said that there was some emergency at the catering section that needed to be taken care of so Nandini would come back after sorting that out.
"Relax man, she'll be here soon." Cabir who sat next to Manik whispered that to him as he sensed his growing restlessness.
"Yeah, I know but I just cannot help it." Manik mumbled that in response as he kept tapping the table but while making sure that he wasn't creating any noise.
"Look, there she is!" Cabir pointed in a direction where Nandini was in their vision and she was approaching them looking like an Indian princess in that beguiling Indian outfit of hers. Her appearance made Manik wonder, how did she walk around in that so effortlessly and manage to work at the event when merely carrying that dress seemed like a mountaineering task.
"Is the problem sorted?" Manik heard Abhimanyu question Nandini as she reached their table and much to Manik's dislike, she slumped down on an empty chair between Abhimanyu and Navya.
"Yes. The desert guy had messed up. I had clearly ordered vegan desserts for Alya but all of it were reeking of milk. We had to return them and get a new dessert chef altogether." Nandini explained briefly about what issue had arisen back there with an audible sigh.
"You haven't gone up there, right?" Nandini quizzed pointing the stage where currently Dhruv's parents were congratulating the happy couple.
"No, this guy wouldn't even let us move an inch, only because you were not here." Cabir earned himself a smack on his bicep from Manik for mentioning that. Navya rolled her eyes while Mukti and Abhimanyu stifled a little laugh. Nandini passed Manik a grateful smile which he was happy to reciprocate.
"Everything looks so amazing, Nandini. I am pre-booking you for whenever in the future I get married." Navya said with a look filled with admiration for the decoration.
"Is it just me or did that totally imply that we should be expecting another engagement announcement soon?" Mukti questioned with a teasing look on her face. That look did not last longer as she accidentally made an eye contact with Abhimanyu who had a gentle smile on his face while gazing at her.
"It did not mean that. I just wanted to compliment Nandini." Navya replied in a dismissive tone with red hue creeping up her cheeks.
"Thanks, Navya and yes, I'd be happy to do it for you." Nandini thanked Navya with a smile.
"You guys have to spread it out a little. I mean where's the fun if all of you decided to get married in such small-time intervals." Manik demanded.
"She said that she isn't expecting a proposal for now so don't worry about it." Cabir sounded nervous for the first time as if this topic had put him on a hot plate.
"Okay, man. Relax!" Manik pat Cabir's shoulder as he said that. The air around the table got thick again but now because of Cabir instead of Mukti and Abhimanyu.
"I have to go the restroom. I'll be back." Nandini muttered loud enough for everyone at their table to hear and walked right out. Manik scrutinized his gaze at her retreating figure because she did not look that well to him and also because she whispered something to Sanjana in her ears after which she followed Nandini's trail with no further questions asked.
'Maybe she wanted to escape the awkward situation.'-Manik thought to himself because he himself felt extremelyuncomfortable to be there and would have given away anything to be pulled out of this scene.
----×----
Rate the chapter between 1-10.
Few words for Cabir.
Do you think something is bothering Nandini?
If you were in Mukti's place would you forgive Abhimanyu?