Next day at the orphanage, they continued to paint the walls. Nandini was engrossed in her work as usual, but Manik wasn't. If Nandini's focus was on the wall she was painting, Manik's focus was on Nandini.
Manik's thoughts : "She is always immersed in what she is doing and she doesn't even talk to me unless it is really necessary. If this continues, it will take me months to succeed, and I don't want to stay in this club for that long. I will have to do something to distract her and get her to interact with me."
Manik moved towards Nandini and he stopped right behind her. At that instant, Nandini stopped painting and turned around. She was tired and wanted a break. She hadn't realized that Manik was behind her and she was startled. She couldn't step back because the wall behind her was just painted. So she put her hand forward to avoid bumping directly into him, but she didn't realize that she had paint on her hands.
Nandini's hand print got imprinted on his shirt and that was one of his favorite shirts. He had made up his mind in advance that he wouldn't paint, so he didn't expect it to get messed up. Nandini took off her hand from his shirt soon afterwards. She saw the paint on his shirt first and then she looked at her hands. Manik saw paint on her hands and then looked at his shirt, and his temper rose. He felt like taking the paint can and dumping all the paint on her, but he controlled himself.
Nandini : "I am very sorry. I didn't realize you were behind me or that I had paint on my hands."
She looked around to see if she could do something immediately to take off the paint, but she couldn't find anything.
Nandini : "Come, let us try to see if we can wash it off."
This would have been a good opportunity for his plan, but it didn't strike him at that time. He was bubbling like a volcano inside, but he didn't burst on her. That would only worsen things and hinder their plan, so he wanted to go away from her.
Manik : "It's alright. I will take care of it myself."
Manik left from there immediately.
Manik : "She messed up my shirt deliberately because I messed up her dupatta. It was so pale and I didn't know it was hers. .. but she.. I am feeling so angry, but I can't do anything now."
He went to his jeep and changed his shirt. He calmed himself down and then returned.
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Meanwhile, Nandini was also thinking of what had happened. She thought of her past experience with him and also the conversation she had overheard of the girls previously. She wasn't scared of him but she wasn't there to lock horns with anyone.
Nandini : "I am sorry. I didn't mean to .. don't think that I did it deliberately because you messed up my dupatta. It was just a coincidence. .. Were you able to get the paint off?"
Manik's thoughts : "She is cunning like the girls said. She took her revenge, but she is trying to justify that it was a coincidence. She thinks that she can fool me, but I am not going to believe her."
Manik : "No .. I couldn't."
Nandini : "It happened because of my mistake, so if you give me your shirt, I will get it cleaned and return it."
Manik : "It's alright. It isn't a big deal. I will get it done."
Manik wasn't interested in interacting with Nandini anymore that day.
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Another time, Manik had left his phone on the table. It was close to the edge of the table and Nandini's bag was on the table too. It was late than usual, so Nandini was in a hurry. She took her bag quickly and left.
She didn't realize that her bag had swiped Manik's phone off the table. Manik heard the sound and he saw that his phone was on the floor. He picked it up and found that the phone's screen had cracked. This made him very furious and he went to catch hold of Nandini as soon as he figured out she was responsible for it, but she was no where to be seen.
If he would have found her, he would have ended up doing something drastic. Nandini not being present there had not only saved her from his wrath, but also him from harming her and hindering their plan.
On his way home,
Manik (to himself) : "I am doing all this to finally take revenge on her, but it appears that she is taking revenge on me. She has been messing with my possessions from day one and I haven't been able to do anything about it so far. .. This plan has tied my hands."
Manik : "But I can't lose my temper like I did today. I have to stay calm. .. So far I haven't been able to make any progress. Either I end up doing something which upsets her or she does something that upsets me."
Manik : "I will have to create or make use of the situations to get her to interact more with me even if she isn't interested, only then can I move forward from this stagnant situation."
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Both Nyonika and Raj were already home when Manik reached home.
Nyonika : "What took you so long, Manik?"
Manik : "Mom, I have joined the volunteering club at our college for a short time. I was at the orphanage and it got a little delayed there."
Nyonika : "That's a very good. From when have you been going there? And what prompted you? You were never ready to join me when I asked you to."
Raj : "What's the need for you to volunteer? If you really want to help, you could donate some money."
Nyonika : "Why do you want to stop him from doing something good? He hasn't seen the other side of the world. If he spends some time volunteering, it will make him more empathetic."
Raj : "You are talking about empathy? .."
Manik didn't want them to start arguing. At the same time, he couldn't disclose the actual reason.
Manik : "I am going there only for a very short time. .. It is just a challenge. .. That Cabir .. he challenged me that .. I won't be able to stick there even for a few days.. so I just want to prove him wrong."
Raj : "I don't understand what kind of a challenge it is, but I know you always want to win, so I won't stop you."
Nyonika : "Whatever it is.. I am happy. This challenge got you to do what I couldn't manage to do in all these years."
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Another day at the orphanage, they had to interact with the kids and Manik was getting irritated with them. On top of that two kids started fighting over a toy.
Boy1 : "I saw it first, so it's mine."
Boy2 : "I picked it up first, so it's mine."
Manik didn't even bother to sort out of their problem.
Nandini : "Either both of you play together or take turns to play with it."
Nandini tried her best to convince them, but the boys weren't ready to listen. So Nandini pulled the toy off their hands.
Both shouted: "It's mine."
Nandini : "It's in my hands now, so it's mine."
The boys decided to fight against her first and get their toy back, and then resolve the fight between themselves.
Boys : "It's ours."
Nandini : "It became ours from mine now. If you would have understood that earlier and wouldn't have started fighting, then I wouldn't have got a chance to take it in the first place. If there is no unity amongst you, a third person can easily take advantage of it like I did just now. I will return it to you only on the condition that you won't start fighting again."
She returned it back to them and they didn't fight anymore.
Manik (murmuring) : "Today, she snatched the toy from them. Months back, she snatched Mukti's boyfriend from her. Snatching things from others seems to be her inbuilt trait."
Nandini : "Did you say something?"
Manik : "This idea of snatching to solve the issue seemed odd to me."
Nandini : "Sometimes when people aren't ready to listen and understand what is right when you say politely, it becomes necessary to opt such means to make a point and show what is right."
Manik's thoughts : "She is again trying to justify her actions. What was right in snatching Mukti's boyfriend from her? .. She thought only of her benefit, not whether it was right or not, and she is talking about showing the boys what is right."