A/N : Eeks, don't start cursing me by reading the title now! Okay, first and foremost, please trust me as a writer and read the story for the journey, not the end destination! Alarming number of people inbox'd me to ask if this story will have a sad ending, so I decided to clear the air once & for all - NO. This is NOT going to end sadly.
This story will have a HAPPY ENDING. That's a promise. :)
But if a happy ending of MaNan is all what you care about, then what is the point of my writing so many chapters? I could just say, once upon a time there was a guy named Manik and a girl named Nandini, they fell in love & lived happily ever after. The End.
Would this satiate your craving for a MaNan story? The beauty of a love story is in the journey folks, not the end goal!
So. Gear up for more Hustle between MaNan to ultimately find their way back to each other! Oh and about the chapter, I will put my thoughts right at the end of it!
Happy Reading now!
***
Vommuli Island, Maldives circa 2018
(Fish Spa Center, The St. Regis, Maldives Vommuli Resort)
Nandini Murthy
It had been two days since the gang had arrived and as Navya had promised, I had finally cut ice with little Abir. The little guy was practically tagging with me wherever I went and I could see that both Navya & Harshad were more than relieved to finally get some space for romance!
I was sitting with Navya and the little guy by the beach and we were getting a fish spa done, we both were particularly looking forward to it since it has been banned from most of the US and we both loved getting it done back in our good old Mangalore days! It reminded us of our golden times in life.
"That b*tch is loony I tell you" Navya suddenly whispered towards me, ensuring Abir didn't get to hear her. I turned my head towards the way she was looking to find Mukti walking along the beach with Mr. Malhotra, they had their back towards us, so thankfully we could avoid any awkward conversation.
"Why, what did she do?" I asked generally, and focused back to watching the tiny carps eating away at my feet.
"Only yesterday morning I saw her screaming her gut out at her dad. She was fanatic I tell you; full on drama, throwing her arms around and stuff. Now look at them, it's like she's daddy's little one!" she sneered. I suppressed a laugh seeing Navya's aunty mode come alive suddenly; I decided to humour her instead.
"What was she screaming for?" I asked, glancing at the retreating figure of the father daughter duo, who seemed very lost in a deep discussion.
"I don't know, I was in the kids play area outside the gymnasium with this little guy, they were inside. All glass walls - couldn't really hear them" she mumbled, still looking at them suspiciously.
"Yaar Navya, I think Mukti has her set of baggage with her folks, but she's good with Dufus and they are happy. I don't try & break my head thinking beyond that - we called it truce ages back" I replied, before engaging in banter with little Abir.
All seemed well so far.
Vommuli Island, Maldives circa 2018
(Private Sundeck, The St. Regis, Maldives Vommuli Resort)
I was setting up my DSLR in the huge sun-deck attached to my suite. The sky was vast and it was nearing twilight, I wanted to try a timelapse from twilight to darkness. While I was sitting in one corner, figuring out where exactly to place my tripod, I heard some voices. I realized each sun-deck was shared between two suites, so I supposed Mr. Malhotra, who had the suite next to mine, was also on the deck i.e. on his side.
A part of me wanted to shout out and greet him, but another part of me stopped myself. I mean, he was a nice gentleman and had always been warm with me, but the way his piercing gaze fell on me, everytime I spoke, I felt like he was trying to read something deeper in me. It made me uncomfortable. I have known that gaze before, his son had similar piercing eyes, and the ability to draw out much more from me, than what I intended to share with him. I decided to keep quiet and carry on with my business; unless he came this way, he'd never notice me.
"Hello Nyonica, I was expecting you for tea; you are late, as usual" I heard his voice again. Oh, so Mrs. N was here too; I was done setting the camera, so I decided to leave immediately, giving them privacy. I was almost at the door when Mrs. N reply.
"What can I do Shri, old habits die hard. Anyway, you said you wanted to discuss Mukti, what did she do now?" Mrs. N sounded bored, as if Mukti had exasperated her so much in life, that now she really didn't care anymore. It kind of stung me, I mean Mukti may be a difficult person but for a mom to care so less? Maybe I was finally about to see a small glimpse of the bad parenting both the siblings harped about all their lives.
I swear I wanted to give them privacy, but I was reminded of Navya telling me that morning itself about the discord Mukti had with her dad. Was Mr. Malhotra going to discuss that with Mrs. N? Most importantly, I wanted to know if Dufus will face any impact from all this. Although Mutki was nothing like 'him', I was not ready to let any Malhotra sibling hurt any of us Murthy siblings again. Ever. Let's just say I had trust issues with these folks.
"Same thing Nyonica, the same thing. She wants me to convince Manik to come for the wedding" Mr. Malhotra replied, sounding a bit dejected.
"So what's new in that Shri, just tell her he can't - like you have done so far. What's there to discuss about this?" again Ms. N's indifference stung me. Did she not care at all about her children's emotional well being and wants?
"It's not that, Nyonica. I had asked her what it was she wanted from me as a wedding gift, while I had fancy vacations, villas, maybe a sports car in mind, but she asked for Manik. How do I say no, this time?" he sounded deeply disturbed.
"Uff Shri, you know her right, Mukti has always been very melodramatic and tactless. Emotions running amok all over the place, just give her a sports car or a villa and she will forget this nonsense" Mrs. N sounded irritated now. This was followed by a long silence and I almost thought they left. I was about to leave too, but then I heard Mr. Malhotra speak.
"Always too harsh on the children, Nyonica. Always. Some things just don't change." he sounded remorseful.
"Listen Shri, I know you are in that phase of bonding-with-the-kids but please spare me the lectures. Let's just face it practically, both the kids are trouble together as much as they are individually. I agreed to your request and decided to attend this wedding because you said it was necessary to pretend like a working family, since these Murthy's are kind of conservative that way. Mukti has not kept in touch with me for years now, and I would much rather be in Dubai working on my new breakthrough deal than sitting here and wasting my time - its not like Mukti & my equation will ever change - she is too stubborn & stupid for that; but I decided to deprioratise my work and come here anyway. One last time. So that tomorrow she doesn't get a chance to blame me for not being there or whatever! How am I being harsh here? If I was being harsh, I'd never show up here and fake a smile at everyone for three days now!" huffed Mrs.N. Woah, she was er..mean?!
"Nyonica, she is young & vulnerable. They are our children, and as I have told you many times, over the last couple of years I realised, we could have handled them differently. Mukti isn't being difficult by asking for Manik, he is her brother, damn it!'' Now Mr. Malhotra sounded frustrated. My heart was thumping loudly, was there a chance for Ma--err 'him' to turn up at this wedding? Ayappa, please no! Please don't bring him here, I am so not ready for this. Hell, I don't ever want to face him. I don't know what I--but Mrs. N's voice broke my reveries.
"Shri, for the last time. I am already having a tough time dealing with one needy child here, I don't want the drama of the other rogue child too. He is happy in his life, he doesn't want to be in touch with anyone except you & that's fine. We're not dying to meet him either; we all have a life of our own and our paths don't cross Shri; we cannot forget that while pretending to play family for the whim of our daughter. In short, you are not giving in to this silly demand and asking Manik to come here!" Mrs. N sounded livid, and however twisted this may sound, even though I felt bad for the siblings for having a mom like her, at this point I was kind of thankful to her for fighting to keep Ma-err-'him' away from here.
"Manik wouldn't come even if I asked, Nyonica." Mr.Malhotra whispered. I could barely hear him. "So be happy that you don't have to deal with anything more than what you're dealing with. For once, Mukti might forgive us, because of her said vulnerability that you were cursing her for, but Manik is too far gone. He won't come for anyone. Not even for Mukti." he sounded distant.
"Small mercies. Anyway, if we are done here, I'd like to leave Shri. I have a call to attend in another fifteen minutes" replied, Mrs. N crisply.
"We have been such a disappointment to them all our lives, can't we try to make some amends now at least? What have you got against your own children, Nyo?" Mr. Malhotra sounded defeated. Again there was so much silence that I almost thought Mrs. N had left.
"We have been disappointing them Shri, and what about them? Have the children not been a disappointment to us? We are stalwarts Shri, both you and me - they are our children, how are they so f*cking ordinary?! No drive, no ambition, no zeal, nothing! Fine, I even accepted that, but couldn't they at least be less judgemental towards us? Why did they always get in the way, why did they expect it was our duty to compromise and live a life where our true potential will not be attained? Why did they always feel we needed to prioritise them? Damn it, we shouldn't have had kids, Shri. That's where we f*cked it all up!" cried out Mrs. N in desperation. I let go of the breath that I didn't know I was holding. Really, folks like these existed? I mean, look at my aunt & uncle, loving us unconditionally even though we aren't even their own; and here were folks like the Malhotra's who thought their own children weren't good enough by their standards! Ayappa, what were you thinking; making them parents?! Such mom's you keep on this planet, and take away the good ones, like my mom! Argh.
"Nyonica please, stop! Can you imagine what would follow if Mukti or any of the kids here heard you?! See, I don't judge you, I have felt on similar lines, all my life, but things have changed now. I just wanted you to give it a try, before it's too late" Mr. Malhotra tried once more - ask me man, it was useless, Mrs. N was a gone case, she wasn't going to see sense.
"Too late or what? What more could they do, Shri? Try me, I am up for it. I am done trying to accommodate them and their fantasies. One hates me, but still wants me to play happy mom at her wedding, cannot listen to any piece of advice I have ever given her, yet expects me to take her judgements & opinion seriously! And the other one? My little gem, Manik. He is next level - he moves continents without even letting me know, while I was his custodian all life. He finds a connection with you of all people, the dad who was never around! He flies off the handle after a f*cking stupid heartbreak and decides to alter his career plans altogether and settles with his hobbies! He snaps ties with everyone for no one's fault, and what does he expect? I will go running after him? No thank-you! Call me a b*tch for all I care, but I am done having, raising kids! Both are adults now, do the f*ck they want, but stay away from me! I have a life of my own, and I am happy there - so I ask you one last time, Shri - don't push it. I respect you, always did, and hence I am here, if you want to keep me here, do not complicate this more than it already is" she finished and stomped out of the deck. It was dark now. The stars were up, the inky sky hid all the light from the sun, just like the Malhotra's charade hid all their dirt. Wow.
"Sorry Mukti beta, I wish I could reach out to you, as I have been able to with Manik. I hope your husband does better. I hope you finally find a family in the Murthy's" Mr. Malhotra, sighed.
A silent tear dropped from my eyes. I was overwhelmed. I didn't know who I was feeling pitiful towards in particular, but the whole Malhotra family seemed to be composed of, particularly incompatible people from all walks of life.
At least by the looks of it, Ma-err..that guy at any rate was not making it to the wedding. Thanks, Ayappa! But for what it's worth, don't let these Malhotra siblings feel any more hurt with respect to their mom! No one deserves to be so unloved!
Vommuli Island, Maldives circa 2018
(Nandini-Aryaman's Suite, The St. Regis, Maldives Vommuli Resort)
"Woahh, Mrs. N is tha-aat evil? She really does remind me of an evil Vicotrian stepmother!" Navya said, making her eyes big and saucer-like in shock. She was the first one to break the eerie silence after I told my gang about the conversation I heard between Mr. Malhotra & Mrs. N about thirty minutes back. We were all gathered in our suite and even though the initial plan was to decide on the dances, teams, songs & choreography for the Sangeet that was due in three days from now, but quite obviously this latest development in the Malhotra clan grabbed all attention for the evening. Harshad rolled his eyes in exasperation, he was always the calm one, and Navya the hyperactive loud mouth who just couldn't mince her words to save her life! I suppressed a laugh and winked at him to assure him it was fine, he nodded with a smile.
"I am not surprised yaa, Mrs. N was always a nightmare. Why do you think Manik was such an angry, displaced kid? Do you remember the time in college when he punched the janitor for spying on him on Mrs. N's saying? He was so mad! I still remember. The janitor was peeping into our bedroom when--" suddenly Aliya stopped, turning all red and awkward as she peeped at Dhruv. Oh my f*cking God, Mrs. N was borderline crazy, how could she violate anyone's personal space like that!? Poor Aliya & Ma--err that guy! And I was umm--admiring her the first time I met her? Ayappa, what's wrong with me?!
"Not only that, Mrs. N err--had the hots for me once and she err--kinda tried to hit on me, when I was visiting Manik for one summer vacation" I gasped hearing Harshad's confession. Seriously? This was like the f*ckening moment on Mrs. N! Woah!
"What?!? Harshad Saxena, and you didn't tell me this? What are we doing here??! Nandu if that scarlet woman tries hitting on my man one more time--" but Navya's rage couldn't continue, as all of us laughed out loud at the same time hearing her 'scarlet woman' comment! It was too hilarious, the way she said it, with red eyes, a mad & possessive gleam in her eyes and rage - mostly rage! While Harshad pacified her, I sighed seeing the cuteness and love these two shared even after years of marriage and after having little Abir with them. I wish I could ever have something like that; but I knew that was not my destiny, my destiny was to compromise. I didn't blame anyone for this, because no one was at fault, I was compromising because it was my choice. I'd rather be with Arya who loved me, than entertain the thought of falling in love with anyone else - the thought itself scared me. I had fallen in love once, it tore me apart, I wasn't brave enough to try it again. I had found cadence in Arya's comforting company.
"Whatever said & done, I do think, amongst us broken kids, Manik was the one handed with the raw end of the deal. His situation was always worse, and on that, him being the spontaneous, angry, psychotic man he had grown up to be, every little trigger ricocheted into a full blown disaster! It wasn't always his fault, yet it was his fault alright!" This time Dhruv spoke and the rest agreed (except Navya of course!).
"Guys, do you think he might come for the wedding?" It was Aliya again this time. Was there a kind of hope, I heard in her voice? It hurt me a little bit. Over the years, this had become my gang, and I thought we all unanimously agreed that Manik's departure was in the best interest for all, even Manik, then suddenly why did it sound like, deep down she kind of missed him? Wasn't my friendship enough? Hell, I never even hurt her, like he did.
"Would that be so bad if he did?" for the first time I heard Arya speak on this matter. My head shot towards him to find that he was directly looking at me with curious eyes. I looked away, I refused to answer this. Hell, I didn't freaking know what to answer here! Only Ayappa knew the number of times my heart started beating incoherently as I ruminated on the possibility of his visit - just that I didn't know, why was I still feeling so concerned, was it in elation of seeing the only man who could ever hold my heart ransom, or was it because I was scared to face the only man who could break me right down to my very spirit by walking out of my life time & again?
"No, I guess we all are too old and out of that zone now. In fact I'd be happy to see what's going on with my buddy after so long!" Dhruv replied with a fond smile playing on his face; Aliya mirrored that same smile, while Harshad looked indifferent - I am beginning to suspect Navya has a role to play in this. Haha.
"Hey Cabir had also moved to Australia after college, right? Do you think they'd be in touch?" asked Harshad with a fond smile.
"Damn, I miss Cabir man!" Aliya pouted. Clearly, they were having a Fab 5 moment. Errm..ex-Fab 5 moment? I liked to believe they were my gang now. I can't say I wasn't feeling left out, come on, I consider these folks my lifelines now, to think they all were secretly missing the one man who--never mind. I just wished it wasn't this complicated. Argh Ayappa!
"Arya, would you be okay if he came back?" I asked the question this time. We all knew how things were between them, I was curious to know what was going on in his mind. I knew Arya had had closure from their issue but was he open to having him back in his life?
Aryaman looked at me for a moment, and then flashed his ever famous crooked smile, like he could easily read into my slight pangs of jealousy when everyone spoke affectionately of Ma--er Him I mean. "That is for time to tell Nandu. You will know if he comes here!"
While the rest of the gang went on to chatter more, after sometime this topic on 'him' died, but I still couldn't focus on their words, there was this erratic rhythm in which my heart was beating; I haven't felt this impatient in ages. The last time I was feeling this way, was the time when Man-err-him was dodging my call after the night we made love. Why was I feeling that times were changing? Could he possibly come for the wedding? But how, hadn't Mr. Malhotra said he'd never come, no matter what? Also, what was Mrs. N saying about him settling down with a hobby and not his planned career? What was he doing in life, found myself asking these questions again after a six year long hiatus. A more rational part of my brain asked me, why did I care what he was up to - my brain was probably right. I should pay heed to it. I suppose after a very long time we all discussed him, that's why the uneasy feelings ebbed.
All is okay now Nandu, stay focused and do your thing. Don't overthink. Ayappa, be there for me, okay?
Vommuli Island, Maldives circa 2018
(Kid Pool Area, The St. Regis, Maldives Vommuli Resort)
I was sitting by the pool and happily shooting Abir with his water gun as he & Arya were in the baby pool having a rave! The little guy had a bright pink floater tube around him and to say he didn't like the 'pink' was an understatement! He scrunched up his nose in dislike much the way Navya did and Arya and I had rolled up in laughter seeing his cute antics. Anyway after Arya carefully explained to him how going into the water wasn't even an option if he wasn't using the floaters, the little guy begrudgingly agreed to use it. Once in the water, the boys were having so much fun, that the annoying colour pink, was a long forgotten history!
"Nandooo..Nooo!" shouted Abir playfully as I kept spraying more water on him with his water gun that I had. Arya immediately teamed up with the little guy and started splashing the water in the pool, so it splashed on me in large volumes now!
"Ewww! Arya, stop!!" I laughed back, but there was no stopping him. Abir had completely mixed up with me & Arya seamlessly and needless to say ever since that happened, he has almost spent all his wakeful hours with us. Nope, we're not complaining! Turns out, this little guy and his innocence was a blessing to have around, and gave us that much more reason to smile!
"Eeeeeeeee..waaaa" a sudden sound of someone made me quickly turn around, and there just about a foot away from me stood the cutest little toddler I have ever set my eyes on. Angel - that's the word that popped in my head as I saw the tiny little vision clad in a soft rose pink dress wearing a hair band that had the design of a flower that was almost the size of her face stuck on it. The little girl must have been about a year and half at max, she was barely able to walk and as she did, her shoes glowed with bright pink neon lights! As she took quick baby steps towards us, her eyes were not on me, but on the boys in the pool, who were having fun and hadn't even noticed her!
"Meeee" she shouted in joy and was almost about to cross me and dive into the pool, when my instinct kicked in, and I picked her up in jet speed before she took the leap! Monkey, much? What a kid, wasn't she scared of falling?!
"Woh, woh, woh little Ninja, does mommy know what you're up to here?" I asked, chuckling at her while she sat on my arms and finally noticed me. Her eyes were wide at the mention of her mother and she mischievously put her little index finger on my lips and said "Ssshhh, no mommy!" and vigorously shook her head from left to right! I shook in laughter seeing this little naughty baby.
"Roo, where are you baby, don't you pull this stunt on me, your mom would kill m--" I heard a man's voice and quickly turned around, realising he must be looking for this baby. As I turned around with the baby who I suppose was called Roo (weird name, much?) my eyes landed on a very familiar face; a face I had flushed out of my life and memory for years now, and suddenly amidst a fun day I was having with my folks, it came flying back like a boomerang!
Cabir Dhawan.
After six damn years. Woah.
Cabir stopped talking, the moment his eyes landed on me, and after ten seconds of a blank stare, his eyes popped in recognition.
"Nandini" he called out my name, as if to almost make himself believe that I was actually there. As for me, my breath struck in my throat - hadn't someone mentioned just the day before that Cabir had moved to Australia after college? Did that mean..could it be that...Ayappa no!!!
"Cabir?" my trance was broken as I heard Arya calling his name out from behind me. I had completely forgotten that he and Abir were nearby too. Cabir tore his gaze from me, as his eyes landed on Arya & Abir and he continued to look shocked.
"Unc Caaaaa" meanwhile the little minion in my arm being unaware of the legendary shock the adults around her were going through, decided to make her presence felt and dived right from my arms into Cabir's. He grabbed her out of reflex and still stared at us; it was as if his shock was not wearing off.
"Let's go & play, Nandooo" little Abir started pulling me by tugging at my elbow. I broke my eye contact with Cabir and looked at Abir and nodded, to pacify him.
"Aryaman, Nandini, how..how are you guys..long time" Cabir finally seemed to find his voice.
"Yeah man, long time. We're good here, how have you been?" Arya replied, while he gently held my shoulder realising I would need his support. That was Arya, he was silently always there for me.
"Good, good. We're good here, let me er--catch up with you in some time; need to get Roo to---" but again the little one screamed out of excitement looking behind Cabir's shoulder.
"Daaaaaaaaa"
"There is my little girl with uncle Ca. Your Daa was looking for you everywhere, sweetheart!" came a voice from behind Cabir.
I held my breath up in shock. I can never mistake that voice. I could recognize that voice even if I heard him in a crowd of millions yelling my name. Before I could muster the courage to look at the source of the voice, I felt Arya's grasp on my shoulder tighten, and my eyes landed on Cabir, who was looking at me with a shocked and sad expression.
No.
No. No. No.
Ayappa, please. NO.
Let this not be him.
Let 'him' not be the father of this baby!
Arya's surprised whisper kind of validated the worst fear of my plagued heart, "Manik Malhotra."
***
A/N : Okay readers, bring it on - the love, the hate, the anger..everything! :D
I don't have too many questions today (saving them for the next week's blast!) but here are three things I want to know:
1. Overall feels of the narrative - how's the gangs bonding/ Nandini-Arya bonding/ Navya-Nandini bonding - what do you like, what didn't work out for you?
2. Your thoughts on Mr. Malhotra & Mrs. N? How do you think they might have impacted Manik & Mukti's childhood? Any thoughts?
3. Manik's entry - how many of you were expecting Daddy Manik? What do you feel about this? Any thought starters? How do you think Nandini will react?
Thank you so much for such heart warming comments and so much love.
Please keep reading, voting, sharing your views on the story and encouraging me like always!
Love all,
A.
Next update - 3rd July