They left for the long drive. Cabir had his jeep and Manik, his SUV. Navya, Nandini, Aryaman, Alya, Adah and Dhruv were with Manik while the rest opted for the jeep.
Adah decided to sit on Nandini's lap and let her parents spend some romantic time together. Nandini and Adah were talking about random things, like what they saw on the road or what Adah did yesterday. Navya was chatting with Aryaman while Manik glanced to his side from time-to-time. Nandini caught him looking.
"Kya?" She asked softly.
"Nothing." He said and placed his hand on her thigh. Nandini smiled and placed her hand on his.
They soon reached and they had a photo session before the sunset. Nandini, a bit tired from the journey, stood alone, leaning on the bonnet of the car. Manik saw her and walked towards her.
"A penny for your thoughts?" Manik asked.
"Nothing. Just tired."
"You do look tired, everything okay?" Manik asked, wrapping his arm around her.
"I don't know. Just stay like this." Nandini muttered against his chest. Recently, she had started feeling very needy for affection from Manik and she wondered why it had suddenly spiked.
"As you wish."
They were silent. Nandini wanted to ask him about the baby thing, while Manik wanted to talk about it too, but for some reason, they held back. Maybe it was not the right time.
-----
The girl gang gathered in Mukti's room for a night out.
"Girls, change into comfortable clothes." Mukti said.
"Alya, are we wearing matching PJs, wow!" Soha said, looking at her outfit.
"Yeah! Since Mukti didn't want a sober bachelorette party, I decided to design these for tonight." Alya said.
"They are cute." Nandini said, walking out of the bathroom, wiping her face.
"Haan! Maternity PJs ke liye thanks!" Navya hugged Alya.
"I must say, pregnancy ke turant baad Alya apne old shape main aa gayi." Mukti said.
"It was tough, but I needed to remain fit. If I would have done nothing after the delivery for a long time, it would have become difficult to lose the baby weight." Alya said, checking herself out in the mirror.
"True. Last time thik tha, lekin is baar mera bump aur jyada badh gaya hai." Navya sulked.
"Maine suna hai pregnancy mein hota hai aisa." Nandini said.
"About that, what's with you?" Soha asked.
"What does that mean?" Nandini asked.
"Girls, look at her, doesn't she look weak?" Soha asked.
"She does."
"Haan bilkul."
"You puked too."
"That was because of the mountains."
"Nandini, you never had motion sickness." Mukti said.
"Nandini, do you think you are...pregnant? You haven't been eating well and you have been avoiding alcohol too." Alya stated as a matter of fact.
Nandini burst out into sobs immediately.
"Oh my god! What happened?" Alya rushed to Nandini who shook her head and kept sobbing while hiding her face in her hands.
"Nandu, hua kya? Bataao hume!" Navya asked, exchanging worried glances with her friends.
"Manik...kids...he doesn't..." Nandini said between her sobs. The girls exchanged glances.
"Have you guys talked about it?" Soha asked.
"Ev-everytime we do-do, we start fi-fighting. I don't know wh-what to do!" She said as she hiccupped.
"Shh...let it out." Alya comforted Nandini, rubbing her back comfortingly.
"Did you guys-"
"It's been a month." Nandini said, wiping her tears. "Again."
Mukti wiped her cheeks with a napkin and placed Nandini's hair behind her ears.
"Everything will be alright."
"But what if it's too late? What if he agrees, but it is too late?" Nandini asked.
"You are just 27 now. You have a lot of time." Soha suggested.
"Exactly. Nandu, tum chinta mat karo. Manik khud samaj jaayega." Navya said, hugging her best friend.
Nandini nodded and they all sat on the bed.
"Sorry guys, for-"
"Oh shut up! Mukti, bring the bottles and snacks!" Alya said.
Navya and Soha managed to distract Nandini while the other two prepared for the party.
As soon as Mukti poured champagne into the glasses, Nandini started feeling nauseous and ran to the bathroom.
"Nandini! Are you okay?" Mukti ran after her and looked at Nandini bent over the sink, puking her guts out. Mukti held her hair from behind while Alya brought some water.
After rinsing her mouth, Nandini looked at a stern Mukti.
"Kab se chal raha hai?"
"Kya chal-"
"This sickness."
"Umm..."
"Out with it now." Mukti commanded.
"Last week." Nandini croaked out.
Mukti walked out of the bathroom while Alya helped Nandini drink water.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Nandini rushed towards Mukti, who was unlocking her phone.
"Calling Manik. Tum bohat careless ho Nandini." Mukti said.
"No please! Don't call him please?" Nandini pleaded.
"Okay. Okay fine. On one condition." Mukti said.
"What?"
"Take a pregnancy test."
Nandini stepped back in horror.
"What?" Alya asked.
"She is in denial, Alya!" Mukti said.
"Kis baat ki denial?" Navya asked.
"She's afraid. She's afraid that if she is pregnant, Manik might desert her." Mukti exposed Nandini's worst fears. Nandini's eyes filled up as she heard Mukti's words.
"Don't say that..."
"Nandini, when did you become this weak? Come on woman, face it!" Mukti held Nandini's shoulders.
"But-"
"No buts. Just wait, I have a kit." Mukti opened her suitcase and took out a kit.
"You can test right now." Mukti handed the test kit to Nandini, who took it with shivering hands.
"Don't worry, we are with you." Soha said.
Nandini nodded and went to the washroom.
"If Manik does anything bad to her, I will dig his grave and bury him alive." Mukti said, pacing to and fro.
"Chill, Manik itna bura nahi hai." Navya said.
"We can only hope." Alya said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
-----
Nandini took out the contents one by one.
"Aiyappa, mujhe samaj nahi aa raha kuch bhi! Do I want the result to be positive or negative?" Nandini talked to herself. She read out the instructions and did what it said.
She placed the test on the sink and waited.
"I don't want to lose Manik. What if he- No! Nandini, he loves you. He won't do that. But what if he leaves-" Nandini shook her head and washed her face, attempting to shoo away negative thoughts.
Her legs were turning into jelly and there were butterflies in her stomach, due to anticipation. Those ten minutes felt like years to her!
After some time, Nandini looked at the stick and froze.
-----
The girls heard some shuffling and the door was unlocked. Nandini stepped out in a daze, with a blank face and sat on the bed with a thud.
"What is it?" Alya asked.
Nandini looked at her.
"Nandini, come on!"
"Positive." She whispered with a smile and a tear slipped out.
"Oh my god! Congratulations!" The ladies pounced on her.
"Guys, let her breathe!" Soha said.
Once they parted, they looked at Nandini whose smile turned into a frown.
"Manik. Oh no! What will Manik do now? Oh no!!" Nandini started panicking and eventually started crying. They got alarmed, not expecting this.
"Manik's going to leave me! He will hate me now!" Nandini kept saying. Mukti hugged her tightly and saw the rest, who had helpless expressions. After 15 minutes of crying, Nandini fell asleep.
"An unexpected turn of events." Soha said, looking at Nandini.
"Vo kaafi stressed hai." Navya said, caressing Nandini's head.
"Manik ko kaun batayega?" Mukti asked.
"Let it be her. We can't poke our noses into this. We already pushed Nandini into taking the test."
"True. Let her sleep. We'll go to the balcony." Mukti said, covering Nandini with a blanket, brushing the hair away from her eyes and caressing her cheek before leaving.
-----
It was the day of Mehendi. The guests had started arriving and the people were hustling in and out of the villa.
Manik looked for Nandini all morning but she was sleeping, thanks to the night before.
"Where is Nandu?" Manik asked Alya, who was feeding Adah her breakfast.
"I don't know...she must be around." Alya lied, not looking at Manik.
"Ugh!" Manik groaned and kept looking for Nandini.
"Nandu ab tak dikhi nahi mujhe! Kahan reh gayi yeh ladki!" Shanno said and bumped into Manik.
"Chachi aap bhi Nandu ko dhundh rahe ho?" Manik asked.
"Haan. Usse kaam hai. Tu kyun dhund raha hai?"
"Maine kal raat se nahi dekha usey. Yeh ladkiyon ne night out kiya. Nandini phone bhi nahi uthaa rahi." Manik said with concern.
"Acha tu dhoond usey. Main bhi dhoondti hu. Mil jaaye toh call karna." Shanno said and kept looking for Nandini.
"Mukti ko dhoondta hu. Socha tha bride ko disturb nahi karunga lekin aur koi choice nahi." Manik said to himself and started looking for Mukti. It took him a while but soon, he reached the floor where Mukti's bedroom was.
He saw Mukti closing the door softly, as if not to disturb the person inside. Manik hid himself in a room while Mukti left the floor.
"Pretty sure Nandini is in there." Manik muttered and marched towards Mukti's room. He opened the door and saw a sleeping figure on the bed.
"Has she passed out? Oh don't tell me!" Manik let out an exasperated sigh and walked towards the bed and saw Nandini sleeping soundly.
"Nandini, wake up!" Manik called out, pretty loudly.
Manik leaned towards her face and checked if she had the alcoholic breath. She didn't.
"Wait, what?"
Manik shook Nandini roughly.
No reaction.
This made Manik nervous. Nandini was never such a heavy sleeper.
"Nandini! Nandini!!!" Manik panicked.
Nandini woke up with a jerk and sat up.
"Manik! Don't leave me!" Nandini blurted.
"What?"
"Uh...what is the time?" Nandini asked, rubbing her eyes and realising it was a bad dream.
"11 AM! What is with you? Uthi kyun nahi?" Manik asked.
"Nothing. I wasn't feeling well." Nandini said, and tied her hair into a bun.
"Nandini, you look very weak. Are you okay?" Manik scooted closer to her and held her close.
"Hmm..." Nandini hugged Manik and calmed herself down.
"Do you want to stay in?"
"No, I'll come." Nandini said and got up.
"Come, we'll get ready together." Manik held her hand and they walked to their room.
-----
Nandini came out of the shower and took her clothes out.
"What were you guys up to last night?" Manik asked.
"Nothing, I fell asleep pretty soon." Nandini replied.
"Should we go to the doctor?"
"No, we'll see." Nandini said curtly and looked at herself in the mirror. She dropped the towel and looked at herself in the mirror. Her naked self.
"What happened? Anything wrong?" Manik got up, looking at her expression.
"Nothing." Nandini whispered and put on her clothes.
"Nandini, you are being really strange. Is there something wrong which you aren't telling me?" Manik asked again.
"No Manik! Just calm the fuck down!" Nandini burst out and got ready.
"What is the matter with you? Why are you acting so weird and distant? Did the girls say something wrong?"
"No they didn't." Nandini said.
"Then what?"
Nandini took a deep breath and looked at him.
"Just-just leave it okay? I would really like some space, please." Nandini said.
Manik looked at her for a minute and looked away.
"Fine. Get your space soon. I don't like secrets." Manik replied and checked his mails.
"I'll be back." Nandini said and went to the washroom.
Her phone pinged and Nandini came out. She seemed to be in haste and Manik got suspicious right away. Before she could reach, Manik got up and took the phone.
"Is this what you are hiding?" Manik asked.
"Manik!! Give me my phone!"
"No!" Manik stood on the bed and stretched his hand up in the air. Obviously Nandini couldn't reach it.
"Stop it Manik!"
"N-no! Let go, Nandini!"
"Bache jaise behave kar rahe ho! Aur tumhara ek bachha hoga?" Nandini blurted.
Manik froze and looked at Nandini.
"What-what did you just say?"
Manik suddenly realised he had the phone and he saw the notification screen.
Mukti
Did you tell him?
"Manik I-"
"Nandini? What is she talking about?" Manik asked Nandini.
"I am preg-pregnant."
Manik kept staring at her for a few seconds, trying to digest the news.
"Manik, please don't leave me! I know you didn't want a child! I don't know how it happened! I am so sorry-" Nandini was shut up with a pair of lips.
Manik lifted her up, wrapping her legs around him. He kissed her deeply and placed her on the bed.
"Manik?" Nandini breathed out as soon as he let go.
"You are pregnant with our baby! We are going to be parents. I can't believe it." Manik grinned widely.
"Manik? What are you saying? Uss din tum-"
"Haan. Lekin maine socha iss baare mein. It took some time to get comfortable with the idea of being parents. But watching you play with Adah was my breaking point. I realised how much I wanted to see you with our child."
Nandini started crying with happiness and hugged Manik tightly. She placed kisses on his face and hugged him again.
"We are going to have a baby!"
"We so are!"
They kissed again, rejoicing at the new change.
-----
Cabir and Neil were helping with the decorations when they watched Manik and Nandini come downstairs happily, hand-in-hand.
"All good between them? I heard Nandini had been missing in the morning." Neil asked.
"God knows. All of us have realised not to interfere between them. We have borne the brunt." Cabir laughed.
"They seem to be really happy. What has changed?" Neil leaned on the wall.
"Good sex." Cabir replied and Neil chuckled. "Good for them." He added.
"On a serious note, after my parents' separation, seeing a married couple so happy feels good. Restores my faith in marriage." Cabir said, looking at Manik and Nandini laughing together and Dhruv and Adah helping Alya with her saree.
"Have you thought about it?" Neil asked, fiddling with the ladder.
"About?" Cabir asked.
"Marriage."
Cabir looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"What will you do if I say yes?" Cabir asked.
Neil grinned.
"Tell you that I have been thinking about it too?" Neil said.
Cabir looked down with a smile and resumed working with the decorations.
"What? Say something." Neil poked Cabir.
"We'll talk tonight." Cabir replied.
-----
"What design are you applying?" Alya asked Nandini.
"Just something basic. I don't have a lot of patience right now." Nandini replied.
"So did you tell Manik?" Mukti asked.
The Mehendi function was going on in full swing and they were trying to pass time.
"I did." Nandini replied with a grin.
"I am assuming all went well." Alya said.
"Yeah! Manik said he had changed his mind about the whole baby thing. He is taking baby steps, pun totally intended." Nandini said, grinning widely and everyone felt relieved.
"Hamare bache ek hi umar ke honge!" Navya realised.
"Oh yes!" They high-fived.
"Manik and Nandini's child, Aryaman and Navya's, wow, they are going to be batshit crazy." Mukti said.
"Hey! Why?" Nandini frowned.
"Navya is a drama queen, Aryaman is crazy, Manik is a monster and Nandini, you are a nerd." Soha said.
"I am not a nerd!!"
"I am not a drama queen!!!"
"Yeah right!" Mukti, Alya and Soha said together in a chorus.
-----
Author's note -
Nandu is finally pregnant! And they are happy💖💖💖💖💖💖 and Mukti's also getting married💖💖
I seriously have no idea why somene or the other is always pregnant during a wedding kn this story lol