Dedicated to archasa googleybear7 krishnagindodia SrishtiSharma9 JignaPaul MounikaGottimukkala urvishah454 MahiAtika KhyatiSharma7 khanumsaiqa tasneemshabandari9 mightypanda300 bhhummi_ TheReadingFreakkk_
Special mention to the ones for leaving a bunch of beautiful inline comments in the chapter Rebecca_Valentine simrangharge syleuven1 beauty_basket959 darkangel142111 _manan_tales_ AlwaysKunwarrajanee Sonipriyanka6582
Hugs🤗 and kisses😘 to the ones who voted as well.
⚠️A very very long chapter ahead warning! I thought about giving a double update but I did not wish to break the flow. Hence, one super lengthy chapter ahead. Let me know how it is....⚠️
----×----
3 months later...
It was around 23:18 when Nandini stepped out of her restaurant from the front gate. She did not have to go to the parking given that she had lent her car to Manik who needed to drive to the outskirts of the city for a meeting. She was yet to book a cab because she couldn't find any on the app which is why she decided to take one from the street. She turned to the left and walked ahead only to stop at the sight of her boyfriend leaning onto her car and it seemed like he was waiting for her.
Manik's eyes lit up the moment he could see her and Nandini did not miss that. She sprinted faster towards him and almost climbed on him for a tight hug. He balanced the two of them and laughed at her eagerness. How was she always this excited just to see him, was beyond him. Not that it was any different for him but her lack of attempt to maintain the calm, surprised him. No matter how much she opened up to him, it still managed to take him by surprise every time that she did so. He was so used to her being all guarded up that even a little expression of her feelings made him ecstatic.
"Why do we have to stay away from each other for so long? It's not fair..." Nandini complained when she felt him kiss her shoulder.
"We stay apart so much because you have to work two jobs, sweetie. I still don't understand your need to drive yourself crazy with so much workload but if it makes you happy then I can never not support you. We can make do with whatever little time you get." Manik answered her question ever so lovingly making her sigh at the content that she felt in that moment.
"I thought you said that you'd be too tired to come and meet me tonight. What changed?" Nandini asked Manik as he put her down so that she could stand on her own feet.
"I still am very tired but it just felt wrong to not see you when I am, literally, just 10 minutes far from you." Manik told her and rested his forehead against hers.
"Aww... That is so sweet. Let's get you home. I can cook you something nice and then you can sleep till noon tomorrow. No interruptions." Nandini rubbed his bicep to comfort him. She did feel bad for him given how worn out he appeared.
"Sounds like a dream. Although, I would loovee to get interrupted by you." Manik whispered and stretched the word 'love' to tease her as he dropped a sloppy kiss under her ears.
"Uhm-hmm... That is not happening t... um.. till you're well rested." Nandini had to bite her lip to control herself from kissing him on his lips then and there. His kisses made her weak in the knees, every time that they were close to one another. But, she felt the compulsion to get a grip of herself because she was concerned for his health above all. Manik had been working tirelessly, for the past week where he barely had any time to eat well or sleep for 6 hours each night. It was finally Saturday night so, she wanted him to take all the rest that he could just so he doesn't end up falling sick.
"I love the effect I have on you. And as much as I'd want to disagree with you, I know that you are right. I do need to get some rest. I could even use some pampering from my girlfriend, you know. I'd feel relaxed quicker than usual, that way. Just saying..." Manik trailed off as he pulled Nandini to himself by her waist and leaned back to the door of her car.
"I could do that... I feel really sorry that you are so slammed with work." Nandini ignored his teasing and told him, genuinely. Manik looked at her with some emotions in his eyes that even he could not contemplate. She was caring towards everyone yet he could not help himself from feeling like the luckiest man alive when she showed concern for him.
"Not more than what you do to yourself every single day. How come you never ask me to pamper you?" Manik asked her the first thing that came to his mind. He drew small patterns on her back as she leaned further into his touch.
"Over these five years, my habits changed, I guess. You remember how much I used to nag everyone around me to take care of me at the slightest of discomfort?" Nandini questioned him, pondering over how she had changed.
"I do! That one time you made me carry you around for an entire day just because your legs hurt a little after our trek the previous day. You even made me carry you till the door of your bathroom every time you had to pee." Manik rubbed his nose with hers as he recalled that incident.
"I don't remember consciously stopping this but I guess I matured over the time. And not to forget, Jeanette entering my life changed me completely." Nandini remarked. There was no lie in the fact that Nandini became the person to shower all the love and affection with everyone around her. Randhir and Jeanette were the biggest reasons why she had phased out her need for attention and care. She had to become the one who would take care of others.
"Well, I am here now and it's never too late to change some things back to the way they were." Manik muttered and paired it up with a sweet kiss on her cheek. She smiled at him sweetly before returning the favor. She had already admitted to herself that she loved him and at moments like these she had a hard time controlling herself from blurting it out to him. She knew that it was too soon to drop the 'L' word between them and she did not want to scare him away or worse, make him feel like she was a desperate woman who needed love to be in a relationship. She knew that there were a ton of things other than love to make any relationship work and she was ready to wait and explore every single one of them with him.
"Let's go. You relax now, I can drive us back to my place." Nandini told him after a moment of staying in his warm hold. He couldn't help but hop onto that offer, immediately because boy, did he need a break from driving!
---------
"Surprise! Happy Birthday, Nandini!" Nandini clutched her top near her chest at the sudden noise when she opened the door to her apartment using her keys.
"Fuck! What? Wh... Who..." Nandini could not form any coherent sentences as she looked at her living room which was decorated beautifully with balloons and flowers. She could see all of their friends from college in the room who were all dressed up for a proper party.
"Relax, sweetie..." Manik mumbled to her in a soothing voice and she felt his palm on the small of her back. He pushed them in to step inside her home.
"Happy Birthday, Nandini!" Dhruv was the first one to hop in and give her a tight hug.
"Thank you, Dhruv! Did you plan all this?" Nandini asked him as she tore away from the hug.
"No no... This is all your dear boyfriend. He planned this whole thing even though he had work all day. I just did everything that he asked me to do." Dhruv answered, honestly, taking Nandini by absolute surprise while whispering the 'dear boyfriend' bit just for them to hear. Manik had not made a peep about this or even mention that he remembered that it was her birthday. She was under the impression that he had probably forgotten about it given his tight work schedule.
"You remembered? I thought..." Manik did not let her finish it because he leaned in to take her in a side-hug.
"How can I forget your birthday? Besides, is it not like a crime to forget your girlfriend's birthday?" Manik asked her with a playful glint in his eyes.
"Thanks!" Nandini mumbled to him with a soft smile. The last time anyone had done anything like this for her birthday was 12 years ago when her parents had thrown a surprise party for her when she returned from school. Birthdays after leaving her house had remained quite, maybe a dinner with her friends or they'd hit a club but a organizing a special party or surprise for her had not occurred to anyone including her ex-boyfriend and her best friend. Sure, they made sure to spend time with her on this day but Manik was the first one to go out of the way and do something like this.
One-by-one every person in the room wished her birthday with a hug or a handshake. She, happily, responded to all of them and once they were done, Manik approached her again.
"Your birthday dress is waiting for you in your room. Go and get changed quickly." Manik told her and she was more than willing to oblige. A certain child-like glee was etched on her face and she did not even wish to control it. She dashed away in a jiffy to see what he had gotten her.
"You would not go through all this trouble just for your friend, Malhotra. Is there something that we are missing here?" Mukti was standing close to where Manik had met Nandini and thus interrogated him, the moment she stepped away.
"Shut up, Mukti!" Manik shrugged and immediately ran away from there to avoid any questions but it only cleared Mukti's doubts about them. He wanted to tell them but not without Nandini so he'd rather wait for her to show up.
"Your cousin is definitely that idiot's girlfriend now..." Mukti commented for Abhimanyu's interest. He laughed it off as if it was no news to him. The two of them had become awfully obvious for others to not notice.
---------
"My my... Look at the pretty woman here. How are you just 3 years away from 30?" Cabir complimented Nandini, the moment she set her foot out of her room. She did look very pretty in that dress that hugged her in all the right places. She had kept her make-up as simple as possible but it was the perfect amount to make her look gorgeous.
"Th..." Before Nandini could say anything the room echoed with a shrill cry of the only little baby in the house. Nia cried out loud in that very instant which startled Cabir the most because she was in his arms.
"Baby is possessive about her papa, huh? Don't worry sweetie, no one in this world is prettier that my little girl." Nandini spoke to Nia in her baby voice as she took her from Cabir. Nia's cries dropped instantly as the stone earrings on Nandini's ears caught her attention.
"My girl can be such a drama queen for a new-born." Navya remarked with a chuckle.
"Where's Manik?" Nandini asked all of them while cradling the little girl in her arms who seemed busy tapping on her dangling earrings.
"He had to take a call so, he went to the kitchen." Abhimanyu replied. Nandini pouted a little at that because she wanted him to see her in whatever he had chosen for her. She never liked to dress up or even put in efforts to look good but for him and just for that spark in his eyes, she loved doing this too.
"In the meantime, do you have some news for us, Nandu?" Abhimanyu quizzed with a smirk as he laced his hand over her shoulder. Nandini bit her lower lip for a second to contemplate what could she say to that because she knew what they all wanted to know.
Aliya had vanished after the night of her epic proposal which was a clear indication of Manik's refusal to the same. After that, it did not take expertise in rocket science for their friends to put two and two together. Manik and Nandini had been best friends for the longest time in front of all of them and they knew that romance was a fine line away if at all they ever wanted to give it a shot. They, obviously, had no clue of their feelings but given the undeniable chemistry between them, no one could possibly not believe that something won't happen between them in ever.
"Uh... Jeanette moved out so I've been living alone for quite some time now. What is up with you all?" Nandini made an innocent face as she said that and asked them.
"Do not try to be over-smart, sister!" Abhimanyu said, chuckling at her stupid attempt to distract them. Nandini passed him a glare before reverting her attention back to the little baby in her arms.
"Is this how you treat the birthday girl, Abhi? Stop grilling her now..." Manik walked back in, right on time for her rescue. But, his actions shocked Nandini to her very core because in the next moment she was pulled back such that her back hit his chest. Holding Nia in a secure grip was her priority so, she did not get even a moment to register his pull let alone the soft kiss on her temple. Did this guy plan on killing her on the very day she was born?
"And yes, she is my girlfriend now. Happy?" Manik said the words out loud with a bored look because he knew that every single person in the room were suspecting it already.
"Manik?!" Nandini whisper yelled at him in shock. When did they discuss telling everyone about them like this?
"What? Are you not?" Manik shrugged and played with Nia's cheeks who had her attention directed towards his face after he pulled Nandini into his hold.
"About time, you guys! Congratulations! I am so happy for you two!" Mukti squealed in gaiety of the wonderful news.
"You are dating him?" all of their heads turned to the source of that flabbergasted voice which happened to belong to Nandini's ex-boyfriend- Randhir. Dhruv hit himself in the forehead for forgetting about inviting him as well. Manik had asked him to invite all of their friends from college which included Randhir but he should have known better than this. How did he make this rookie mistake?
"Randhir... I..." Nandini did not know how to deal with this in that moment. She knew that this day would come but she did not think that it'd come so soon. She did not feel prepared for this but then again would she ever be really prepared to face a situation like this?
Navya stepped closer to her to take away Nia and give Nandini the much needed space.
"How could you, Nandini? I knew it! I was just a pass-time for you until the love of your life waltzed back in to woo you into a trap of this relationship." Randhir yelled making Nandini flinch a little. Why was he so shocked after recurringly complain about this possibility even before she began thinking about it? Shouldn't he have known that this was inevitable.
"You..." Randhir began yelling again only to be cut off by Manik.
"DO NOT! Don't you dare step into her house and speak to her like that. You've got no right to do that... And, for the love of god, can you stop sounding like she cheated on you? You both have been broken up for over a year now..." Manik was not shouting but his tone had a certain firmness to it and even Nandini was a little intimidated by that. Normally, she would have jumped in and told him that she could handle it but she knew better than doing that because he had made it clear to her in the beginning that he was protective of his people and she'd have to accept it. She had to admit though, it did feel comforting to know that he had her back now.
"You don't interfere... This is between me and her." Randhir grit his teeth as he thrust the bouquet of flowers that he had brought for her on the couch of her living room.
"Except that there is no you and her... It ended forever ago. She is my girlfriend now and so, I'm gonna have to ask you to step out if you are planning on ruining her birthday for her. Come back and talk to her when you will not be yelling and you'll be open to having a mature conversation like an adult." Manik asserted and even though he did not want that last bit to happen, he had to say it because he knew that he cannot impose all of his thoughts on her life. She had been very supportive of him when Aliya's non-sense was happening and he just had to reciprocate with the same space for her as well.
"Fucking piece of shit!" Randhir spat back at Manik and stormed out of Nandini's apartment.
"Well, that was... something." Abhimanyu remarked making Nandini sigh. She shut her eyes in frustration. She did not want things to turn this way. Randhir had ruined a lot of last chances but she wanted them to be civil to each other. But after tonight, she wasn't sure that she even wanted him around her. He had been disrespectful to her for a bunch of times and now, he had abused Manik in her own house on her birthday no less. She should not deal with this. It would be better to toss the guy out of her list of friends as well. It would be the best for both of them.
"I should have been more careful. I'm sorry, you guys." Dhruv apologised feeling bad about his misstep.
"It is not your fault, Dhruv. It's okay." Manik dismissed his apology since he felt that it was unnecessary to begin with.
"Cake time! I'll get the cake..." Cabir announced and headed towards the kitchen and the rest of them began clearing out space on the coffee table and couch for the cake-cutting bit of the night.
"Did I overstep my boundaries by any chance?" Manik asked Nandini in a low voice because he did not want her to keep anything inside her heart if at all there was anything.
Nandini smiled at his thoughtfulness and as a thankful gesture, she placed a chaste kiss on his chest over the fabric of his shirt after she hugged him slowly. "You were perfect!" Manik heard her mumble making him breathe a sigh of relief. He then wrapped his hands around her waist, loosely.
"That was enough ruining your day for now... From here on, it is going to be a great day, okay?" Manik reassured her after dropping a kiss on the top of her head.
"Hate to break this up but please save all this PG 18 stuff for later tonight, love birds. It is cake time." Cabir tapped on Manik's shoulder and said that to annoy him. Nandini rolled her eyes at that and stepped away from the hug only to be held back by Manik who had grabbed her right hand in his firm grip.
"Asshole!" Manik mumbled but nonetheless, pulled Nandini along with him towards the couch. It was time to commence the festivities of her birthday, after all.
------
Manik and all of their friends sang for her as she cut her birthday cake. She fed the first piece to Manik and then followed by every other person in the room except for Nia who was too young for any kind of solid food.
After the cake-cutting slash feeding session, everyone fell back into easy conversations among the little clusters of people. Nandini needed to clean her hands so she moved closer to the table in her living room that had all kinds of drinks on it. She plucked a couple of tissues to wipe her fingertips when she felt a pair of hands encircling her petite waist.
"Happy Birthday, gorgeous!" Manik mumbled to Nandini making her smile widely at him.
"Why thank you... I was wondering if you'd be even wishing me for reals, tonight." Nandini told him making him realize that he had indeed forgotten to wish her properly. He planned this entire extravaganza for her but amidst everything that he had to take care of, he had missed wishing her when the clock struck twelve.
"Yeah? I thought so... That is why I decided to end your misery by wishing you. After all, there's no one more important to you than me whose wish you wanted to hear, so desperately." Manik gloated with a playful glint in his eyes. This was her day and he was just extremely glad to be celebrating it with her as her significant other. He had been waiting for this day since he did not even know and to reach here, finally, he just felt lucky.
"Do you wanna sleep out on the couch tonight, by any chance?" Nandini asked him ever so sweetly making him chuckle at her cutest threat.
"Could you sound more wife-y?" Manik remarked while still chuckling at her adorable expressions.
"On a serious note, thank you so much for all of this. Nobody has done anything even remotely close to this, for me, in twelve years." Nandini told him while gazing into his eyes with a grateful smile.
"I finally earned the right to do all this and much more for you so how could I not? You deserve every bit of this. I meant it when I said that I wanna pamper you as much as I can..." Manik told her, lovingly. He pecked her cheek as softly as possible in between his sentences.
"This is more like spoiling me rotten, Manik. Not that I have any complaints..." Nandini chipped and hugged him by wrapping her hands around his torso.
"Here's the woman of the hour! Where else would she be? Of course! This party is for you woman and all of us are here for you. Would you care to join us and give us some bhao(attention)? You can do this and more after all of us leave." Dhruv was making a video when he interrupted Manik and Nandini's moment. He spoke all that into the camera and laughed at his commentary.
"I know but I wanna do this now. Do you have any problem with that?" Nandini said, stubbornly as she hugged Manik tighter and looked sideways to face Dhruv's camera. Manik chuckled at her antics and could not resist the urge to drop a kiss on the top of her head while bringing her even close to himself if at all that was possible.
"Rude ass! You are 27 so at least try and act your age." Dhruv remarked, funnily with a fake disappointed look on his face.
"Stay away from Cabir! He's turning you into a Drama Queen." Nandini said after contemplating a comeback for a minute.
"Hey! What did I do?" They heard Cabir whine from the other end of the room making everybody chuckle at his tone.
"But seriously, come on you two. Let's play something." Mukti suggested.
"Fine! Mere Pyaar Ke Dushman(enemies to my love)..." Nandini muttered before following Dhruv towards the group, away from Manik. He could not move from there given how she had uttered the word 'Pyaar'(love) just like that. Did she really mean that she loved him or was that just an expression to show her annoyance with their friends?
He will have to find that out now...
------------
Manik woke up the next day to an empty bed much to his dislike. He wanted to see his girlfriend, the first thing in the morning, especially because it was also her birthday. But he had been knocked out straight till noon given how tired he was after the previous day's work and a party that ended only early in the morning. Nandini was an early bird so he figured, she could not sleep for longer periods in the day as he could no matter how late she went to bed.
He sat up and stretched before walking out of her bedroom to find her only to stop at the threshold itself because it seemed like Nandini was on a video call with her family. 'Timely save!'- Manik thought to himself and thanked all the stars that he did not yell out her name owing to his stupid habit whenever he could not find her around him.
"I really wanted to come there too, mumma. Believe me! But I have this one meeting with a client tomorrow morning which I cannot miss at any cost. Perhaps, next time?" Nandini's tone was apologetic when she had to decline her mother's request for her to visit them in Pune for the weekend.
"We just wanted to celebrate your birthday with you, sweetheart. Who knows how many of those are left for us, anyway?" Avni said, dejectedly.
"What does that mean now? What is happening to me?" Nandini asked utterly confused by her mother's words.
"She means that you probably would be married to someone by this time next year so you'd obviously not celebrate your birthday with us after that..." Saeesha said, bluntly leaving Nandini agape at her comment.
"Why would I be married by that time? Mumma, what are you not telling me?" Nandini interrogated her mother with anger lacing her tone.
"I.. uh... I just wanted you to meet a couple of guys. Not to marry any one of them immediately but what's the harm in meeting them over dinner or a cup of coffee? You are pushing 30 so your dad and I would be happy if you at least consider settling down." Avni told her daughter, skeptical about how she'd react to it.
"Mumma! Whatever happened to being supportive and not pushing me to marry someone I do not want to?" Nandini yelled out in frustration.
"We do not want you to marry anyone that you don't want but you could start looking for some partner. I would not even be saying all this if you didn't want kids in your future. You want kids, don't you?" Avni paused to hear a response.
"I do, mumma..." Nandini said, lowly.
"See! You will have to find a partner for that now, right? That is why I want you to meet these guys. You can always choose not to marry them but at least we should start looking, don't you think?" Avni said pretty convinced with herself.
"No, mumma! Yes, I want kids but I cannot marry someone just for that. I want kids but I want a family more than that. I can have a family only with the man I love and sorry, but I do not think that I can find that in an arranged marriage setting. I hope you both can understand where I am coming from..." Nandini trailed off as she spoke to both Arjun and Avni.
"Nandu..." Avni began to say something probably to convince her for what she had in mind.
"Mumma, I'm getting another call from work. I gotta go, now. I'll talk to you guys later, okay? Bye!" Nandini interrupted her mother because she wanted to end the conversation then and there and hung up without bothering to wait for a response from their end. She had not noticed Manik at the door of her bedroom until a moment ago which is when she decided to end her talk with Avni, in that instant. She did not want to embarrass herself in front of her boyfriend let alone scaring him away with conversations about marriage or kids.
"Please tell me you just walked in!" Nandini whined as she buried her face into her palms after dropping her phone beside her.
"I wish!" Manik said, uncomfortably. How was he supposed to react to all that? His girlfriend's mother wanted her to meet other guys for a possible arranged marriage and even have kids with the guy. How should he be reacting to that bit?
"God! I am so embarrassed right now." Nandini exclaimed when she heard him respond to her.
"Hey! It is okay... You do not have to be worried about embarrassment and shit with me." Manik reassured her and when she refused to look up at that, he decided to sit next to her.
"I can understand your mother's concerns regarding your future. Hell! If I had a nickel for every time my family pestered me to find someone and marry then I'd be effin rich. They are parents and it's their very nature to worry for their kids. So, it is okay with me as long as you are not considering meeting any of those guys." Manik tried to make it lighter for them as he pulled her hands away from her face.
"Shut up, Manik!" Nandini swatted his hand slightly with a reluctant smile as she let him take her in a side hug.
"Just out of curiosity though... How many kids do you wanna have?" Manik asked her once he felt her relax in his hold.
"Two! Max three but they should be only two years apart because then it feels like you have a friend in your sibling. What about you?" Nandini told him as if she had thought about this at least a hundred times and now she did not need to think to answer it. She then asked him what he wanted.
"It has to be what the Mrs. would want because it is her body that will go through all of it. I'd obviously be there in all ways possible but it should be the mother's call in such matters, I feel." Manik told her honestly. He had thought about this as well and yeah, he saw kids in his future but he also knew that he cannot impose his expectations on his partner. He figured that he'd agree to what the woman he'd love want.
"I haven't heard any man say that in ever. That is so thoughtful, Manik!" Nandini gushed at how his mind worked around this matter. She felt like she had a newfound respect for the kind of man he was after hearing his thoughts on this matter.
"Yeah... And, I think 2 or 3 is a totally attainable number. I can manage that, definitely!" Manik teased her making her blush.
"Brat!" Nandini mumbled and hid herself into his shoulder. He wasn't wearing a t-shirt and she loved to cuddle against his bare skin. He was warm and firm at the same time which was a feeling she could get addicted to- she thought.
"I want to take you out to a nice birthday brunch. So, let's freshen up... Preferably together?" Manik questioned, cockily.
"Manik yaar!" Nandini scrunched up her face as she whined as an instant reaction to his suggestion. But, she had to admit that it didn't seem like a bad idea afterall. Shower sex with Manik was definitely something that she'd wanna try.
"What? Do you not want to?" Manik asked her as he traced his lips from her chin to the back of her ears. She shut her eyes and clenched the fabric of his track pants to control herself from moaning out loud and give away the fact that she was totally turned on by his touch.
"Baby, I...." Manik was interrupted by the ringing of her doorbell. "Ughhh..." He grunted at the interception and sighed.
"I'll get that!" Nandini pecked his cheek without any sound and muttered before getting up only to be pulled back down by him again.
"Nu-uh... What makes you think this is for anyone to see besides me?" Manik quizzed rhetorically while pointing at her exposed legs given her extremely short shorts. Even though she was wearing an oversized t-shirt along with it, it did not cover much of her legs after her upper thighs.
"I'll get it..." Manik told her and got up from the couch to open the door.
"Don't you dare, mister! If I'm not allowed to open the door looking like this then you aren't allowed looking like that." Nandini tugged on his wrists in the next second that he tried walking away. She pointed at her legs and then at his bare chest making him laugh at her possessiveness which mirrored his.
Nandini grabbed her bathrobe which was lying on the armrest of the couch and wore it. "Better?" She asked him as the piece of clothing covered her skin till right above her knees. He nodded at her in satisfaction at which she simply shook her head and walked ahead to open the door.
"Go wear your t-shirt. Coming!" Nandini instructed him and then yelled out for the person on the other end of her door given that the doorbell rang again thrice.
"Sam? Jeanette? What brings you here?" Nandini exclaimed the minute she pulled the door open to reveal the couple. Jeanette seemed angry for some reason as she pushed past Nandini and entered the house which once used to be hers as well. Sameer was polite enough to wait for Nandini to invite him into her home. Nandini then shut the door and moved to the seating area of her living room while internally worrying that Manik could emerge from HER bedroom at any given moment looking all disheveled. However would they explain that to Sameer and Jeanette?
"You look pretty steamed. All okay?" Nandini asked Jeanette who seemed like she was trying to bite a bullet and not end up saying something inappropriate.
"Happy birthday, Nandi!" Sameer ignored Nandini's question and wished her by taking her into a bear hug. The drama could wait. He wanted to wish her first so he did.
"Thank you, Sam!" Nandini responded with a smile and reciprocated his hug.
'Please stay inside... Please stay inside... Please, God, don't let Manik come out!' Nandini chanted in her head while passing a somewhat fake smile to the couple that Jeanette did not care for, one bit.
"You don't wanna wish me, Jeanette?" Nandini asked her with a hopeful look. After the experience from last time, she felt that they were finally at a place where they can start mending things between them.
"The hell I want to give you wishes and so much more, Nandini!" Jeanette grit her teeth while saying that making Nandini confused about what had gotten her this riled up.
"What's wrong?" Nandini asked Sameer knowing that Jeanette won't answer her like a sane person if she was that mad at her.
"Who was it, Nandini?" Manik emerged from her bedroom at that instant making Nandini mentally facepalm herself. 'At least he fixed himself up!'- Nandini thought to herself. Manik appeared fresh and like he had just gotten here instead of looking like someone who might have woken up here.
"He is exactly what is wrong!" Jeanette's dam of patience broke at the sight of Manik.
"Huh? What did I do?" Manik asked her as he walked towards the group.
"Um... I don't know, throw a birthday party for someone and not invite her best friend to it? Does that ring a bell?" Jeanette interrogated in an angry tone.
'Ohh! She is mad at Manik! Huff! But is she dumb or that mad to not notice that he just came out of MY fucking bedroom?'- Nandini wondered.
"I... uh... Sam told me that you were going over to your mother's for dinner. Besides, you haven't sorted things out yet, right? So, I..." Manik trailed off as he pointed between Nandini and Jeanette for the part where things were not sorted yet.
"Still! You do not decide if I should or should not attend her party! How could you not invite me and Sam?" Jeanette roared again
"Jeanette, relax. We can do something together, tonight. My birthday isn't over yet..." Nandini tried to help Manik out.
"You shut up! Nowadays, you don't do anything more than supporting and prioritizing him over me... I mean everyone else." Jeanette yelled at Nandini too and changed the 'me' to 'everyone else' so that she does not look like a desperate person.
"Careful, Jen! I kicked her ex-boyfriend out yesterday for yelling at her inside her own house and on her birthday no less. Don't make me do the same thing again to you as well." Manik warned Jeanette with a shrug. He was okay with her screaming at him but he won't let anyone do that to Nandini especially on her special day.
"You cannot do that? Look at his audacity, Sam... He's threatening to kick me... ME out of my own best friend's place! Who gave you the rights to do that, anyway?" Jeanette exclaimed in shock.
"I can do whatever I want to if you decide to disregard every basic manner of talking to people, in general." Manik shrugged as he picked up a bottle of water to drink leaving Jeanette agape at his nonchalance. Why was he being so rude to her?
"Yo..." Jeanette began saying something only to be cut off by Sameer. "Can you two shut up, please? Talk like adults instead of going around in circles and reaching nowhere." Sameer said, firmly.
"Yes, please?" Nandini requested the duo. Manik rolled his eyes at her in annoyance because both of them knew that Manik was actually being mature. He just refused to take the shit Jeanette was throwing at them.
"Whatever!" Jeanette muttered to them and fell back on the couch which once used to be hers as well.
----×----
Rate the chapter between 1-10.
Did Manik react the correct way with Randhir according to you?
What do you suspect will happen with the four of them on Nandini's birthday evening?
Few words for Manik and Nandini as a couple in this book.