Mature and sensitive content ahead. Reader's discretion is advised.
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Third Person's POV
Manik paced inside his home office, his body shaking in anger as he recounted how Nandini slapped him earlier.
'How dare she slap me? How dare she?' Picking up the paperweight from the table, Manik threw it toward the mirror, shattering it into pieces.
He saw his reflection on those shattered pieces, his face angry and his eyes red.
Suddenly that face morphed to form a scene, and he could see him and Nandini in those pieces. Them arguing, and then her slapping him.
His anger rising, Manik stomped on those mirrors, breaking them into pieces. But no matter how much he shattered them, the scene continued playing. Each piece was now playing the same thing-Nandini slapping him.
"You will pay for this, Nandini. I will make you pay," Manik solemnly vowed.
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Slumped in front of the foot of the bed, Nandini drew her knees over her chest and rocked forward and backward, her whole body shaking in angst as she did so.
Manik's words still played in her mind.
"You are nothing but a murderer, Nandini Iyer."
"You are a murderer."
"A murderer."
Nandini covered her ears with her hands and closed her eyes shut. She shook her head violently, trying to stop those words from reverberating in her mind.
"I am not a murderer. I am not. It was not my fault. Please. It was not my fault." She sobbed, saying those words, trying to reassure herself.
But she opened her eyes when she heard a voice.
"But you are a murderer, Nandini. You killed my son." It was her mother, looking at her with accusing eyes.
Nandini stood up from the floor and walked toward her mother.
"No, Maa. I didn't kill Vivek. How can you say that? You were there that night. You know what happened. How can you blame for that when we all know who the culprit is," Nandini tried to reason.
"Yes, you were not the one who directly killed my son. But you were the one who pushed him to his death. You could have stopped him. But you did not. You let him die." This time it was her father who shouted at her.
"Please, Papa. It is all false. I didn't do it. I had no idea Vivek would be killed. If I had known, I would have stopped him. I would never have let him walk out of the house that night," Nandini said but noticed her parents only shook their heads at her.
They did not believe her.
"You are our son's murderer, Nandini," They kept saying, even though she shook her head and begged them not to say it.
They kept repeating it, making it unbearable for her. She covered her ears again and squeezed her eyes shut. "STOP. STOP. STOP," she shouted, unable to take it anymore.
The voices suddenly stopped, and Nandini opened her eyes slowly. Her parents were no longer there, and she realized they were just the figment of her imagination.
Walking to the center table, she took a glass of water and drank it all. She felt feverish, her who body shaking with her guilt and angst.
Maybe her parents and Manik are right. Perhaps she is a murderer. She had not killed Vivek, but she certainly had pushed him to his death. If she had not told him about Rishabh that night, he would not have made that promise and walked out of the house that night.
He would not have gotten killed if he had not confronted Rishabh and his family that night.
Her brother would have been alive. He would have been with her.
"I am so sorry, Vivek. I am so sorry. I am sorry," she kept apologizing, tears sliding down her face as she folded her hands and slumped on the floor.
And it was Nandini's condition when Manik stormed inside his room, intending to throw Nandini out of his house for slapping him.
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Manik was stumped as he saw Nandini sobbing profusely, slumped on the floor, crying her heart out.
He was furious with her for slapping him, but seeing her condition, he felt a pinch in his heart.
Unable to see her that way, he quickly walked toward her. "Nandini, what happened?"
Nandini opened her eyes and saw Manik crouched in front of her. She looked at him for a while before speaking.
"You were angry that I slapped you, weren't you? Do you want to get back at me for that? Tell me, Manik. Do you want to?" She asked him, and Manik shook his head.
"We can talk about that later. You stand up from the floor first," Manik tentatively held Nandini's arms, trying to make her stand.
But Nandini flung his hand away from her arm. "Please, Manik. Tell me you want to get back at me. Tell me."
"Nandini, what is the matter with you?"
"The matter with me is I want you to slap me. Slap me and get even with me. Then slap me again for killing my brother. Then slap me again for murdering my parents' son. Keep slapping me for taking away the only child from my parents, who they loved. Slap me, Manik, please. I deserve to be slapped," Nandini continued sobbing, and Manik was stunned, hearing her.
"What are you saying, Nandini? I am sure your parents love you too," Manik tried to reassure Nandini.
But he was surprised when Nandini suddenly started laughing mirthlessly, tears still running down her face. She looked so vulnerable at that moment that the pinch in his heart intensified.
"My parents never loved me, Manik. Never," Nandini started speaking. She blinked her eyes to let the tears flow and clear her vision. Then she wiped her face before continuing.
"Do you know why they never loved me?" Nandini asked, and Manik slowly shook his head.
"Because I am a girl. They never wanted a daughter, and when they found out about me, it was too late to kill me in the womb. So, my mother had to give birth to me.
"For them, I was always an unwanted child. It was only my brother they loved. They used to shower their love on Vivek. Talking so affectionately with him, making him his favorite dish, buying him gifts, and praising him whenever he got good grades or did something good.
"And I would be there, on the side, looking at them with tears in my eyes and a pinch in my heart. I used to wonder why they could not love me. I would have been content if they only looked at me and smiled.
"I did not need the gifts. They did not even need to make me my favorite dish or do any hard work for me. I only wanted their love. Just an affectionate stroke over my head or saying, 'well done, child' when I also got good grades. But that never happened. Whenever I came face to face with them, they only ignored me. It was as if they were tolerating me in that house and could not wait to get rid of me.
"I did everything to get that one-word praise from my parents. I worked hard in school and always got good grades. I even learned to cook, so they would smile at me and say the food was delicious. But it never happened. They never smiled at me, Manik. Not even once.
"If they disliked and ignored me before, they hate me now because it was because of me that my brother got killed.
"The son of my parents' friends was molesting me. I told my mother about it, but she did not believe me. She shouted at me for making stories to get her attention.
"That man started getting bold over the months and said he would do more the next time. But I could not let him do it, Manik. How could I? That is why I recorded his actions once and told Vivek everything about it. Vivek promised to punish that man and left the house that night. That was the last time I saw my brother.
"So, yes, I am the reason for my brother's death. You and my parents are right. I am a murderer. I really am a murderer.
"I do not know why I am telling you all this. I know you hate me. But I am so tired of keeping everything inside me, Manik. I want to let it out. I want to tell my story, and you are the only one I have. There is no one else I can talk to.
"That is why I am asking you to slap me, Manik. I deserve it. I really do. I really-" Nandini abruptly stopped, losing consciousness, and Manik caught her before her body touched the floor.