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"Where the fuck are you, Manik?" Manik finally answered what felt like Nandini's zillionth call to him, and she gritted her teeth as she grilled him. She had to whisper because of the unannounced guest in their living room who had landed there only because of the mess that Manik had handled poorly.
"Is this some new way of talking to your boyfriend who you love so much that I don't know of?" Manik jokingly asked. His phone was on vibrate mode since he was at a meeting with some potential clients. As soon as he left his conference room, he made sure to give her a call.
"Not the time, mister! I had barely started by shift at the restaurant when Jeanette decided to pop in just like that. She was a fucking mess and so out of control that I had to take the day off and get her home. Except that she doesn't have a home anymore so I brought her back to our place. None of this would have happened if you had decided to keep your nose out of their business." Nandini spoke incoherently without considering whether what she was saying even made sense. For nearly five hours, she had to put up with a whiny, dependent mess, and on top of that, Manik wouldn't return her calls.
"What? I'm sorry I could not take your call... I was in 3 back to back meetings. Slow down and tell me what happened." When Manik arrived at his cabin, he dumped all of his paperwork on his table. He turned off his laptop and got his backpack and keys in preparation to leave.
"Your jackass of a business partner's manipulation wore off last night. Jeanette caught a few texts between him and Ayesha. It sounds like this whole confrontation went down between them. Sameer turned the whole thing around and blamed it all on her. He told her that he had to seek for comfort and shit outside because he got zilch of it from her in their relationship. She is blabbering a lot more but it's getting hard to keep track of it now." When Nandini started talking, she was perched on the kitchen counter. From where she was standing, she could see Jeanette unconscious and sprawled on their couch. Even though they were no longer friends, Nandini felt awful for her because of their shared past and their former friendship. Jeanette never in her entire life found the love she desired. When she was a little child, her father abandoned the family, and her mother was too busy caring for herself to worry about her daughter. When she finally was given her half siblings, she wanted to find affection from them, but even then, she was the giver and never had a sense of belonging. Because she lacked a someone in her life to help her decide what was best for her, she made bad decisions throughout her life. She had Nandini for that, but she deliberately threw it all away by placing her hopes in the one person she loved beyond all others, only for him to betray her as well. Even for Jeanette, that was a fucking new low.
"I can give you that my business partner is a jackass but how am I at fault that she ended up at your foot for help?" Manik asked. He settled on the driver's seat and started the engine. The conversation aside, he loved driving their new car more than anything. Practically, this was the first item they had purchased for their home as a couple. He found great comfort in the sense of commitment that gave them. He felt it all in his heart but would never say it to her face for fear of being called too mushy.
"I don't know... I don't have anyone else to blame it all on." Nandini complained making him laugh a little. She could be so cute at times.
"Where is she now?" Manik inquired about Jeanette.
"Passed out on our couch!" Nandini sighed and reached out to get herself a glass of water.
"Was she drunk?" Manik asked her in confusion.
"No! That's the worst part. She has been crying for four hours straight. She got a headache from that and passed out before I could get some food in her. That reminds me... Pick up some light dinner on your way. I am not in the mood to cook." Nandini instructed in the end.
"Yes ma'am! Anything else I can do for you?" Manik asked her in a dramatically obedient tone.
"Get your ass back here before she wakes up or else you are sleeping on the floor tonight." Nandini threatened him which only cracked him up.
"Love you too, baby. I'll be there in 30 minutes." Manik promised her before she disconnected their call with a small smile.
Manik had previously informed her of Sameer's affair with his ex-girlfriend two weeks earlier. He confronted Sameer in the office the very following day and urged him to be upfront with both women. Both of them got into a nasty verbal argument over it, and when Sameer ultimately refused to act morally, Manik was outraged. In spite of everything Nandini had advised him regarding the situation, Manik ultimately showed up at Jeanette's door to tell her everything.
Manik was shocked by Jeanette's unwavering belief in Sameer. She was unconvinced that the man she loved could be unfaithful to her. The last time Manik spoke to either of them was on that day given how Jeanette told him off. Due to their business obligations, he had to see Sameer, although it wasn't nearly as terrible as he had anticipated. Things appeared to be stagnant until Jeanette came to Nandini today and begged for some consolation and aid.
When Jeanette dropped by, Nandini was on a call with Dhruv. He heard everything before hanging up to let her deal with it. Nonetheless he sent her a text saying- 'I know you both, you and your heart, Nandu. You are going to help her but please don't let her in too much. She might need you at the moment but she is an ungrateful person who ruins stuff for you when you try to help her. Hate me all you want for saying such things but it doesn't change the fact that she is a bitch to you. You and Manik have a good thing going on ever since you moved in together. Don't ruin it by letting her stay with you guys. That's my advice. But if you decide to fuck up anyway, I am going to be there to pick you up as well ;-))'
It was a reality check to receive that text from Dhruv. She realised he was right, but she also had no idea how to tell someone to just leave after they had come to her pleading for a helping hand. If she wouldn't let Jeanette stay, that would be an insensitive action. But how could she allow a woman to stay with them who had remarked three times in the course of two hours how wonderful Manik was as a partner and that she should have chosen him over Sameer. Nandini trusted Manik and their connection, but that does not imply that they should continue to be with someone who was probably going to make a move on him given the state of her vulnerability.
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"I am sorry na, Nandini! I seriously did not know..." Manik apologized to Nandini for the umpteenth time the next morning but she did not let a single emotion flicker on her face. It was a Sunday morning, and they had made it a point not to work on Sundays ever since they had moved in together. But Manik had managed to enrage her the previous night, so she made the decision not to adhere to anything they had planned. As opposed to their usual routine, she did not accompany him into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She didn't even bother to do the pooja or take a shower. Instead, she got out of bed, had a brief restroom visit, and then sat down on the balcony's patio chairs to start working on some drawings.
"Fine! Be mad at me all you want but at least have this. This is the second time I have reheated it. Don't waste food, please." Manik set a tray on the table with a bowl of poha and a coffee mug that he had prepared for them. For the previous thirty minutes, he had been pleading with her to eat breakfast, but she remained unresponsive. She just carried on using her laptop, refusing to even acknowledge his presence.
Nandini felt awful for disregarding the tray of food as she gave it a quick peek. She sighed and drew the tray closer to her without casting him even the slightest glance. She picked up the mug and drank from it while nibbling on some poha. When she did that, Manik sighed in relief and sat down in one of the seats next to hers. He picked up the other mug of coffee, and because he had eaten his breakfast already, he started to sip.
"We only get Sundays to spend the entire day and you've already ignored me for the first half of it. Please talk to me, Nandini." Manik complained in a soft tone and requested her to end her silent treatment. He was getting a little fed up of it now.
"What do you want me to talk?" Nandini scoffed. 'Finally words! I am counting that as progress.'- Manik cheered internally.
"How about 'I forgive you, Manik'?" Manik tried to push his luck wrapped in a funny suggestion.
"Funniest man alive!" Nandini remarked sarcastically and set the mug down to grab the bowl.
"I was just trying to be a considerate friend. You were in the shower. Jeanette did not look like she was going to wake up anytime soon so I just carried her and tucked her in the guest bedroom. How was I supposed to know that she'll kiss me on my cheek to say thanks before I put her to bed?" Manik was still perplexed as to why Nandini was so upset about such a trivial matter. It was clear that he did not enjoy what had transpired, but there was little he could do to change it. He even ran out of the room and told Nandini about it the first thing when she emerged out of the bathroom.
"I cannot believe I have to play this card again! If it was Sameer in place of Jeanette and me instead of you, would you be okay with it?" Nandini asked him straightforwardly.
"Honestly? I guess yeah... I mean he had a thing for you ages ago but the bond you two developed over time inclines towards more of a brother-sister vibe. I have similar feelings for Jeanette so why is it a big deal?" Manik answered her honestly and then questioned in confusion.
"Are you really that naïve?" Nandini asked him in curiosity. She shifted in her seat and raised her knees to a comfortable position so that she could face him.
"I am definitely missing something here... What happened?" Manik suspected that Nandini's frustration with this issue was more complicated in some way and he finally was given the opportunity to find out more in depth.
"I warned you already that she will make a move on you if things crap up between her and Sameer, did I not?" Nandini reminded him about a conversation they had two weeks ago.
"What move? It was just a friendly peck on the cheek for god's sake!" Manik exclaimed making a disgusted face. The thought of anything sexual transpiring between him and Jeanette felt nauseating to him.
"Can you guarantee that it was not some hit and miss? Like maybe she was trying to kiss you but you swerved on instinct..." Nandini scrutinized her gaze at him and interrogated.
"I... I don't know..." Nandini's guess made Manik skeptical about what actually happened. He was a bit of an idiot in understanding such clues so it was a possibility that he might have not paid much attention to what happened. He was in a hurry to leave the place that his mind just blocked.
"There! There's your answer for why am I pissed for such a small thing." Nandini uttered in irritation and turned away feeling slightly tearful. She was aware that he wasn't at fault. He was a caring friend, and he was doing the same for Jeanette, but the 'kiss-miss' disturbed her more than she had anticipated. She may have been more frustrated with herself because she did nothing to prevent it despite the numerous warnings she heard in her thoughts in addition to the one from Dhruv. She was more irritated by the detrimental effect that this had on her. She had never been the insecure kind, but Manik had the ability to bring out the worst in her just as much as the best.
Before turning away, her nose flared, a thing Manik did not miss. The only other times her face did that were when she was about to cry or when she was frustrated. He despised both possibilities for her. So he put the coffee cup down and stood up to approach her. She wasn't expecting him to lift her up in that posture and then force her to sit on his lap because she was facing the other way. Despite her slight squeak, she made no attempt to glance at him.
"What did she say?" Manik urged her to share in a soft tone.
"Nothing that I don't already know or haven't heard from all the women in your life time and again." Nandini hurriedly moved to sit next to him after muttering something wildly gesticulating. His proximity caused her mind to become closed, which she did not like at the time. Simply pulling her closer to his chest, he gave her a lengthy kiss on the head as he sighed.
"I am sorry that I keep putting you in such situations time and again. I don't like the idea of you feeling threatened by anyone because trust me when I say this, no woman stands a chance next to you for me. I cannot even imagine loving someone else as much as I love you, okay? Just tell me what should I do so that you never have to be like this?" Manik expressed sincerely. By the end, he pressed his finger on her nose indicating at how red they had gotten because of her frustration.
"It's not your fault that women keep falling for you left right and center. It is my problem and I want to sulk about this so just let me be, okay?" Nandini shrieked at him as she struggled to get his hands off of her. Manik couldn't help but smile at that. Even at her worst, she could be so sensible that it surprised him.
"Achcha, sulk away all you want, baby. At least tell me what did she say to you?" To prevent her from wiggling, Manik shooed her hands away. Then he drew her in again. After all, it was a Sunday, which was the only day he could be overly cosy with her because on the other days, they hardly had any free time after their hectic work schedules. He was resolved to make the most of the Sunday.
"She should have picked you to be her boyfriend in place of Sameer when she had the chance. Apparently, she thinks that you are the best boyfriend and she regrets not recognizing that sooner." After telling him, Nandini made it a point to give up her attempt to move away. She laid her head against his chest, allowing him to envelope her in his embrace.
"You should have told her how much of a pain in your ass I am ever since we began dating. I guarantee that she'd feel differently after that." Manik joked in an attempt to lighten her mood.
"That is not helping me at all!" His efforts, according to Nandini, were completely ineffective. He gazed down to meet her eyes as she raised her head, resting her chin on his chest. He repeatedly gave her delicate pecks on her lips, which eventually cracked a smile on her face.
"I will keep my distance from her if you want me to, I promise. Just say the word." Manik assured her.
"No! I cannot do that to her. She's going through something very terrible and you are like the only real friend she can count on right now so just be there for her. Just bear with my sudden psychotic episodes like these whenever I get jealous, okay?" Nandini dismissed his offer and instead asked him to bear with her irrational reactions if and when they burst out of her.
"I can do that... But my little has no reason to feel jealous. I am one hundred percent yours, you know?" Manik laughingly mentioned making her grin. She loved it when he told her that his heart belonged to her and just her.
"How long do you think she'll stay with us?" Nandini asked him his guess about how long their uninvited guest might stay with them given that she had no other place to go now. Her live-in boyfriend had cheated on her effectively ending their relationship while her mother's house was not even an option because her half-siblings had developed some issues with her.
"I don't know... A day or two?" Manik guessed which made Nandini laugh out loud instantaneously.
"Try a week or two... maybe even a month! She ain't going nowhere. Just wait and watch." Nandini declared with surety. Nandini was well aware of Jeanette's perverse tendencies to exploit generosity, as she was her former best friend and had been for many years. Because of their friendship, Nandini was taken advantage of, although even then, she realised that most of what Jeanette did was wrong. Now that Jeanette was going through some significant crap in her life, she had a sort of free pass to do the same all over again. Nandini was certain she was staying for a while and would use them as her support system to the fullest.
"I will not let that happen. I will be an absolute jackass to live with so much so that she'll run away the minute she gets to do so." Manik responded funnily making Nandini giggle at his stupid solution.
Despite her paranoia, Nandini was less anxious than before since Manik had soothed her. She was still quite concerned about Jeanette and their living arrangement, but she was also now more confident that Manik and she could handle it. By this point, they had survived various unpleasant events and arguments together. If she was ever tense, Manik will be there to pick her up, cajole her, joke with her and basically do everything to ensure that they were good. And if he was in any upsetting situation, she would be there to pull him out towards the light with her and simply be the sun that will shine for both of them in the darkest of days.
Manik and Nandini were in their own little bubble at the time. They had to learn it the hard way, but they had eventually figured out how to console each other when things got tough for them. Even though they continued to be exemplary instances of imperfections, they only found solace in this.
They were only separated from someone who had just woken up and entered their living room by a glass pane. Even though Jeanette was unable to understand a word of what they were saying, the sight of two people who appeared to be so in love and happy gave her something that felt like a punch in her gut. She had been that just a few hours prior to the collapse of everything. She had become accustomed to seeing Nandini sad or despondent over her on-again, off-again relationship with Randhir over the years. Several times, she helped Nandini in removing her mind off of him and their torment of a relationship. She found it difficult to witness her friend pleased and happy with someone else now, especially after removing her from her life. After giving up their friendship in the manner Nandini did, Jeanette was still unable to accept how wonderfully blissful Nandini's life was.
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A little while later...
"We never got the chance to talk about you two... When did you start dating? How long was this going on behind our backs, huh? You guys were so great at hiding it. Not in a million years could I have guessed that even you two had feelings for each other. I mean Sameer and Nandini seemed to have better chemistry than you two." While seated at the dining table, Jeanette munched on the breakfast that Manik had cooked. She insisted on sitting down with Manik and Nandini, and they did. They were casually conversing when Jeanette slyly slipped a taunt under the pretense of an innocent remark.
"We did not start dating until after you moved out. But if we are talking about sparks flying then that was happening ever since I moved back to the city. Maybe you were too self involved to notice what was going on in your friend's life because none of our other friends were surprised when we began dating. We literally used to hangout every day yet you did not catch up. How dumb were you?" Manik wanted to be as sly as her but her last comment tipped him off which is why he went all in. He did not even bother to tone down until Nandini pressed his thigh to calm him down.
"Geez! Relax, Manik! It was just an innocent question. Sorry if it bothered you." Jeanette lift her hands up as a sign of surrendering as the apology rolled out of her mouth.
"I don't need to stay in between whatever this is so I am gonna go take a shower. Jeanette, please just learn what boundaries are and Manik, you do not have to respond to every stupid thing anyone says to you." Nandini scolded in a gentle yet cutting tone as she stood up to leave. She needed to put herself out of that situation because she was sure that if she stayed long enough for even a single pointless comment from Jeanette, then she will end up saying something that might be insensitive given her situation.
"Run away again, please! That is all you do. Scream incessant things at people and before they can respond, just run away." Jeanette's comment stopped Nandini's feet right next to the dining table.
"Your audacity to say such things about me and my boyfriend under our roof while eating the food that came from our kitchen after passing out in our guest bedroom the other night from all the crying and begging for help, is commendable. Believe whatever soothes your mind because I understand if you need to show us down to make yourself feel better about your life." Nandini stated calmly and Manik almost fell out of his chair by the intensity of her words and stance. The words were nothing but truth yet came off way too harsh.
"How can you be so mean to me, Nandini? I was just kidding." Jeanette questioned in utter disbelief.
"We both know that it was a pathetic attempt to wrap up some taunts in your jokes. And you also know very well that I pay back with interest so do not dish it out if you cannot take it." Nandini pointed out and by now Manik got up to drag her from there.
"Don't worry! I am not going to ask you to leave our house but I insist that if you want to stay here then please respect boundaries. And by that I also mean that DO NOT go kissing my boyfriend for any stupid reason you feel is appropriate!" Manik and Jeanette were taken aback by Nandini's blunt jab, which is why they both froze at her words.
"Th... That was just a gesture of thanks. Why would you turn that into something so terrible? You are basically questioning Manik's and my character!" Jeanette left her seat and exclaimed dramatically.
"Manik and you can never fall under the same bracket for me. I am nobody to question your character or choices. I am simply asking you to maintain some physical boundary with my boyfriend. Also, try using your words to thank him in the future." Nandini fired a hefty jab. Manik had no idea how fiercely she loved him up until that point. The lady knew how to hang onto what she knew was hers, despite the fact that she may have felt envious and thrown a few amusing tantrums at him for amusement. She was generally kind and laid-back, but if someone messed with her, she was capable of giving them a rude awakening.
"I... I am sorry." Quickly apologizing out of concern that Nandini could throw her out, Jeanette demonstrated her fear of becoming homeless. Although she was still unable to recognize the mistake she'd made, she realised that challenging Nandini on this would be a foolish course of action. People may be terrified to death by the woman, and Jeanette was experiencing that fear right now.
"It's okay, Jen! You sit and finish your food. Come on, Nandini." Her apologies was quickly accepted by Manik because his first objective was to get Nandini away from that upsetting argument. When she needed their support momentarily, Jeanette was behaving foolishly by saying the things she was saying to them. But that didn't alter the fact that she was going through a tough time that might be driving her behavior. The reason they were putting up with everything was because Manik and Nandini understood Jeanette's state of mind; but, when Jeanette prodded Nandini about a sensitive matter, Nandini snapped. Due to the fact that Jeanette would be staying with them at least till she figures out some living situation for herself, Manik wanted to ease the strain amongst all of them. And they'll need to calm this one down if they wished to coexist peacefully in one house for that period.
Without a moment's delay, Manik dragged Nandini back to their room and closed the door behind him. She gave him an accusatory look for fleeing the scene, acting as though it were their fault when in fact Jeanette was to blame. Manik approached her slowly before giving her an explosive kiss on her lips. Given that she had not anticipated it, she staggered briefly, but Manik made sure to steady her.
"I have never felt more turned on, Nandini. You are so damn hot when you get angry." Manik spoke to her while their lips were still in contact.
"You are so weird!" Her face flushed at his comment nonetheless she pulled him in for another kiss only deeper than the previous one.
Nandini had an adrenaline rush from the unplanned altercation with Jeanette, while Manik was just aroused by her steadfast stance. They would have had a memorable experience if their slightly jealous friend hadn't been present in their living room. But then an idea struck between between the two purposeful quiet make outs. As soon as he picked her up, she immediately wrapped her legs around him. With a small grin on his lips, he then led them into their bathroom so they could make absolute use of the space's soundproofing. Nandini softly giggled as she eagerly followed his lead, the negative effects of the conflict from moments ago gradually leaving her mind.
Only these two could turn a dispute with their friend into an opportunity to do something no one else would have thought to do under such circumstances.
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Rate this chapter between 1-10.
So, Jeanette made a comeback. Do you think she's going to cause problems for Manik and Nandini?
Is Manik in the wrong according to you in what transpired between him and Jeanette?
Did Nandini handle Jeanette in the right manner in the end? If not, how do you think she should have done it?