Nandini
"This is just too delicious, Nandini. It is good that you don't cook every day. Otherwise, I would have gotten fat already," Dad says, keeping another dosa on his plate.
"You are right, Siddharth. Whenever Nandini cooks, I need to give extra 30 minutes to the gym to burn the calories after eating so much," Mom adds before putting another morsel in her mouth.
I smile at them, glad they like the masala dosa and coconut chutney I made for breakfast today.
Manik is also at the table, eating his second dosa, but as always, he does not say anything about liking or not liking the food.
Not that I care about his opinion, but he could at least say one word of appreciation to the person who made him breakfast.
Shaking my head at his attitude, I stand up from the table. I am about to walk to the kitchen to wash my plate when Manik stops me.
"Umm, the dosa was delicious. Thank you," Manik says, surprising me.
Are my ears ringing? Or did he really thank me?
My expression must have given away my thoughts because an amused smile curves Manik's lips.
Standing up from the table, he comes closer to me. "You heard it right, Nandini. I did thank you. And it was not only for today but for all the times you cooked in this house. Anything you make is always delectable." Saying that, he walks away.
"Nandini, aren't you getting late for the office?" Dad asks me, and I jolt out of my stunned stupor.
"Umm, yes. I will go and wash this plate first," I reply and walk to the kitchen.
***********
"Good morning, Sir," I greet Samrat as he passes by me, about to enter Manik's cabin.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Nandini? You can call me Samrat inside the office too. No need to be so formal with me." He winks at me, and I shake my head.
I have made two good friends in this office in the last two weeks. One is Riya, and the other is Samrat.
Both of them helped me understand how everything worked in the office.
For the first week, it was Riya, but when she got sick and had to take a few days off, Samrat helped me when he saw me scrambling to finish the work alone without Riya.
We also meet outside office hours. Sometimes we go for coffee, and sometimes Samrat takes Riya and me out for lunch.
I call him by his name outside the office, but I am uncomfortable doing so inside. After all, he is my boss here.
"You know why-" I begin to reply, but he interrupts me.
"I know the reason, Nandini. But you don't need to feel uncomfortable. Even Riya calls me by my name," he says.
Just then, Manik exits his office, narrowing his eyes when he sees Samrat in front of my desk.
"What are you doing here?" he asks, and I frown at his harsh voice.
What is his problem?
"In case you have forgotten, this is my office too, Manik, and I come here daily," Samrat replies good-naturedly.
"Exactly my point. This is our office. You ought to be in your cabin, working there, not in front of my assistant's desk, wasting her and your time," Manik says to Samrat.
It's not his problem. It's his nature. Always rude and uptight.
I roll my eyes at the thought.
"I am not wasting my time. In fact, I was about to come to your cabin. I need to talk about some arrangements for our upcoming party. Only three weeks are left now, and we need to finalize some important details," Samrat tells Manik and turns to me.
"Speaking of the party, would you like to be my date for that evening, Nandini?" Samrat asks me, and I widen my eyes.
"Your date?"
"Yes. You know it is a ballroom dancing themed party, right? So, you would need to bring a date. Since you are unmarried and do not have a boyfriend, I thought we could go together," Samrat explains.
"Umm, I knew it was a ballroom dancing themed party, but I didn't know we needed to bring a date," I say, chewing on my lips.
I am unsure about it, but since I can't say no to going to the party as the company has made it mandatory for all employees to go, I sigh and nod at Samrat. "Ok. Let's go together then."
Anyway, Samrat is a good choice. He is a good person and my friend too. Hopefully, we will have a good time at the party.
"Nandini won't go to the party with you, Samrat," Manik says suddenly.
"She just said she will," Samrat tells Manik. "Why are you saying she won't?"
"Because I am her boss, and I have decided to take her with me," Manik replies to Samrat, and I fume, hearing him.
"Sir, it is not your decision to make. I have every right to choose who to take as my date, and I have already chosen Samrat," I tell him, trying hard to curb the anger I can feel rising within me with each passing second.
Who is he to decide I would be going with him?
"Samrat, I have important work now. I will finish it first and talk with you later," Manik tells Samrat and looks at me.
"Come to my cabin right now, Ms. Iyer." Saying that, Manik turns and enters his cabin.
"What is with him today?" Samrat asks me after Manik leaves.
"This is his normal behavior," I reply, finding nothing out of the ordinary with Manik, and Samrat chuckles, hearing me.
"I will leave now," he says and starts to leave. But he stops midway and turns back to face me. "So, are you going to be my date, then? Or Manik's?"
"I already said yes to you," I confirm, and smiling at me, Samrat nods before walking away.
***********
Manik
"You called me, sir?" Nandini asks as she enters my cabin.
"How the hell can you say yes to going to the party with Samrat? You should be going with me," I tell her.
"And why should I be going with you?"
"You are my wife, dammit," I reply, and she glares at me.
"What did you say?" she asks. "Your wife? Weren't you the one who said our marriage means nothing to you? That too on our wedding night? That is why this meaningless marriage holds no significance to me, and I do not consider you my husband."
"Your saying that does not change the fact that I am indeed your husband, Nandini."
"Weren't you the one who said-" she starts to say, but I interrupt her.
"I said many things before, Nandini. You don't have to retort them to me every time," I tell her, feeling irked by how she seems to remember every tiny thing I told her.
"But I need to, Manik because you seem to have forgotten them," she says. "I don't know what has happened to you that you suddenly want to claim your rights of being a husband in me. So, I feel I need to be direct with you.
"After our marriage, you said many things that hurt me deeply. I agree there had been times when I was weak, and you supported me, but that does not whitewash your words and actions.
"You married me so I could be a pawn in your revenge game. And now, when it is over, you cannot suddenly make me your wife and expect me to be ok with it.
"So, please just stop whatever you are trying to do here. We are still what we were since the beginning. I am your unwanted wife, and this is an unwanted marriage. That is why I am going to the party with Samrat. And you cannot stop me because I refuse to give you any kind of right over me," she finishes speaking and walks out, slamming the door shut behind her.
I feel something akin to hurt within my chest as I process Nandini's words.
I have no idea what has suddenly happened to me. Last week, when I asked Nandini that question about wanting to give our marriage a chance, it surprised me.
But as I kept thinking about it, I found I really wanted to do it. I want to see where it goes if I give this marriage a chance.
Only my wanting to do it is not enough. She also needs to want it.
Nandini's angry face from a few minutes back flashes in my mind, and I sigh deeply.
It is my fault that she is refusing to give me a chance. Blinded by my anger and revenge, I was a jerk to her in the beginning.
If only I could go back in time and stop myself from doing so.
"But I can't do that. What's done is done. Now I need to think about how to convince Nandini to give our marriage a chance."
I walk to my chair and slump on it, thinking about how to do it.
"First, I need to do something to make Nandini go to the party with me instead of Samrat."
After thinking for a while, I smile as an idea pops into my mind about how exactly to make that happen.