Here comes first part of Nandini's troublesome life.
I had tried to be as mild as possible while describing about her being forced, because even imagining a girl going through this even in fictional is super depressing. While I'll always prey that every girl and even boy be safe from any such kind of harassment.
Still, Apologies beforehand if there is any mistakes or I'm not able to stand on your expectations.
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"main tumhari kaun hu?
aur tu Mera kaun hai?
iss sawal par humare,
Shabd sare maun hai!"
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"I was the Princess untill I had the crown of their reputation on my head, until I was carrying the baggage of their name on my head with respect. And one- one mistake and I was thrown away into the rags. No more the pampered princess, but a black dot to their names. This was it. My journey of becoming Nandini Murthy from Nandini Suraj Goenka."
Manik already felt like stopping her. He already felt his heart hurting. Sitting beside her with the support of the wall, with her shawl's one end still wrapped around his finger, he looked at her. And if not her words, then her expressionless face was bothering him too. Her voice was rigid, as if she wasn't feeling anything. She was all the time staring into the oblivion, lost in her thoughts, but no emotion flickered in her eyes.
But then it happened. Her eyes flickered something, something akin to shine, as if she was back in her old happy days. And he fisted his hand to stop himself from pulling her into his embrace knowing very well that how temporary that shine is. But he stayed still, tonight it doesn't matter how much her past hurts him, doesn't matter how much her tears break him, he won't fall weak. He will stay strong for her, he will show her that she need not to be always strong for herself, he can do that for her while she will cry her heart out, because it's necessary, it's needed.
And so Manik locked his emotions somewhere inside and looked at her as she started speaking again.
"I was everyone's favourite. I was Dadu's Gudiya, Papa's Princess, Mumma's Ladli, Bhaiya's Nanhi. Everything was good. Everyone were happy. I- I was happy."
Nandini's whole life was flashing in her mind like a movie reel. Her every year, every month, every day spent with her family was still fresh in her mind.
How she and her Dadu would play chess in the garden in evening and she would either cheat or took help from her father to win against him. And later as her winning treat her Dadu would take her to the park and would let her play till her heart's content. He was her favourite person. She loved him. She did.
She remembered how she and her mother would spend hours in her parents room, where she would get ready in her mother's long sarees and her mother would do her makeup followed by a photo session. Her mother loved clicking her smiles, and she used to love smiling for her mother.
Her father wasn't any less. He was the one who pampered her the most. He would personally drop her and pick her up from school, because he loved spending time with her and he wouldn't leave any chance to do so. He loved baking cakes for her as she loved eating them doesn't matter even if he was tired after a long day. Her smile was his energy booster, were his words always whenever her mother would ask him to rest. For him, her one smile was enough.
And her brothers, well, they loved her more than anyone. She remembered the siblings sneak out at late night with her three protective bears. They, who were always ready to take even her share of punishments, who were always ready to beat every boy out there who would even try talking with her. They were her safe haven and she never feared near them.
But then one night, a big thunderstorm came and her happy life was washed away with the heavy rains that came along. Everything was over. The happy bubble she was living in was bursted down, by the hand of those who promised her to always shield her happiness. Irony! She chuckled humourlessly.
"And one day I realised, that it was all a dream. My happy bubble was a dream and when it broke, everything went still. I realised that nightmares actually occurs when we are awake."
Nandini blinked as the memories of that horrible day was still fresh in her mind. She clutched the shawl in her hand as those memories started haunting her. Her eyes welled up. She felt that she would break again.
But then suddenly a she felt a hand enclosed with hers. She felt the warm touch on her otherwise cold hand. And then, her whole body felt the warmth that spread through her hand. And somehow she felt that she won't break, not this time.
Not when he is here.
She know that he won't let her break.
She just know.
So, finally taking a deep breath she blinked away the unshed tears and narrated the whole incident all this while feeling like living it again but this time with him.
.
{Five years ago}
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"Papa!!!!!" A fifteen years old Nandini came running to her father who was reading some files while sitting on the couch, and looked above at her after hearing her voice.
"Careful Princess." Suraj warned his daughter lovingly to be careful as she was hurriedly descending stairs, but sighed when she was already beside him on the couch. He silently closed his files and hugged her sideways.
"How's my daughter?"
"Super cute and very much beautiful." Suraj chuckled and patted her head lovingly.
"Oh, by the way Papa, i found this photo. See. But are these tears in your eyes Papa Ji?"
Suraj took the photo from his daughter's hand and a beautiful smile appeared on his face, looking at the the photo. It was a photo of him holding Nandini for the first time when she was born. And looking at the little life in his hand his eyes had automatically welled up with tear of happiness.
Nandini saw her father looking at the photo so fondly and she smiled.
"You were born as a blessing for our family my Princess. A blessing, I would always cherish.
Nandini smiled and hugged her father who hugged her back while kissing the top of her head.
A few days later-
Ugh!!!!
Guess, someone woke up on the wrong side today. Everything is going wrong. Now, she is not even able to make a simple ponytail?
Well done Nandini, well done, she muttered to herself while trying to make a braid for the fifth time today.
Humphing and groaning a bit more while getting ready for the school she was finally able to tie her hair in a perfect braid and sighed.
Applying some sunscreen on her face she was finally ready for the school. Turning around she went to her study table and grabbed her books before stuffing them in her bag. Her gaze then fell on the portrait of her and her brothers, where Her Ru Bhaiya was pulling her pony and her Om and Shiv Bhaiya were smacking his head from either side.
She smiled and picked up the portrait and ran her fingers on it. She was missing her brothers, who apparently are completing their post graduation from Oxford University and hence were too busy to even come and meet her.
Last night's video call with them stucked her mind and she kept the portrait back on the table with an angry huff. She literally shed tears, okay that was glycerine, but she had cried earlier so her tears dried and her brothers need not know this right? So yes, she shed *cough* fake *cough* tears too to convince them to at least come for her birthday next week, but no. Apparently they had assignments to submit n all.
Yeah, assignments are literally more important than her birthday. Though she know that literally their studies are important, but can you blame her if she is missing her brothers whom she had not met since one year, seven months and twenty four days. Yes, she is counting, because she is going to take gifts for each day they spent away from her.
Well, why not!!!
Shrugging she moved downstairs and found no-one there and sighed. This is nowadays everyday scene. Literally no-one have time for her. Because apparently, her father and grandfather are busy with some important deal and her mother is on her NGO duties, one of the many reasons she is missing her brothers way too much.
Not feeling like eating anything she ran out of the house and the driver dropped her till the school.
There she met her friends and classmates and happily spent her day with doing fun in between attending lectures. It was almost time for their departure and Nandini was talking with her friend, Shruti, when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
Turning around she saw Moksh Dixit, standing there with a smile on his face. Nandini blinked her eyes and looked at him with a smile.
"Hi Nandini!"
"Hey Moksh."
"So, you coming to the party tonight, right?" Nandini's smiled disappeared as she looked at him. It's Moksh's birthday today, and he is throwing a party for his friends and classmates. Almost everyone is going to attend it, but she has no mood in doing so. Besides, she wasn't even sure that if her father would let her attend one, though he is not against these, but he let her attend parties only in the supervision of her brothers.
Nandini blinked as Moksh snapped his fingers in front of her and she looked at him.
"Uh, Moksh, I don't think--"
"Oh C'mon Nandini. You can't ditch me like that. Please come no, I'll feel good. Please, pretty please. You were my first friend here."
"Yes Nandini, if the birthday boy is saying so much, then come naa, I'm also going." Nandini looked at Shruti and Moksh contemplating but looking at Moksh's pleading eyes she sighed and nodded her head making Moksh smile.
"Thank you so much Nandini. I promise you'll have a great fun there. I'll make it memorable one for you."
Moksh and his puzzled talks were always ahead of Nandini's mind so she shrugged off the weird tone of his and smiled before moving towards the exit with Shruti.
Later that day Nandini somehow convinced her mother to allow her to go in the party. Her father was out of the town due to an urgent meeting and her grandfather was in the office for work. Anita Goenka had agreed only on the condition that Nandini will be back by 9 at the most to which Nandini agreed because she wasn't even planning to stay so long.
Nandini and Shruti entered in the party venue, and they were amazed with the decorations. The party was organised in a club and as the alcohol smell hit her nostrils, she scrunched her nose.
"Shru, alcohols?" Nandini asked perplexed.
"Yeah seems like Moksh has finally attained the legal age." Both Nandini and Shruti chuckled but they decided to stay away from the drinks and went to find Moksh.
"Happy Birthday Moksh." Nandini forwarded the gift that she brought to Moksh who took that and hugged her making her frown but she shrugged off the feeling and smiled.
"Thank you for coming tonight Nandini."
Nandini just gave him a smile and excused herself from there and went to Shruti who passed her the cold drink.
Being the extrovert that she was, and above that always the school topper, Nandini had loads of friends in her school. Many admired her, many envied her. But she cared less, because her life mantra was - Jiyo aur Jeene do.
She joined her friends on the dance floor and was enjoying the dance, laughing, joking and doing every weird Bollywood step. She was happy.
But maybe, evil eyes is literally something.
Getting tired Nandini came to sit for sometime, when a glass came in front of her eyes. She looked above and saw Moksh standing there with a smile and he was the one forwarding the glass.
"You can take this. It's fruit punch. Nothing alcoholic." He spoke as he saw her contemplating in her mind that whether to take it or not. Because obviously, her brothers had taught her never to take open drinks from anyone.
But thinking that Moksh would feel that she was suspicious of him she took the glass in her hand.
"You danced so well." Moksh spoke as he sat beside her and Nandini smiled.
"Thank you." She spoke as she took a sip and felt the taste of drink good.
They sat there talking randomly while Nandini finished her drink. She looked at the time and it was 8:30 and then she looked at Shruti who was still dancing. Thinking to let her dance and enjoy for ten more minutes Nandini sat there, whil Moksh excused himself as his phone rang.
But suddenly Nandini felt dizzy. She held her head with one hand and shook her head vigrously to stay still, but she saw everything roaming around her. She stood up and thought to go to washroom to wash her face. Stumbling over she somehow reached the passageway where she saw many door. She was walking with the support of the wall. A time came when she was about to fall due to the extreme dizziness but felt a hand supporting her through her waist.
With her eyes opened a bit she looked at the person to see who it was but her vision also got blurred and she was almost unconscious with her eyes closed, her mind a bit concious though, because she felt herself in the person's arms and she was led somewhere before was thrown on a bed.
Nandini tried shaking her head or open her eyes. She hold her head to stop the throbbing pain but soon felt her both hand to be clutched by a strong hand above her head. Her eyes were closed, she was not entirely in her senses but she could feel a touch, a weird touch on her body, a touch which her mind was alarming to not be a good touch.
And at that time she felt scared. A part of her mind was giving all the signals to her to open her eyes, but another part was completely intoxicated. Opening her eyes was getting difficult for her. She had no power to even release her hand from the captive's hold.
Her heart thudded in her chest and her whole mind went numb for few seconds as she felt her dress was being removed from her body. With a lot of difficulty and will power she tried to protest, she tried removing her hands from the tight hold or push the person who was almost putting his whole weight on her, but couldn't. She felt something warm on her cheeks and realised that she was crying. She could hear some voice, the person saying something but her mind wasn't registering anything.
Nandini felt her soul leaving her when she felt creepy touches on her bare chest now. Her heart was bearing very fast. She cried in helplessness. She tried to do something, to protect herself but her mind wasn't processing her.
With loads of courage she even tried pushing the person with her legs resulting in the person opened her legs wide and sitting in between them, impeding any kind of movement.
Suddenly she felt extreme pain in her vagina and she whimpered in pain, her cries muffled, her heart as if stopped beating for a moment. She felt rough thrusts there and she just cried with her eyes closed. The pain too much for the fifteen year old, her whole body was paining as the in and out motion continued and she laid there helpless not even able to see the person.
She had finally lost it, any sense, any courage as she felt the extreme pain in her body. And then she felt the weight over her body lifting but she stayed still.
Maybe the effect of drugs got a bit less or maybe something else happened, but Nandini opened her eyes a little with great difficulty. She saw the person standing beside the bed and was wearing his shirt. She looked at his face and gasped while the person looked at her and smirked.
"Mo- Moksh." Her voice came out in whimper and tear fell out of her eyes. She was not able to believe her eyes that it was Moksh, Moksh Jindal. Wasn't he, her friend?
"Yes baby. Moksh. Your salvation." Nandini cringed as he touched her cheeks and he chuckled.
"What did you thought? You will reject my proposal and I'll stay your friend for the sake of friendship? Hah! Take it bitch. No-one rejects Moksh Jindal and gets away so easily. No-one."
Jerking her cheek sideways Moksh left from there after banging the door leaving a shattered Nandini behind.
Flashes of the day when Moksh proposed her three months ago came into her mind. He told her that he loves her, she politely denied any kind of feelings for him and then he proposed to be friends at the least .
What was her mistake? Trusting him?
She was still feeling intoxicated. Her body was aching with pain. She was crying in helplessness, in pain. Her whole body was shivering with terror, as slowly slowly her mind was registering that what happened with her.
"Mumma!" Nandini cried in pain.
Home.
She wanted to go home.
She was not feeling good. She was feeling disguisted.
She needed home.
She tried standing up, somehow she sat on the bed but due to her stumblings the lamp on the side table fell down and she gasped. Her head was still feeling dizzy when she tried standing up.
Somehow she stood up with the support of wall but soon fell down with a thud as the pain shot in her private part and her knees felt weak. She cried and cried until she couldn't and was almost on the verge of losing her consciousness, when again she felt a feather like touch.
She whispered and shivered fearing again, but this time she felt that someone covered her body with something, before she was in air and soon on the bed. Her heart was still thudding in fear as she heard a boy's voice. She didn't opened her eyes, she couldn't. She was just trembling.
And then she heard a voice in her ears, a gentle voice and suddenly her heart stopped thudding loudly. Suddenly in such an unsafe position too, she felt safe. Suddenly her fear was absorbed by the voice.
Though, at that moment her brain was not able to grasp the words ringing in her ears, but she could feel the gentleness in them. Strangely, she was already feeling home, and finally she let her brain shut down all the thoughts and she went into the cocoon of enchanting darkness, for now not minding about how her life is going to change.
.
"Wo, tum the naa Manik."
(It was you, right Manik)
Manik looked at the girl sitting beside him with tears in his own eyes. Only he knows that how he was controlling his anger for that boy, or his tears for this girl.
The same girl who was looking at him with a plain smile on her face. No tears, no pain on her face. A simple smile.
And at that moment the only thing he wondered was, whoever says that rainbows are glorious while it's raining, must have never seen a smile on someone's face who is suffering.
.
.
.
Tada!!!!!!!
I had a memory loss, today is diwali right? 🥺
This was just a part, just a starting of her past. Someone said it right, the whole thing is not easy to mention in just one single part. Either i would be make it a mess or you won't be able to connect.
Drop your views about the chapter here, really need some motivation to get over this writers block.
Next update - Depends on Virat Kohli the goofball and his bunch of ten teammates *fingers crossed*
Words count- 3370 words
~A ♡