Sheetal felt never this enthusiastic like she felt now. She was overly joyous and excited. And why wouldn't she? Her daughter-in-law is finally going to come to her resident which had awaited for her grace since so long.
Having the need to take every necessity of Nandini as her first and top priority, Sheetal made a long list about the do's she has to first follow up in the house.
Nandini was just not her son's wife, she is her daughter.
Sheetal smiled noting one more do's in the list ; renovating his son's room. She drew a circle around the point when a thought occurred into her mind.
What made Manik accept Nandini so suddenly?
Even being happy, she can't quite get over with the thought which made her son change his stubbornness so suddenly. It even shudders her internally sometimes thinking with all the possible cruel reasons which may had lead to change her son's mind.
However, she didn't let the bad thoughts hover over her happiness.
Getting on her feet, she made her way up to her son's room and was about to knock the door when suddenly she heard her children bickering over something.
"-and I told you to write over another topic, haven't I?"
"But bhaiya what is wrong with this topic? All I wanted is to know a little about--"
"Meera Malhotra!"
Sheetal shuddered behind the door as she heard his loud roar with the followed up tensed silence next, until his deadly voice rang up "we are not having any discussion on this topic again. Do I make myself clear?"
"...."
"Good. Now straight to your room."
His dismissal made Sheetal open the door to his room ajar where at the the same time her daughter Meera walked straight out of the room without even looking up to her mother. But the misty look on her daughter's eyes didn't went unnoticed by her.
She looked next to her son who seemed severely furious with his heaving back facing to her.
Her heart wrenched seeing her children like this and as she opened her mouth to ask him the reason, she heard him speaking "She wanted to know about our father."
His eerily defeated tone stirred her in inside "Manik."
He turned around slowly and his gloomy look was enough for Sheetal to take him in her motherly warmth.
The steady gaze to the celling and head lying in his mother's lap lulled his mind to calmness whereas Sheetal didn't questioned him up next for the forty-five minutes. She just kept sitting with silence emerged around and her hand freely caressing his hair.
"I didn't wanted to be harsh, Maa."
She looked down at him and nodded with a hint of a smile "of course you didn't."
"I..I just wanted to keep her away from his nasty shadow. Nothing else."
Sheetal smiled sadly as her eyes fell at a distant while her mind took her to the time leaving her soul behind.
Holding her seventh month old swelled belly, Sheetal carried the bucket full of water inside the house when suddenly a little hands of her son caught a hold of her making her halt on the door.
"You should had asked me." Sheetal smiled affectionately at her son's authoritative yet adorable self who sounded more like an adult then a ten year old child.
"You were busy studying and there was no water supply in the house." Sheetal exclaimed apologetically but Manik frowned "there is nothing important then you to me, Maa. You know you shouldn't be straining yourself but still you go on doing whatever you feel like."
The moment made Sheetal blessed to have a son like him until a sinister snicker took their attention to the beast descending down the stairs.
"Aww! Don't you both mother and son duo are an adorable sight?"
His slurring tone was enough to make Sheetal cringe in disgust with the obvious that he is again drunk but she doesn't want her son to witness his wasted self the first thing in the morning "Manik, go up into your room."
Dread residing inside slowly, Manik shook his head "N-No. I'm not leaving you with him alone."
"Manik" Sheetal sighed "Come on dear, go up and lock the door. And don't open until and unless it's me."
Whilst his pleas and request, Sheetal forced him up to his room. Manik gave a fiery glare to the man blocking up his path who, however, got aside while holding his hand high in a surrendering manner and mock playing on his face.
As told by his mother, Manik stayed inside in his room for the next half of the day. He was sick worried by leaving his mother behind down with the bastard.
The crash of the bottle and a shrill cry of a known voice was all which was enough for Manik to shoot up on his feet and barge out of the room.
Panick striking hard in his heart, Manik rushed down the stairs only to see the beast raising his hand high to strike the wooden rod down to the whimpering and partly unconscious Sheetal who was aimlessly sprawled down on the floor with a broken bottle of liquor aside.
With the instinct of defence surfacing, Manik ran and shoved the man hard enough to trip and fall aside on the floor.
Putting no care to the groaning man, Manik knelt down beside his mother and tucked the strands away from her face with his teary eyes "Come on, maa. Try to get up."
Sheetal nodded weakly and pushed herself up on her feet by Manik's help. Manik smiled encouraging her and helped her up to the stairs when suddenly he was jerked away by his collar and slammed against the wall hardly.
Sheetal was left wobbly on her feet as she staggered and sat down on the upper last stair holding up the wall. She was breathing heavily as her view was slowly blurring around but she managed to voice out slowly "Leave him, Manav. I beg you."
Manik felt light headed. He managed to sit up but before he could relax he was forced up on his feet by his hair. He cried out in pain as the man dragged him down the remaining stairs " Not happening this time, Sheetal. My boy has become naughty I see. So, I'm going to teach him some manners which you, my dear wife, has forgotten to do so."
Sheetal cried helplessly as she sensed what is coming up next.
Manik whimpered and shivered as soon as he was pushed down but the first strike of a leather belt on his back left a cry of agony out of his mouth "so my dear son, the first manners you should know is how to treat your father."
"Manav please, don't."
He strike again going all dead to his wife's pleas "second, you should listen to me and only me. I say stand, you stand. I say sit, you sit."
Manik's back burned like anything but he took whatever his father gave him or else his resistance will cost his mother his-the beast's wrath. He took his kicks, his punches, his strikes with a whimper but didn't withstand his father's actions.
He didn't knew when the assault came to seize but a tug in his hair made a yelp escape his dry throat "now the third manner, you should be siding me not to the wh*re of a mother who is carrying god knows whose bastard"
Backhanding the poor boy hardly, Manav stride out the house leaving Manik curl on the floor holding his stomach tightly.
The pain shoots up to his entire small frame as he let it out crying in pain and anguish while some part in his heart felt in relief that he managed to save his mother by his father's abuses.
Sheetal was as useless and helpless as she felt everyday and everytime. She yet again failed to protect her son. She yet again let him unleash the beast in him. There is no humanity unlike what his name defines him as to be.
She cried along with her son's hurting wail until the non-ignorant ache erupted throughout her womb. She wanted to cry and yell out aloud but her throat felt burning dry. Supporting her exhausted and limp self against the wall she got up on her feet.
All she could manage was to descend a first step until her leg wobbled and she went rolling down the staircase.
Manik's head shot up and his already paled face went numb as he wishper called his mother out "Ma-a."
Sheetal snapped out hearing Manik calling her softly "huh?"
"Stop recalling those days." He murmured softly with his closed eyes "it doesn't worth your concern anymore."
Sheetal nodded and caressed his head "I know it doesn't. But--" she sighed "it still sends chill down my spine thinking what if we wouldn't had made it out of there that day? I would had lost you and Meera together that day."
Manik opened his eyes slowly and sat up facing his mother as Sheetal looked in a distant with her gloomy eyes "Meera was so fragile and weak when she was born and you were severely injured."
She looked at him as Manik gazed his mother tenderly " and I was so scared, Manik. So scared."
"I was scared too." Manik smiled softly "I was scared because I failed to protect you."
Sheetal shook her head "You never failed protecting us, dear. And that's how I know why you wouldn't tell Meera about him."
Manik chuckled sadly "I just don't want her to know his existence. But Meera doesn't understand. She kept urging about knowing him and I..I lost it on her."
Reaching out for his hand, Sheetal gave a pat when her eyes went on the screen of the laptop showing a one way ticket of a flight.
"What is that?" She pointed out taking Manik attention to the screen of his laptop.
He pressed his lips and released a sigh "A ticket to Bangalore."
Sheetal frowned "Wh-"
"-I'm not going yet. But there is this multinational company who has offered me a job. They want me to join the company with in the month as they are highly impressed by my scholar record and even my university has represented my name to them."
"But aren't you yet to complete your masters, Manik?"
"Yes, but university is ready to give diploma if I ever felt like having one." Manik shrugged making Sheetal stare at him with a slight wave of a frown on her forehead "so..are you willing to-"
"-I'm yet to decide, maa." Manik assured but Sheetal shook her head "don't miss it, beta. Rather I say you should go for it. May be you can take Nandini with you after her gauna."
His face went grim as he took his hand away from his mother and looked aside avoiding having any talk regarding her.
Sheetal smiled "But before that I was thinking to make some changes in the room." She looked around the room suggestively "the wall needs new colour and yes your bed, it's going to change. And do take your unimportant stuffs out and make space in your cupboard for Nandini's clothes so that-"
"-Nothing is changing in here."
Sheetal trailed off and stared at her son who seemed relaxed speaking while his face stayed poker unlike sometimes back "What? But Nandini-"
"-Nandini is not going to stay in here." He declared, his tone monotonous "this room is my personal space and I don't want inappropriate invasion."
"Nandini is not an invasion." She objected pointedly "being your wife she has every right in this room as much as you do."
Manik stayed put on his remark and avoided saying anything as he took his whole attention toward his laptop. Sheetal stared at her son for a brief second as the thought which was disturbing in the back of her mind came on the tip of her tongue "why did you accept her, Manik?"
Manik looked up and back to the laptop as he curled his lips out in obvious "why? That's what you all wanted."
But as much as she knows, her son is not someone who waltz upon someone's command. She felt worry surfacing as she felt yet again powerless upon the happening.
She just hoped everything to go as she wished to happen but anyway she nodded and gave in "I will prepare another room for both of you then."
Manik stayed calm but as he found his mother exiting, he called out "Maa, do check upon Meera for me once."
Sheetal nodded positively and closed the door behind softly leaving him finally alone to dwell into his most awaited thoughts.
He didn't knew why he felt the need to accept her out of blue.
It wasn't like he accepted her just because he was bounded by as per the made bet. He could had backed out but the enlarging fear and the new feeling budding inside was all which made him accept her in impulse.
He just liked what he had started feeling around her. It kept him fresh and composed.
However, the incident happened in the ghat had slightly made a terror inside.
What if it makes his resentment comes back to life in the pit of his heart?
His resistance and restraining were slacking loose and he was at the point of losing everything at her mercy but the fear residing under him has rejuvenated all his grudges.
He groaned exhaustedly and slammed shut the laptop, tossing it on the side. For the first time in all his life he felt never this confused as this growing emotion made him feel so.
He was ashamed and felt highly conflicted as he neither wanted to hurt her nor does he wanted to fall weak.
Looking around the room, he sighed.
The room has a part of his soul and heart. It has known his deepest shade of thoughts. It wasn't about letting Nandini in his personal space. He was just not sure if she was ready enough to know how shallow he is from inside.
She has just seen what he felt like to show himself be like in front of her.
Narcissistic, passive aggressive and egoist, who just think about no one other than him.
But once she knows how well tangible fiery and intense he is into things related to her then she might have a change in point of view regarding him. She might as well fear with the depth of passionate side of his.
He chuckled dryly.
The kiss they shared couldn't be counted any less as he recalled how she stayed stiffened and baffled in his arm.
He never wanted to unleash his self control but the way her lips felt on his skin, he couldn't help but devour the chance he was palpable about since he had the taste of those sweetness into her oblivion state.
She sure as hell was not ready.
Her touch always seemed to burn and leave the pricking sensation behind with the urgency of wanting more. He knew that around her he has his control in leniency but what happened the last night had made him crave more of her.
But he was not greedy. Nor opportunist. He knew his limits, until and unless she doesn't pokes.
And knowing her, she is a curious cat and testing him is what she likes to do even after being warned silently by him many times.
It was evening.
Where Manik was conflicting of not meeting, Nandini was desperately waiting for him on the terrace.
She was happy. And the glow on her face was evident to her happiness.
The auspicious day of her gauna has fixed on her birthday. It couldn't get more happening for her as it is going to be the best gift he could give her by consummating their marriage.
She is ready and wiling to make it work. And now by staying close it won't take him long to confess his feelings to her.
She smiled under her breath when out of no where a ball came landing on her terrace.
She heard the kids playing cricket in the lane calling and asking for the ball. But a thought passed through her mind and she ran down excitedly.
Once she reached out of the gate, she breathed and smiled watching the curious little kids playfully "mind if I join you guys?"
A moment later, Nandini found herself indulged completely into the game while viewers passing by shook their head in disbelief upon her childish act.
She is yet to mature, they thought.
Eyes focused straight on the bowler speeding, Nandini leaned down a bit making herself ready to make one last strike left which needs six to win the game.
The bowler bowled straight making Nandini swing the bat and hit the ball hard enough to fly across and hit hard with a shabby looking beggar's head.
Her eyes widen and she left the bat down before running for the beggar who had the ball in his hand and other palming his head.
"I'm so sorry I didn't knew where I was hitting toward." she scoot down and looked at the man with concern who gazed up to her "Are you hurt? Does your head hurts. I can take you to my home if you feel any pai-"
"-Nandini!"
The sudden shout of Manik startled Nandini as she looked back from the beggar and found him striding toward her with a long step.
Without minding much to the surrounding, Manik grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her up "Come with me."
His voice was harsh and deadly as he dragged her away from there while the ragged attired looking beggar kept his pointed gaze fixed on the duo's back while his lips drew into a sinister victorious smile.
"I knew you would loose one day, son."