Please stop hating on me. Y'all are allowed to simply leave if you don't like me or my stories or anything. But please don't hate me for things I don't do. It really breaks me to see those hate messages.

Full chapter on wattpad only on request.

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M A N I K

Tring.

Tring.

It wouldn't stop. Squeezing my eyes open, I let the sunlight enter in as I tried adjusting to the light.

"Nandini?" I called in a croaky sleepy voice, the alarm still disturbing my ears. "Nandini!" I shouted this time, making myself more awake then before.

Not finding any answer, I turned to the other side of the bed, my hands involuntarily roaming to find someone close to me, but it was empty. As usual.

Sighing, I got up, and switched off the alarm on my phone, rubbing my eyes together. Three years had passed away, but my habit of calling her first in the morning wouldn't change at all.

Three years. Long time, isn't it?

But not for me. Three years passed away quicker than a snap of eyes, with so much to learn everyday, making each day a memorable one. From when Mahi and Aarav were brought back home, when they started crawling, spoke their first words, then walking, had their first meal, or when they learned how to ride their tricycle, or when they played cricket with me for the first time, the list could go on and on.

Nothing changed in these years, but everything changed.

As I passed by my kids room, I couldn't help but smile at the way it was designed, simple but elegant. Just like Nandini always wanted.

I hummed a slow song as I walked in, looking at my angels sleeping peacefully, sucking their thumbs. It was just as I had expected, Aarav a carbon copy of me, while Mahi of Nandini. She got her eyes, her voice, her smile and even her lips and hair. My little Nandini. And Aarav was exactly me. His attitude, his hair, his anger. But most importantly, his love for everyone around me and the protectiveness for his sister.

They're just turning three, but he is already possessive and protective about her, and has already assumed that he is elder to her. We always have a tough time explaining him that he is elder by only two minutes but he'd never listen. He's elder and he gets the rights to protect Mahi, that's all he knows.

Thinking about them and their growing years could go on and on until I write an entire essay and the readers of this story throw me out, so I stopped at this. Leaving my peacefully sleeping babies, I walked downstairs to the kitchen.

And that same old smell surrounded me. The morning ghee and parathas with fresh juices were already placed on the table, covered. But this scent belonged to something else. Or actually, someone else.

I walked into the kitchen and as always, my grin just turned wider as I stood behind her, looking at her busy in making breakfast. Hundreds of servants around us, but her habit to make food for her own kids can never change, ever.

"Sometimes, I feel jealous. Tum sirf apne bacho se hi itna pyaar karti ho!" I complaint softly, as I kept my hands on her waist hugging her from behind and I deep breathed in the scent of her hair.

The toned expression from her face finally disappeared as she turned behind to me, and I caved her petite body in my arms, and they fit in like missing pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.

She pretended to think for a while biting her lower lip, before giving my a toothy grin. "Actually, karti hu!" She teased and I raised my eyebrows. Mrs. Malhotra was in a good mood today, is it?

"Really?" I asked stepping closer and she nodded, making a fake sad face.

"But these marks tell something else...," I traced the marks of my love on her neck and her arm and her eyes widened as she immediately covered it with the scarf.

"I think I need to remind you how much you love me, like last night...," my lips brushed against her forehead and she hid herself in my chest, breathing softly.

"Okay Manik, I love you the most in this world! Khush?" She kisses my hand that held hers and I smiled.

"But Nandini, I don't love you utna. I toh still love my kids more!" I battled my eye lashes innocently and she huffed before hitting my biceps, as if her soft hands could ever hurt my tough body.

"Manik, can you stop troubling me! Jao, Mahi and Aarav ko uthao, they would get late," she ordered pushing me away and I frowned. "Late?"

"You forgot Manik? Aaj unka School ka interview hai, and I don't want anything wrong today, everything on time please!" She warned raising her delicate eyebrows and I laughed a bit.

"Interview? What interview Nandini? Tum tension math lo, one phone call would be enough. Which School would be dumb to ignore the Malhotra's?" I boasted and she rolled her eyes.

"Manik!" Her voice was sweet and she smiled unlike the sarcasm hiding behind the sugarness. "I know ki tum bohot bade business man ho and rock star bhi and you are used to taking interviews and you went the best for your kids and everything about that. But I also want you to not forget ki tumne mujhse ek promise kiya tha! That we will not pamper our kids more than any other kids of their age. Down to Earth, remember?".

I sighed. She always did this to me! Always. Making me remember of the promises and doing things her way.

I nodded moving away from her and into the kids room, trying to break away from where my thoughts were rushing. The day of my kids birth. The day which is the most beautiful day for any parent, but no less than a nightmare for me and Nandini.

I had to steal my wife back from the clutches of death. I had seen her breaths stop, my hopes shatter, me grouch, I had watched everything. I had been thrown and dragged through hell before God took some mercy on my soul and gifted me my heaven back.

He gifted me my wife back.

She fought it. She fought death for me, for our kids.

Our love beat death, and I don't know if I should feel weak knowing how our love was tested or the most powerful man in this world because it won through it.

But I smiled because it was worth it. Everything was worth it, all the fears, the pain, the nightmares, the tears and the sleepless days and lost mornings. My kids and my family made every pain worth it.

As I sat beside my sleeping toddlers, I felt two soft hands encircling my neck. "Gussa?" She whispered in my ears kissing my cheek and I smiled.

Of course I wasn't gussa. But even I would have been, who could resist such a cute lady and especially if she was your wife?

I smiled nodding negatively and pulled her forward and she ended on my lap, but neither did I mind that nor did she. We were long done with the shying away phase of our life.

"I'm sorry," she whispered keeping her face by my heart and I kissed her forehead, ruffling her hair. Whether it was her mistake or not, she had developed this habit to apologise for everything and every time. She was spilling her husband's manners.

"I love you" she snuggled more into me and I breathed her scent holding her closer and I couldn't stop thinking how much had I craved for this three years before today, just wishing to kiss her one last time. And now, even a forever wouldn't seem enough.

"I love you more than the stars in the sky, Nandini Manik Malhotra," I chimed back and everytime I say it, it wouldn't still be enough. I loved calling her this way, it sounds perfect to me, as if she was born to be mine, we were destined to be, and everything about us was so surreal.

"And no one loves me!" We heard a croaky voice and Nandini got up from my lap in a snap, looking at Mahi staring at us with a sleepy face, clutching her teddy bear in one hand and her second hand rubbing her droopy eyes as she got of the bed and crawled into my lap, and I carried her in my arms, cradling her.

She stared into my eyes with a teary face and I looked at her with confusion before the first tear drop slipped off her eye. She was usually very moody when she got up, but I have never seen her cry unreasonably.

While Nandini tried waking up Aarav, I carried her away to the small balcony in her room but she just kept hugging my neck with her petite arms.

"Hey, what happened baby?" I wiped her tears making her sit on the table and she sobbed and sniffed.

"Paaapaa," she sobbed and my heart fell. I had no idea why my daughter was crying. "You- you don't lhuv mee, you lhuv mamaaa," she sobbed again and the disappeared smile re appeared as she voiced her problem in how much ever she could speak.

"Aww princess!" I kissed her forehead wiping her tears away. "Papaa loves you more than the clouds in the sky," I informed her and her face brightened.

"Sachi?" She blinked her innocent eyes and I grinned. "Muchi!" I carried her back to her room where Nandini was handling a cribbing Aarav.

"Who made School?" He shouted angrily and I laughed while Nandini tried to hide her grin as he hid himself more in his car shaped bed. Unlike Mahi, Aarav could speak almost everything perfectly.

He soon saw me walking inside with Mahi in my arms and he immediately picked his hands, asking me to pick him up too. I went ahead and he climbed up to my second, free arm.

Mahi was on my left while Aarav was on my right and it reminded me of the first time I had picked them, in this same way, three years back.

"Paaappaaa," he sang in my ears and I hummed back as Nandini motioned me into their bathroom. "Are we going to that dirty place?" He asked and I wanted to smile so big, telling him he didn't have to go anywhere he didn't like but I controlled myself, nodding slowly.

"Can we please not go? I don't want to leave you," Mahi reasoned too as I made them sit on the slab and Nandini gave them their toothbrushes in their hand.

"And what if I tell you I am coming along?" I asked hopingly and Mahi's eyes brightened,as if stars twinkled in them. "Eeeyyyyeeeeess!" She shouted in excitement and started brushing but Aarav still didn't look convinced.

"Okay, how about a roof top ride till School in my-.. our new car?" I reasoned and he lifted one corner of his lips , and then smiled whole heartedly.

I looked at Nandini who was looking at me squarely, disappointment clear in her eyes. "First day," I whispered and she nodded in disbelief before walking out, leaving them alone and I followed her.

"Nandini!" I called and she turned behind, reasonably angry.

"Sorry," I whispered softly holding my ears and a smile broke out on her lips a so hugged her. "How can I be angry at you being so cute all the time Manik? I adore how much you love our kids and see, I can never be angry for that!" She informed and I smiled, placing my chin on her head, and then two more pairs of arms encircled us.

Nandini picked Mahi up while I picked Aarav and that's how they squeezed us inside, making it a family hug.

As a man, I hadn't changed much since the past five years, but a lot had changed.

I wasn't just a man with love in his life.

I was a man with his own loving, caring, protective, and a little more than little crazy family.

~•~

The end is nearing. If you have any confusions regarding how Nandini was saved, that will be there in the next update.

I have decided upon taking a long break from wattpad and writing, which means I will not update any of my stories anytime soon. I just wanted to give this update to show I am not as bad as you think (to kill Nandini) before disappearing.

Thank you!