That Evening

Manik came downstairs to be greeted by the hustle bustle of Times Square. Being the heart of New York, it wouldn't be wrong to say that it never slept or fell slow. Even at 3 in  would find activity here.

Pushing his hands in the pocket of his leather jacket, he had clearly intended to walk towards his Mercedes but his feet took him to Mrs. Elliot's flower shop round the corner.

He just can't treat her like that, she was his wife. Legally Wedded Wife.

It was he who had asked for her hand, surely he couldn't let those stupid gossips affect their relationship.

"Hello Boy!' Mrs Elliot greeted him warmly.

"Hello Mrs Elliot." Manik replied with a smile.

"So what's it gonna be today? Lilies Or Orchids? I have a fresh batch of Orchids which your wife will love." She spoke up, cheerfully.

"Um, I think I'll take a dozen of those fresh red roses." He replied without even thinking.

"Red Roses! Are you in love with her, boy?" Mrs Elliot spoke up, happily.

"I think I am." Manik replied, rubbing a palm on his face.

"Aww, I'm so happy. " Mrs Elliot exclaimed happily, as she clasped him in a hug.

Manik gave her an affectionate kiss on both the cheeks.

"I need more, more." She spoke up, cutely making Manik chuckle as he kissed her again.

A few minutes later, he was driving towards his home the bouquet of roses kept carefully on the side seat.

The local radio played a beautiful a love song and almost involuntarily Manik could feel himself identifying with the lyrics.

I Can Feel Her Heartbeats From A Thousand Miles..

The door back home was opened by one of the maids and not Nandini. His happy senses dimmed a bit, when his eyes weren't greeted by the beautiful sight of his wife. As fresh as a dew drop, with that gorgeous smile but it doesn't matters he'll head straight to their bedroom.

Nandini ran her fingers through her cascading rich ebony tresses as she heard the knob turning. Her heart increased its pace, he was here.

Manik entered the room looking for her and there she was, standing by the bed.

Turning, she smiled at him. Her eyes twinkling.

God, he missed that smile so much!

And The Heavens Open, Every Time She Smiles..

It didn't seem from her face that he had been downright rude to her that morning, leaving her alone in bed while she was asleep and left for work.

It didn't seem that he hadn't answered her calls the whole day. The smile reached up her eyes and told him that she was just glad to have him back.

Nandini walked towards him in quick steps and he found himself running to her.

I'm Running To Her, That's Where I Belong..

I'm Running To Her, Like A River Song..

Without Thinking, his arms went around her and so did hers around him. Smiling, Nandini basked into the warmth of his arms taking a whiff of his musk cologne. How much she loved this!

Her soft supple body wrapped around him, breathing softly against him hearing his heartbeats.

She Gave Me Love, Love, Love, Love, Crazy Love..

She Gave Me Love, Love, Love, Love, Crazy Love..

Everything was forgotten in those minutes, they were wrapped in each other's arms.

"I missed you." Nandini mumbled against his chest, softly.

"I missed you too." Manik replied, dropping a soft kiss on her hair.

He cupped her face lovingly, as both broke the hug.

"I'm sorry, for being so rude today." He apologized sincerely, yet huskily.

"It doesn't matter." She smiled, holding his hands.

Manik smiled seeing that child-like innocence on her face when he gave her that fresh bouquet of red roses.

"I love red roses!" Nandini exclaimed happily, as she looked at him and feeling the softness of it's petals on her fingers, inhaled it's sweet fragrance.

His eyes then finally took in, her form for he was too engrossed in noticing that happiness in her face.

She was wearing a gorgeous peach silk nighty. Manik identified it that instant for he himself picked it up from the Femme Fatale Store in Paris.

The cover up was long with a lace ending at the sleeves, and underneath it was a thin strapped long nighty. It wasn't anything sexy or raunchy yet sensual and beautiful. The color suited her creamy skin tone and the fact that it was tied up around her waist was flattering to her luscious curves which Manik wasn't unaware of.

"You look beautiful, tonight." He whispered huskily as Nandini looked at him a bit shy.

"I wanted to, for you." She replied, softly.

Manik wasn't thinking when he nuzzled into her hair taking in that fragrance of her avocado mint shampoo, making her sigh as her arms went around him.

His lips trailed on her nape as the grip of her arms went tight around his back. Taking in the fragrance of her cherry scent, Manik dropped some soft kisses on her shoulders making Nandini close her eyes.

Gently, he shifted those rich ebony tresses from her shoulders and his eyes were greeted to that beautiful milky mole she had on her shoulder.

His lips latched there making Nandini sigh again as the bouquet of roses fell from her hands and rolled down the bed.

Those soft kisses on her neckline were slowly having a drugging effect on her. Manik knew he needed to pull back otherwise both would end up doing something which they would regret later.

"I'm sorry, I.. I have this terrible headache." He spoke up, looking at her.

"Aapko mujhe bataana chahiye tha, Manik. Get Freshen Up, Hum dinner karenge and then Main aapka sarr dabaa dungi, Dard bilqul theek ho jayega." She replied, touching his cheek with that innocent concern making him smile.

Days slowly turned into months and year. Soon Nandini and Mukti had their 1st Semester exams approaching. Manik sometimes used to return home and be quite amused watching his sister and wife studying together.

Though Mukti was chilled back about studies but Nandini took it to the next level. At Times, when Manik used to wake up in the middle of the night to fetch a glass of water or to use the bathroom, his young wife would still be studying her books scattered around the table, scribbling away in her notebook. And he wouldn't lie, he found her to be mesmerizing even in the wee hours of the night, soft curly tresses escaping from that loose bun or the thick plait her creamy skin glowing from the yellow light of her study lamp.

He didn't go back to sleep rather made her a cup of strong black coffee which she didn't like at all for she liked hers with cream and sugar but still Manik made her have it. Or sometimes, even press those aching muscles of her shoulders and neck making her fall back on him due to relaxation or sometimes, he would just close her books and pull her to the bed for some sleep.

Even then, he used to make her sleep in his arms lest she shouldn't escape when he fell asleep.

What more did Nandini want? Most of the nights, she slept into his arms nuzzling into that strong chest that provided her warmth and protection.

Mostly in the mornings, he would wake up with his arms around her holding her protectively to himself.

While his innocent wife would be sleeping peacefully, breathing against him.

Then he would nuzzle in her hair and neck, tickle her with his nose to hear some of those cute sleepy giggles and kiss her chubby cheeks.

Can there be any better start to a morning? Probably Never!

It was one such Sunday, where Manik was watching TV while Nandini was sitting down on the bed, beside him studying for exams were just a week away.

The Bourne Identity was one of his favorite movies, yet he yawned looking at the screen and then looked at his wife.

"Yeh graph bann kyun nahi raha? Values toh saari sahi hai." Nandini muttered, struggling with a graph of managerial economics.

"Bhagwaan sazaa de raha hai tumhe! Ek toh Sunday ko tumhara itna cute pati Ghar par bore ho raha hai aur tum usse ignore kar rahi ho! Sazaa toh milegi naa?" Manik replied cutely, looking at her as he switched off the tv.

"I haven't copied the wrong question too." Nandini muttered again, going through the textbook page, ignoring her husband.

"Nandini, tum kitni cute lagti ho padhte waqt I swear!" Manik spoke up, adoringly and she really did.

But Nandini didn't pay attention rather, scrunched her eyebrows and kept the pen dancing between her two fingers.

"Accha bas karo naa Yaar, I'm getting bored! Let's go for lunch and ice cream." Manik spoke up as his patience gave up, and he snatched her notebook away.

"Manik Please!" Nandini replied cutely irritated, as she took her notebook back.

"Samajh nahi aa raha, mujhe solve karna hai..!! I'm not getting that arc, mujhe lagta hai question mein hi kuch gadbad hai. That's the issue with these unsolved papers, they don't check the authenticity." She added tucking a flyaway wisp of hair behind her ear as Manik made a cute face.

He had planned to turn over and sleep for the rest of the afternoon, but instead he unpinned her hair that was done up in a loose bun and watched in awe as those rich ebony locks fell down till below her waist.

Nandini gasped a bit when she felt him drooping his face into those tresses.

"Nandini? I love your shampoo. Avocado and Mint right? The scent is so sultry and your hairs are so soft. Man! I love your hair!" Manik took in a deep breath.

"Please don't stop using it.” He added, nuzzling into her nape as she closed her eyes.

"You're so beautiful!" He hummed near her ears as he made her face him and their noses touched. Their breaths mingled.

His palm went up to her cheek and Nandini blushed at the way, he was eyeing her lips which were just a breath away.

Manik inched closer when the shrill ringing of Nandini's cellphone broke their bubble.

Both took some deep breaths and Nandini tried to concentrate on her notebook once more.

"It's your cellphone." Manik reminded her.

"Utha Lein Please!" She requested him, cutely as she got back to her books.

Manik answered the call for her but the moment he said Hello, All he could hear was squealing and squealing!

To the extent that he had to take the cellphone a good distance away for the health of his ears.

"I don't know who is this?" Manik spoke up, handing the cellphone to her.

Nandini giggled and took the phone from him, her eyes squeezed shut for a bit owing to those squeals.

"Sam? Calm down, it's me. What? Yeah, that was Manik." She spoke up and Manik again heard a squeal from the other side making him roll his eyes.

"No, I haven't. I was trying to make that graph, I think the error is in the question. The values given are wrong, I guess." She added.

"Cool, I'll solve this and help you out tomorrow in university." Nandini spoke and tried to catch hold of her books which Manik had sneaked away from her, cleverly but in vain.

"Sam, I'm a bit busy right now. Will talk to you tomorrow, okay?" She rolled her eyes at Manik who even sneaked away her pens and calculator.

"No! Shut Up and Bye." Nandini snapped, laughing and hung up but Manik could spot those hints of pink on her cheeks.

She narrowed her eyes at her husband who was apparently laughing.

"Kya Hua? Kyun itni hasee aa rahi hai aapko?" She asked him, resting her cheek on her palm.

"Kuch Nahi, main soch raha tha ki tum abhi bhi kitni masoom aur bholi ho. Ab dekho naa? Sam knows it's a Sunday, I should be at home and we must be spending time together. That fact got confirmed when I picked up your cellphone but you still talked to her after saying that you're busy.

…. Any other woman would've just said, busy and kept the phone down that instant." He replied, pulling her cheek adorably.

"Accha ab mera mazaak naa udaayein. Meri kitaabein dein. " Nandini replied, rubbing her cheek.

"Nahi." Came his instant reply.

"Theek Hai Naa Dein." She looked to the other side, but tried snatching it from him the other moment again in vain making Manik laugh at her cuteness.

••••••••

I hope the ending doesn't look abrupt and it didn't bored you, I happen to wrote 8000+ words at a stretch and then dividing them led to this :(

Also please don't get irritated with Manik's behavior, It's just that 13 years age difference have created a huge impact on his mind. And don't worry just 2 more updates then everything will be alright!

Next update : Sunday

*Please don't post any of my works on other sites. Someone posted Manjha on IF with changed characters, even without informing me! Guys y'll know I have my own account on IF, and my stories will be posted there by me only.

*Wedlock won't be updated today, caught up with some work!