~He felt it deeper; the pain she stores in her heart, for he just found a way in~

-Affu-

In India 

Murthy's Cashew Nuts

"So you mean..my car just got vanished?" asked Dharmendhr, to the parking valet.

"N-N-N-" the attendant stuttered, in fear, but Dharmendhr had a blank look on his face. His face was void of any emotions, yet the poor soul in front of him, was trembling in fear.

"That's an alphabet. And O comes after N." a strange voice called out, and Dharmendhr turned around to see a girl staring at the attendant. "Maybe you wanted to say NO, but you couldn't, for the old yet scary man standing in front of you screams authority. Right?" she added, and then looked back at Dharmendhr, whose eyebrows were raised in surprise. That's the only emotion he had plastered on his face.

"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself, warna aap tho sochenge, ye Tsunami kaha se aayi aur kaha chali gayi!(Or else, you might think where the Tsunami has come from and where must have it gone!)" She grinned, before forwarding her hand towards Dharmendhr. "I'm Nandini." She introduced herself, but he kept staring at her, and then at her hand. "Well, you can just hold my hand and shake it. That's how people greet each other. If you're a close friend, a hug would do. If you're relatives, a big fat welcome." Nandini commented, and Dharmendhr stared at her warily.

"Who are you?" he asked, and she looked at him blankly. "I didn't mean your name, though." he added, and she nodded. "Oh! Actually, I was about to park my car, but you just had to block my way. Now, if you don't move, how will I get to ask an attendant to park my car? Yaani, this ain't the place to park a car. Its the way to Parking Lot." she replied, and Dharmendhr stared on.

"I was speaking with the valet. Maybe that would give you an explanation." he said, and she narrowed her gaze at him. "No, it doesn't. I mean, if you can block a road, just because you were speaking to a valet, then I can go and block a main road and make an accident and then say; oh I was just trying to speak with traffic police, but couldn't do so." she reasoned, and he started to lose his temper.

"Now, kindly park my car." she said to the valet, before looking back at Dharmendhr. "I have the contact number of anger-resistant teachers. You can apply."she said, and got inside the company, leaving a baffled Dharmendhr behind.

"S-Sir." the Valet broke Dharmendhr's trance; and he was back to square one. "What are you looking at? Go look for my car." he commanded them, in calm yet the most stiffest tone, and the attendants rushed to get the car, which suddenly got an invisible driver to drive it to somewhere unknown.

"Idiots. They can't even protect a single car." Dharmendhr muttered to himself, when he saw Nandini walking out of the company, with her face masked with irritation. 

"Hadd hothi hai. If he intends to sit home and enjoy his lone time, then why the hell would he open a company!" she muttered to herself, quite loudly. "Dharmendhr Murthy. Bas naam ke cheez lagthe hain." she added, and his eyes widened at it. "Bade aaye Murthy saab. Yaani, naam tho Dharam Singh Deol ke rakhe hai, par harkathe tho Mr. Indian ke hain." she babbled before marching towards the valet, at the counter.

"My car!" she tapped her fingers at the counter, and he immediately got hold of the paper she gave him. "Within a minute, Mam." he said, and she sighed. "No. I have an important operation." she said, and the man widened his eyes. "Oh my God, Madam. I'll get your car." and he went to fetch her car.

Dharmendhr watched the scenario wordlessly.

"Here, Mam." the man was back, within 45 seconds, and Nandini looked impressed. "Please take care of yourself, Mam. Is your operation going to be in few hours? Waise, how can the hospital authorities let you roam around when you're ought to get operated within some time?!" he wondered out loud.

"Kyunki operation mein karne wali hun..kisi aur ke." she looked at him blankly. "I'm a doctor." she sighed, before getting in her car, and the man stood with his state of mind numb.

While for the first time in the day, Dharmendhr chuckled out loud, by staring at the man's face.

"Oh! You're still here?" Nandini rolled down her car's window, and stared at Dharmendhr, who squinted his eyes at her. "Yes, as you can see." he replied, in short sentence. "Well, I'm not a terrorist." she said, and his brows furrowed in confusion. "I'm not a murderer. I'm not a robber. So yeah, you won't be killed if you accept my offer to drop you wherever you want." she added, and he gaped at her.

"You seriously giving a ride to a stranger? Especially a man?" he asked, and she took her bag to fish something out. "This is pepper spray. And this is Chilli powder spray. And yeah, lemon juice to mix with these powders. A pocket knife. A hairpin. A safety pin. And a small hammer. And yeah..I've got chloroform in my dashboard as well." she said, and then looked up at Dharmendhr.

"Chutney banane keliye sirf yahi chahiye. Yaani, I can make your chutney if you try to harm me." she shrugged, and he sighed out loud. "I do not receive any rides from strangers. Thanks for the offer." he denied, calmly, and Nandini cursed herself in mind.

"So you think I can attack you?" she stared at him, blankly. "No offence, par aapke size ek attacker ki nahi hain." he replied, and looked away, in search of his attendants.

"Do not judge a book by it's cover. Yaani, I may look like a Lilliput, but I can obviously do what a Gorilla does." Nandini said, and remembered the way Manik addressed her with that particular nickname. "And what does a Gorilla do?" Dharmendhr asked, squinting his eyes at her, who shrugged.

"I haven't done Phd on Gorillas, so all I know is they attack." Nandini stared at him, rather pensively. "Well, you got to have a Gorilla's attention, though. I mean, your anger quite grab their attention so much." she added, and Dharmendhr stared at her, blankly.

"You can still get in, okay. I am not a Gorilla, so I would not attack you, even if you flare up like a Fire Balloon." she suggested, and he looked at his wrist watch and remembered his father doesn't like anyone going back home late.

"Alright." he said. "I'll take the back seat." he was about to move towards the back door, when Nandini's voice caught him off guard. "Excuse me? Backseat? You really don't trust people." she said, and he sighed. "That's because you're a woman, and I would like to respect your privacy." he said, and she sighed.

"Awe! How sweet, Uncle jiiii! Lekin kya hain na, mein apki beti ki umar hun, aur aap dikhne mein harming nahi lagthe. So I don't mind. I would consider you as my second father." she said, and his head shot upwards to her face, who pushed open the passenger seat's door, from her seat.

"You may get in, Uncle Jiiiii." she said, and he let out another sigh, before occupying the passenger seat, and then closing the door.

"So..where to?" she asked, and he looked ahead. "Our Bandra's neighborhood." he replied, and she faked a shocked expression on her face. "Really? Wow! World is such a small place. I live in the same neighborhood." She commented, and he looked at her.

"But I haven't seen you there, before." he said, and she nodded. "Jab mein nahi thi ithne saalon se waha, tho kaise dikh sakthi mein kisiko bhi." she said, and glanced at him. "It's been only a few days since I've started to live there." she added, and he nodded in understanding.

"Waise, aap zyada baath kyu nahi karthe? I mean, does India take tax from it's citizens for speaking more than a sentence at a time?" she asked, and he gave her a look. "I cannot even spend a minute without talking. I need to babble a lot, that my Ma says that I wouldn't need even a life partner or kids in future. I'll be happy with myself." she babbled again, and he stared at her aghast.

"I mean, she's right. The amount of words you've used since the moment I met you, is uncountable." he commented, and she shrugged. "That's because I'm a human being, while you are similar to nearly extinct species, who don't feel like speaking unnecessarily. Humans need to use their vocal chords often to clear their throats from any germs making a room in there." she replied, and he bit onto his lips to stop himself from smiling.

"Well, here we are. Which house?" she asked, and he pointed the fourth house on his left, and she parked in front of it. "Murthys?" she questioned, before looking back at him. "This is your place?" she asked, and for the first time, she saw a grin on his face. "Yes, and I think you were there in my company, looking for me. And now, you dropped the same man at his home." he said, and she looked surprised, before smiling.

"Well. World is really not a big place." she forwarded her hand to him again. "And I'm the same girl who's gonna be your acquaintance, soon." she said, and he frowned. "Nandini. Manik Malhotra's girlfriend." She said, and his eyes widened. "I think, you can shake my hand this time." she grinned, and he looked at her hand, before looking up at her, and then shaking her hand.

"Dharmendhr Murthy. I just realized that you may not be in a situation to introduce yourself. Anyhow, I'll see you around, again. Manik ke saath." she smiled, and he nodded, before getting down her car, and then looking down at her.

"Ba-Bye. Main AI." She said, and zoomed off towards her Villa, which was 2-3 house away from theirs, on the right.

"Main AI?" He questioned himself, confusedly. "Waise, Manik ke kaha se girlfriend aayi hai?" he asked himself again, before getting inside his home.

In MruNi's Home

Nandini's Bedroom

"You mean, you just met Shekhar's Appa? Yaani, aiveyi? Bina ready hoke?" Shamishti screamed in horror, and Nandini stared at her Laptop screen, blankly. "Oh my God! What were you wearing, Shona? Was it traditional? Koi nahi, even if it was modern, it wasn't looking bad right? Did you say namaste to him? And..and..did you touch his feet? Haye Bappa! I'll start to scream now!" Shamishti cried out, and Nandini leaned forward.

"Scream? You mean, whatever you've been doing was what? Whispering?" Nandini pointed out. "Yaani, whatever you've been screaming out, till now, would have reached our neighbor's toilet that they must have stopped with their..business."  Nandini commented, and her mother glared up at her.

"What? I'm stating facts. We should check our neighbor's biography now. What if he turns out to be DJ's acquaintance? Ooooh. Or worse. What if he turns out to be DJ's best friend from previous life? Tsk tsk." Nandini fanned herself with her hands, and Shamishti aimed a pillow at her Laptop screen.

"Shona! I'm going to fly to India, if you don't stop with your drama." Shamishti warned Nandini, who nodded at her. "Offf-course! Drama tho mein kar rahi hun, jo pichle 10 minutes se chup hun." Nandini grinned, and Shamishti huffed.

"So what am I supposed to do? You just dropped a bomb on my head." Shamishti pouted, and Nandini rolled her eyes. "He doesn't deserve your respect, Ma." Nandini commented, leading her mother to sigh. "Shona! How many times should I ask you to start respecting your DJ? Appa hai wo tera Appa ke. You're his blood, Shona." Shamishti scolded Nandini, lightly. It was no secret to anyone out there that Nandini was never known to anger of her parents, for they were never disappointed in her.

"Yeah! Appa was his blood too, Ma. Right? Kyuni jahan thak mujhe yaad hai, he kicked Appa out of his own home." Nandini pointed out, and Shamishti let out multiple sighs. "He eloped with me, Shona. Maybe, if we had stayed there, then your DJ--" Shamishti couldn't complete, as Nandini banged her head on her bed's headboard.

"Could have accepted you! Yes, I've been hearing it for the past 15 years. Go on and believe in it, but I won't. DJ will always remain a man who's father to my father. Aur jo kuch bhi mein kar rahi hun, wo apke aur Appa ki khushi keliye hain. This wouldn't change my feelings for my GRANDFATHER." Nandini said. "End of discussion. Now, wo sab chod, and listen Ma. Do you know who I met today?" Nandini sat up, all excited, and Shamishti encouraged her to go ahead.

"I met Dad today." she squealed in delight. "WHAT?" Shamishti screamed, and Nandini just knew the night isn't ending any sooner.

Next morning

"Mruno! I'm leaving. Not coming?" Nandini called out for Mrunal, while packing her bag with her necessities. "Nope. My timing for today is from afternoon till night." Mrunal replied, munching on her cookies, who was seated on the dining table.

"Alright! Miss me, khuni." Nandini blew a kiss to Mrunal, who blew a kiss in return. "Never, witch." she replied, and Nandini opened the entrance door, only for someone to bang in her.

"Owwwww!" she hissed, gaining Mrunal's attention, who jumped off the table and rushed towards the entrance. "What's wrong?" Mrunal cried out, only to see two bodies laid on the ground, wincing in pain.

"Fluffy? Why the hell are you on the floor?" Mrunal bent to help Nandini up on her feet, and then looked down at the person. "What is your Malhotra kid doing here?" Mrunal wondered out loud, and Nandini smacked in Manik's head, who was still wincing in pain.

"What the hell, Lilliput?! I'm already on the ground because of you, and now you're hitting me?" he growled out, and Nandini glared down at him. "How in the hell should I react when you decided to sleep on my entrance door that you came along with the door, when I opened it?!" she barked out, and Mrunal looked at the duo, wordlessly.

"Did I get kick out of my home that I decide to sleep on your DOOR? I freaking was about to knock at your door." he yelled out. "Now, can someone help me?" He held onto his hip, and Nandini held his arm to pull him up, while Mrunal stood clueless.

"Bahar doorbell lagaya hain. Dikhayi nahi diya aapko? Koi nahi, I'll change it." Mrunal fished a pen out of her pocket, and walked outside and wrote DOORBELL in block letters just above the doorbell. "Now, you don't need to try knocking at door and and knock yourself down. Wow! That rhymed. Anyhow, just know that we don't do grand welcomes." and Mrunal walked inside, flipping her hair backwards.

While Manik's eyes were widened and staring at Mrunal's retreating figure. 

"Is she okay?" he asked, still in shock, and looked back at Nandini, who was rotating her neck in clockwise motion. "She is. If not, she would have smacked in your head rather than being polite and writing Doorbell outside. She is very patient, in the early mornings." Nandini replied, and Manik shook his head.

"Should have guessed it." He murmured. "Now, will you tell me to what do I owe this visit?" she asked, and Manik went and sat on her couch, straightaway. 

"Dharam Chachu interrogated me." he sighed out tiredly, and Nandini was by his side, the next second. "Really?" she looked at him, expectantly, and he squinted his eyes at her, accusingly.

"You didn't tell me that you would expose me as an obscurantist!" he accused, while glaring at her, who rolled her eyes at him. "Have you come to a conclusion on why I call you Malhotra kid?" she asked, in return, and Manik looked at her questioningly.

"You whine like a kid. Another reason to call you Malhotra kid." she said, and he hissed out angrily. "Lilliput." he growled out loud, only for her to glare up at him. "Do not call me THAT." she seethed, and he smirked.

"With pleasure, LILLIPUT!" He grinned at her, and she was about to pull at his hair, when a whiff of something hit her nostrils. A kind of aroma she isn't pleased with!

"Here! Your coffee, Fluffy's Malhotra kid." Mrunal forwarded the cup of coffee to Manik. "It might calm you down." Manik took it from her hand, and passed a smile filled with gratefulness towards her. "You're lucky its morning now. Or else, I would have gotten you cow dung instead of coffee." Mrunal added, while sitting on the opposite couch, and the smile on Manik's face vanished into thin air.

"Damn! That hurts my nostrils a lot." Nandini stood up and opened the window, to breathe in fresh air. "The hell is wrong with you, Mruno?!" she barked out, and Mrunal shrugged. "As per my knowledge, the only drink that calms a sadu down, is Caffeine." Mrunal replied, and Manik's head shot upwards, in shock.

"A sadu?" he asked, looking at himself, and then at Mrunal, completely offended.

"So what should I call a person who comes to our home, uninvited?" she asked, and Manik stared at Nandini. "You said she would be polite in morning times. You call this polite, Lilliput?" he asked, and Mrunal's eyes widened.

"Lilliput?" she cried out, in shock, and then looked at Nandini, who looked ready to murder Manik. "Well, that's what I call her. I mean, look at her size." Manik grinned, and Mrunal busted out laughing.

"Well! Rest in Peace!" Mrunal said, and the next second, Nandini was pulling at Manik's hairs. "You Grumpy insaan, who can only love and marry a cup of coffee! How dare you call me that?!" she screamed, and started to hit in Manik's stomach, who got up from the couch and started to run around the living room, with Nandini behind him.

"Tho kya ab Blefuscu bulaoon?" Manik asked, and Nandini's pace increased. "You Grumpy mood kid. You..you..you..GRUMPY COFFEE, I'm gonna kill you." she screamed, before pouncing on him, and the exact moment, someone walked in.

"Manik? Nandini?" the person looked at them in shock, and the duo looked up the second time, sprawled on the ground.

"Grand Pa?" Nandini questioned, and Raj groaned, while Manik looked at her, in shock.

"Why is everyone at our place today?!" Mrunal let out a tired sigh.

***

"Dharam Bhai? You met Dharam Bhai?" Raj's eyes were widened, and Nandini nodded in positive. "And you told him that you're Manik's girlfriend?" his eyes got widened a bit more, and Nandini nodded again.

"You freaking serious?" he cried out, and Manik bobbed his head. "Exactly, Dad! She freaking betrayed me, and Chachu asked how could I not tell him about my girlfriend." Manik complained, and Nandini squinted her eyes at him.

"Weren't you planning to introduce me to Murthys as well?" she asked. "Of course, I had that planned in mind. But that's different from him finding out about you from yourself. Had I introduced you to him, myself, then he wouldn't have accused me." he threw his hands in air, in frustration.

"How exactly is it different? If you introduce me or I introduce myself, he'll question you for hiding me from them, for the past 2 months. You'll make up an excuse in there too. Jaise bhi ho, we're lying again." she stated, and his mouth got zipped.

"But I still wouldn't have been so shocked when he suddenly came up to me and asked who Nandini is to me!" he argued, and she smirked. "That means, he believed in my words. Not bad! Agar mein try karun tho Dad melt hojayega." she grinned, and Manik gave her a sarcasm filled smile.

"Of course! Agar aur try karun tho mere soul bhi melt hojayega. And then I would become hawa." Manik taunted, and Nandini gave him a bored look. "Jithna whine tum karthe ho, uske hisaab se tum already mereliye hawa ho." she attacked back, and he growled out like some animal.

"Will you guys stop it?" Raj screamed, halting their fight. But the next moment he heard someone munching onto something. Manik and Raj turned to the voice only to see Mrunal eating chips.

"She's a lot polite in the mornings, and for that to continue till afternoon, she eats a lot." Nandini filled in the information, and the father-son duo kept staring at Mrunal, before staring at each other.

"Let's not comment about it, Dad." said Manik sighing out tiredly, and Raj agreed to it, immediately.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Raj questioned, and Manik stood up and pulled Nandini up on her feet as well. "Filhall, plan is made by Dharam Chachu. He said, I will have to take Nandini home. Yaani, their home." said Manik, and looked at Nandini, who pulled her hand back from his hold.

"Not happening. I will not come to meet Murthys." she stated, and he looked at her questioningly. "And why exactly won't you come?" he questioned, and she shrugged. "Do I look like I'm answerable to you? Nope. Nada. So yeah, back off, Grumpy coffee slash kid." she declared, and his nostrils flared, before he bent and threw her over his shoulders, upside down.

"What the heck!" she screeched loudly. "I'm gonna take you somewhere private, where there's no audience so that I don't get insulted in front of my dad." he barked out, before climbing up the stairs.

While all Raj did was to stare at him.

"My son just threw a woman over his shoulders, when he apologizes to women even when he happens to block their walking path, accidentally." Raj commented, before looking at Mrunal. "Isn't that weird? Claiming rights is something done by a man when he's with His Woman." he added, and Mrunal looked up at Raj, from the stairway, where her eyes were digging holes, until now.

"Fluffy doesn't like a man touching her. She doesn't even like a man staring at her for more than 2 seconds, that she would go and punch in his face even if he was a restaurant cashier who's waiting for her to take money from her pouch." Mrunal looked back at the stairway, in shock. "And here, she didn't even kick him in the pants."she added, and Raj's eyes widened.

"What? He has the right to become a father, child." Raj cried out, and Mrunal shrugged. "He's lucky then. Fluffy didn't kick him in there." she said, and Raj sighed in relief. "Yet." she added, only for him to go haywire.

Poor Raj!

***

"Stop hitting me, Lilliput." Manik dodged Nandini's punches, who was busy trying to change the shape of Manik's face, the moment she got back on the ground.

"How dare you touch me?" she barked out loud, before she managed to give him one successful punch in his jaw. "Good!" she stated, and sat on her bed, while Manik pressed onto his jaw, in pain.

"Khathi kya ho tum?(What do you eat?)" he growled out, and she glared up at him. "Hathi khathi hun.(I eat Elephant.)" she replied, and he shot daggers at her, through his eyes.

"That hurts, Lilliput." he winced, before settling himself on the couch. "It should. I'm a boxing champion." she said, and his eyes widened, before he looked at her from top to bottom. "Well! Didn't expect that." he commented, and she rolled her eyes at it.

"Now! Will you tell me why can't you come with me to Murthys?" he asked, while adjusting his jaw. "I'm not coming, that's it." she declared, and he sighed.

"I know there's some issue, Nandini." he said, and she nodded. "Yes. But I don't want to talk about it." she said, and he kept staring at her.

"You don't like opening up yourself to people, don't you?" he asked, and she shrugged. "That's something I got from my Ma. She never liked sharing thoughts with someone until she trusts that person." she replied, and Manik nodded.

"So I will have to gain your trust to know the reason, then." he stood up and looked around. "Fine! I will have to make up an excuse, then." he turned around to leave.

"Hey, Mr. Grumpy coffee." she called out, and he looked back at her to glare at her. "Had I not trusted you, I wouldn't have made you my fake boyfriend or like..kicked you out of my bedroom, right now." she said, and his eyes softened. 

"Tell him that I'm always at work, in the early morning." she stood up and walked towards where Manik stood. "Which is the truth. He can come and meet me in the hospital. Now if he wants me to meet their family, then I'll come to Malhotra Mansion. Is there any way for you to bring them there, just to meet me?" she asked, and he looked at her.

"And you don't have a problem in meeting them, at my place?" he asked, and she shrugged. "I wouldn't have suggested that, if I had a problem. Ab chalo, I need to leave. I really have an early appointment today." she said, and turned to leave when he stopped her by holding her hand.

She looked back at him, questioningly. "I really can punch you again."she said, and he smiled lightly.

"Jahan apne Ma ke jagah nahi, waha jagah nahi banana hain. Kyu?" he asked, and her eyes widened a little, with her hand feeling light in his hand. He moved a bit closer to her, and smiled down at her. "But you'll make a place for your mother, in there. I have full belief in it." and he walked out of the room, leaving a puzzled Nandini behind.

"How can he just..know me well, in a few days?" she questioned herself, but she never got any answer. "And why the hell didn't I react when he stood that close to me?!" she questioned herself, again, but there was no answer, yet again.

Maybe she will have, in the future!

***

How was the chapter?

Are you liking the chemistry between MaNan, in this book? 

What do you think about Grandpa, though?

With love,

Affu.