Hello Fam :)

NOTE - As I said, I am back to college, I don't have an internet issue but there's a lot of work that I am doing. (I think I have around 20 images of the high-resolution pure night sky with the brightest stars and galaxies around ours :P). That's part of my work. Hence, regarding the updates, I will try to write during the weekdays and update the chapters during the weekend. I hope that's okay. :)

Happy Reading...

Manik woke up early in the morning and found Nandini sleeping. Since it was only six and she wouldn't go to sleep before dawn, he took his clothes silently and slipped in for a shower. Half an hour later, without making a noise, he went to find Nyonika.

"Aren't you up too early for a newlywed guy?", teased his mother as a greeting. Going by all the sweat glistening her face, she might have just returned from her morning workout.

Manik fought his blush with an eye-roll. What was his mental state when he decided to confess his love story to his mom? She was worse than Cabir. "Good morning to you too, mom", he said and settled down on the couch as she went to freshen up before sitting beside him.

"What's up, Manik? Is everything alright?", she asked.

"Nandini said she was angry and was rude to you yesterday. I wanted to apologize on her behalf."

Nyonika laughed out. "It's fine, Manik. I didn't mind. Anyway, anger suits a Malhotra woman, you know. It keeps the Malhotra boys in check."

Manik rolled his eyes but didn't try to hide the smile on his face. "Only you could be happy with people close to you bossing over you", he said. He bit his lip when he realized what he had uttered but when his mother didn't reject him outright, Manik crossed his fingers. "Is it safe to assume that Nandini is close to you?", he muttered and prayed that the loud thudding of his heart wasn't audible to his mom.

Nyonika waited for a moment but when Manik dared himself to glance up at her, she was already staring at him, a smirk on her face. When he whined, she ruffled his hair. "It's fun to finally see you getting worked up for a girl instead of a new book", she teased him before smiling. It was soft and probably one of those rare smiles his mother hides. "I love her, Manik. She makes you happy and the argument should actually be over at that point. But she is also smart and strong and has the potential to keep a family from falling apart. It's obvious from the way she has done that to keep her friends safe. I don't think there's anything that gives me a reason to dislike her."

Manik released the breath he was holding as a chuckle. "And there she thinks you would hate her after yesterday."

"Maybe it's my time to take a step towards her?", she thought aloud before asking Manik, "how is the recovery coming on?"

"She is scared but trying, maybe. Or it was just one case", he said and explained her encounter with Meera yesterday. "It's like she is opening up but there's a lot inside her head. She gets lost in her own thoughts without realizing who's beside her. Sometimes I don't know how to react."

"Maybe accept her without a question. That helps sometimes at the same time don't leave it to her head for long hours. There's a thin line between helping her recover and coddling. I don't think she would appreciate the latter much", she said and patted his hand. "Breakfast?"

Manik nodded absent-mindedly. He snapped when Nyonika kissed the top of his head, taking him by surprise. Even if it was years since when his mother had started opening up, any form of affection still threw him off-guard.

"You are doing really good, kid. But healing doesn't have a shortcut. Let's put all our efforts and then wait for the results", she told. This time, she dragged him by his hand.

XXX

At the breakfast table, Nyonika's words were still playing inside Manik's head. He didn't know how much he could push Nandini to open up without messing any of the progress. There was a thin line between giving her space and leaving them to deal with their troubles themselves. And Manik never wanted to put that idea into her head where she would feel alone. If it was the last thing he had to do, so be it. His mental argument was broken by a clearing of his throat. Manik looked up to find Cabir.

"Why are we mourning exactly?", he said.

Manik blinked his eyes before looking at his mother. She rolled her eyes at her son but didn't answer. "What are you saying?", asked Manik.

Cabir shrugged. "It's so silent here. I thought someone died."

Manik rolled his eyes, coming out of his thoughts. "Of course, baby. How can we eat without talking and pouring food all over us?"

"I don't", protested Cabir.

While they bantered to and fro, Manik, through the corner of his eyes, saw Nandini gaping at them.

"Nandini, ignore them. It's their normal", said Nyonika.

Even though Manik still treated Cabir as his baby, a part of him always would, but over the years, the younger twin stopped treating him as a glass-doll. It resulted in a few banters and playful punches but Manik felt it only made their bond stronger. And there was one person he would always be thankful for.

"Yes, ma'am", muttered Nandini beside him.

Everything halted at once as Nyonika choked on her juice. The boys exchanged a look between themselves while their mother composed herself as she stared at Nandini. "Nandini, we are family, kid. You can't call me ma'am. If you are comfortable enough, call me mom as Manik does."

Manik held his breath, waiting for Nandini's answer. When she shifted on her seat, uncomfortably, he squeezed her hand from under the table. Instead of pulling her hand away, when she held onto it, he thought it was the right move.

"Can I call you 'Aunty'?", said Nandini, staring at her plate, and chuckled nervously. "I don't have good memories associated with the word 'mom'. Abhimanyu's mom is the only maternal-figure I had and I used to call her Ishu. It wouldn't be decent now." To call her 'Nyonika', she didn't add but it was there.

"Call whatever you are comfortable with, Nandini, but remember one thing", said Nyonika and waited until the girl looked up at her. When Nandini did, she threw in one of her sweetest smiles at her. "There's a lot of difference between giving birth to a child and becoming their mother. It's an honor to be called a mother. And if there are people who don't value it, you don't need to care about them." Nyonika held her gaze until Nandini nodded at her. Though the girl averted her eyes as soon, the older woman had let it go. "Guys, I need to make a call", she announced and left the table.

On her way out when she patted Nandini's head, Manik muttered a 'Love you' to his mom and chuckled when she winked at him. As promised, his mother had taken her first step towards Nandini.

Once, Nandini was sure Nyonika was out of the room, she sagged in her chair.

"I told you, mom is cool", said Manik, letting out a laugh. Because the tough head girl was afraid of the businesswoman? It was one of the interactions he wanted to witness ever since his mother had mentioned meeting Nandini all those years back at a party.

"How would I know?", asked Nandini. "She was always a terrific businesswoman for me."

Cabir waggled his eyebrows. "She is a lot more than a perfect businesswoman, Nandini. She is just keeping low to impress you but once she is at it, she can be as dramatic as my mother."

Manik burst out laughing and threw an apple at his brother, asking him to shut up.

XXX

It was two days later when Nandini realized she needed help in understanding her own office papers. Manik helped her by talking to her office staff and got the details of all the deals during the past few years. She realized she didn't know half of the people the Murthys had tried to sneak inside the business deals. It was surprising how the company didn't go into bankruptcy already. She sighed and called Manik.

"Hey, how are you?", he asked her as a greeting.

It was always the first question he asked about how she was. He would make sure she was all fine before going further into any conversation. The gesture always warms her heart, no matter how many times it has happened already. "You just saw me an hour back, Manik."

"Yeah, I know. But-"

She bit her lip to suppress a chuckle when he stuttered for a reason. "I am fine. I just wanted to know when you are coming back home."

"Nandini, yaar", he said. There was a little whine. "There's a lot of work pending. I don't think I can make it home tonight."

Bhai, stop being dramatic. We will reach home just fine.

It was Cabir in the background. Nandini chuckled. "Since when are you the dramatic one and your brother the sane one?"

"You know what? I have no idea", said Manik. "Hey, Nandini, don't wait up for me. You go to sleep after having your dinner."

Nandini rolled her eyes. "Manik, it's still ten in the morning."

"I know. I am talking about later. I really don't think I can make it home tonight. Anyways, I will call you later to confirm."

"Sure. Don't stress too much", she said. She could almost feel Manik smiling. It was so easy to bring a smile to his face. She fell on the bed with a thud. Manik was her safe space to ask any question. She didn't have to think too much when she's around him. It looks like her safe space is out of the option to get her work done as of now. The only person she could have access to was Nyonika Malhotra and for the next half an hour, Nandini had prepared herself to have a meeting with the woman.

XXX

Nyonika's room was at the far end of the floor. With every step, Nandini had enough time to think and overthink her decision to turn around and wait for Manik but she knew her brain would explode with all the 'what ifs'. By the time she finally knocked on Nyonika's door, she had another question in her mind, the one that had been troubling her since the day she arrived at the Malhotra household and there was no looking back if she needed an answer for that.

"Nandini, what are you doing there? Come in", said Nyonika.

Nandini had caught the surprise on her face before Nyonika had replaced it with a smile. Once she took her seat, the older woman had put the book she was reading aside.

"Are you having trouble with this?", she said, raising an eyebrow at the file in her hand.

Nandini nodded. "Yeah. I am unable to tally these. There are a few names I haven't ever heard about. They kept me out of loops in so many deals."

"Do you have another copy of this? Can we write something on these?", she asked.

Nandini nodded again. Manik had got her the soft copy of all the documents.

Nyonika frowned looking at the file. "Why don't you get the pencil from my table?", she said without taking her eyes off the file.

For the rest of the day, they had worked on the file, filtering out the genuine partners to the ones who were good acquaintances of her parents. Fortunately for them, Nyonika already had a copy of Murthy Industry's profile during the past few years. When Nandini asked her, she shrugged.

"When I heard that you took over the company, even anonymously, I was curious regarding your work. I was impressed by our talk during that party. Hence, I followed it as time pass. But it confused me. Some of the people you were associating with were good. Some of the deals were genuine. But the others are the reason I kept them away from my company. I guess now I know why", explained Nyonika, as she stared at the file with disdain.

There was something in her tone that made Nandini feel secure. She was hating them on Nandini's behalf. It gave her the courage to blurt out her question. "Are you really happy with me marrying Manik?", she asked and stared at her lap when Nyonika snapped her head towards her due to the sudden change in the question. "I have wanted to ask you this since the time I came here. I barged into your lives unannounced without your consent."

Nandini was startled when Nyonika squeezed her arm. "I was angry initially, yes. But I know Manik is anything but reckless. He wouldn't do a thing without thinking it through. He might be telling everyone that marrying you was a spur in the moment act but trust me, Nandini, he must have been thinking so long about at least bringing you out of that house. Manik just doesn't realize how strong his thought process is."

It didn't answer her question but Nandini didn't say a word.

Nyonika left her hand. It looked as if she was treading her words carefully. "Nandini, Manik was never in love with anyone before. He never talked to me about any girl before. You were the first one he had claimed as your friend in front of me and he specifically came to me to tell me that because he didn't want to hide your friendship as a secret. He thought it would insult you and me both."

There was a smile on her face. Who would have thought Manik Malhotra would openly claim their friendship when he refused to acknowledge knowing her a few months prior to that?

Nyonika, who might have seen the smile, patted her head. "You are one first one with whom he is as comfortable as he is with us. So, for a fact, I know you mean a lot to him. Coming to the barging unannounced part, I understand the conditions in which you both got married. I never cared about any ritual before. You are the strongest person I have met and I couldn't have chosen a better person for my Manik."

Nandini bit her lip. Manik deserved the best, better than someone whose life is shattered into a million pieces and he had to pick them all up. She didn't say anything.

Nyonika patted her head again, bringing her into the present. "So, take good care of him, don't break his heart, and you will always find yourself as a part of my family. But then again, you have freedom, Nandini. You don't have to force yourself into something you don't want to do. If Manik is getting hurt because you chose your freedom, he is a big boy and would know how to recover himself. Why don't we take a break now?"

Nandini left the room after muttering a faint 'thank you'. She didn't know what to think about their conversation but there was one thing she was sure of. No hurt would ever come in the vicinity of Manik Malhotra. If it was the last thing she had to do, so be it. 

So, that's the Malhotras showering random love on Nandini. I hope the chapter's fine. Let's see where the story takes us further. 

There might be a surprise during the next chapter. :P