Hello Fam :)

Warning: It's long. :)

Happy Reading...

Nandini woke up early in the morning, pressed against a warm body. Though startled initially, she calmed herself down when the previous night's events surfaced in her mind. It was only Manik. She concentrated on his heartbeat again. Manik's actions last night didn't point it out as if he were giving her a divorce. She was lost in her thoughts, absently playing with one of his shirt buttons when she felt Manik shifting beside her. His arm was loosely wrapped around her and Nandini hadn't made any effort to free herself.

"Nandini, I apologize for coming here. You were shivering and-"

His voice was hoarse with sleep and he stopped midway when she lifted her head up to look at him and then put it back on his heart again without a word. "I got scared", she whispered. She didn't know what she would do if at all Manik decided to divorce her. Neither does she have a place to go nor does she have anything left except for a company that's running in losses. That's without considering her the mess that emotions were lately and how she was depending on Manik to keep her head clear.

"I know. I remember", whispered back Manik, caressing her head with one hand as he put the other one below his head.

Maybe he thought she was talking about the thunders but Nandini didn't correct him. Right at this moment beside Manik, it was peaceful and she would choose this in favor of ignoring the whole world any day.

Good morning, love birds.

And there goes her peaceful morning, thought Nandini as Cabir welcomed himself into their room. She didn't bother to lift her head this time and could almost feel the smirk on the younger Malhotra's face but who cares?

"I thought to check if any of you is pregnant again", said Cabir.

Nandini threw a pillow at him in answer. She closed her eyes until it was silent again and drifted to sleep.

XXX

When Nandini woke up three hours later, feeling refreshed, she found Manik still sleeping. She chuckled remembering his plan to catch up on his sleep. Looks like her husband had every idea to accomplish the plan. Freeing herself, she got ready without making a noise and went out to find some food.

After coming to the Malhotra house, Nandini hadn't ever stepped inside the kitchen and she wasn't sure if she was allowed to or not. Crossing her fingers, she took a step in and was surprised to find Cabir all alone inside instead of the cooks.

"I am hungry", she declared. Because Cabir was her next safe person after Manik. She didn't really need to have any filter with him even if she didn't understand him half of the time.

"You think I am dancing here? I am hungry too", he said, without turning back.

The familiarity of a brewing fight made her smile. "You didn't have your breakfast?"

"No, I went to sleep again. I was tired."

Nandini sighed. The idiotic Malhotra brothers. "I know. Manik is still sleeping."

Cabir chuckled, shaking his head. "Bhai wouldn't compromise on his sleep. He is like a camel when it comes to his sleep. He would go days without sleep and then sleeps for days when he is done with his work. But I have my priorities. Food is an essential element for the cells inside to breathe."

Nandini rolled her eyes. The guy wasn't even a science student. She glanced at him and wondered if he was collecting the vegetables. There was at least one of a kind that was available in the market. "What are you making?"

"The Nation's food, Maggi", he said. "Have you ever cooked Maggi?"

"No. It was always Abhimanyu. Or I would ask the butlers."

"Great. I usually don't cook but today we are cooking for ourselves", said Cabir.

What's up with the boy and his concentration on the vegetables? Nandini nodded as he instructed her to cut the vegetables. Who would have known she would be helping the Jungli Malhotra in cooking food? Wait a second. Jungli Malhotra? "Hey, didn't you cook for yourself during your camps?"

Cabir shrugged. "We usually travel in groups and someone always did the cooking part. If I had to travel alone, I would take loads of packaged ones. Readymade."

"So, you are trying to say, you haven't ever cooked in your life?", asked Nandini. No answer. "You don't know how to cook and you idiot, you made us cook for you during the outing. You took us so that you don't have to cook?"

The idiot in front of her had the nerve to smirk at her.

"Does Manik know about this?"

"That I can't cook? There's nothing about me that my brother doesn't know."

She raised her knife in a warning. "That you tricked us, idiot. Stop flaunting your love towards your brother every chance you get."

"Stop being jealous."

Jealous? She was Manik's wife for god sake. Instead, Nandini crossed her arms. "Why aren't you asking someone to cook for you? Why do you have to experiment?"

He sighed dramatically. "Because I had my ego crushed. Mom and Bhai think I can't cook if I have to save my life and I am trying to prove them wrong. It's a perfect opportunity to teach them a lesson because Manik's sleeping and Mom have gone out for some work", he said.

Nandini contemplated whether to starve herself but be safe or try to help Cabir in his adventure to cook when she found him cutting the brinjal in slices. "Cabir, do you really think we could put brinjal in Maggi?"

"What? It's a vegetable, right? I have taken all the vegetables available in the refrigerator. Haven't you ever googled about brinjal in Maggi?", he asked.

"Why would I google about brinjal in Maggi?"

Cabir shrugged again. "I don't know. Maybe for increasing your knowledge. Anyways, we are done here. Let's start the actual work of our project."

"This is going to end so badly", she muttered under her breath. She was sure it was audible enough to the younger Malhotra twin but he chose to ignore her.

XXX

Manik needed his sleep to function. He could go days without sleep to read his books but once he was done, he would sleep for hours to catch up on it. Usually, his family never disturbed him during that period because the lack of sleep made him irritated. Hence, it wasn't surprising that his mood went sour when he woke up because of a scream. When he realized, it was his mother's and she was yelling at someone, he threw his blanket away and rushed downstairs.

"What the hell did you two do to the kitchen?", asked Nyonika.

Manik found Cabir and Nandini in front of her. He tensed up when he saw Nandini was close to panicking but before he could say anything, his brother was already speaking.

"Mom, we were hungry."

Nyonika gritted her teeth. "Then you could have asked someone to make your food. Cabir, this is the last time I am warning you. If I find you anywhere near the kitchen again, I will hire men to throw you out of here and I don't care if you consider yourself as the prince of this house. For now, clear this mess and wash yourselves. I want the kitchen sparkling clean and your faces decent enough for the people to sit beside you." She threw a glare towards both of them and turned around to leave.

When she saw Manik, she winked at him. He rolled his eyes at her attempt to create another drama before daring himself to glance at the condition of the kitchen. It looked as if there was some heist in the name of searching for food. And maybe something burned too. He crossed his arms and scratched his stubble. There were Maggi packets, sure, but the scene was confusing. "Guys, help me here for a bit. If you were trying to make Maggi, why is the flour down and all over you?"

"Good question, Manik", said Cabir. "Nandini, do you remember, why did we take the flour out?"

Manik rolled his eyes, this time at his brother when his eyes landed at Nandini. She was still in panic mode. "Nandini, it's okay. The kitchen will shine in some time. Don't worry."

"And you will help us clean it. Please, Bhai. Pretty please", said Cabir, pleading through joining hands and batting his eyes.

He chuckled. "Baby, that face doesn't have the usual effect with all the flour on your face." But Manik rolled his sleeves to start helping them. He was stopped by Nandini holding his wrist and saw the frown on her head.

"You can't help us. You are tired already and we created the mess."

Manik squeezed her upper arm. "I am never tired for my family, Nandini." She said, 'you can't help us' and not 'you shouldn't help us' and he thought at least his answer would make things clear for her because that's what families are for. They help each other in need. With the three of them, it didn't take much time. "It's decent", said Manik, once the kitchen was in a proper condition. "Why don't you two freshen up. I will ask someone to get us some food."

XXX

When Nandini came down after freshening up, Cabir was already there. Manik was beside him, ruffling his hair as the younger twin complained about something. On seeing Nandini, Manik forwarded his hand towards her and made her sit beside his brother before pulling out two bars of chocolate from his pocket. Cabir jumped on his brother, thanking him, and screaming about being the best brother in the whole world, while Nandini tried not to cry in front of them. Manik used to give her chocolates during their college because it produced happy hormones but after their college, neither did she get any chocolates nor did anyone bother to see if she had any happy hormones left in her body.

Manik pulled her into a side hug. "You wouldn't miss these again", he whispered into her ear.

While they were having their food, something struck Nandini about Nyonika and she didn't know what to think about it.

"All okay there, fighter?" asked Cabir.

Nandini nodded. "Why didn't Nyonika Aunty scold me?"

"What?", asked Manik.

"While she was yelling at Cabir in the kitchen, she never once glanced at me?", she muttered. She rebelled whenever her parents made a scene out of her life but today when Nyonika was scolding her son, she felt like an outsider inside the house who is excused for every mistake they did. Maybe she really was an outsider?

"Nandini, do you really believe that?", asked Cabir.

Manik chuckled. "Nandini, she was acting to be mad at Cabir. She must be overjoyed inside having caught him. These two are the dramatic ones at home. Mom is subtle. You wouldn't differentiate between her serious face and joking ones until you had enough practice."

It might probably be right but it was difficult to believe when all her life she has been taunted and criticized for every single step she has taken. Hence, after breakfast, Nandini found herself in Nyonika's room. They have reached a point where they don't watch every word they spoke to each other. It was a different level of comfort altogether. "Are you busy?", she asked.

"Not at all, Nandini", said Nyonika. "Come in." She switched her laptop and kept it aside to give Nandini her full attention.

It was another thing about Nyonika that Nandini noticed. Irrespective of time or place, whenever one of the kids approached her in her room, she would give them all her attention. It doesn't matter what she was doing, everything was kept aside until the person was out of the room, their troubled mind sorted.

"I am sorry for what happened in the kitchen. I shouldn't have done that", started Nandini.

Nyonika waved her off. "Oh, come on. Are you serious? Apart from the wasted food, I am not complaining."

"But you screamed at Cabir while I deserve the same thing", muttered Nandini.

Nyonika shakes her head before patting on the bed, asking her to sit down. She squeezed her hand and let it be there. "Nandini, I don't know how things were at your place. But in a proper home, when kids do something wrong, the elders will scold them. Maybe a slap or two and that's just to discipline them while they are younger. As they grow up it's a stern look or a scream. When all the sad parts are over, which is within a few hours at max, they take the kids into their arms and pour all the love on them, irrespective of their age."

To demonstrate her words, she wrapped her hands loosely around Nandini, giving her enough time and space to break the hug.

"And this is your home now, kid."

It was the last straw and she broke down in the arms of a woman who made her feel the rare motherly love for the first time in years. Sure, Ishita was a mother figure for her but then she was Abhimanyu's mom and Nandini was always scared to get close to someone, afraid she would lose them anyway. But Nyonika Malhotra? No one can touch Nyonika Malhotra and stay alive. When Nandini hugged her tight, the woman only tightened her grip on her. It felt as if some of the broken pieces of her heart were gluing together.

They stayed like that for a long time and when Nandini felt calm enough to break the hug, she wiped her eyes and looked at the older woman. "I stopped calling my mother 'mom' when I was nine. Since then she was just 'Mrs. Murthy' for me and I was a stranger in my own house. After some point, I realized I didn't deserve to be loved. I pushed everyone away because I thought they would change like my parents did and I didn't want to get my trust broken all over again." There was no context as to why she blurted out her feelings. She, Nandini Murthy, talking about feelings is a far fetched idea but Nyonika was making her want to tell all the secrets hidden in the darkest corners of her heart.

Nyonika cupped her face and wiped the tears away. "You know I have always wanted a daughter. Daughters are a blessing and we can share anything and everything with them. When I was pregnant, I hoped it was a girl. We had all the dresses ready too but then we had twins, both boys. It was a major blow to us. Out of the two, Cabir had the soft babyface when he was born and we used to dress him up as a girl. That's one of the reasons why Raj was closest to Cabir. He never used to put the kid down."

Nandini chuckled. Cabir in a girl's dress. For all his manliness and swag during college, it was really new. "You gave me a point to tease him."

"Remind me later. I had his photos too somewhere. I will give it to you", she whispered.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world", said Nandini, laughing. Four years prior, who would have known, she would not only be having a heart to heart but also plan conspiracies with the woman she admired and somewhat thought was scary. She didn't realize when she started laughing between the emotional moments but then Nandini saw Nyonika gazing at her, unblinking and she felt self-conscious. With the tear stains on her face and the emotional mess she was in right now, she might be looking like a clown.

Nyonika shook her head and wiped Nandini's face again. "You remind me of my Manik so much. I never realized how similar you both were even with your different personalities. God, you are so vulnerable."

She muttered the last one to herself but Nandini didn't know what to make from it. She guessed it was something to do with Manik all those years back. He was so vulnerable in this cruel world when she first met him. Every nerve inside Nandini's brain was itching to ask her the question but she was holding herself because there was something building between them. As much as she wanted to know about Manik, she didn't want to lose Nyonika too. A part of her conflict might have shown on her face.

"I am sorry", muttered Nyonika.

Nandini frowned. What was she sorry about?

"Did Manik ever tell you about his dad?", she asked out of the blue.

Nandini nodded. "I know he died when Manik was young and you sent him to England later." There she had hinted at it but there was something else. "Are you comfortable talking about him? I have never seen you talking about him ever."

"When did we even talk properly?", teased Nyonika.

Nandini felt herself blushing as she put an invisible strand of hair behind her ear. "I used to follow all your interviews and articles during college days. You were my role model."

If Nyonika was surprised, she didn't show it. "Raj was diagnosed with cancer when Manik was 10. Last stage. The doctors gave him a six months deadline. I was an orphan and he had lost his family. We were the only ones we had for each other and our kids. He wanted to make our lives secure and started working overtime, preparing all the documents before he could lose any more time. He appointed someone to help him with the work, his assistant. With him spending all the time in the company, they grew closer. We started having fights. After the twins were born, I gave up working in the company even if I occasionally took care of some projects at home.

"His health deteriorated when it was only a month left. He had hidden it well but maybe it took a toll on him, keeping his condition a secret from us. It wasn't until when the girl resigned did we realize how many properties were in her name. She had leaked a few company secrets to our rivals. Raj wasn't in a condition to stress himself more than he was doing. With no other option, I took over the company. That last month was when he apologized to me. We talked and spent every single moment together, whatever time was left after working hours. It was my last chance to preserve him in my memories."

"Manik and Cabir? Do they know about all this?", asked Nandini.

Nyonika shook her head. "They don't know about Raj's affair. They love their father too much. He was their hero. I couldn't tarnish his image in their eyes. They were too young when they had lost their father and it wouldn't be fair to emotionally disconnect them with him. They were young to understand it then and I don't have the courage to bring it up now."

This was the strongest woman she had ever known displaying her own vulnerabilities in front of the girl who was close to losing herself. Drawing from her strength, Nandini took a step ahead and hugged the woman from behind. Before she could regret her decision, Nyonika squeezed her hands that were wrapped around the older woman.

"Is that the reason why you sent Manik away from you?", whispered Nandini.

Nyonika broke the hug and sighed. "Manik, he was a carbon copy of Raj. His outer appearance might resemble mine but other than that, there was so much of Raj inside of him. They were naive. Manik was too naive for his age. Raj knew Cabir's dream of becoming a wildlife photographer. He was the one who helped the boy develop his interest but Manik didn't yet have a clear ambition except losing himself in his books. Raj's logic was twisted. His observations, the way his brain works, it's weird sometimes and he might have seen something in Manik because he wrote Manik as the only heir of Malhotra Industries. That changed everything.

"It was not even a week after his death and we were still mourning him but suddenly everyone was taking an interest in Manik. They offered me to look after him, train him, groom him to be the future CEO of Malhotra Industries. There were even a few marriage proposals, there was a very close kidnapping incident and it was the last straw. The kid was just ten and I had to protect him. Cabir and I were safer because no one had any immediate interest in us. Raj had started a new branch in Durham, a smaller one. We had a villa there and I couldn't think of anything else. With Manik being that kind-hearted good boy, it scared me and I sent him to Durham. There were trusted people to look after him and he went to an all-boys school. We had suffered a betrayal along with cancer. I couldn't let that repeat to my kid again. It was a desperate move to cut his exposure but I thought I was doing right. I assured myself when we went to visit him during the holidays."

It was too much. Nandini's heart ached for Nyonika. Even when Manik was fine and back to her, her voice was shaking as the older woman recollected the past. "During all these years, haven't you ever felt angry at uncle?"

"Family is just like that, Nandini. We forgive each other", she said and crossed her arms. "Anyways, I didn't have him left anymore to stay mad at him. Life took him away from me but that's how life works. We don't stop living for the people who leave us for the ones who stay with us, who are dependent on us, physically and emotionally. You have to move on too, kid. Move on from your parents. They don't deserve your hatred or your time. Concentrate on love. Your friends, the Thakkars, Cabir, Manik and I. We all love you. True, people change and it will hurt when they leave us but that's just the end of their part in our lives and we can't stop living in the present or miss all the happy times just because we are afraid of getting hurt in the future."

"Do you still love him? It has been years", asked Nandini, instead.

Nyonika laughed softly. It was sad but there was love and Nandini could see the answer in that laughter. "Kid, when we really love someone, we can't stop loving them. Because love can't be unloved. People might hide it behind their anger, hurt, disappointment, or ego but can't stop loving the person."

"Does Manik still love me?", she blurted out and bit the inside of her cheek from screaming.

This time Nyonika laughed out loud before wrapping an arm loosely around her. "Why don't you ask him the same? You know when Manik started getting close to a girl again, I was afraid. He was naive and people took advantage of him often. He even lied to me multiple times about you. He never did that before. It was the reason why I wanted to keep you as far from him as possible. Remember that one time you came here?"

Nandini nodded. "It was the day I promised myself never to step inside this house again but this has become my home now. I don't want to leave this place", she confessed and didn't feel ashamed to admit it. This house gave her the family she never had.

Nyonika rolled her eyes as if she had said something ridiculous. "Don't be stupid. You aren't going anywhere. You are my daughter and I don't share my personal secrets with random girls if I don't want them to live with me as part of my family."

"Can I call you, mom?", she blurted again. Probably, the brain to mouth connection was snapped inside Nandini's head today and they were working on their own.

There was a tense silence before Nyonika wrapped her into a hug. When they broke the hug, both the women had tears in their eyes but ignoring everything, Nyonika kissed her head. "I am not losing my daughter or letting any harm come to her vicinity. Thank you for giving me the honor."

Mom, I am resigning from Malhotra Industries.

It was Manik screaming. They wiped their eyes as he stormed into Nyonika's room. In a rare scenario, Manik crossed his arms and huffed in anger. If she wasn't worried about him figuring out something just by looking at her tear-stained, worn face, Nandini would have found it really adorable.

"What's the reason behind this decision, Manik?", asked Nyonika.

"Cabir", complained Manik, "wants to repaint the whole office building. The floor, brown, the walls a mixture of green and brown with sketches of animals everywhere, and the ceiling as blue. He wants to give it a perfect forest look."

Nyonika shook her head. "He might be joking, kid."

"No, I am not", said Cabir, announcing himself into the room. "I want a changeover. I even took the number of Asian paints. Or is Nerolac better? What do you say, Nandini? Deepika or Ranveer?"

"She is my wife, she would support me", told Manik before looking at Nandini. "Nandini, you can't support his stupid plan."

"Guys, I am out of this", she said and left the room.

I can convince her. It was Cabir.

Mom, he can't manipulate my wife.

Then go convince her before he does.

Nandini chuckled as Manik called her name. "Nandini, you can't ditch me like this."

She halted in her place and turned around to face Manik. Before anyone could say anything, she hugged her husband for a brief moment. "I don't know about paints but Manik, I really love your mom."

She left to her room leaving the twins to themselves. She got a mother today and Manik was the reason behind it. She didn't know if she could ever stop being grateful for Manik to come into her life.

XXX

After Nandini left him, confessing her love to his mom, Manik stood stunned. Why did he ever think, they wouldn't get along? It was the greatest feeling for his mother to love the girl he had lost his heart to and the love of his life to love back the woman that mattered the most to him. His two precious ladies to get along was the most precious thing for him. Somehow, it made things easier and lighter.

Cabir bumped his shoulders, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Baby, you know, it wouldn't take much time to change that 'I love your mom' to 'I love you'", he teased.

Manik knew he was blushing but he didn't even feel embarrassed or tried to hide it. Instead, he hugged his brother as Cabir ruffled his hair. 

Trust Nyonika Malhotra to wrap up the emotional conversation in a single chapter. She tried hard to avoid and joke around but they had the talk. I don't know if it's up to the mark about sending Manik away. This chapter was getting postponed since book 1. She was wrong to cut Manik's exposure and she had already apologized multiple times for it. Manik's fine and maybe we could forgive her because she loves her kids so much. 

I hope no one has any more doubts about her character? If you do, do let me know. 

I love Cabir for trying to rile Manik up every time even if he loves his brother to death. This dynamic between them changed after Manik changed. :)

Now, regarding the chat, I am putting up a note after this. Drop-in your questions there. And the link too. 

See you there. :)