Hello Fam :)

Another chapter for Manik, Nandini and Tara because many of you wanted to read more.

Special thank you to this amazing person, Nivedita.  @ManikxNandinii

I was stuck and didn't know how to end it. I didn't want to write any cliche of kids but your idea was superb. All the credits goes to you.

The chapter isn't properly edited. So, there might be a few errors. I will edit it properly in a few days. :)

Happy Reading...

It has been six months after the grand proposal and Nandini was happily married to the love of her life. While they were in London, their parents talked to each other over video calls and decided it was the best time to get them married. She still remembered the day when Manik broke the news to her.

Nandini and Tara were on the break after returning from London. Since Manik went to his apartment to get some fresh clothes for himself, the two best friends were lazing around in Nandini's room. Tara was surfing through her laptop for something interesting but when she couldn't find anything, she shut the laptop with a thud, bringing her best friend out of her trance. She couldn't stop smiling ever since Manik's ring took over her finger.

"Nandu, yaar, I need some drama", whined Tara. "It's getting pretty boring here."

"Haven't you had enough of drama for a lifetime?", asked Nandini, pointing towards her finger. Ever since the day Manik proposed her, her best friend found every other way to tease them and utter cheesy pickup lines.

Tara grinned. "Nah! I am bored of teasing you."

"You know, I will take my revenge?"

"I won't even get married", said Tara, smirking.

Just then, they heard the front door getting opened and shut. A minute later, Manik walked in, his head hung and a huge frown on his face as he took a seat on the couch. The girls got worried.

"Manik, you okay?", asked Nandini, softly.

When he didn't acknowledge her, Tara shouted, "Prophecy child!"

That brought him out of the trance as he looked at them. "Huh?"

"What's behind that look?", asked Tara.

Nandini saw the panic crossing his face as their eyes met. When he looked away just as soon, she frowned. She stood up and walked to him, to reach him but as soon as she touched his shoulder, he jumped back in his seat.

"Don't", he pleaded.

"Relax, yeah?", she said, softly.

"Stay over there, please."

Nandini nodded, not wanting to cause him further stress. As she took a seat on the bed, she found Tara slipping her hand into Nandini's. She looked at her best friend in gratitude but the girl's eyes were fixed on Manik.

"Manik, you are worrying us now", told Tara, "Breath and tell us what happened or do you want me to slap you to reality?"

"Tara", warned Nandini.

Manik shut his eyes closed and took long breaths. When he started speaking, he didn't take his eyes away from Tara. "When I was at my place, I got a call from Uncle. He asked me to come home as soon as possible."

"Are they both fine?", asked Nandini. Her voice felt shaken and probably Manik too felt it because he looked at her, finally.

"They are, Nandini. Stop imagining things. I won't be sitting here like this if something happens to them", he said There was a desperation in his voice but he wasn't annoyed.

"Imagining?", asked Tara in disbelief. "Dude, you are giving her every reason to imagine things. Spit it out already. And don't blabber. Say it in 140 characters, like a Twitter tweet."

Manik bit his lip. "Our parents had a discussion regarding us and they think it would be best if we get married to each other."

"Nandini, get me the popcorn. This is the drama. He brought me the entertainment, my prophecy child. I am a proud mother", whispered Tara to Nandini, earning a glare from her best friend.

"Manik, what's there to panic in this?", asked Nandini, still confused.

"They want you to get married, Nandini, like right now. Aren't you scared?"

"Not right now, Manik. We can always ask them for some time, right?", assured Nandini. She didn't understand the fuss behind Manik's words. Does he want to walk out of the relationship? Is the truth finally coming down on him? The veins in her finger felt contracting under the pressure of his ring.

He was taking long breaths. It was getting difficult for him to breathe, she could see. She wanted to hug the life out of him, to stop him from falling apart but yet she felt like a stranger in front of the person who claimed every cell in her being.

"You don't want this, Nandini. What difference would that make between Rahul and me if I am binding you to me for your entire life? You never wanted this", he explained, his voice just above a whisper.

"If I didn't feel the difference between you and Rahul, I wouldn't have given you a chance at all. If I haven't loved you, if I am not so in love with you, I wouldn't have accepted to marry you, Manik. I know what I want but you are confusing me right now about what you want", she told.

He chuckled sadly. "I want to see you happy. I want to see you smile for the rest of my life. I want to spend every waking hour with you, to see every dream about you. I want to travel the world with you, to make memories with you. When I get old, when I lose the strength in my legs, I want to sit beside you and talk about these memories. I want us to be a family." He shook his head before schooling his features. "It doesn't matter. I don't want to force you into anything", he told and Nandini hated the cold in his voice.

Everything came to a halt when Tara, who was following their conversation like an ongoing tennis match without making a noise, threw a pillow at Manik, who looked shocked at the gesture. "You moron. Did you practice these lines because you didn't like mine?"

"What?"

Nandini wanted to laugh at his confused face. She wanted to slap him till he regained his senses. She wanted to wrap him in a protective blanket and keep him with her, safely. Instead, she chose to sit quietly and let her best friend do the deed for her.

"Nandini, do you want to marry Manik?", asked Tara, suddenly.

Nandini glanced at the man who was staring at his feet. "Yes", she said, firmly. He snapped his head at her so suddenly, she was afraid of him having a whiplash.

"Great", exclaimed her best friend. "Manik, do you want to marry Nandini? Say yes and not an extra word or say no and never ever step in this house again."

Manik looked horrified at Tara. Tara was trying to intimidate her prophecy child. If not for the look on his face, Nandini felt the whole scene hilarious.

"Yes", muttered Manik.

"At last", smiled Tara, sarcastically, before turning to Nandini. "Nandu, I guess you have things to sort out. I will go and get the groceries. Where is the list?"

"On the refrigerator."

Grabbing herself a pullover, she went to hug Manik and pecked his hair. "Thank you for entertaining me with the drama, Prophecy child. We will sharpen these skills later, okay?", she told him brightly.

When Nandini was about to follow her to close the main door, Tara waved her off. "Don't bother. I will lock the door from outside. Don't want my baby to run out on you", she said, pointing to Manik and winked at Nandini before leaving.

Nandini waited till she heard the front door shut. Manik was sitting motionless with his elbows on his knees and his hands covering his face. She shook her head, walked till she was facing him and knelt down in front of him. She held both his wrists and gently took his hands away from his face. "Manik?", she called him, softly.

"I am sorry", he whispered.

"What for?"

"I panicked. I know you have bad memories with the idea of getting married. I don't want all this to happen in a rush. I promised you, I wouldn't ever repeat whatever Rahul had done while you were with him. I tried telling them that, tried asking them time but they looked so happy and excited that I couldn't. They were even discussing the dates and costumes", he ranted.

Nandini tugged at his hands forcing him to look at her. "You know when you promised me that, I didn't believe you. It's not possible and I understood it when I agreed to be in a relationship. But you know what? Sometime later, when I realized how precious you are, I was busy in treasuring every word you spoke, every gesture you made that never once did my past relationship come into my mind. You made me forget every bad memory before you came into my life, Manik. I know what love is but you made me experience the feeling of love. I love you, you love me. Marriage is just an official agreement. Do you think the presence or absence of an official document would make any difference about how we feel for each other?"

"I love you."

She smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. "You scared me, idiot", she muttered in his ear and smiled when he tightened his hold on her. She broke the hug, took a seat beside him and his hand in hers. "I guess we have been avoiding him since long which lead to all these questions in your mind. He doesn't affect me anymore. I have never questioned myself about why I was in a relationship with you as when I was with him. I never felt lonely when I am with you. Even when I am enjoying my alone time, when I am back with you, a joy erupts inside my heart. Your parents don't suffocate me. I love Mukti like my own sister. I have everything with you that I craved for while I was with him."

"What if I am not enough for-"

"Manik", she said, interrupting him midway, "don't go there. I have been there. I ruined my best moods by all the 'what ifs' and trust me it's not worth it. I have always found myself back to you. Do you have any other doubts or questions you need to ask me?"

"Can I kill him please?", pleaded Manik. "I don't like him. He brings the worst in me."

Nandini chuckled. "Your worst is still cuter, Malhotra, even though it frustrates the hell out of me when you beat around the bush and behave like a drama queen instead of properly talking like a normal human being", she teased.

Nandini chuckled at the memory. She glanced beside her and admired her sleeping husband, who was turning in his sleep.

Manik rested his head on her shoulder and wrapped his hand around her waist, pulling her closer. "Sleep", he grogged sleepily, "not morning yet."

Nandini rolled her eyes as she ran her hands through his hair. She loved his hair, loved his morning sleepy voice, his smile and literally everything about him. He was the best thing that has happened to her.

The sound from the kitchen told her, Tara was up. Since Manik was even a bigger sleepyhead than Tara, she made it her business to wake up before him and irritate the hell out of him in the morning. Ever since Manik shifted into their apartment, Nandini felt relief on being freed from the duty of waking her best friend to work.

Since Manik and Nandini talked about Rahul properly and she assured him, he would never ever come close to what Rahul was along with examples, Nandini felt her bond with him growing stronger. When Tara returned from shopping later, she made Manik promise to talk it out if he ever felt like a stupid again instead of panicking and making everyone worried. Since then, Manik found Nandini every time there was a doubt.

When a week was left for Nandini's wedding, Manik and she were all cooped up in her room. She was supposed to leave for her parents place the next day and even Manik's family was flying down to Mumbai. They have applied for a leave together and were working on the final changes of a project that they had to submit before they get busy with the wedding rituals. Nandini sighed when finally they got the desired outcome.

"Will you mail it? I badly need a shower", she asked him. This was another tiring project and she was happy it finally came to an end.

"Take a long one. I will take care of this", he assured her without taking his eyes from the laptop and smiled into the screen when she sneaked a kiss across his cheek.

When Nandini returned back after a shower, she was surprised to find Tara in her room and Manik glaring at her. What could have changed his mind in just a few minutes?, thought Nandini. They didn't even spare her a look when she took a seat on the bed beside Manik. "Honestly? Don't you two ever get tired of fighting all the time? Manik, what happened now?"

"Your best friend has lost her mind", he said without taking his eyes off Tara. "She is packing her bags."

Nandini raised her eyebrow. "Are you going somewhere? You know right, I won't get married without you?"

Manik snorted. "She isn't going on a vacation. She wants to move out of this house."

"Tara?"

Tara looked at her and Nandini never saw her look so down. "Listen to me at least before screaming like your darling."

When Nandini nodded, Manik huffed in annoyance. "Great. Just great." He crossed his arms over his chest.

The girls ignored him and Nandini went to sit beside her best friend. "Do you need a drink? Butterbeer or firewhiskey?", she asked her.

Defying the mood of the situation, Tara grinned. "No, I am fine."

Nandini nodded again and waited for her to speak.

"You are getting married in a week", started Tara, "and Manik will move in here, right?"

He perked up listening to his name. For a fact, Nandini too. They still haven't talked about where they would live after their marriage. This apartment was her first house and she had so many memories associated with it. She looked at Manik and he was silent, lost in thoughts.

When none of them spoke, Tara continued, "you two would need the privacy. I thought of renting somewhere else. I will be close by if at all you need me."

"Did you start house hunting?", asked Nandini.

"Not yet."

"You know, I am really proud of you, Tara", told Nandini.

"Nandini, are you mad", yelled Manik, outraged.

When she showed him a hand, he had shut up.

"Don't you want to know why?", she asked Tara, as if Manik didn't interrupt her.

"Because I became thoughtful and matured", replied her best friend.

"You can never be thoughtful and matured, stupid. I am proud because you tried to talk to me instead of storming off and disappearing altogether. There's just a week in my marriage and I really couldn't have reached you."

"I wouldn't have left you on your most important day", said Tara, sincerely.

Nandini smiled. "Now coming to proving the part that you are stupid, this house belongs to you as much it belongs to me. We have bought this together. We have every precious memory here. Why do you want to leave this, Tara? Manik and I haven't even talked about this yet", she glanced at Manik and he nodded. They need to talk about it.

"But it's closer to your office and Manik loves it here", started Tara but Manik cut her off.

He sprinted from the bed, pulled a chair in front of the girls. "You know, I really care about my fiancee", he told Tara pointing to Nandini. "Nandu, you are supposed to blush here."

Instead, Nandini slapped his arm and rolled her eyes.

Manik stuck his tongue out and grinned when Tara let out a chuckle. "Where was I? Yeah, I care a lot about Nandini. So, let's cut this discussion short so that she can sleep a few hours. She has to wake up early tomorrow to go to her parents' place, right?" He continued when Tara nodded. "I have an idea. Nandu can stop me if she disagrees somewhere." He glanced at her for her approval before turning back to Tara. "So, the plan is, I will shift to Nandini's room after we get married. You can keep your room to yourself."

"Is this your brilliant idea?", asked Tara, incredulously.

"What about your home?", asked Nandini.

"Nandini, that's not my home. I am renting it out, right? But this is your first one and I know how special it is to both of you. I don't even live in my apartment half of the time. Initially, I used to crash in with some of my friends and when we started going out, I stayed here. I am not very fond of staying alone, the reason why I didn't buy it like you girls", he explained.

"What about when your parents visit Mumbai? Mukti loves the place. You guys have your photographs attached at every wall", asked Nandini.

"That would be a problem. We can take care of my parents. I will still keep the house. We can use it whenever one of us wants some alone time or my parents can stay there when they visit me. Mukti is more concerned about keeping the photographs at my place than where I live. Can I put some in our room after our wedding, please?", Manik asked her.

Nandini smiled and cupped his cheek. "If you are staying here, won't you have the freedom to call it your room too?"

Manik grinned.

Tara huffed in annoyance. "You two freaking mad people, you are supposed to behave like a newly wedded couple, waiting to throw people out to have your privacy."

Manik raised an eyebrow. "Does our staying together make you uncomfortable?"

"No, but-"

Manik pouted. "If I were really your kid, you wouldn't be too eager to leave your supposed home and son while I get married to half of the owner who owns the place."

Tara's eyes widened and she closed her mouth with her hands in pure shock. "Prophecy child, when did you become this Slytherin? You were never a Slytherin."

And her best friend was back. Nandini watched them fondly as they slipped into their potterhead conversation.

"I need you to do something for me in return", told Manik.

"Anything for my prophecy child", Tara replied in a heartbeat. "What is it?"

"I will tell you when Nandini goes to sleep. It's a secret", whispered Manik, audible enough to Nandini.

Nandini rolled her eyes and yawned. "Okay, you two. Get out of the room. I need to sleep."

They both grinned identically and sprinted out of the room. Nandini shook her head and lied down on the bed when Manik returned back.

He leaned down to give her a hug. "Will I be disturbing you if I sneak back sometime during the night?", he whispered into her ear.

"No. Just make sure you do. I will miss you."

"I will be back soon. I want to talk to her about Aunty", he said, pecked her head, wished her goodnight and left the room before switching the lights off.

The exhaustion helped her in drifting to sleep. She woke sometime later feeling refreshed. She tried to sleep again but couldn't. The moonlight was falling in her room. She looked at the time on her mobile. It was 2 in the morning and Manik still hadn't come back. Nandini panicked and thought of checking on the other two inmates of the house. As if heard, a figure came into the room and sneaked under the blanket beside her. "Manik?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up", he panicked.

She snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his heart. She loved listening to his heartbeats. "I was already awake. You didn't wake me up. I was getting worried about you. How did the conversation go?"

"She agreed to start afresh but asked me to keep the conversation between us private. I can't betray her trust in me but you can nag her yourself, if she tells you that would be between you two best friends, right?"

Nandini was gaping at him, under the moonlight, by the time he stopped speaking. When he raised an eyebrow, she shook her head and just hugged him tighter. "Manik Malhotra, you are a blessing."

Manik pecked her head and wrapped an arm around her, caressing her hair with the other. "Don't you want to sleep now?"

"Not sleepy. You?"

"No. Pre-wedding jitters?"

Nandini chuckled. "I am scared that I am not feeling them. Is that allowed?"

"I am glad you aren't scared about starting a life with me", replied Manik.

"I will miss you though", told Nandini.

"I am adorable. I wouldn't hold it against you if you miss me, love", he replied cheekily making her laugh.

They talked all night to compensate for the time they would miss each other.

During the wedding, Tara fussed a lot over Manik. As Nandini was an only child, she let Nandini's parents pamper her without her own interference. While Manik's parents were busy with the relatives, as most of them traveled to Mumbai, Tara took the responsibility herself.

It was the reception when Tara finally exhausted her patience of dealing with relatives and their questions. Most of Nandini's relatives didn't bother the girl as they have enough experience with her, given they were best friends since their childhood but people from Manik's side weren't too lucky.

Nandini's dad was trying to convince her to have some juice at least while Tara was at Manik's side, setting his hair and scolding him for messing it up.

Two women, distant relatives of Manik, walked to the dias and blessed the couple. Instead of leaving the dias immediately, like everyone, they stayed back. "She is all over the place in the wedding rituals. I wonder who she is", muttered one of them.

"I am his mother", replied Tara, finally fixing Manik's hair. "Mess it up once again and I will cut it down here itself. You will be bald in half of your wedding videos", she warned Manik.

"Girl, you aren't his mother. Nyonika is", hissed another.

"I adopted him. He is my son", replied Tara.

Manik grinned at her. Nyonika, who came to talk to her son, burst out laughing. She patted her head. "Take good care of my Manik, my son's adoptive mother."

Nandini was brought back to reality when Tara dumped a tray on her. "I made you breakfast", squealed Tara.

Nandini glared at her best friend before putting the tray on the bedside table and freed herself from her husband's hold. She went to have a shower ignoring Tara yelling at Manik for being lazy. She really wanted to shout hypocrite but didn't fancy picking up an argument early in the morning.

When she returned after her shower, Manik was pleading to let him sleep for five more minutes. "I swear, this is the last time I am waking you up. After this, you will be drenched in cold water. Choose between the two: breakfast in bed or shower on the bed?", she threatened.

Manik was up in a second and glared at her but it was heavily ruined by his messy hair and his struggle to stifle a yawn. Instead, he pulled Nandini beside him and rested his head on her shoulder. "She is harassing me, Nandini."

"I am not coming between you two, sorry", told Nandini but kissed his head and started stroking his hair. She smiled when he let out a content sigh.

"Taste my breakfast and tell me how it is", said Tara, excitedly.

Nandini rolled her eyes. Her breakfast contained an orange juice, butter and a few slices of toast. "You just had to put the bread in the toaster. What am I supposed to comment here?", asked Nandini, applying butter on the bread. She gave one to Tara before taking another for herself.

"I made you orange juice. It was really hard work", said Tara, pouting.

While they were busy arguing back and forth, Manik took the chance to sleep again. Tara was about to wake him up but when Nandini asked her to let him be, she rolled her eyes but agreed. Both the girls moved out of the room, silently.

XXX

Tara left to visit her father for a few days. Since she had an early morning flight, Nandini had woken her up, missing her own sleep. They knew it was of no use to wake Manik up, both the girls let him sleep. As a result, Nandini was on edge by the time she reached the office.

The office was a mess. Manik was busy in the conference room, preparing for a meeting that was scheduled to be in the afternoon and Nandini was making a few last-minute changes on the code for a children's video game. The deadline to submit at the company was in the evening and her boss chose the exact date to grant himself a leave. Ignoring the urge to curse him, she concentrated on finishing the project.

If her mood was bad an hour back, it was worse now. Her stack of important files related to Manik's meeting was misplaced by her assistant, Priya. She glared at the girl and asked her to find them for the meeting when her boss called Nandini, asking her to hand over the code file to his nephew, Suraj. She suddenly wanted to commit murder. Instead, she put up a smile and left to meet the one person she couldn't tolerate.

As soon as she entered the cabin, she saw Suraj smirking. She faked a smile and connected the Pendrive to the system.

"Hello, Ms. Murthy, I hope the video is done?", he asked.

Everyone in their office attended her wedding with Manik, including her boss but Suraj still refused to call her anything else other than Ms. Murthy. It was really funny because he used to call her by her first name before she got married. "I am here with a Pendrive and waiting for the file to open indicates the job is done, right, sir?"

He looked like a kicked puppy. "Sir? You used to call me Suraj."

"I thought you were being professional. Ms. Murthy and all."

"Do you want me to call you what then? Mrs. Malhotra? Because I won't. I don't even consider this marriage valid, Murthy", he huffed.

"Too bad. Everyone that counts, do." She felt relieved when the file started. She directly went to the game instead of showing the code because this guy was a management graduate and was really rubbish with coding. She explained the details of the various levels, restraining her language to that of a layman. It was really difficult when he kept on asking his doubts, forcing her to pause the game twice in every five minutes. With all the patience she had, she explained to him whatever he wanted to know.

When it was finally done, Suraj shook his head in disapproval. "This is what you call a game, is it? Where is the excitement? Where is the fight to survive? Where is adrenaline in the player? Where is the violence?"

"Hold on", she Nandini, frowning. "Why are you inclining towards bloodshed? This game is for 4+ kids. We aren't encouraging a four-year-old kid to go kill others. That's not even the concept the company had asked us."

"Do you think you know more about kids? Oh! Just because you are married now, you think you are pro in marital life, isn't it?", he asked.

Nandini gritted her teeth. "How is my marriage related to this code even?"

"Murthy, listen one thing very clearly. You don't ever show an attitude to your boss and I am as good as yours. My uncle and I, we are family. I grew up with him, so, I am his son in every way that counts. If you want to keep your job, you listen to me and do as I say. Otherwise, I know exactly what to tell my uncle that would keep you in senses and on roads", he threatened her.

Nandini was fuming inside by the time he finished speaking. The idiot in front of her wasn't even related to the company. He only visits office when he has to pick something for his uncle and her boss is stuck somewhere. His uncle doesn't own the company, he is just a center head. There is the headquarters and if the company decides to suspend Nandini on disciplinary grounds, she had to give an explanation at the headquarters to keep her job. She rubbed her forehead. All she wanted was some sleep and not to deal with some thirty officials right now.

"What are you doing even standing here?", he said again when Nandini was trying to control her urge to bury him underground. "Leave and get me the changes before the deadline."

So Nandini did but the instinct to murder someone was growing stronger by the time. She was just out of her boss's cabin when her assistant met her to inform her about the start of the meeting. Meeting meant dealing with one Manik Malhotra instead of someone else who could threaten the increase her current homicidal thoughts. It was also an advantage that if anything went wrong, Manik would take care of everything. She needed him as an anchor for today more than ever. To some part of her brain, it made perfect sense to choose over the meeting which involves her husband and whose deadline isn't in a month than working on one which she needed to submit by the end of the day.

XXX

Entering the cabin, Nandini had to take the only seat that was vacant, which was unfortunately too far from her co-project leader. As Manik was busy explaining something to one of the guys, he hadn't noticed her coming.

"Can we get this meeting over with please?", she questioned in order to gain everyone's attention. She sounded tired to herself and felt even more tired to give a thought if the others had noticed it too.

Manik waved at her with a small smile and Nandini nodded at him before turning her attention back to the projector. Now that her knight minus the shining armor was there, all she wanted to do was rant out her frustration to him about Suraj, their boss, her assistant and how everything was going downhill today but she knew she couldn't manage it right now. Hence, she acted like a professional. It was okay because Manik knew her like an open book and even if he misunderstood her, they could talk it over later.

Looked like everything was going against her today. First, there was a fluctuation in the power and she sent someone to check over the power back. Next, it was the projector that stopped working. They were at it for a few minutes before realizing that one of the wires was missing. Finally, when the presentation started and they were at slide three, one of the guys pointed out that the PPT was not the revised version. Nandini had enough.

She let out a long sigh. "Guys", she breathed out as if even speaking was draining her energy which was partly true, "this isn't how you keep your jobs in the company. Is it too much to expect a bit of concentration here? If not just go ahead, I have other things to do." She had yet to talk to her boss about the code of the video game or make the changes or whatever she decides onto.

Everyone in the room, expect Manik - because he was the co-project leader, hung their heads down. They only knew their boss as a friendly and polite person, who waved off their mistakes, guided them when they were wrong and often helped them more like a colleague than an authoritative figure. Most importantly, she wasn't the person who threatened their jobs at their slightest of their mistakes. The only one who wasn't the least bit perturbed was the one who could see through her words. Manik.

Manik, who probably had guessed that everything was falling apart for Nandini to be behaving this odd, was there beside her as soon as she stopped talking. She had covered her face behind her hands. He lightly put his hand on her shoulder, she knew he was the only one who would dare to touch her in the middle of a meeting but yet Nandini didn't meet his eyes. She didn't even lift her head. Manik took to the last resort, pulled her up from the chair and hugged her close to him. Both of them weren't the people to indulge in PDA, neither when they were in a relationship nor after getting married, but when Nandini hid her face against his shoulder, Manik knew how bad she was hurting.

"Nandini, it's okay. Everything will be fine, love", he cooed near her ear.

"No, Manik."

Her words were muffled by his shoulder and he dropped a kiss on her hair. He looked around and saw the hurt on everyone's faces was replaced by concern for their boss. Manik sighed. This was her team for years even before Manik joined the company and everyone really loved her. He glanced at Nandini's assistant. "Priya, please take care of the presentation. Upload the revised one. We just need a few minutes. I am really sorry for the interruption."

"It's okay, sir. We will handle it here. You just..", said one of the senior guys, pointing towards Nandini.

Manik looked at him gratefully before ushering out Nandini towards her cabin as it was the nearest.

XXX

As soon as they were in the privacy of Nandini's cabin, Manik hugged her properly and allowed her a few minutes to calm himself down. When he realized she wouldn't do it herself, he forcefully broke the hug. "Nandu", he called her softly.

"I want to kill him, Manik", she muttered and slumped on a chair.

Manik pulled a chair in front of her. "Shall I talk to dad? He has some contacts with the best legal lawyers. Or are we killing him discreetly? Like Sherlock Holmes and stuff?"

Nandini slapped his arm. "Sherlock Holmes isn't a killer."

"I know. All this secret killing will tire us. We will be on edge throughout our lives imagining what would happen if someone finds the clue that would lead to us. I suggest getting dad talk with a criminal lawyer. He will manipulate the proofs and all", explained Manik.

"You are horrible", said Nandini, covering her face with her hands but Manik heard the laughter in her voice.

A minute later, when Nandini looked at him again, he was frowning.

"It's you who always stop me from killing people. Who the 'him' are we talking anyway?", he asked.

"Suraj." And she told him everything about their conversation back in the cabin.

Manik listened patiently. "Nandini, it's nothing serious. We will talk to boss. He would understand. Suraj isn't even a part of company and you don't have to listen to him or consider his orders. Or are you worried about the threatening."

"It's not about today, Manik. I guess I am tired of him altogether since long. I always used to ignore him but it is crashing down on me today maybe because I am very tired and I just want to sleep." She winced. She must be spending too much time in the presence of her loving husband to start blabbering things when stressed out.

Manik was too lost in deciphering her words to notice the blabbering. He jumped in his seat suddenly. "Hey, what do you mean by ignoring him for too long? Did he harm you?"

Nandini looked at him, confused. "No. He proposed to me six months after I joined the office, I turned him down and he is obsessed with me ever since", she said, her word faltering by the end seeing the clueless look on her husband. "Everyone in the office knows this. I mean, I don't know about other departments but everyone in our team at least."

Manik frowned. "I didn't know this. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I thought you know this", she stated. She was pretty sure people give her sympathetic gazes whenever she looks angry and Suraj is around the office. But as she saw the horrified look on Manik's face, she guessed, not everyone was aware of this little detail.

"Why would I pick up some gossip about my wife or girlfriend from the employees of the office?", he asked. He was an ounce of patience away from yelling and Nandini knew Manik never yelled.

She rubbed his arm, comfortingly. "Manik, listen, I never gave it a thought because I thought you know it. Suraj isn't the first guy who had proposed to me and definitely not the last. Even when they know we were going out, they have approached me and I have declined them politely."

Manik paced around to and fro for a few minutes before slumping down in the chair, all his anger deflating. "Tell me what's different with Suraj."

"He used to drop in the office now and then just because his uncle is the center head. 6 months later, he proposed to me and I refused saying I didn't believe in relationships or love but he pestered. So, I ignored him, his every attempt to impress me or the pathetic pickup lines. I was new to the job and I couldn't afford to lose it by complaining to the boss about his nephew.

"I wasn't bothered because he didn't cross any line except it started irritating. But then we started going out, he dropped hints about how he was or how capable he is more than a clueless project leader. One of the reasons why he attended our wedding was because he was angry with you. He managed to corner me out just before the wedding. He said he was ready to help me elope with him to avoid our wedding because he somehow thinks you are forcing me into this. I warned him to beat the shit out of him and he backed off.

"Now, here he is declaring that he doesn't consider our marriage valid. I mean, who the hell does he think of himself that I will go and ask for his validation about how awesome my husband is."

Manik glared at her. "Stop complimenting me. I am trying to be angry here."

When Nandini chuckled, Manik wrapped his hands around her, pulling her up from the chair. "I was so close to losing you. How could I have survived if he had managed to charm you?"

"On the contrary, I really can't stand his presence." She breathes in his scent. As the familiarity feeling of love fills her heart entirely, she finds her brain working, at least for a few more hours. "Manik", she calls in, breaking the hug, "do you mind if I lose my job in a few days?"

Manik looks at her seriously and for a moment she thought he would slap her head or call her stupid but he always went beyond her imaginations. "Nandini, we have enough savings and also I will have my salary until you find a new job which is quite enough to feed ourselves. I don't think we will be having a financial crisis in near future."

She kissed him. She didn't have any other words to express how blessed she was to have Manik in her life. She pulled out her mobile and instead of making the absurd changes for a four old kid, she texted her boss of how sorry she was without actually explaining anything to him and mailed the whole code to their client company.

She had sent it without the approval of her boss, defying her supposed self-appointed boss of the day, Suraj but as Manik grinned at her knowing what she did, she found a new energy in her veins. She was sure she could stretch a few more hours before crashing on to bed.

They were disturbed by a knock on the door just when Nandini was shutting down her laptop. It was her assistant.

"Ma'am", she hesitated but entered when Nandini smiled at her, "Suraj sir is in the meeting room. He was asking for you two."

Nandini frowned but stood up from her chair already. She grabbed her mobile and looked at Manik. "Manik, do you really mind if I lose my job in a few hours?", she asked him again, batting her eyelashes at him quite dramatically.

Manik shook his head, flashing his teeth. "OMG! Is Nandini Murthy going to pick a fight?"

Nandini glared. "Why do you sound so excited?"

"Because it's rare", he replied.

"You are weird", she said dryly.

Manik smirked. "But you still love me."

Nandini didn't have to turn to see her assistant doing the same. "Priya, wipe off that smirk, please", she told her before walking out. Manik and the girl shared a grin before following Nandini.

XXX

"Ah, there comes our very own Romeo and Juliet. Thank you for finally gracing us with your presence over your romance."

The sarcastic voice of Suraj welcomed them. Nandini smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you for noticing. Now that you are aware, can you please talk to your uncle to cut short all the romantic adventures of guys around in our office? I know it's a pity, they can't process the fact that I am married to Manik but it really makes me uncomfortable to work."

Suraj was caught off guard and Nandini knew he wouldn't argue in front of a whole bunch of employees. Flashing him another smile, Nandini asked her team to start with the presentation. Whenever Suraj tried to interrupt the presentation, Nandini raised her own question to keep the meeting going. It irked Suraj to no extent.

When the meeting was finally done, Nandini told them a few changes, Manik adding a few which he felt right. They argued back and forth making sure to gather the inputs of the rest of the team, finally settling in for what they felt would be right.

When Nandini asked them to mail her the final one, Suraj clapped his hands. "Perfect. Really? How do you guys manage to deliver only crap in the name of code? It's a huge company you are working on and the website you are writing is bland. How do you think you will attract the crowd with this plain image?" He fixed his glare directly on Manik. "Projects are easily thrown in your lap and you don't have the sense to respect them. Yeah?"

"And you don't have the sense to respect the decorum of a workplace you clearly don't belong to and to at least go through the prospects of a meeting before attending them uninvited." It was Nandini and her voice boomed through the small meeting room.

Suraj sneered. "You shouldn't even be here in the first place. Didn't I ask you to change the code of your video game?"

"I am just trying to make your work simpler", countered Nandini. "You don't have to bother about the code, I have already sent it to the client. You can complain to your uncle as much as you want. Now talking about this, I know you are the best in marketing and you have helped sell a few products for the company but how did you think you can waltz in your way into my meetings and question the ability of my team? All of them have years of practice in coding and you need at least fifteen minutes of explanation of why we use 'stdio' in C. How many languages do you even know?"

"Ms. Murthy-", started Suraj, his face almost red in anger and Nandini swore she could see fumes coming out of his ears if only she could take a closer look.

She rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow at him. "Zero then. Listen, the company we are working might be of International standards but the project is related to a fusion between an orphanage and an old age home. The website of such a motive should be peaceful and serene, instead of flashy. We aren't working on the website for a pub", she explained to him as if he were a child.

She glanced at Manik to calm herself down. Despite the tense argument, when he winked at her, she bit back a chuckle. She turned to Suraj. "Sir, I know you don't understand all this, I wouldn't blame you because it's our job but please listen to us when we are speaking. We work for hours, sometimes days on a single code and it hurts when you don't even listen yet point out mistakes. I am really sorry if I my words don't sync with your thoughts."

There was a tense silence in the room. No one said a word, not even their boss of the day. Taking advantage, she pulled out her mobile and sent a text. A moment later, Suraj's mobile beeped. He frowned looking at his mobile.

Manik is my husband, the person I love with every inch of my existence. I don't care if you consider our marriage valid or not but insult him and I won't hesitate to punch you in the face. Don't make me regret not doing it sooner.

As Suraj glanced from his mobile at Nandini, she looked tired but there was a warning in her eyes as if daring him to go against her. He glanced at Manik, who looked amused, almost bored. He glanced at the people around the room. They were all staring right back at him. Throwing a death glare at Nandini, he stormed off the room.

Nandini rubbed her hands over her face, allowing herself to take a few breaths before gulping down some water from the bottle in front of her. "Guys, I am sorry you have to witness all this", she looked up at them apologetically, "but I can compensate by treating you all this weekend. We can go out for lunch. If I couldn't manage to keep my job, you can consider it as a farewell party."

"Ma'am, we would protest right in front of the boss's cabin if he thinks of sacking you", said Priya, her assistant and the rest of the team only nodded in agreement.

"You guys aren't putting your jobs at risk for me. There's a reason why I didn't let Manik handle this", she warned.

When they all hung their faces, she didn't know whether they did agree with her or rebelling, Nandini took a deep sigh. She rubbed her forehead. Now that the adrenaline was gone, she was dead tired and would give anything for a few hours sleep. "Why can't I stay awake for a longer period?", she muttered to no one in particular.

Manik scrunched his eyebrows as he spoke. "Maybe because you are a human and not a vampire, you know. Vampires have their own advantages, surviving without sleep along the lines but you can't convince me by saying that your heart still beats for me."

He said so seriously that it took a few minutes for everyone to register his words and then the whole room erupted in laughter, including Nandini.

When the room cleared and it was only Manik, Nandini hugged him tight. As he dropped a kiss on her head, she broke the hug and pecked his cheek. "I love you. I need you to keep me going. I don't even know why you stick with me sometimes, what with that spectacular personality of yours but I love you."

Even though it was meant for a tease, Manik frowned as Nandini walked away from the room looking at her retreating back.

Later that evening, when they returned home, Nandini crashed on to bed without even bothering to change her clothes. A few hours later, she woke to soft sounds. She stretched herself and grabbed her mobile. It was around ten. She went to find Manik, who was sitting in the living room and talking to Tara over a Skype call in hushed voices. When Nandini took a place beside him, he glanced at her surprised.

"Did I wake you up?"

"No"

Manik gave her a small smile. "How about you talk to her while I get something for you to eat?", he asked her and when Nandini nodded at him, he stood up after dropping a kiss on her head.

"Hey, where's the charger? The battery is discharging", yelled Nandini.

"In the room", Manik yelled back from the kitchen.

She settled on the bed, chatting with Tara, carefully avoiding mentioning the commotion in the office. When Manik brought the food, the three of them talked for a while and Nandini ate her food. After Tara went offline, a silence filled the room. Manik was lost in his thoughts when Nandini came back after putting the plate in the kitchen. "Hey, are you alright?"

Manik snapped back from his thoughts and took a moment to process the question. "I was thinking about what you said back in the office."

Nandini frowned and sat facing him. She put a palm over his cheek, her touch gentle and unsure. "Manik, did I say something to hurt you?"

Manik removed her palm and instead, kissed it and wrapped his bigger one around hers. "Nandini, no. Listen, I was just", he shook his head stopping mid-sentence. "Nandini, why do you love me? Just tell me in simple words without overthinking."

Nandini stared at him in confusion but answered nonetheless. "Because you are love personified. You make me believe in love."

"How did our relationship even start, Nandu?", he asked again.

Even if she wanted to freak out, his gaze never faltered from hers and that kept her sane. Things were okay between them. "You said, you had a crush on me and we were in a trial and", she stopped speaking when Manik laughed out loud. She got scared when she realized it wasn't his happy sound. Something was bothering him. "Manik?"

He hugged her in response. "You know what, I am an idiot. I am really an idiot." He broke the hug and cupped her face with both his hands, brushing her cheek with his thumb. "I have been in love with you for years, I have married you, I feel like I know you since forever and yet you have no idea how I fell in love with you. Nandini, did you really think I will ask a girl out just because I have a crush on her? That I will invite a girl over to my place randomly because I want to go out with her?"

Nandini frowned. She never gave a thought of the reason behind Manik's crush on her. She was already so used to people telling her that they admired her, some a bit more passionately than others. Coming to think about it, Manik wasn't the guy to ask random girls to go on dates with him. She knew it just after a few days of working with him, in fact, everyone at their office knew that. When Manik told her about his crush, she brushed it off like everyone else but the way they interacted on that night, the way Nandini was so comfortable around him without any hesitation to talk anything under the sun, forced her in accepting the weird proposal to give the relationship a try. Then, she fell in love with him and the reason never mattered, never did it come to her mind, that is until now.

"I never thought about it", told Nandini, honestly. Manik was a perfect son, a perfect brother, a perfect best friend, boyfriend and husband. He was the person who radiates love and you feel positive and beautiful about yourself when you are around him. A part of her was always curious as to why such an amazing person did even love Nandini.

"Nandu, do you remember how I was during the initial days in the office? My friend's dad owned the place I worked in Delhi. Everyone knew the both of us from during our college days when we just used to hang out and later when we started working. My workplace was just like a home. Comfortable. But when I moved here, it was really contrasting. People freaked me out. Girls started asking me out like they have a bet going on or something. Even a few guys", Manik said and raised his head to look at Nandini.

She nodded. She doubted the same. Manik created quite a chaos when he joined the office. His name was the only thing that she heard for the first few days until it started irritating her but that was before she interacted with him.

"Everything was chaos. I was terrified because I couldn't concentrate on work. You remember, you literally dragged me during one of the lunch breaks?"

Nandini nodded again. It was after Manik was put under team. In between a small crowd, he looked so out of place, trying to concentrate on his food. Nandini took him to her cabin in the pretext of work and ordered lunch for him. They interacted and she realized the actual person he was, behind the rumors or gossip spread about him. Since then Manik pretty much stuck by her side, working together or having lunches even though Nandini never revealed herself more than a colleague.

"You understood me without having me to say. You were there to make sure I was comfortable even if we barely knew each other. It was also when I started admiring you, started noticing everything you did, small or big. On that day when I invited you to over my place, I thought of just knowing you, wished for on a personal level, but I didn't hope much because you were half-asleep. I never planned on confessing to you about my feelings until you mentioned about having a crush on me. It was sudden, unplanned and everything fell in place like it was meant to be. And then when we were in a relationship, I knew you better, I realized needed you as my constant.

"You feed me food, you force me to sleep when I overwork. You let me create a mess with Tara. I can be as carefree with you or as mature. You are home, Nandini, where I don't have to watch my every stop without getting judged. I was always surrounded by a loving family and friends. I didn't even know I needed something else, someone else but then I met you and you were the combined version of every happiness I already had and much more", he said.

By the end of his little rant, he seemed as if he drained all his energy and rested his head on Nandini's shoulder. She was overwhelmed and blinked her tears away before carding her fingers in his hair. She didn't really know what to say but looked like Manik hadn't finished speaking yet.

"You told me, you didn't know why I bother to stick around with you sometimes back in the office. It felt like I am making you insecure enough to let you question why I love you", he said.

Nandini strained herself to remember the line so she could argue back that they were both fine and in love but she was too tired back then. Half of the things that happened in the office were out of her mind.

"Nandini, I love you because you make me happy like no one else. I wouldn't survive a day without you, both personally and in the office. I never say anything because I am terrible with words. I tend to mess and blabber everything. I am doing even now but you need to know that I need you as much as you need me", he said, his voice muffled against her shoulder.

"I am sorry. I don't know what I said, it's too blurry but I love you and thank you for telling me all this. I feel you are too special, too perfect for me and maybe that led the doubt. It wasn't your fault ever, Manik. You are the best person that can happen to anyone", she whispered near her. She let her words sink inside him. She didn't want Manik to go on a guilt trip.

"You are too. Let's sleep. Today was such a long day." Those were his final words before hitting the bed. He didn't leave her instead, dragged her down to the bed before tightening his hold on her once he felt they were comfortable.

Even with all the exhaustion, Nandini had the widest of grin on her face.

XXX

"Harshavardhan Malhotra, I have asked you to complete your homework and all you did was create a mess in the living room", Nandini's voice boomed through the apartment.

She tried her best to be intimidating but the boy sitting in front of her was far from perturbed. "Mom, call me Harry. Just Harry", he said disinterestedly before giggling to the laptop screen.

"You are stuffed into that screen since an hour. What the hell is so important than finishing your homework?", she said, crossing her arms.

"Oi! That's my Godson you are talking too. Of course, I am his most important person. Right, kid?"

The voice of her best friend, Tara, only pushed the boy from muffled giggling to openly grinning.

"Of course, Tara", replied her son, Harsh or Harry.

Nandini threw a death glare towards him before taking a seat beside him. "You are spoiling him even more", she sighed.

"Who else would do if not his Godmother?", smirked Tara.

Nandini chuckled. "Why aren't you asleep yet?", she asked, looking at the time. "Don't you have a concert tomorrow?"

"I do but how can I go to sleep without talking to my favorite Godson", said Tara.

Beside her, Harry leaned on her side and grinned. "Tara, go to sleep and all the best."

After finishing the call, Nandini put an arm around her son to prevent him from bolting out of the room. "So, what are we doing about the mess?", she asked raising an eyebrow.

On cue, Manik stormed into the room and pointed his finger at his son. Nandini frowned seeing him all stern and angry. "You, young man, are a menace. You need to be disciplined for your atrocities. Is that the way to maintain your home?", said Manik. Harry stared at his lap, biting his lap but Manik ignored him. "You are to be punished. Accompany me to the forbidden forest and interact with some vegetable Voldemort. We need to save the Hogwarts, kid."

While Harry grinned and jumped on Manik, Nandini rolled her eyes. "Manik, I asked you to get the groceries."

"Nandini, we are freeing the vegetables from being possessed by the Dark lord. Pray, they do not die before we could rescue them", replied Manik with a wink and rushed out of the room.

Nandini shook her head fondly as she heard the echoes of their laughter in the apartment before the front door was shut. She went to the living room to clear out the mess her darling son has created. Between the pile of his books, crayons and toys, she found the album that contained the pictures of him since he was a baby. It was one of his favorites. As she went through the pictures, she felt a burst of happiness within herself. This was their first child, her first baby boy.

It has been five years since Harry brightened their lives. Manik and Tara have been the support pillars during her pregnancy along with their parents. But Tara's insanity levels reached an all-time high after the baby was born.

xxx

After Nandini was discharged from the hospital, she was brought back to her parents' home because there were more people to look after the baby better than Manik or Tara, who had zero experience. The baby along with Nandini were lying on the bed and Manik was beside them, leaning on the headrest and playing with the baby. Tara and Nandini's parents were sitting surrounding them. Manik's parents had just left to Delhi and promised to visit after a week. Since the Malhotras left the decision of naming the baby to their son and daughter-in-law, it was up to them to decide. The rest of them were giving their own suggestions.

"I have a perfect name for my baby", announced Tara.

Nandini prepared herself to reject because she trusted her best friend so much.

"Harry James Potter"

And she wasn't wrong. Even though she expected something along the lines, Nandini glared at the said best friend. "I am not naming my firstborn after a fictional character."

"Nandini Murthy, Harry Potter is not a fictional character. It's an emotion and I survive on it", pouted Tara.

"Um..Excuse me, it's all fine but it's Nandini Malhotra", interrupted Manik.

Tara put an innocent face and turned to Manik. "Prophecy child, Nandini is the love of your life but you can't say no to me. We are fighting for your kid, the greater good of wizarding world, your heir and the hope to carry our legacy to the next generation. We have to name him after Harry. What's the point even to have kids if you can't name one or two after Harry Potter universe?"

"But what about the other kids? The universe won't survive alone on Harry itself", pointed Manik.

Nandini gritted her teeth. "Manik Malhotra, if you are ganging up with her to give an embarrassing name to my baby, I am disowning you", she said, threateningly. "And Tara, you too", she added a moment later because that's effective.

Both of them had the identical puppy dog eyes and stared at Nandini. When Nandini didn't move a muscle indicating the change in her decision, Tara sighed audibly. She pulled out her mobile and Nandini's parents started giving their suggestions. Half an hour later, Tara yelled, causing the baby to wake up. Manik was quick to take him in his arms and paced along the room to shush him. Everyone was amazed at how easily Manik managed holding the kid or making him quiet or even making him sleep. Nandini smiled. Manik would make a perfect father, just another trait of her amazing husband.

When the baby finally calmed down, Tara grinned looking at everyone. "Harsh or Harshavardhan, happiness? How is it?"

For a moment, they all were taken aback. Nandini looked at Manik, who was already looking at her, an adorable smile adorning his face. They had a silent conversation of their own through their eyes before glancing at their parents.

Finally, Manik kissed the top of the baby's head, "Our bundle of joy, Harsh", he whispered but not loud enough to wake the baby up. Once everyone tried the name on their tongues, there was a comfortable silence in the room.

Baby Harshavardhan or Harsh, the firstborn child of Nandini and Manik Malhotra, the grandson of Murthys and Malhotras.

"I can still call him 'Harry'", yelled Tara.

Suddenly, Manik burst out laughing, awaking the baby as he wailed, Nandini's parents glared at both Tara and Manik and Nandini face-palmed herself. What did she even get herself into?

xxx

Harry's eyes changed its color a month after he was born. Instead of the black, they lightened up to a lighter shade of green. They almost reminded Nandini of a cat. It wasn't the emerald green or the color of killing curse, but who would convince that to a girl obsessed with Harry Potter.

"Nandini, you know, he is so perfect", said Tara, she said while staring at Harry in awe.

They just bathed the boy and now Nandini was dressing him up. Sometimes, she wanted to have a lot of kids, both boys and girls, if only to gush about all the cute dresses.

"His eyes look just like Lily's. They are like Harry's."

Nandini rolled her eyes. They were having the same discussion all over again. Since the time Harry's eye color changed, Tara didn't stop ranting about her fantasies of creating a secret wizarding society with Harry as the savior of the wizarding world. She even suggested to open up a school and name it after Hogwarts. They could accept the applications once a kid is eleven. Nandini, of course, punctured her dream bubble by saying that the kids need a proper education and not daydreaming to survive in the world.

"I have a plan", announced Tara when Nandini didn't bother to respond.

"Not again", groaned Nandini.

"Nah! It's different", said Tara, rubbing her hands in excitement.

Nandini braced herself for another craziness.

"Appoint me as the Godmother of our baby. He is anyways my Harry and I will be the Tara, Sirius, of his. I promise I will love him and protect him as much as Sirius loved and died for his godson and so much more because my Sirius was chucked into Azkaban due to wrong imprisonment", said Tara.

She sounded so sincere and Nandini didn't doubt a second about the love of Tara for Harry but there are a few things one shouldn't mess with. "Tara, you know, if I have to appoint a Godmother to my son, it would be you", started Nandini but Tara cut her off in the middle.

"Why do I already feel the rejection?", pouted Tara, crossing her arms.

Nandini chuckled. "All I am saying is, when we don't follow Christianity, we can't play with their traditions and beliefs. It's as if we are insulting them."

"We aren't insulting anyone Nandini", said Manik, entering into the room with a tray of coffees for the three of them. Handing them the coffees, Manik stood beside Tara and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I would love to have you as the Godmother of my child because I know if something happens to us, you will raise him as your own son."

"I don't want Halloween happening to you", muttered Tara.

Manik kissed her hair and rested his cheek on her head. "We are staying together for 100 years, yeah?", he whispered.

Nandini grinned and joined the hug making sure not to wake the baby up.

xxx

Five years down the lane, Tara and Harry are as inseparable as Harry and Sirius. After Nandini rejected her to appoint her as the Godmother, Tara declared herself as one and Manik obliged. Of course Nandini too. When Harry first called her as 'Tara Aunty', Tara screamed her lungs out and told him with a straight face that no, he has to call her Tara because 'Dude, Harry never called Sirius as Uncle.' She was the most dedicated in getting Harry educated. She taught him to read, write and once he was good enough to read books of his own, she introduced him to the wizarding world by gifting the 'Harry Potter box'. It didn't take Harry long enough to get addicted to his world.

Even if all Tara did was have fun, she also was eager to teach him his manners, to respect elders and answer every doubt of his patiently even when they were ridiculous or never ending. When Nandini asked her, she told, Manik and Nandini are the two of the best people in her life and she never wanted Harry to rebel like Tara against his parents. Of course, whenever Harry got a doubt or was in any kind of dilemma, Tara was his first source to find his answers. 

Meanwhile, when Tara got an offer to perform with a band, she agreed it after consulting Manik and Nandini. A few months and she was already well known in the musical world. When the tenants of the apartment in front of theirs vacated the place, Tara along with Nandini and Manik bought it and Manik stopped renting his place. She even gave her old room to Harry, redecorating it as the Harry Potter theme. One room in the new apartment is also dedicated to the kid where Harry and Tara sneak out to eat junk and watch movies after Tara's long tours. 

Nandini shut the album when she heard the voices of her husband and son. As she stared at the album longingly, she reminded herself of how much she treasured the past few years of her life. 

A/N - The last few part is a bit rushed because the chapter itself is too long and also because I am in a rush and I wanted to update this before I leave. This is the last one because I couldn't write anymore in this.

I am traveling and will be back in 7-10 days. I will write the next one-shot after that.
See you soon with another new story. :)