15. CLOSENESS…

Palak walks out of the house hiding her face with a cloth but her mind is stuck on her husband who was pleasuring another girl on their bed. It did hurt her but that scene is forgettable however she can’t forget Saniket’s words. “How can anyone kidnap… HER?… SHE IS MINE!… I LUST ON HER FOR SO MANY YEARS AND NOW, HOW CAN ANY RANDOM MAN HAVE HER…?” These words have been roaming in her mind since that moment. She calms down and waits outside for Abhimanyu who promised to come here to pick her up. 

After 10 minutes, Abhimanyu reached Murthy’s residence, and they eloped from there without anyone’s notice. Abhimanyu notices the frowns on Palak’s forehead and asks curiously, “What happened, Maam?” 

Hearing his question, Palak looks at his worried face and replies in a daze, “One thing is roaming in my mind and I am trying to find the answer.” He asks in reflex, “What is it about, Maam?” Then, she told him everything from the start, and at the end her tone filled with disgust. 

“So, Whom he was imagining?” Abhimanyu asked, shocked by her revelation. He is also disgusted with the fact that how can anyone imagine his sister while F*cking another girl? But he doesn’t know that the real truth is about to come in front of them. 

“I heard him saying the same when… he… he… was…. ( Calming herself ) When he does the same with me.” It took Palak’s whole courage to say this her husband moans imagining her as his sister. She clarifies further to make Abhimanyu understand, “Saniket says the same thing when he has s*x with me.” She didn’t hear his previous question because she is lost in her thoughts. 

“What!…” Shock would be a small word to express Abhimanyu’s condition. His lips dried and the blood rushed in his veins, making him angrier. He can never understand how Palak and Nandini are living in such a hell. Still, he manages his anger and asks the question which was running through his mind from the start, “Who do you think he was imagining during that time?”

Palak looks at him like a corpse who has no expressions or emotions on her face and utters a name that snatched the floor beneath his feet. “NANDINI…” 

Nandini’s name is enough to fade Abhimanyu’s face color. He can never imagine that anyone could dream of having an 18-year-old girl on his bed. Truly speaking, he is very protective of Nandini and this didn’t go well with him. “How can that bast*rd think about Nandini like that? She is his sister!” Yelling, he banged his hand on the steering wheel, making her scared. “Did… Did Nandini tell you about him or anything related to this?” He asks but Palak gives him confusing looks so he elaborates, “Usually girls can sense these things earlier than anyone. So, did she tell you about Saniket’s nasty behavior?” 

“No!… She doesn’t.” Palak said instantly but continued after thinking about something, “She is scared of Saniket and always tries to never go in his space alone. She always locks herself in her room when she finds Saniket at home.”

“Do you ever try to ask the reason for her behavior?” Abhimanyu gets mad over the fact that he doesn’t know about Nandini’s behavior. Although she is like an open book to him. He can even read her thoughts which she never spoke about. 

“I tried numerous times but every time she douches the question saying “I am thinking too much.” Palak ends and at the same time, Abhimanyu parked the car in front of a beautiful house. She read the nameplate which says, INSPECTOR CABIR DESHMUKH. 

“We will discuss this later. First, we have to take care of Nandini’s kidnapping case. It’s almost 12 hours since her kidnap and we have no clue about her whereabouts.” Abhimanyu keeps the topic aside for a moment as Nandini’s safety is their priority. With high hope, they walk inside to get some help from him. 

On the other hand, In the cottage, Nandini is sleeping on the floor wrapping her dupatta around her as a blanket. Her juicy lips were a little apart snatching Manik’s sleep. Her cute doll-like frame, doe-like little nose, and almond-like closed eyes were pleasing to his eyes. He is capturing her all features with keen interest as if he won’t see her again. Tonight, he had no desire to sleep because he didn’t want to miss her serene beauty. 

Although he was lying far away from her, his sharp eyes were stagnant on her. His brain is saying to turn his face away from her but his greedy heart wants to capture her all night until she wakes up on her own. He also noticed the way frowns were forming on her forehead, making her feel sweaty. All of a sudden she starts changing her position with restlessness. The frowns were deepening and a tear rolled down from her eyes while her lips wobbled. 

Seeing her situation, his fingers itched to gather her in his embrace and kiss her forehead to remove those frowns but his mind is denying this time with solid excuses, making his heart sulk in the corner. Unknowingly, his lips uttered while his eyes lingered on her teary face, “You are making me weak, girl.” 

Nandini opens her eyes with a jerk and sits up in a panic. Seeing her awake, Manik closed his eyes to act like sleeping so that she wouldn’t get doubt that he is gawking at her like a fool. But being a clever boy, he is watching her move from the corner eye. 

She looks around and signs in relief, finding herself in a different room apart from her own in Murthy’s residence. But the memory she just saw as a dream is not leaving her soon, making her sacred. At this time, she wants assurance that she is safe here away from that dreadful memory. Without any further thoughts, she drags her body nearer to HIS, silently, and looks at his face to find any reaction but he is calm, making her relax. 

With a quivering hand, she palms his left hand and cages it with her both palms. Having a tight hold of his hand, she lies down beside him and closes her eyes to sleep. There is still a decent gap between them but he is not in a good condition. He got goosebumps and his heart beat at an unexpected rate. He wanted to pull his hand back from her grip but her hold is stronger than he expected. He left a soft tired breath and looked at her, who was frowning in her sleep again. 

Nandini snuggles on her soft mattress holding her favorite Mickey Mouse in her tight grip. She looks at her MOUSY, the name she gave to her Mickey Mouse, and says, “Tomorrow is my first day in 10th standard so, Mousy, make me sleep earlier. I don’t want to get late for my classes.” She planted a kiss on Mousy’s lips with a giggle, “Good night, Mousy. Dream about me and my Prince.” 

The door opens of her room and a man enters with a seductive smile. She is unaware of everything, the man rushed towards her and lies down beside her caging her waist with his arm, making her jerk in shock. “Who is here?” She yells and turns to face the man removing his hand from her waist.

Her frown deepens seeing HER BROTHER, SANIKET, on her bed beside her. “What are you doing here, Bhai?” 

Without replying, he grabbed her neck pulling her closer, dominantly, so that there was a minimal distance between their faces. She shutters in fear with all the negative thoughts while he continues, “You are so sexy, sister. I can’t take my eyes off you and come here to feel your body.” While saying this, he sniffs her fragrance and roams his hand on her thighs near her private part. 

She pushed him hard and moved back in fear, making him violent. He grabbed her hair, pulled it harshly, and said, “Don’t you dare to push me back ever again or else I won’t wait for you to turn 18.”

Nandini cries with the pain but her mental pain is much greater than the physical one. She wanted to yell at him and give him a tight slap but he is stronger than her and she doesn’t know what will be the consequences of her actions. She timidly says to make him realize, “I am your sister…”

“No!… No, you aren’t.” His reply makes her surprised but she has no courage to ask what he meant by that. Whereas Saniket is possessed by lust which makes him blind completely. He caresses her cheek and plants a kiss, making her cry in agony. His hand went down and was near her breast, “You are turning into the woman of my dreams, Baby. ( Eyeing her bosoms ) Just look at them, how fast they are getting in shape?” He smirks devilishly but before he could touch them, his phone rings and Nandini thanks her Ayaappa for saving her. 

He left the room while Nandini locked the door and cried hard while curling herself in the corner. 

All of a sudden, a hand moves towards her and pulls her into his embrace. She hears a soft murmur which sets her heart at peace, “Shh… It’s a bad dream. I am here… just came down, Jaan.” 

Manik saw her turning again in her sleep and now, he can’t see her struggle anymore. So, he pulls her in his arms and wraps her in his embrace giving her much-needed assurance. She calms down a bit and he caresses her arm while murmuring, “Shh… It’s a bad dream. I am here… just came down, Jaan.” The words come out of his mouth unknowingly but he doesn’t ponder on them. He looks at the girl sleeping in his arms and all his other thoughts went on vacation. He finds her smile in her sleep for the first time when she snuggles in him like he is her favorite cuddler. It brought a smile to his lips too and he didn’t stop himself from planting a kiss on her forehead to make her comfortable. 

To be continued…