50. DIFFERENT MANIK!

Karan:- Guess who I am? 

Nandini shivered or I say acted like shivering because of his closeness and her action were caught by her Shy boy. He looks at their closeness and something stabs in his heart. He can’t see the way her body reacts because of the other man’s closeness. He can’t digest that some other guy is getting cozy with her WHEN HE IS HERE IN FRONT OF HER. First of all, her ignorance and now another man in her life take a toll on him. He curled his fist and looked to the other side, hiding his red teary eyes. 

No matter what, no man can see the love of his life in the arms of someone else. Suddenly the urge of pushing the man away from HIS FIREBALL arises in his heart. But, there is a lot more he is going to witness at this party.

His parents smile and Rakesh winks at his wife, signaling to her that now, it’s their time to act as described by Nandini. Ritu clears her throat and grabs Manik’s attention and says looking at Nandini and the new boy. 

Ritu:- aww… Manik, look at Nandini, she is looking like a doll. 

Rakesh:- For the first time, I agree with you Ritu in Nandini’s matter. She is looking so gorgeous in this saree. 

Manik:- ( In a daze, forgetting about his anger ) Yes, she is looking breathtaking in this Saree, like a true goddess. 

His parents grinned but hid immediately to act according to the plan. 

Rakesh:- ( Curiously ) But, who is that guy? They seem to be close. 

Ritu:- I think he is Nandini’s boyfriend because she told me once that she loves a guy. 

Her words directly stabbed Manik’s heart, making it bleed while the tears formed in the back of his eyes. The blood rushed in his nerve, making him act possessively. 

Manik:- ( Possessively ) SHE HAS NO BOYFRIEND!

Rakesh:- But it didn’t look like that. 

He said looking at the scene in front of their eyes which awakens the possessive boyfriend in Manik. 

On the other side, Nandini turns around and acts surprised while encircling her arms around Karan’s neck to give him a tight hug. She tightens her hold around him to give some over-friendly vibes to everyone who is noticing them. 

Nandini:- Karan!… What a pleasant surprise! When did you come back from Dehradun?

Karan replied but Manik didn’t hear anything as his eyes were stuck on their clinging body. Her hands were around his neck and HIS ARMS AROUND HER WAIST. He dared to touch her bare waist in front of HIM. He is planning all the possible ways to cut the boys’ arms for touching HIS FIREBALL. But his fireball’s action also shocked him. She won’t allow any man to touch her freely except him and here she is clinging to him, herself. 

Nandini:- Karan, you become so cool, and your cheeks… Oh my god!… They are so cute. 

Saying this she pulls his cheeks whereas Manik looks at the boy’s attire only to murmur, “What is good in him? He wore a simple Shirt and Pants just like me.” He pouts irritatingly and tries to look somewhere else but damn his eyes are coming back to stare at a spot that belongs to him i.e. HIS FIREBALL.

All of a sudden, his eyes popped out when he saw Nandini giving a quick peck on the boy’s cheek, making him blush. This is too much for him, she is not allowed to kiss anyone except him. He should be the only one who gets a kiss from her. He looks at the boy as if scanning him from top to bottom so that he can kill him after the party. 

Pihu noticed the whole scene and informed everything to her Bui through Bluetooth who grins seeing the plan working. Now, it’s Pihu’s turn to add some filmy drama to Nandini’s life. She took a glass of orange juice and walked towards her and deliberately dashed with her, pushing her ahead, making Nandini fall into Karan’s arms who held her in his arms like a filmy hero. 

The scene looks like a complete coincidence because of Nandini and Pihu’s acting talent. Karan and Nandini get lost in each other’s eyes, making someone’s blood boil. No one should be surprised if I say that someone is none other than Manik. Surprisingly, he advanced towards them and pulled out his Fireball in his arms while hugging her to his heart, acting innocently. 

He tightens his arms around her milky waist giving goosebumps to her and says as if he is seeing her after a decade. 

Manik:- Nandini, I missed you so much. You didn’t have any idea how exhausted I got to find a perfect outfit for tonight. ( Cupping her cheeks ) You always chose my clothes and made my life a little easier. That’s why I missed you so much. I almost made a mess of my cupboard so please come home tomorrow and arrange it for me. 

He pleads, giving an indirect idea to the boy that she is closer to him to an extreme extent. Whereas Nandini is just standing because of his hold or else now she would be on the ground because of shock. She looks at his hand that is cupping her cheeks and eyes looking at her with possessiveness. She blinks, having no idea what to do now as she didn’t expect to get such a response from him. Seeing her misery, Ritu comes forward to help her future daughter-in-law. 

Ritu:- Manik, what are you saying? Why will she set your cupboard? 

Karan:- ya, you are not her husband that she will do work for you, and by the way, tomorrow she is coming with me on a date at the STAR-BAKED CAFE. 

Manik shoots daggers at him for interfering in their matter but he couldn’t voice out his thoughts, but his words ring in his head. 

Manik:- DATE? 

Rakesh:- ( Eyeing Nandini and the boy, innocently ) So,  you guys are dating? 

Karan:- No!… But, you never know what will happen tomorrow. She had a huge crush on me in school days but I always dumped her. ( With a chuckle ) Now, I regret dumping her. 

Karan and Rakesh shared a fake laugh. Whereas Manik looks at Nandini, asking various questions through his eyes which are melting her. She looked at Karan and hid her face with her hair and whispered to Pihu through their Bluetooth. 

Nandini:- ( Whispers ) Pihu, take me out of this situation or else I will kiss the hell out of Shyboy for being so cute and adorable which will ruin our plan. 

Pihu nods and suddenly comes to help her out. Here, Manik is looking at her continuously, she is avoiding his eyes and smiling at Karan’s joke. To be honest, it pinched his heart seeing the way she was laughing with the other guy.

Manik:- ( Whispers to Nandini ) You didn’t hug me today nor did you look at me the way you always do whenever I come in front of you. Are you upset with me? 

Nandini whines making a bad face as the urge to kiss him increases hearing his cute complaint. She is losing her battle in front of his gentleness. But her savior, Pihu, comes on time. 

Pihu:- ( Holding Nandini’s hand ) Bui, Dad is calling you. 

Saying this she immediately turns to drag Nandini out of the situation but stops hearing Manik. 

Manik:- Nandini, One second…

Everyone looks at him curiously, he bends down in front of Nandini and lifts her saree a little to see her feet. He buckled her sandals properly which opened when she fell into Karan’s arms. She looks at him with wide eyes thinking how did he know that? When she is unknown herself. He buckled her sandals and checked them twice to make sure that she wouldn’t fall because of that. She looks at him with love while the audience appreciates his gentleness. 

Manik:- ( While standing up ) Now, you can go. 

Nandini:- ( Timidly ) How do you know about that? 

Manik:- ( Rubbing his neck, shyly ) How can I not see when you are in discomfort? ( Nandini goes all aww on him ) You were putting your weight from one leg to another one and I understood that something is wrong with you. 

Nandini smiles like a love-sick puppy and takes a step to kiss him, feeling overwhelmed seeing his care for herself. But, Pihu pinched her, bringing her back on track before Manik could notice her expression. She drags Nandini away while Karan clears his throat, making him come back into his possessive mode. 

Karan:- Thank you for helping her, gentleman. She is a little clumsy and always ends up hurting herself like that but today you saved her. Thanks once again. 

Manik gets mad when he calls his Fireball clumsy. He looks into his eyes and says in a firm tone. 

Manik:- She is not clumsy, she gets a little carefree around HER PEOPLE. So, I have to make sure that she is away from hurting herself because of carelessness. ( After a pause ) You are not attentive towards her so, you won’t understand it. 

Karan:- You count yourself in her people list, seriously? Who are you to her? What is your relationship with her? 

Manik opens his mouth to reply but the realization is drawn upon him. HE IS NOTHING TO HER. He broke all the relationships with her. Now, how can he CLAIM HER AS HIS IN FRONT OF THE GUY WHO IS CLINGING TO THE GIRL HE LOVES? 

To be continued…