57. DOUBLE PERSONALITY

Ritu:- I know, you don’t have money right now but earn that for her. Do hard work and make yourself deserving of her. Work hard to give her what she wants. 

Manik looks at her with teary eyes as he understands where he went wrong with his Fireball. He gave importance to making her future bright but forgot that she only wanted HIM. She is the one who confessed her love for him breaking the stereotype and what he did, pushed her back. He wanted to bang his head somewhere for his stupidity. 

Ritu:- What happened, Manik? Why are you crying? 

She wipes his tears and cups his cheeks, making him exhale tiredly, and tells her everything. As soon as he ends, Ritu looks at her son with anger for making her dearest Nandini cry. 

Manik:- ( Scaredly ) And… and she said, she will not look at me and will forget about me. 

Ritu:- ( Angrily ) You make her cry, Manik? 

Manik:- Kind off…

Ritu:- I don’t know anything, go and pacify her. 

Manik:- ( Innocently ) Maa, she won’t look at my face. 

Ritu:- Then, it is your punishment for pushing away a girl who loves you dearly. ( After a pause ) Will you get any other girl again who will love you selflessly as Nandini does? 

Manik nods his head in negative instantly knowing he will never get any other girl like his Fireball because god created a single piece that is exclusively for him. 

Manik:- ( Innocently ) So, should I go and talk to her? 

Ritu:- ( Shooting daggers at him ) You don’t have any other choice. 

Manik:- Will she forgive me? 

Ritu:- ( With a smirk ) Maybe yes but after giving you a punishment which you deserve. 

Hearing her, he gulps because he doesn’t know what kind of punishment Nandini will give him for breaking her heart. He closes her eyes and imagines a scene. 

Nandini:- ( Talking to her children while pointing at Manik ) Babies, look he is your UNCLE. He is your mother’s EX who pushed your mumma away ( Points at Karan ) and looked at your PAPA. He accepted me with open arms and gave me beautiful babies like you. 

Manik with teary eyes looks at the three kids with whom Nandini is introducing them to him. Then his gaze fell on Karan who was standing beside Nandini, holding her waist with his bare hands and smirking at him. 

Manik:- ( Shouts ) NO… SHE CAN’T PUNISH ME LIKE THAT. THE KIDS ARE MINE NOT KARANS’. 

Ritu shakes him to bring him back to the earth who looks at his surroundings with a sweaty face. 

Ritu:- ( Confusingly ) Whose kids? Who is Karan? 

Manik:- ( Frantically ) Mumma, I can’t let her go and marry that Karan. Tell me a way to pacify her. How… How can I win her heart back? 

Ritu:- That’s your call. You have to think of ways to get her forgiveness. 

Saying this she leaves his room while Manik cries about his fate and thinks about the ways to mend his Fireball’s heart. He recalls their moments from today’s party and a sudden blush appeared on his cheeks. An idea pops into his mind through which he can win her back. 

Manik:- ( Smilingly ) You love my simplicity na… then I will win you back with my simplicity. ( Excitedly ) I am coming, fireball.

He stood up with determination and took his phone to dial her number. 

Manik:- ( Praying ) Please… pick up the call, Fireball. 

On the other hand, at Nandini’s house, the atmosphere is getting hotter because the Fierce Nandini is at home. She is shooting daggers at her brother who is sitting calmly and is scared of her anger while the two spectators Pihu and Navya are having a great time because it’s Nandini’s show time. 

Nandini:- ( Sternly ) Did you choose a boy for my alliance? 

Cabir nods looking into her eyes as if challenging her to do anything she wants but he won’t budge from his decision. 

Nandini:- May I know his name? 

Cabir:- ( With a lip-tight smile ) Yes, you can but I won’t tell you. 

And a sudden change occurs in Nandini’s behavior. She whines like a kid and slumps on the couch in front of her brother. 

Nandini:- Bhai… Why? 

Cabir:- What do you mean by why? ( After a pause ) I am your elder brother, I do get worried thinking about your marriage. 

Pihu:- Dad, don’t you think that you should be worried about Bui’s husband rather than her? 

In reflex, she earned a pillow from her Bui which directly hit her face, making her silent. 

Nandini:- Bhai, I don’t like your choices and you know that. 

Cabir:- ( Confidently ) This time you will love him. I chose a perfect boy who will handle you effortlessly. 

Nandini:- ( Frustratingly ) Perfect boy, my foot! Answer my few questions…

Cabir nods while she continues her favorite job which is giving him shock. 

Nandini:- Does he smoke? 

Cabir:- ( Smilingly ) Nope! 

Nandini:- ( With a duh face ) Huh! Then, what will he do when I need a company to smoke? 

Pihu:- ( Smiles sheepishly ) Maybe, he will run behind you with an ashtray… 

She ends up giggling, making her Bui chuckle imagining the scene. 

Cabir:- ( On the verge of a panic attack ) You smoke? 

Nandini: I will discuss this later. Tell me, does he drink? 

Cabir shook his head lightly, not able to say anything. 

Nandini:- ( Disappointedly ) Then, what is his purpose for living here? If he won’t drink then who will make PATIALA PEG for me? 

Cabir gasped and looked at his sister with a wide open mouth. She cries dramatically and curses her fate while he composes himself and asks the most important question. 

Cabir:- What type of a boy do you want as your partner? 

Nandini:- ( Dreamily ) The one who will smoke with me, who will get drunk with me every night, who will go clubs with me, and most importantly who knows how to satisfy a girl in bed. 

In a second, Cabir pulled her ear, making her wince as he saw the teasing glimpse in her eyes. 

Cabir:- ( Angrily ) You want me to find a boy for you or a mafia? Because the qualities you want in a boy come only in Mafias. 

Nandini:- I won’t mind having a MAFIA HUSBAND until you are cool with an illegal son-in-law. 

Cabir left her ear and banged his head while she smiled sheepishly and smirked. 

Nandini:- ( Innocently ) By the way, you don’t have to make any effort. I already found a boy for myself. 

Cabir:- Don’t call him boy, call him Mafia… ( Realized what she said ) One second, did you just say that you found a boy? 

Nandini:- Yup! 

Cabir:- Does he smoke? 

Nandini:- ( Disappointedly ) He does but not regularly like me. He just smokes when he is stressed about something. 

Cabir:- Drink? 

Nandini:- ( Happily ) Yup! Every night… so cool, right? 

Cabir:- ( Shouts ) Are you mad? 

Nandini:- ( Dreamily ) Yes, I am mad because I am madly in love with him…

Cabir:- ( Cribs ) Navya, please, make her understand. 

Navya:- Cabir, she is just teasing you, and as usual you are making a fool of yourself. 

Hearing her, he looks at Nandini who looks at him extra sweetly and he understands that he got pranked again. 

Cabir:- ( Tiredly ) Why are you always on the verge of making me a heart patient? Will you get some commission from a cardiologist?  

Nandini:- Bhai, it’s your punishment for hiding…

But she stopped in the middle because her phone rang with SHYBOY’s name, bringing her smirk back to her lips. She received the call and hid it from everyone, thanked god for this perfect timing, and continued her drama. 

Nandini:- ( Showing extra emotions ) What are you saying, Bhai? You want me to marry a guy to whom you chose for me? 

Cabir looks at her with wide eyes and frowns seeing the sudden change in her behavior. Nevertheless, he answers her. 

Cabir:- Yes, I want you to meet the guy I chose for you and give him a chance. I can assure you that he would be the best husband. 

Nandini:- ( Slums down on the floor and cries harder ) No… No… I can’t marry him. I love someone, Bhai. I love someone… 

Cabir looks at her and holds his head which starts feeling dizzy seeing her behavior whereas Pihu looks at her Bui suspiciously because no one has taken birth in this world who can make Nandini cry. Before he could open his mouth to ask questions from her, she started again. 

Nandini:- ( Wiping her tears ) You are right Bhai. I should get married to the guy you chose for me because ( Again cries but there were no tears in her eyes ) THE ONE I LOVE WILL NEVER RECIPROCATE MY LOVE. 

Cabir:- Are you on any kind of drug? 

Nandini:- ( Palming her mouth in shock ) What? He is a druggist! ( After a short pause ) I won’t mind… make me marry him. I will accept my fate. ( Looking at the ceiling ) Why god, Why…. you made me fall in love when you didn’t write him in my life. ( wiping her invisible tears ) Bhai, I will forget about him and give myself completely to my soon-to-be husband. 

As soon as she said this, the call ended by the person from the other end who was none other than MANIK, her Shyboy. She sprung up from the floor with an excited squeal giving another heart attack to her Bhai and Bhabhi. 

Nandini:- ( Yawking ) Bhai, I am sleepy and exhausted as well so good night. Have a good sleep. 

Saying this she ran towards her room followed by Pihu leaving her brother who is still processing the drama. 

Cabir:- ( Shouts back ) How can I sleep now? You snatched my peaceful sleep. ( To his Wife ) I think we have to consult a psychiatrist for her. Her double personality is not a topic to ignore. 

On the other hand, Manik slumped on the bed with tearful eyes and threw his phone away. 

Manik:- Is this my punishment? 

His imaginary scene again played in front of his eyes, making it difficult for him to breathe. 

To be continued…