21. THE ATTRACTION!

Nandini reached her home after completing her duty to find it empty, which she hates the most. She doesn’t have anyone except her grandmother who lives in Bangalore and here she stays alone but she doesn’t have any other choice either. She signs and directly walks into the washroom for a shower after a hectic workday. In the shower, she is stressed and thinking about Manik only. Don’t know if it is bad or what but she can’t take him out of her thoughts. Out of the blue, she remembered their kiss while touching her lips and found his feelings. “No matter what. But he is a good kisser…” Murmuring this to herself she palmed her face and scolds herself looking in the mirror. “Nandini, your unsatisfied hormones are speaking shit so, calm them before they start getting attracted to that bast*rd Manik.”

Composing herself and throwing his thoughts in the bin she came out from the shower wrapping a towel around her petite figure and saw a figure lying on her bed. She picked the nearby vase from the table and raised it to attack the intruder but before she could hit the man, he scooped her in his arms and pinned her on the wall, making her yell in frustration. “Tum yaha kya kar rahe ho?” ( What are you doing here? ) She shouts in his face who is lost in her eyes. 

“Hello, Madam Ji…” Manik whispers huskily while pinning both her hands above her head, making her towel a little loose from her chest. She struggles and tries to kick his b*ner but he fails all her attempts and cages her completely in his arms. “How can you get inside my room?” She asks angrily. 

“Oh… that was so easy for me. Did you forget who I am!” He replies keeping the huskiness intact in his tone just for her. She wanted to smack his face and asked again, “What are you doing here?” He smiles brightly, “This is the question that I expected from THE INSPECTOR NANDINI MURTHY, directly on point.” 

“Then you too come on point and stop barking!” She lashed at him, making him chuckle. “Uff… Isi ada par toh hum fida hai. ( That’s why I like you ) By the way, I came because I missed you a lot the whole day but I didn’t know that I would get a treat of watching you in a towel.” 

Saying this, he caresses the outline of her towel touching her bre*sts intentionally. “Leave me, you b*stard!” She struggles but is unable to do anything. 

“Yaa, a bastard but only for you!” He replied lovingly, caressing her cheek this time. “Pyaar ho gaya hai tumse… kya karu? Raha hi nahi jata tumhare bine.” ( I love you… Now what will I do? I can’t stay away from you. )

Nandini chuckles dryly and speaks with venom, “Ise pyaar nahi HAWAS ( Lust ) kahate hai, Mr Manik Malhotra…” ( This is not love, Mr. Malhotra. This is lust! ) He got angry with her when she gave his love a name of lust. He squeezed her cheeks giving her a little pain but the fierce Nandini didn’t wince, “Agar hawas hoti na toh pata nahi kab ka puri kar chuka hota. Aur abhi jis halat mai tum hona toh us halat mai khadi hone ke layak nahi bachti.” ( If it was lust then don’t know how long it would be completed. ) He leaves her cheeks and pulled her closer through her waist angrily, “Agar hawas hoti na toh kab ka bana leta tumhe apna lekin PYAAR ho tum mera isiliye jitna chahta hoo tumhe tumhari marzi se.” 

Nandini is speechless as someone confesses his love for her for the first time and in bold words. She may be a fierce inspector but an innocent girl still hidden in her heart who finds him attractive at this moment. “Hawas hoti toh jab tum naha rahi thi tabhi bana leta tumhe apni rakhel ( Mistress ) aur tum kuch nahi bigaad paati mera.” ( If it was lust then, I would bang you right there in the washroom and you wouldn’t even do anything. ) He confessed while she gasped knowing the fact that he witnessed her in the shower. She meekly asked, “You are lying…” 

He smirks devilishly and caresses her as*cheeks, “You have a mole around your hip bone, and trust me that looks so hot in the shower.” She gasped as he was telling the truth, she had a mole there but it was too light to be noticed. “Don’t worry, I will not say this to anyone as these things should be kept secret in husband-wife relations.” He leaves her and moves back, making her statue who is looking at him like an innocent child, “Next time try to take a shower facing the door so that I can get a clear view of your puss*”

Saying this he leaves her house like thin air. She broke the vase angrily and cursed him, “Ah… B*stard!” She wore her nightdress and locked all the doors and windows properly. She comes towards the dinner table and finds it decorated with candles but what surprises her is the tempting food. “Who cooked this?” She finds the notes as well on the table that reads. 

“I was waiting for you for the last half an hour but you didn’t come so I thought to cook supper for you because I know you must be tired and hungry. Enjoy your happy meal exclusively prepared by your hubby, Madam Ji.” 

The last is enough for her to understand that Manik cooked food for her and as expected she lifts the bowl to throw in the dustbin but stops finding one more note stuck on the wall just above the bin. 

“Na… Na… Don’t even think of throwing the food. You can’t waste food just because you were angry with me. So many people don’t get a time meal and here you are wasting it just like that… Not good.” 

Nandini murmurs angrily, “The devil himself is teaching me…. WOW!” She dropped the plan of throwing the food as no matter how he was but he was right somewhere. She kept the bowl and dialed a number to talk to her sir. “Cabir sir, Nandini here…” 

“Sir, I want to know what the penalty is if I use one bullet for my personal use.” 

“Ya… sir, I know the pistol and bullets are government property but still I want to know…” 

“Sir, I just want to kill someone…” ( Thought about Manik while gritting her teeth )  

“Sorry sir… It’s ok… I understood! I will not use my pistol for personal use.” 

“By the way sir, are you still in the hospital with Navya?”

“Sorry sir, It’s fine. You can stay.” Saying this she immediately cuts the call before he scolds her once again and slumps on the table. “I got scolded just because of that devil… I won’t leave him…” Her subconsciousness mocked her, “He won’t let you leave me either!” He banged her head on the table still thinking about him but she caught something. He opened the lid of the second bowl and found a bullet with a pistol and damn another note. 

“I know you must be finding ways to kill me and I can’t ignore your wish. So, this is a pistol and a free bullet for you. You can shoot me anytime and anywhere only if you find out that I am not loyal to you or my love is fake.” 

She reads the note and shock would be the wrong word to express her state of mind. She crumpled the paper angrily and banged her head on the table. “What does he want from me?” Trying not to think about him, she had her food but again she couldn’t stop her mind from praising his cooking skills. 

From the next day, she finds him everywhere because he is following her like a shadow, passing her his brightest smile and flying kisses, reminding her of their first liplock. He kept visiting her house and prepared delicious supper daily, giving her an off from cooking. 

Slowly and steadily, she also starts liking him or I would say she becomes habitual of his cooking and staring at him at the red light where he always waits till her jeep passes by there. Nowadays she is finding his antiques cute. He always gives her flying kisses which she ignores by wearing her black goggles but her heart knows how she looks at him from the corner of her eyes. 

One day, she didn’t find him anywhere at their usual stop where they stared at each other sneakingly which made her worried for him for the first time. Maybe the love made a place in her heart. But on the same day, a lady dragged Manik inside the police station and started shouting at the constable for writing an FIR. 

“He stole my purse… so, put him in jail right now!” The lady pushed Manik In front of the constable who stood up in shock seeing THE MIGHTY MONSTER himself in the station. The constable and all the officers from junior to senior were looking at him with open mouths. 

The constable gulps his saliva and defends Manik because he is well aware of the consequences, “No…No… No… He can’t do such cheap things like snatching and kidnapping. If you blame him for murder then I will trust you blindly.” Manik groans as soon as “Murder” slips from his tongue and narrows his eyes on the constable, making him sweat. “I mean… I mean, he can’t do such things. He is a very gentle and reputed man of our state.” 

Nandini chuckles hearing these false adjectives for Manik. He saw her smile and winked at her, making her gasp. Then, he turned his attention and said while avoiding Nandini’s curious gaze, “Jab woh keh rahi hai ki maine churaya hai toh matlab churaya hai…” Authoritatively, “Jail mai daal mujhe… woh bhi Jail number 12 mai…” ( If she is saying that I stole her bag then do listen to her and put me in jail. ) 

For a minute, no one moves from their place because no one has enough courage to put the lion in the cage. They all were looking at each other scared of touching him as he would burn them alive. Seeing no moment, he secretly murmurs in the lady’s ear, angrily, “Tumhe yaha show dekhne ke paise nahi mile hai… show karne ke paise diye hai.” ( I didn’t give you money to watch the show… so, act accordingly. ) 

The lady gulped in fear and cried, gaining Nandini’s attention knowing very well what to say. “Kya yaha koi hai jo mujh jaisi bholi naari ki madad kare… ( Pointing at Manik ) Is admi ne mera purse churaya hai aur yeah kalmuhe police wale sun hi nahi rahe hai meri baat. Mujh jaise abla naari aab kaha jaaye…” 

“Dekhiye app chinta mat kariye… apki complaint zarror likhi jayegi. Ramesh, inki complaint likho.” Nandini ordered one of the constables and hold Manik’s wrist to put him in jail. As soon as their skin comes in contact both feel the current but keeping those feelings aside she drags him. “Aaj toh bhut hi katilana lag rahi ho, Madam Ji” He flirts. ( You are looking hot, Madam Ji. )

“Yeah sab kya kar rahe ho tum?” ( What are you doing? ) Nandini asks looking deep into his eyes. “Kya matlab, Madam Ji?” ( What do you mean, Madam Ji? ) He asks, avoiding her suspicious gaze. Without saying anything she put him behind bars and sat on her table.

Whereas he is doing what he comes here and that’s staring at her while lying down one of the benches. He is enjoying the view of her side profile, the strands that fall on her cheeks, and her way of tucking them behind her ears is so intoxicating. Now she understood why he came here and the answer was, FOR HER. 

On the other hand, in the underworld, chaos happened as soon as the news spread that MANIK WAS BEHIND BARS FOR MORE THAN 5 HOURS. The same news reached Amir Raheja which made him mad. He can’t believe that his most trusted man is behind bars just for a mere girl but he doesn’t know that the girl is not just an attraction for Manik. He gave an hour ultimatum to Kaushal to bring Manik in front of him and as per his order he started working on it. 

After half an hour, the same lady reached the police station to take her complaint back, “Madam, I want to take my complaint back.” Nandini looks at her and raises her eyebrows while the lady continues, “Woh… inhone kuch nahi kara hai. Maine ghar jaa kar dekha toh purse mere bag mai hi tha. Toh, please inhe chodh dijiye, Madam.” 

Nandini nods, hiding her smile to see the level of his planning just to stare at her the whole day. After coming out, and completing the formal procedure, he yelled at the lady, “Tujhe bola tha na ki mujhe 7 baje tak aayio release karwane. Toh phir itni jaldi kyu aayi?” ( I told you to come after seven then, what are you doing here now? ) 

The lady looks down in fear and speaks, “Woh… Sahab… SAHIB(Amir) ne bheja hai mere ko yaha aur aap ko chudwake ghar laane ko kaha hai…” ( Woh… Sir… Amir sir sent me here and ordered to bring you home directly. ) Manik understood why his boss called him but he was sure that he wouldn’t leave Nandini at any cost. 

“Yeh sab kya chal raha hai, Manik?” ( What is going on with you, Manik? ) Amir asks sternly but soon softens his tone because he loves him like his son and tries to know the matter. “Mera sher ek mamuli purse chori ka ilzam lagwake kaise jail jaa sakta hai.” ( I can’t believe that my boy could be behind bars just because he is accused of stealing. ) He sits on his chair while Manik is standing in front of him and asks the most important question, “Kiske liye kar raha hai yeah sab?” ( Why are you doing all this, and to be precise for whom? ) 

In an instant, Manik replies, “Apne pyaar ke liye.” ( For my love… ) 

To be continued…