~The best feeling in this world is the feeling of being loved.~

N A N D I N I

Fuck. Fucking muffins. Fucking unicorns. Fucking holy polys.

My gaze pierced through the unrequited boundaries in the middle as she continued to ogle on my husband and I fisted my palm, gritting my teeth. I should have never brought Manik here in the first place.

"So yes Mr. Malhotra, you were telling me something about your kids?" She asked again battling her eye lashes at him. Does she even realise she was the principle of this primary school and he was the father of two kids?!

"Mamma!" Aarav urged my hand and I bent to him, as he leaned to my ear.

"You has told this would be our interview, why is this white lady interviewing paapaa instead?" He bobbled his head innocently and I sighed.

"You know what Ma'am, my kids can speak for themselves!" I said in a low but stern voice and she seemed frustrated for me breaking her trance. Manik quietly gave me a thank you look and I narrowed my eyes at him as well.

"Yes, tell me about yourselves kids!" She said in a bored voice. How the hell can be a principal of a primary school be so.... greedy, seductive, and cheap and disgusting and anything that allows her to ogle on someone's husband.

"My name is Aarav. Mamma and Paapaa also call me Nikki. I am going to turn three years old and my favourite cartoon is Mickey Mouse. Except that, I don't like School—..," He grumped.

"Aarav!" I whispered in a scolding voice and he bit his tongue. "I mean I will like School. And she is my twin Mahi. Can I introduce her too?" He whispered in his baby voice and I beamed proudly.

"No Aarav, let Mahi do it!" The principal told him turning towards Mahi and Aarav shrugged. The one thing that he gets from Manik is undoubtably is attitude. I have him a look and he composed himself.

"I am Mahi. As I am his twhin (twin) I lhuv (love) everything that he loves. But I like Peppa Pig more. Bas!" She smiled politely and Manik leaned to me.

"My princess!" He whispered and I continued narrowing my eyes at him and he shrugged me off. Like father, like son. Arh!

"Very impressive kids. Now tell me why do you want to come to this primary school?" She smiled at them and I think I liked her a little more when she kept her eyes on my kids, and not on my husband.

"Because-....," Aarav gave a naughty look to Mahi and they both smirked before shouting together. "Abeeeeer!" They were proud.

"Excuse me Ma'am, Abeer is their cousin. He's a year elder to them and is here too," Manik explained and she nodded.

"Abeer Dhawan, I know. Cabir Dhawan's son!" She beamed and I rolled my eyes at her mentally. Of course, she'd just know the father. Why'd she know that Abeer is RJ Navya's son as well?

"Okay Mr. and Mrs. Malhotra, that's enough. We'd get back to you with their admission in a day or two. Thank you for coming!" She smiled politely and though she mentioned both of us, her eyes were stuck at Manik.

This time my anger crossed the control limits. "You rather get them admitted, you get that. If I don't get the admission call in day, I'd crush you with all my power and money, get that?" I said sternly and she gulped. Manik looked at me in shock before he got up, took Mahi in his arms and gave Aarav to me.

With a smirk on his face, he left the cabin and I followed him, not before killing the principal with my glares.

I'm sure she'd remember their mother before their father next time. And yes, I am not jealous... it's just about woman's rights.

~

"Ahem Ahem!" He cleared his throat and I gave him one narrowed glare as we put the kids into the back seat of the car and I sat in the passenger seat beside it.

"What is it, Nandini? Mujhe toh bada lecture sunna rahi thi, 'down to earth', 'I want my kids to learn,'" he mimicked me and I glared at him but he continued nonetheless. "Ab Kya hua, hmm? Subeh subeh peeke aayi ho yaaan-...," he teased.

"Manik!" I scolded shouting. "Tumhaare saath kuch bhi down to earth ho sakta hai kya?" I glared and he made a fake shocked face, acting innocent as we drove.

"Really? Meine kya kiya?" He asked, "as much as I remember, voh threat tumne di thi, meine nahi," he pretended to think and my voice hitched in my throat.

"Haa toh. Toh kya? I mean.. isme meri galti nahi hai. Principal ko dekhke lag raha tha she will admit you in the primary school instead of my kids. It was necessary!" I argued and he laughed to himself as I stared outside in anger.

Manik is also not less at fault. He could have discouraged her interest. But nahi, he's a rock star! He loves attention. So he started his speech about his kids and the topic got diverted from my kids to how is his life, his music, his songs, and how does he manage a busy professional and personal life at the same time.

It looked more like Manik's interview than my kids!

"Paapaa you promised me roof top," Aarav smirked sitting behind and Manik smiled at him.

"No Aarav, you're still very small. This is dangerous!" I scolded staring outside and he frowned, pouting.

"But Mamma, you only said we shouldn't break promises. And if I don't stand on roof top, paapaa's promise will break na!" He pacified in his cute baby voice and I smiled a little bit.

Manik opened the roof top with a smile at Aarav all the time. This man na, mere bacho ko kharab kardega.

"Manik, this is not right. We have to draw a line somewhere when it comes to completing their wishes. Today it's just about the car's roof top, maybe tomorrow they'd ask for something that we wouldn't be able to give them. Tab kya karenge?" I scolded my husband holding my toddler's legs whose face was already outside in the breeze and his giggles surrounded the atmosphere.

"Well Nandini, there's nothing in this world that I can't give my kids and you know that. Zyaada se zyaada kya maangenge? The moon or the sun right? Tumhaare naam pe ek star karaya tha, unke naam pe Moon toh kara hi sakta hu," he shrugged casually and I stared at him with an open mouth. Sometimes, or actually all the time when it comes to his kids, Manik doesn't make sense at all.

"Okay. You are the Manik Malhotra. You can give them everything right. Then you know what, last night Mahi asked me for a boyfriend. Laa do na!" I teased and he nodded in trance.

"Cool. Don't worry Mahi, kal tak tumhaara boyfriend aa jaayega—....," he spoke in trance and then stopped mid way, his eyes widening in realisation. I bit my lower lip, trying to control the urge of laughter.

"Boyfriend? Seriously Nandini? She's turning three and she's not allowed to have any boyfriends until she's thirty," He scolded and before I could argue back, Mahi stopped us.

"Paapaa what is boyfriend? Mujhe bhi chahiye!" She cribbed frowning and by the change in Manik's expressions, I could know he went pale.

"Mahi baby, any boy who is a friend is called boy friend," I explained and Manik nodded in disbelief.

"Then I have a boyfriend. Abeer is my boyfriend!" She seemed happy with the new found information and I gave out a stiff giggle.

"No Mahi!" Manik scolded. "Remember what I taught you when I was reading you the bed time stories?"

"Yes Paapaa!" She nodded obediently. "No boy is nice except you. If any boy tells me that he loves me, it means I should phunch (punch) him. I am your princess, and you are my Prince Charming. No more boys!" She repeated and I covered my face with my palm.

"Yes, that's like my sister. And no boys except me and Abeer okay?" Aarav shouted from up and she nodded shifting back in her place.

I sighed, already sympathising over my daughter. I could already imagine her as a full grown up teen, trying to sneak away from house to meet her friends which could include boys because this over protective father-don duo wouldn't let her even have a boy friend— mind that, a friend who is a boy. But I'm going to help her sneak out too. With this over protective father and son, I'd have to be the over cool mother then.

I was going to say something when I realised the car had stopped at the royal café, which was Fab5's most common hang out place in public.

I looked at Manik and raised an eye brow at him.

"I don't know this much about my kids, but I know about you jaan. Whenever you're this grumpy, it means you're Hungry. And for a fact, I know that you were obsessing over getting them fed parathas so that we're on time for interview, and you've hardly eaten something. So come on!" He motioned and i smiled. I was so in love with him and he with me that even forever seemed like a small time to spend with each other.

"Let's go!" I waited for him to move out of the car.

"After you, jaan!" He kissed my knuckles and smiled like a gentle man and I smiled. I took Mahi with me while he carried Aarav as we got out of the car.

We had just stepped down when there were already whispers everywhere looking at us, the perks and the curse of being a celebrity.

A young teenage girl approached Manik for a selfie and he looked at me with an apologetic face and I shushed it away. This love of his fans that he has make him what he is today, and the way he loves his fans makes me love him the way I do today. I'd never want to stand between him and his fans.

He immediately clicked a few pictures and then came back to us.

"Paapaa, was she your girlfriend?" Mahi asked casually and I And Manik giggled as he picked her in his arms, kissing her cheek.

"Paapaa had, has, and will have only one girlfriend, and that is your mother!" He smiled at her and I beamed as we walked inside.

An undivided concentration of mine was broken away when I suddenly heard something blast around me, something like a loud sound and my heart skipped a beat, my eyes immediately reached for my kids to see if they were okay.

And they were. Instead, they had started clapping in happiness.

I looked ahead to see our entire gang standing, Abeer was jumping and Aarav ran to him followed by Mahi

"Happy Birthday Nandini!" They shouted together and I was taken aback.

Today. Was. My. Birthday.?!

Every day was like a new experience with Mahi and Aarav, with so many special things, so many family moments. They made every day so special that special days automatically took a setback for us.

I looked at Manik who was smiling and I giggled, light tears of happiness flooding my eyes. Isn't this how I always imagined life to be?

Aryamman, Pihu, Cabir, Navya, Mukti And Abhimanyu, everyone came ahead one by one to hug me. Aliya and Dhruv were on video call from London, where they were enjoying a pre-wedding honeymoon. Can you imagine something like that existing? But with Aliya, everything like that exists.

And then finally, Manik came forward, tearing me apart from the crowd, my only family.

He put his arm around my waist and stared at my face, and even six years after our wedding, everything came to a standstill when I looked at him, all I could see was him, all I could feel was him, his smile.

"Happy Birthday Jaan!" He whispered snuggling his lips to my forehead, pressing a brief kiss to my crown.

"Meri birthday gift?" I smiled naughtily, and he knew what I meant.

"Most obliged to give!" He whispered before placing his lips on mine and when after a thousand times of kissing him, every kiss was still as special as the first.

With Manik, everything them was still the same.

In that second, in that moment, in that time, I knew I was the happiest lady in this world. The most perfect husband. The most perfect kids. And the most perfect friends which were more than family.

I felt nothing less or more than being loved, and I wanted this love to last forever.

~they promised each other a love so permanent in a world where even life is temporary~

~•~

Mahi and Aarav are my cutie patoootties <3

And even after having babies, MaNan love fighting like babies, haina?

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