Hiii! Thanks for the love <3 All those stars and comments are so motivating and I'm going to get back to you all for that ❤️ also, 5 days for Season 3! Yaaay, who's excited? :P Here's the exciting part! ;) I hope you like it!

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Manik

Our baby was seated on the restaurant table, with her Mommy supporting her entire back and head. On the serving tray were some sugar packets which Nandini thought will make our baby happy and so she poured it out on the tray. Naina was intrigued by the sugar crystals and she picked some up and placed it in her mouth. The sweetness made her happy and she giggled to her Mommy.

"Naina..." I warned, giving her a glare from the counter of the cafe. A few people in the queue shifted their glances between Nandini and I, in what I would like to think was admiration. It wasn't like our baby could be so easily frightened and to top it, her Mommy was with her to protect her. So, she picked some more crystals. "Naina, no!" I stomped towards the two most difficult specimen of the female gender. By then, I'd bought some coffee.

I placed the tray on the table and scooped Naina in one quick motion. I held her close to my face and scolded, but she giggled. Her Daddy was always a joke. "Naina!" Her eyes brightened at me and her baby double chin bobbled as she studied me at eye-level.

"Manik, choddo na, bacchhi hai." (Manik, leave her, she's a baby.) Nandini held some of the crystals in the cup of her hand in front of Naina.

"Babies aren't supposed to eat solids yet. She doesn't even have teeth; she's going to hurt her gums." Nandini was startled. She put a finger into Naina's mouth and tried to scoop off as much sugar as she could. As expected, our baby started crying. "Great! Ab tum hi sambhalo!" (Great! Now you only handle her!) I rolled my eyes and conveniently handed her over to the oh-so-responsible Mommy.

Nandini picked her up and carried her away, to some bright color-changing lights. She cheerfully pointed at them, similar to how she saw me entertaining Naina in the shopping complex the other day. She lifted her up high in the air and then lowered her to eye level, lightly pecking her lips. I smiled at the moment of affection they both shared. Mothers loved their babies to death.

She came back after Naina had calmed down, and I'd taken that time gap to prepare her formula. I pulled the thermos from the baby bag, filled it mid-way to the bottle and then filled the rest of the bottle with cold water. I shook the bottle vigorously until I was certain everything was mixed. The temperature was good enough. Nandini took the baby bottle from me, held Naina in a comfortable reclined position, and began feeding her.

"Your coffee's going to get cold, give her to me." She loved her coffee so much, so much that she hated tea. We were polar opposites.

"I don't care." There was a satisfied smile on her face as the baby drank her milk in silence, holding onto her Mommy's fingers. Our daughter made her feel so happy. I love them both so much.

***

Nandini

I was sitting in my cabin, revising the drafts for the status report mails I had to send to Manik's team. It was a Friday evening, and it had to be done on priority, before the weekend. As such, most of the employees were going to be at office in the weekend, to compile the program and debug it.

The entrance was whirled by a figure as the atmosphere around smelled of ego. I despised him so much. He was so bipolar. "Aryamann, I don't want to talk to you." He leaned over my desk, tossing over some files and trying to smirk like Manik, which didn't suit him.

"You do realize you've challenged the wrong person, don't you?" Even his threats sounded ridiculous to me. Who was he challenging? He knew there were boundaries to the deal which he couldn't break for several reasons. Legally, he was going to be in trouble if he did anything to jeopardize my career.

That was another reason why he tried asking me out. Imagine the fortune he'd gain if he married me, he would have the entire share of property. I'd be thrown after being used, and I'd be the threatened, fragile individual I was before I swam out of my own troubles. Being so high profile wasn't fun like people would think. Everyone there was selfish, and manipulative to have their ways.

I just laughed at the mess he'd created, both in my cabin and in my life. He was powerless. He was a puppet in his father's hands. He didn't know the game as well as I did. Taking two confident steps, I poked my cheek with my tongue, bearing a lop-sided smile. He was afraid, but he didn't move a muscle. The daggers my eyes shot at him scared him. I was just about to say something, to shut his ego, when someone came in.

"Chale?" (Shall we leave?) Noticing me with Aryamann changed his expressions. From a casual chirpy look, it became suspicious. He eyed the two of us, then the distance between us and then reconsidered who he was to the external world. "Madam..." I gave Aryamann a victorious smile, retreating to my system. I tapped a few keys on my keyboard, while Manik stood like my bodyguard at the door.

As long as Manik was there, Aryamann was safe and so was I. I sent the mails to Manik's team and then flipped the screen of my laptop down, slipping it into my bag. I picked the half-filled glass of cold-coffee I sipped on a few minutes ago and vacated the room, leaving an angry Aryamann and a confused Manik in the process.

***

Manik

Naina was with her Mommy, playing and singing in the living room while I was completing a few last minute updates that I had totally forgotten about. Everybody in my team was working that weekend and I couldn't relax, even if Nandini tried to cut me some slack. We were all in my little flat, and the girls were shrieking in excitement, which made me more distracted.

"Acchha, acchha suno baby... maine na ek gaana likha tha... Daddy ke liye." (Okay, okay baby listen... I wrote a song... for Daddy.) She whispered the last part, hoping I wouldn't hear her from the other room. She placed Naina on the carpet, where she wouldn't hurt herself and went to fetch my guitar. I wasn't a professional, but I'd often play the guitar when I was stressed. I learned that skill from Nandini a few months ago and we'd play it to the baby who was then in Nandini's womb. Music somehow brought me peace, since childhood. Naina let out a loud babble, as though she was cheering her Mommy to sing for Daddy. Nandini also was highly talkative, more around Naina, and so she began explaining the story of the guitar to our baby.

"Okay, so I don't know the whole lyrics, I just made it up the other day." She made sure her baby didn't assume or have high expectations, not that Naina really understood much, except that Nandini loved her a lot. That clue was enough to make Naina bond with Nandini, not to mention the nine months they'd spent with each other even before Naina saw me.

Nandini tuned the guitar and gently pulled the strings, to listen to the tones of the sounds they produced. When she was satisfied, she smiled at our child and then cleared her throat to sing.

Aankhon ko..
Teri aadat hai
Tu dikhe na toh inhe shikayat hai

I heard the tunes and was drawn to her beautiful voice. She was born to be a singer, truly. I placed the laptop on my bed and headed out to the living room to watch her play. Naina silently listened, making occasional baby sounds. As she repeated those lines while in her own thoughts, I felt like those lyrics were relatable.

Bin chuye chu liye hain
Tune mujhko diye hain
Pyaar ke ye tarane janiya

I found myself smiling as visions of our romance invaded my brain. The time when she really fell in love with me was when we were off to tour Lonavala with some of our old friends and I sang her a song, in my crappy, tuneless, half-drunken voice. We kissed at sunset and did very romantic things together as a couple; those moments were a fairytale to me. She was spoilt, I was naive, but she made me do crazy things for her.

As the word 'pyaar' slipped out of her beautiful mouth as she sang the lyrics, she spotted me. Leaning on the wall, with one leg crossed over the other at my ankle, our eyes locked for a brief moment and the gleam in her face disappeared then. She was intense and passionate; I couldn't maintain eye contact with her because I knew what I'd be putting myself through-pain of not being with her. She'd seen struggles like I'd never, that was what made her, her. She was special; she was strong. She was Nandini Murthy, the girl I fell in love with.

Ye jo ab ho raha hai
Kuch ajab ho raha hai
Kya yahi hai pyaar ka hai ehsaas

Was it really love that I felt for her? I knew my answer. Her questions to herself seemed like questions I needed to ask myself too, just for validation. I wanted to be on the same page, to prevent myself from giving more than she did. Our relationship was never give-and-take, but vulnerabilities made us think that way. Nandini... I didn't realize I'd uttered her name while I was in my dreamland. Her eyes scanned my lips that just spoke her name and hers shaped into a small smile. Oh! How is she so beautiful all the time? I remembered the spontaneous kiss we shared the other day at the hospital. Instantly, I was urging to feel those lips on mine.

Sau aasmaano ko
Aur do jahaano ko
Chhod ke aayi tere paas

As she repeated the lines, I sensed sincerity. I feared falling for her again, but I never realized I was already too deep to get out. I was trying to heal the girl who had once broken me. People would call it selflessness, or would call her selfish but beyond all that, we had stories that shaped us. Maybe those stories weren't that big a deal later on in life, but at that moment, we were who we were because of what situations we were put in. I wouldn't blame her; she was everything for me. I'd never felt that way for anyone else ever before. With her, I could risk ruining myself if that meant healing her. That was what love did to me.

She stroked the guitar strings one last time, opening her eyes. Naina was stunned, literally. She had nothing to babble about, and her Daddy was no different. He was touched by Mommy's act. She pulled strings in Daddy's heart that, even he didn't know, existed.

"Beautiful." That was all I could say.

***

Nandini

Tugging the baby shirt down, I tapped my daughter's cheeks happily and she reciprocated by raising her hands to touch me. "Is Mommy's girl all ready for the exciting trip?" I sounded squeaky but Manik had granted me permission to keep Naina with me until afternoon and I was over the moon about it. Apparently, he had a client visit appointment to attend to and with an attention-seeking baby like Naina, people in the hall wouldn't focus on the meeting!

I locked our child in the buckles of her detachable car-seat that was temporarily fastened to my white Vento. Commanding myself to be extra careful, given Naina was coming along, I turned the ignition on. We were heading over to the doctor for my regular checkups. I was actually overdue for an appointment but I was caught up with backlogs in work that I couldn't do much about it.

As I entered the quiet building, Naina's baby noises were the only sounds that echoed. I approached the receptionist. I asked for my therapist and we were led into a familiar ward. The doctor welcomed me with a smile, and held out a colorful soft ball for my baby to entertain herself. I placed Naina in a baby-bouncer that was brought out to accommodate her. My close presence made her more excited. I couldn't stop admiring her.

"How are you feeling, Nandini?"

While people would think mentally challenged people were the only ones who visited the psychologists or doctors of the like, it felt nice to confide in another person with all my heart, who wouldn't judge me or take advantage of me. It was so reliving for me to be with the therapist. If there was something I looked forward to, it was those sessions with her.

"Honestly, much better, Doctor." I palmed my cheeks in exhaustion. It had been a wonderful few days for me. I was with my child for the most part, and pampered by Manik too. My happiness was however short lived, as I anticipated a fearful end to this beautiful dream I was living. "But I don't want to feel okay."

"What's wrong?" Meera touched my forehead, checking my body temperature and all the regular procedures she was made to carry.

"I know, jaise hi main theek ho jaaungi, Manik bhi chala jaayega. Main... I don't want to let him go." (I know, as soon as I recover, Manik will also make a move out. I... I don't want to let him go.) A load fell into my heart as I said those words. It was true, though. Manik wasn't going to stick around for long, or so I thought. I was made to stand over a weighing balance. Apparently, I dropped three kilograms, which was supposed to be a good thing for me at least.

"What makes you think he'll leave?" Because it seems too good to be real. I was about to answer but that answer would just ruin all the effort those people had put into making me recover. I took a moment to think; I reframed my thoughts. Positivity is key.

"I just know." He and I are just like an illusion. The closer I think we're heading, the farther we're actually getting.

"Look Nandini, you shouldn't be this insecure about your relationship with him. You have a baby with him." I nodded, trying to let it seep into my head. I was scared about anything concerning him but I had to stop thinking that much. I had to let go, for once, to see if he'd actually come back; but who would tell my insane heart that?

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Was it short? I hope this was fun! Let me know your favorite part in this chapter! Mine was the part where Nandini sang for Manik in front of Naina :')

Question: Is it high time Manik and Nandini kiss? 😂

Any feedback and overviews would be highly appreciated ;) thanks and see you! <3