Next Day....

Manik had gone for a concert and Nandini was left alone in the penthouse. She was resting in her bedroom when Harshad entered, completely drunk.

"My dear wife....pls tell me why I just got a call Dr Sinha giving me advice on how to care for my pregnant wife?" Harshad snarled angrily. Nandini looked terrified and placed her arms over her stomach protectively. "How...the F*CK did you get pregnant when I havent touched you in over a year? HUH?"

"H...Harshad...I....I can explain." Nandini stammered.

"Isme explain kya karogi tum? Clearly you are nothing but a sl*t! I TOLD you ke tum mere image ke liye yahan ho...tum Mrs Nandini Harshad Malhotra ho.....and what do you do? You go sleeping around....woh bhi mere hi bhai ke saath?"

"Tu...tumhe kaise..."

"Kaise paata chala? Im not an idiot dear wife." Harshad said. "Anyways...uss dhokebaaz ko toh main bada mein dekh lunga...pehle tujhe aur tere iss najayaz aulad ko thikane lagane hai."

"No...no...pls." Nandini shook her head in fear. Harshad grabbed her neck and started strangling her. Nandini gasped for air and tried getting free but Harshad was too strong for her. "Har...sha...d.....gasp.....cho...riye....gasp....Ha...r..sh..ad...gasp."

She was scratching Harshard's arms trying to make him let go. Finally she took one last breathe before her arms fell to her sides limp and her eyes rolled back. After making sure she was dead, Harshad let go and Nandini fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Manik came back home at that moment and he was horrified to see Nandini's condition. "NOOOOOO! NANDINI!"

Harshad saw him and laughed as Manik cradled Nandini's body in his arms crying. "Nandini...Nandini...No No No...No...this cant happen. Yeh nahi ho sakta...NO!"

"MANIK!"

Manik sat up in bed, sweating badly and breathing heavily. Nandini sat beside him, running her hands through his hair. 

"Manik...kya hua? Tum chilla kyun rahe they aise?"

Manik turned to Nandini, his full of fear. "Na..Nandini....tum thik ho na? You're fine right?"

"Haan Manik...main niche paani laane gayi thi bas aur phir tumhe aise mera naam chillate hue sunna.....koi sapna dekha kya?"

Manik wrapped his arms around Nandini and just held her. "Duniya ka sabse burra sapna."

Nandini could see that Manik was still shaking from fear so she didnt press the matter. Nandini just sat beside him and allowed him to hold her as long as he needed. 

"Jo bhi tha....sirf ek sapna tha Manik. Main yehi hoon...tumhare paas. Tumhe chor ke kabhi nahi jaungi main...kabhi nahi." 

A Few Hours Later...

"Nandini....mere dimaag mein ek idea aaya hai. Its...100% illegal lekin aur koi option nahi hai humare paas." Manik told Nandini.

"Kaisa idea?"

"Well...Harshad humesha bolta hai na. Usse picha churane ka do tareeka hai...ya tum maar jao ya woh. Obviously i wont let anything happen to you.....so ek hi raasta bacha hai."

"What....no! Manik....No! Yeh galat hai?"

"Humare zindagi mein sahi kya hai Nandini? Harshad is an abusive asshole who wont leave you or let you live in peace....woh galat hai. Humara rishta bhi society aur kanoon ke nazar mein galat hai....so agar hum dono ek aur galat cheez kaare to make everything else right....kya yeh sach mein galat hai?"

"Manik....tum MURDER ki baat kar rahe ho!"

"Murder ki nahi...Im talking about Survival of the Fittest. Zinda rehne ke liye insaan kuch bhi kar sakte hai aur main tumhe aur apne bache ko safe rakhne ke liye kuch bhi kar sakta hoon." Manik told her. "Nandini....we have no other choice."

Nandini obviously was very very reluctant but when she thought about it...she knew Manik was right, they didnt have any other way. Harshad had wayy too much power, if they ran away, her family would be tortured, if they stayed and he found out about her pregnancy then they would be killed.....they couldnt even tell the police because Harshad had them in his control.

"Lekin....hum karenge kaise? Agar pakre gaye toh puri zindagi jail mein bitegi and humare bache ka janam bhi jail mein hogi."

"If everything goes according to plan....hum puri zindagi ek dusre ke saath reh sakte...without any fears." 

****************************

4 Days Later....

BREAKING NEWS: HARSHAD MALHOTRA KILLED IN HIS OWN HOME DURING A ROBBERY....MRS NANDINI MALHOTRA HOSPITALIZED!!!!

A reporter catches Manik who is coming out of the airport.

"Sir....aap toh ghar pe nahi they right? AApko kya kehna hai iss hadse ke baare mein?"

"Paata nahi yeh sab kya ho gaya! Abhi toh sab itne kush they...bhabhi pregnant hai aur Bhai...he was just so so happy. Mere concert se aane ke baad ek party bhi plan kiya tha humne....Bhabhi ki pregnancy announce karne ke liye. I just cant believe ki Bhai is no more..." Manik cried and walked away.

Harshad enters his penthouse and is surprised to see the place is a mess. The couch pillows are on the ground, vases & decor pieces broken and thrown all over....photo frames are crooked on the wall.

"NANDINI! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

"Harshad...aap?" Nandini came out of her bedroom.

"Yeh sab kya hai? Why is my house in this state huh? Tum ek housewife ho...its your f*cking job to keep the place clean!" Harshad shouted.

BANG!

Harshad was hit over the head with a metal decoration piece making him fall to the ground. Harshad grabbed his bleeding head and turned to see his own brother standing there with gloves on and holding the decor piece.

"Ma...Manik?" Harshad asked. "Tu...Tu Bangalore gaya tha na....concert ke liye?"

"Main nahi, mera assistant gaya tha under my name.....I'll be going back in time for the concert tonight."

"Matlab?"

"Matlab Bhai...aaj Nandini ko tumse humesha humesha ke liye chutkara mil jayega." Manik told him. He then dropped the decor piece and took a kitchen knife in his hand.

The reporter turned to the camera man. "As you can see, yeh hadsa sabke liye ek shock hai. Mrs Nandini Malhotra is still hospitalized lekin usne police ko bayan di hai ki woh ghar pe akeli thi jab 2 log mask pehen ke ghar mein ghusse.....before she could contact the police, Harshad returned home and seeing the robbers he tried to fight them and he was stabbed to death. Scared about getting caught, the robbers hit Mrs Nandini Malhotra over the head making her unconscious and ran from the scene. Luckily both she and her baby are safe."

****************************

6 Years Later

Nandini was getting ready in her bedroom when two arms slid around her waist and kissed her cheek.

"Manik...tum kabhi nahi sudhroge na?" Nandini smiled at her husband's antics. Yes...you read correctly.....husband. 

After Harshad's death, Manik & Nandini gave it a few months before Manik went to Nandini's family and asked to marry her. He told them he wanted to give his brother's baby a father but we all know the truth. They were married in a small ceremony and now living happily together...in fact today was their 6th marriage anniversary,

"Kamaal hai...insaan apne khubsoorat biwi se pyar nahi kar sakta kya?" Manik pouted.

"Bilkul kar sakte hai...lekin time toh dekho. Guests aate hi honge...aur hum dono hosts ho ke yahan bedroom mein romance kar rahe hai...log kya bolenge?" Nandini scolded him.

"Bolenge ki wah kya ideal pati hai...kaash aisa pati sabko mile!" Manik replied. Nandini laughed as Manik pulled her closer admiring her laugh. She stopped and wagged her eyebrows at him, asking what he was looking at. "Kuch nahi...bas, I love seeing you laugh like this. Yeh haasi tumhare chehre se kabhi gayab na ho uske liye...I can do anything."

Nandini hugged Manik, laying her head on his chest. "I love you Manik."

"I love you too wifey." 

"Mumma Papa!" A voice called them from the doorway. Manik & Nandini broke apart from their hug and saw their 6 year old son, Manav standing there with his hand son his waist.

"Hey champ....kya hua?"

"Nanu aur Nani aa gaye...aur aap yahan romance kar rahe ho? Very bad!" Manav scolded them. "Jaldi bahar aao!"

He then left a shocked Manik & Nandini. Nandini turned and glared at Manik. "Manik...humara 6 saal ka bacha ROMANCE shabd kaise jaanta hai?"

"Arre woh....mere saath humesha Rom Com dekhta hai na....toh usne pucha ki Rom Com kya hota hai.....so I told him." Manik shrugged.

"Seriously Manik?? Tum usse bilkul apne jaisa bana rahe ho na?" 

"Kaash aisa hota! Mujhe jab paata laga ke beta hai toh I thought I would have a Mini Me...lekin yeh toh Mini Mumma nikla!" Manik replied.

"Kya?"

"Aur nahi toh kya....dekha nahi kaise dant ke chala gaya! Carbon copy hai tumhara!" Manik complained.

"Acha? Main humesha danti hoon?" Nandini placed her hand son her waist like Manav.

"Abhi kya kar rahe ho?" Manik pointed to her hands which she quickly removed.

"Tum bhi na Manik....anniversary ke din larayi karoge?" Nandini turned away angrily.

"Acually." Manik hugged her from the back. "You are right...larayi nahi karni chahiye. Manav ko na choti behen chahiye so lets work on that?"

"Manav ne kaha tha ke usse chote bhai YA behen chahiye." Nandini corrected him.

"Haan lekin mujhe toh iss baar beti chahiye na! Beta Mumma ka chamcha hai toh beti Papa ki Princess hogi. So this time I want a daughter!" Manik insisted.

"Mcdonalds ka sandwich order kar rahe ho? Beti chahiye iss baar! As if humare control mein hai!"

"Humare control mein nahi hai....but we can always try na?" Manik winked and pecked Nandini  on the lips before running out.

"Kya karun main iss aadmi ka?" Nandini chuckled.

The End!