"I am going to get lost in this supermall within the next ten minutes. Why is official bonding forced on employees? Who even watches a movie with their boss? That too when the boss is our beloved sadist. Why can't someone kidnap me already?"

"Maybe because your dad might file a case and argue until they are thrown in jail?", said Cabir, interrupting her words.

Nandini has been more or less repeating the same thing over and over again for hours now. Hence, she rolled her eyes and let them wander around the mall for a distraction and she was surprised to find the distraction in the form of the Prince of Amritpuri. He was wearing a full-sleeved sweatshirt, paired with jeans and sneakers and looking nothing like the Prince that he was. There were a bunch of kids surrounding him and two women as they looked at the Prince smiling. The Prince himself was talking to the kids, probably instructing, as the kids kept on nodding at him.

"Interesting. What's he doing here?", asked Cabir, from beside her. He had spotted the Prince too.

"Cabir, my good friend, my savior, my brother from another mother, a piece of my heart-"

He waved his hand, brushing her casually. "Yeah, yeah. Sneak off. I will make up an excuse if Harshad notices you aren't there."

She squealed in delight before pulling him in a hug. "I knew I had a reason why I kept you around for so many years." She turned around and walked towards the Prince, who still hadn't averted his gaze from the kids.

"Hey, there, Princess", said Nandini when she reached near the man. She saw the women frown at her in confusion and it took the Prince a moment to realize her presence before his eyes widened. He looked panicked?

"He is not a Princess. Princess is used for a girl", commented one of the girls from the group.

"He could be a Prince", said another girl and she turned to the Prince. "Are you a Prince?"

Before he could reply, a boy interrupted. "He is not a Prince. Princes are stupid. They carry a sword and ride horses and make stupid decisions. He is a hero", he declared pointing towards the Prince.

"Okay", said Prince Malhotra, somewhat uncomfortably. "Everyone, that's Nandini, my friend. Mishti, no, I am not a Princess but she teases me like that, like how your friends tease you by calling you an 'Angry Bird'". The girl huffed but Prince of Amritpuri only smiled before he turned to the second girl. "Sanya, no, I am not a Prince either", he said and sent a discreet look towards Nandini. Even confused, Nandini nodded. "And Rahul", he continued to the boy, "if you don't like the Princes, why did you agree to a Disney movie?"

"Because I love princesses. They are beautiful and badass", he declared.

"But isn't that-", started Nandini but she was cut off by the Prince.

"No, don't argue with him. He is a menace. You agree with whatever statement Lord Rahul gives. That's what happens here", said the Prince, cuffing the boy lightly on the head which he ducked easily.

Nandini chuckled and bowed low until she was close to the height of the boy. "Of course, your majesty."

Rahul grinned. "Doc, I love your friend."

The Prince rolled his eyes. "Of course, you would", he told, and smiled at Nandini. "Nandini, what are you doing here?"

"Movie. Office bonding session with my sadist boss. I sneaked away."

"Are you comfortable with watching a Disney movie?", he asked.

"Sure. Am I allowed? I don't want to intrude."

Instead of replying to her, he turned to the women who were silent all this time. "Kamala Ma, is that okay? She is safe for the kids and my responsibility, I promise."

"Of course, any friend of yours is safe, Sir", said the woman with a smile.

"Thank you. I will go get the tickets", said the Prince and motioned Nandini to join him. "I am surprised to find you here again", he told once they were far away from the crowd.

"Trust me, Princess, I am more surprised to find the royal Prince here in a lowly mall wearing casual clothes with a bunch of unknown kids."

The Prince turned around such that he was facing her, his arm coming to rest near Nandini's elbow in a gentle yet firm touch. He gazed at her for a moment before removing his hand and forwarding it to her. "Hi, I am Manik Malhotra, Pediatric Cardiologist, working in Sahara Hospital, Karol Bagh, Delhi."

"Pincode?"

"What?"

"You forgot to mention the Pincode", she told.

But then the Prince was laughing, almost similar to the one when he laughed a few days back at the party when they were dancing, and she felt relieved at the absence of the almost hostile voice when he introduced himself.

"Manik is a nice name. Short and sweet. You know I kept on calling you Prince of Amritpuri in my head. Which was long and awkward, by the way."

"You don't know my name?", he asked, resuming their walk towards the ticket counter. "It was there on the card. Wait a minute, were you even invited to the party?"

For the first time since they met, it was the man teasing her instead of the other way round. Nandini shrugged. "My family was invited. I am apparently a Delhi resident so, it was skipped. I sneaked in to prove a point to someone."

"You sneak a lot", he said, teasing again.

"Yeah? My best quality."

XXX

They sit in a row isolated from the kids. When asked, Manik said that they could talk while the kids watched their movie.

"Hey, I didn't want to interrupt your plans. We can still sit with them", she told suddenly, feeling worse for forcing him to change plans because she dropped by unannounced.

"Nandini, relax. It's a kid's film. We will get bored. Anyway, I sit away whenever I am with a friend and they know it", he told. "That way if we are bored and talking in between, they wouldn't be disturbed."

She didn't know how much of it was true but she nodded and let herself relax. "So, what's up with the kids?"

Manik took a while to answer but when he did, he was almost whispering. "They are my hospital kids. Heart ailments, various stages. We are just trying to give as many good memories as they can before they-"

They were all going to die. "Shit", she muttered, exhaling a tense breath.

"I know it's terrible but sometimes I am helpless. When they pass the surgery stage, all we can do is make their remaining lives happy, right?", he asked, his voice slow and laced with the pain he was trying to cover up.

Nandini squeezed his hand. "I am sorry", she said, because what else would one say to that? When he gripped her hand tighter, she thought she said the right words.

It was a few minutes before Manik spoke again. "I am sorry for killing the mood."

An awkward silence crawled between them and Nandini felt guilty for touching a sensitive topic but a part of her was impressed. He was a good human being and it didn't sit well with her to see him fidgeting with his fingers beside her. So she tried changing the topic. "So did anyone steal your heart in the party?"

Manik snapped his head at the sudden change in the topic but then chuckled, relaxing. Good. "I told you I was just humoring my dad? After you left, I met a few people in his close circle and returned to my room. It was stupid to choose."

"Those unfortunate dolls", she teased.

He rolled his eyes. "What about you? What are you doing here?"

"Project manager in Saxena Industries is the official designation."

"Unofficial?"

"My boss is a baby and I am practically looking after the company."

"Somehow I don't doubt it", said Manik.

"No, I am joking. We work between organizations. Mending relationships, striking deals while they pose for the newspapers."

"So, are you not happy working there?"

"What?"

"You skipped your office bonding sessions to watch a movie with a bunch of strangers and a guy you hardly know", he said.

"My boss is a sadist and I deal with it six days a week. I didn't want to deal with him even on Sunday."

"Why don't you quit if you aren't happy?", he asked again.

The concern in Manik's voice almost reminded Nandini of her dad. She sighed. "I want to do something and I am just waiting for the right time to quit it."

He nodded without asking for an explanation. She didn't elaborate. It wasn't something you talk about in dark cinema halls. But then the conversation flowed easily. They didn't realize when it was the interval or even the end credits. To be frank, Nandini wasn't even sure what the story was but she was happy.

Going out, Manik asked the kids if they were hungry and when they jumped in excitement, he suggested going to the food court. "Come with us", he asked Nandini.

She nodded. It was calm being with him even with the whole buzz around the mall. They took a table for themselves before Manik asked one of the women to help him handle the orders. The ladies were the caretakers of the kids from the hospital. And they were a bunch of well-behaved children. It was all new and exciting for her.

"Are you bored?", Manik asked, returning to his seat.

"Don't you want to talk to them? I feel like I am stealing you from them", she told. She didn't feel comfortable about dropping on their plans suddenly.

Manik chuckled. "I talk to them every day at the end of my shift and stay an hour extra for them. They don't mind. I have had a friend come with me almost always. Today no one could make it."

"I am glad I could save my damsel in distress from feeling lonely", she teased. Manik laughed. "I loved it, you know. I have never done anything like this. Taking the kids out or spending time like this. It was all my projects and work and official parties where we get drunk. This is relaxing. Thank you."

"You can visit them any day. They would love it."

They talked some more, nothing close to home. It was still a touchy subject, especially the conversation Nandini had heard between Manik and Abhimanyu at the end of the party. Another thing she noticed was how easy it was to make him laugh and she didn't know why any of them didn't bother trying that at the party. Because Manik Malhotra was a handsome guy and it only escalated when he laughed without the care in the world. He looked free even, nothing like the frustrated Prince at the party.

When it was time to leave, both of them were reluctant to go.

"We can take the kids back, sir", said the caretaker, trying not to look at Nandini.

Manik shook his head and asked for a minute, asking them to get the kids ready. When she left, he turned to Nandini. "I don't want to leave. I really had a good time with you but they are my responsibility. I would be in a lot of trouble if something happens to them. We are not allowed to take them out but the Chief trusts me so I have to bring them back."

Nandini chuckled. "Princess, stop fretting. I had a good time too. And we can meet some other day, right? Now go be a responsible doctor and stay out of trouble when I am not there to save you."

He laughed out at that and left wishing her goodnight. She was surprised when a few kids came to her to give her a hug. It was only when she was at the door of her apartment that she realized they didn't even exchange their numbers. Very smart, Nandini. Super smart.

XXX

She was home earlier than Cabir and started making dinner after freshening up. Two hours later when he returned home, he went straight to his room and she heard him take a shower. She had his coffee ready when he finally made it to the kitchen which he took with a grateful smile.

"How was the movie?" she asked him, taking her cup. It was almost dinner time but coffee goes to the heart.

"Harshad had a tantrum when he realized you left. About company integrity and equally fancy terms. I told you were not well and you didn't want to ruin his plans for all of us. Surprisingly, the hypocrite left during the interval saying something about a family emergency. We had a blast after that", told Cabir. "Did you cook food? You should have waited for me. I would have helped you."

"I was early and I wanted to do that."

"Ahan. So, how was your outing with the Prince? Any juicy gossip?", he asked.

Nandini laughed, cuffing his head. "He is a sweetheart. The kids are his patients at the hospital he works. They all are suffering and he apparently wants to make their last days memorable. And he is so passionate about not being associated with royalty."

"Interesting. The conversation we listened to on that day, I thought he was a good human but going out of his way to treat the children is fantastic."

"Yeah. And he is polite, sensible, and responsible. Nothing like any brat from the royalty I imagined."

They talked some more before the conversation shifted to the next project they were dealing with and it escalated to sharing some ideas over it.