(A/N: Perhaps the first thing I am doing this morning is updating. I hope I don't seem like a weird creep who thinks everyone is awake at 12 a.m. 🙈 Anyways, I finally got some masala to add to their story so here goes. Loads of love. Do vote and comment. Thanks.)

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We had a weird lunch followed by a weirder encounter with a lady police, for Manik jumped a signal. Let me just put it to you, exactly how it went.

"Oh hello! Stop stop. Get down." Manik stopped the bike and removed his helmet. He shook his head and his hair flew from side to side. He rested his helmet on the bike, adjusted his hair in the mirror and then gave a sarcastic smile to the lady.

"Yes Madam, what do you want?" He leaned into her in an attempt to charm her and that woman got the wrong idea. She checked my man out and I glared at her.

"Excuse me? We're talking to you." I shouted in a louder tone than I intended, for she had no right to look at him like that. Manik smirked at me and I hit his back in anger.

"Just because you're on a date, doesn't mean you jump signals. Is this the age to do all this? If you study now, you'll..." Manik smirked at her.

"Who said we're dating? She's already married, look?" He pointed at my bangles and my mangalsutra and I gave him a 'what-the-hell' look. He smirked at me and I rolled my eyes. "I'm just her driver." He winked at her and I fumed. I hit him hard from the back.

"Tum mere driver lagte ho? Koi bike ke liye driver rakhta hai kya?" I made a ridiculous face at him for acting real dumb and he looked surprised, or so he acted.

"Aap rakhte ho na, Madam? Main toh single hun." He declared, waving his arms in the air and I nodded to myself. Of course, yeah. So you wanna play it this way, young man? Alright.

"Acchha, zara apna haath dikhayiye? Ring toh nahi hoga na?" I smirked and he looked all flustered. If this is a game, I'll show you how it's played. He raised his hand half-heartedly as he searched for an excuse.

"Ji... This is my ex's third anniversary ring. Ab voh nahi hai toh I still have it, miss jo karta hun usse." He fake cried and I whacked him again.

"Toh yeh bacchha kiska hai?" I held my tummy and came up with the drama he played in the restaurant and he smirked at my presence of mind.

"Madam, you tell me. She is my employer's wife. How can I touch her? Forget touching, how can her baby be mine? Aap intelligent ho, samajh sakti ho na?" He tried to butter her and I huffed. Now I swear to God, I won't let him touch me. Be sexually deprived.

"Correct. But aap..." She thought about it again and Manik knew he struck the right cord.

"Sochiye Madam, you'll get the answer." He said as he started the bike again and drove away. That lady was still standing there, lost in lame thought and here Manik was laughing his ass off.

"What an escape!" He giggled and I found him disgusting for some reason. Whatever he said played in my head and I began to assume things I knew I shouldn't have.

"Manik, stop the bike." I commanded.

"What? Why?"

"Tum mere driver ho na? Then listen to my orders. Stop the bike." I mimicked his tone from earlier and he smiled a wicked smile.

"Not unless you tell me why." I shook my head in hopelessness.

"Because I hate you. You're disgusting." I shouted and he halted the bike to the side of the road. I jumped down and began walking away. He got off the bike, pulled the key out and chased me.

"What? Nandini, come on, I was just joking baba. See, otherwise we'd have to pay fine na?" He paced along to match my speed as he spoke to me, in an attempt to console me.

"And you use my baby's name for that? For getting your cheap tricks to work? And this ring, your ex gave you, isn't it?" I was literally screaming in public and unknowingly, I was crying too. I grabbed his hand and tapped his engagement ring and he withdrew to assure me that wasn't what he meant.

"WHAT? What the hell Nandini? You're getting it all wrong. I was..." He tried cupping my cheeks but I was behaving more like him. It was usually him who behaved like this and me who tried to calm him down but being with him made me like this too.

"No no no. Now it's making sense. Just because I didn't let you have sex with me until the exams, you just took the opportunity to use my baby to get your..." I placed my allegations against him and he couldn't believe what I was thinking. He grabbed me by my waist, pulling me into him and covered my mouth with his hand.

"Will you shut up? I never even thought about all that. I was just trying to tease you." He was hell serious and I was a crying mess. I looked deep into his eyes and I knew he was sorry. Yet, my thoughts had reached another level. I was going against my heart. I hit his chest, pushing him hard and I was out of his grip.

"Don't touch me." I said, without making eye-contact. I wiped my tears, adjusting my bag-strap on my shoulder and stared at a point on the road.

"I was just joking." He flapped helplessly to get me to believe him and not that I didn't, I just didn't want to listen to my heart for some deranged reason.

"This is not something to joke about, Manik. You should be a little sensitive to certain things. You should know your limits." I shouted at his face and he just sighed. He stepped a little closer. "Don't come close to me." He pressed his lips angrily and grabbed my arm.

"Nandini..." He grunted and pulled me closer and I shrugged myself out of his grip.

"Leave me." I put my hand on his, trying to unclasp his hand from my arm.

"Kya ho raha hai? Tum kaun ho?" Someone called out and Manik immediately let go of me. No. Don't. Don't let go, Manik. Make me believe you didn't mean that.

"Fine. Go. Go however you want. Do whatever you want. I don't care. If you can get angry and upset for such small issues, even I can." He watched me get into an auto-rickshaw and ride away, past him. He kicked his bike in anger and then drove away, after looking at the direction I went in, in a hope that I would come back.

***

"Tu yahan kya kar raha hai? Mujhe laga ki tum dono ki romantic date ka koi anth hi nahi hoga but then now, you're sitting alone and God knows where your beloved wife is." Cabir stated sarcastically as he shoved some alcohol into his throat. He knew he had crossed the line but obviously, Manik doesn't apologize so easily.

"Cabir, shut up okay? I didn't call you to tease me. I am not even in the mood. So just, zip your mouth for heaven's sake." He rolled his eyes and slammed the glass on the table. "One Johnnie Walker, on the rocks." He ordered and the bartender signaled a thumbs-up.

"Abey, itna gussa kyun kar raha hai? Hua kya hai? Batayega kuch ya Nandini ko call karu?" He slid his phone from his pocket and Manik grabbed it away from Cabir in his alcoholic haze.

"NO. You're not calling her. Nobody's gonna speak to her even. Okay look, we were having lunch, yeah? And to tease her I just said some silly thing and she got upset, but she was okay after I sent her a little text." He explained as he was served another glass. He sipped it while he glanced at Cabir.

"Oooo..."

"Shut up. And then I drive her back home, and on the way, we accidentally jump a signal. So now we're stopped by some random lady police who's screwing me for doing that." He waved in the air and Cabir tried to predict what would've happened.

"And you flirted with her and Nandini decided to ditch you for that?" He chuckled and Manik rotated his head from one side, to the back and then to the side to give a creepy look to Cabir.

"Will you just listen and stop countering with your lame assumptions? And no, I won't ditch Nandini for some random person like her." He said in his drunken state and I knew if I was there, I would've forgotten everything and just kissed him hard.

"Okay. Continue." Cabir mimed to zip his lips and listen.

"So the conversation went something like this..." Manik told the whole story to Cabir and Cabir burst into chuckles. "And now she's angry with me because she thinks I'm behaving this way because I'm sexually deprived, like what the fuck? I'm not addicted to sex, alright? What does she think? I can't live without it? Hell I can. I have, for 21 years and fuck, I can live without her. Duh? I'm not going back home." He gulped the rest of the alcohol as he shook his head to deny his failure.

"You can't. You can't live without her and even YOU know that. Who are you trying to convince, Manik?" Cabir stated facts and he was right. Manik knew so too. He was just too egoistic to accept it.

"Fuck that. Who do you think is wrong here? Me or her?"

"Of course, it's your fault, bro. You call your wife your ex? At least for that reason, I would be pissed with you if I were her." Cabir popped himself a cigarette and he listened to Manik's comebacks.

"How could she think I meant that? Doesn't she trust me that much at least that I would never disregard something that belonged to us, just because of some stupid reason of not having sex. Like does that even sound logical to you?" Manik tried to explain himself and Cabir shrugged miserably.

"Well, you don't know women, dude. They get emotional and sensitive over the simplest things. God knows, maybe she's PMSing." He giggled, blowing some smoke and Manik rolled his eyes.

"It ain't funny. I know what I did. I know what I meant. I ain't apologizing for it. Wasn't she playing along too? Like who asked her to stay quiet at that time? Seriously, I wish I were gay. Guys are way less complicated." Manik flapped in mid-air and Cabir burst into hysterical chuckles.

"Welcome to my world. Now you know why I am not into relationships." He stated proudly and Manik sipped his drink.

"Women are extremely difficult to read. Like seriously, God just wanted to add more problems into single mens' lives and so he decided to create women, who are nothing but stressful to deal with." He enacted in an extremely exaggerated way and Cabir just smiled sarcastically. Do all men complain about their wives to their friends, or was it just my douchebag husband?

"You can complain all you want, okay, but that's not the point here. We need to find a way to get you back as a family man. Accept it, even you know you can't just survive without her. She can't, either. You both NEED each other. It's not even like you want her and she wants you. It's like a necessity. You guys are in fucking love. Is this a joke? Why don't you just go apologize?" He shouted, exasperated. He knew we were just creating lame drama and he, unfortunately, out of all the others, was forced to listen to Manik's rants.

"I did. I did try to explain myself. She just screamed at me and made others think I was trying to harass her when all I was trying to do was get her to listen to me." Manik sighed as he wished I was a little more understanding but again, who would've thought Manik's jokes are pathetically serious?

"You guys are seriously weird. You should just apologize Manik. Don't convince her. Say 'you're sorry'." Cabir tried to knock Manik's head but he was too far to reach. Plus the alcohol was already affecting Manik's system that he wouldn't even react for 10 whole minutes if Cabir attempted to do something.

"You know what, go fuck yourself. You are useless. I thought you would understand me at least but no, though you agree with me, you're just totally supporting Nandini." Manik got a little upset. He banged the empty glass on the table and walked away, into the foyer, that was like a balcony with a few bamboo chairs. 

"Bro, just think about it once. You'll get your answers." Cabir shouted as Manik disappeared out into the open.

***

I stormed into the house, slammed the door locked, chucked my bag on the couch and walked straight into my room. I jumped into the shower straight, not caring about anything else. I turned the shower on and just stood there.

Could Manik really have meant that? What? No ways. He loves you so much. Hell yeah he does. All he does is flirt with other women when I'm around. Well, he does treat you well though? It could be that girls just can't resist him so they throw themselves on him. Maybe he isn't the problem at all. What if I was just overthinking? Sex should solve it all. Ugh. Stupid hormones.

Like seriously, what am I even thinking? I was the one who was pledging against not letting him touch me a while ago and now I need sex? God! No but really, this time he needed to apologize. Should I try first? Like maybe I was just overreacting. He did try to convince me while I was just shouting at him in public. Alright. I'll just send him a text to see if he's okay.

I grabbed my bathrobe and wrapped it around my body. I tied my hair in a bun and grabbed my phone.

*We need to talk.*

Manik received the text and just rolled his eyes. He didn't even care to reply. Fine. You know what? I don't even know why I try to make the first move. It's entirely his fault but does he care? Does he acknowledge that I want to bridge the misunderstanding created? When I genuinely take action to save my relationship, this is what I get in return.

"Look now, she's texting me. Now I'll go home and go weak after I see her and that's what she wants." Manik shrugged helplessly, talking to himself and Cabir appeared from nowhere.

"Yaar Manik, tu samajhne ki koshish kar yaar. Did you even check if she reaches home safe?" Cabir tried to provoke Manik to somehow get himself to me. Even Cabir knew only I could help him from his misery. Manik turned to Cabir and gaped.

"Shit! I am so stupid! Goddamnit! Okay, I'm leaving." He hit his head hard and then headed downstairs. He was stopped by Cabir's tug.

"Oh no, you aren't. You're drunk bro. I'll just tell Dhruv to get your bike back. I'll drop you in my car. Chalo." Cabir pulled Manik's arm and Manik struggled to help himself.

"I can take care of myself, Cabir." He shouted but Cabir paid no heed. The way words slurred out of his mouth was a clear indication that he was drunk beyond driving limits.

"You can, when you're sober. Not now. Just shut up and come along." Cabir pulled him and for some reason, perhaps to just see me, my man followed without protest. Cabir drove Manik to our apartment and brought him till a few meters away from our door. As soon as Manik's mind registered that this was in the vicinity of our house, he began nagging.

"I am not ringing the bell. No no no. Where are you taking me? Leave me." He fought with a protective Cabir and Cabir looked helpless. It was one of those rare situations when Manik was acting extremely stupid.

"What? What is wrong with you, Manik? She isn't gonna kill you." He hit Manik from the back but Manik didn't react.

"I am not facing her now. I'll just stand here. You check and see if she's fine." He halted and stood as firmly as he could but Cabir just managed to pull him along.

"Are you serious dude?"

"Hell yeah." Cabir wrapped his arm around Manik's shoulder and pulled him furiously.

"Cabirrr... Tu kar kya raha hai? Kamine, chodd mujhe." Cabir just rang our doorbell until I came and opened it, with my bathrobe. I gaped as soon as I realized it was Cabir and immediately, hid behind the door. Cabir pressed his chuckle and nudged Manik, who was hiding behind the wall, to not face me.  

"Nandini, your husband was all drunk and hence, I had to do the honors to get him here. If you can excuse me, I would like to take leave now. Saale, jaa tu. And Nandini, he has an exam tomorrow so show a little mercy on him. I don't want him to be braindead tomorrow." Cabir pushed Manik into the house and Manik held the door for support. Our faces were inches apart. He glanced at me from head to toe and back up and smiled a weak and dirty smile. I just pulled Manik inside and thanked Cabir for his help. I slammed the door shut and then walked inside. Manik rushed to block me.

"Tumhe kya lagta hai? Main tumhare liye vapas aaya hun?" He slurred with the same dirty smile.

"How dare you ignore my message? That's all there was, eh? All this relationship, marriage and all just ends here, is it? Why didn't I see this coming? You just want me for my body. You..." I was crying waterfalls and Manik just puffed and cut me off.

"I swear to God you utter another word senselessly, I'll slam you against the wall and kiss you until you get your senses back." He said in a threatening tone and I didn't know why I was even crying that much.

"See, you're addicted. You don't care about my emotions." He rolled his eyes and stepped closer, but made no attempt to touch me.

"Nandini... can you fucking listen to me? I just told that for FUN. F-U-N. Why are you taking it too far? You're not even ready to listen to what I am saying." He yelped helplessly and I just stared at him.

"Oh yeah? Fine. Go ahead. Explain yourself." I crossed my arms against my body and he was just glancing at my robe. He looked away and ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at it.

"Why are you so difficult, Nandu? You know I would never mean anything the way it sounded like I was. Don't you trust me enough to know that I would never use something that belonged to us, for some lame compensation against fine? It is our baby, Nandini. Alright? A human. A part of you and me. You think I'll use it for compensation, seriously?" I knew he was beyond hurt with my weird accusations. Yeah, it was his baby too, after all. He wouldn't have meant it the way I assumed. I just avoided eye contact, for I felt guilty for my actions. "And not to mention, you did play along that time. If you really got so offended, you could've reacted back then. I thought that didn't instigate you enough so I played to get a reaction from you. Besides, even I had a million reasons to be upset with you. Did I bring them in between our relationship? No. Because I trust you Nandini. You clearly don't." He frowned and I felt like hugging him tight and assuring him that I was being stupid. I took a step forward but he stepped inches away from me, for some unknown reason.

"I do. I do. Its just that I'm just so stressed right now that... Okay yeah, I know I was just overthinking and stuff. I am sorry, Manik." I was really sorry and I meant it from the bottom of my heart. I just was acting really stupid.

"Do you mean it?" He leaned into me to observe my expression with a kind of a smirky look and I made eye-contact.

"I do. I am sorry." I was crying again and he just smiled at me.

"Am I allowed to touch you now?" He asked and I felt my heart drop. So he took me too seriously. I felt terrible. I let a tear fall off my eyes and cupped his face. I placed my lips on his, claiming them with regret. He already realized I felt bad and so he pulled me towards him, to assure me he was okay. That was how we were. Trying to make ourselves happy for the latter.

"I'm sorry." I cried as I let go and he shook his head, to disapprove of my tears. He wiped them away ever so gently and kissed my eyes.

"Its okay, Nandini." He assured and I frowned. Like what? Just because I accepted my fault, I only have to apologize eh?

"Tum bhi bolo sorry. Tumne bhi toh drama kiya na?" I poked his chest, nudging him to listen and he smiled.

"Fine. Sorry. Nanduuuu... Manik Malhotra is sowwy. Dekho." He held his ears cutely and I smiled at him. He was such a baby. My baby. I didn't even need our own kid in my life. Manik was more than enough. He saw me smiling and stepped closer. He spoke against my nose.

"Vaise, humesha se aisi ho ya aaj kuch special hai?" He winked and I tried to comprehend what he meant. Did he mean my overreactions, my disheveled state, or my tears? Only he knew. However, all the three of them had only one answer.

"I'm down." I stated and bit my lip. Duh? He was my husband now. He had to know but I wasn't surprised when he was clueless.

"Down on?" He looked for more information and I pursed my lips at his not-so-useful vocabulary.

"My period." I put it clean for him and he looked surprised, shocked, disgusted? I didn't know. After a long pause, he did manage to utter something though.

"Oh-kay?" He cringed his eyebrows in an attempt to understand me. Expected reaction. Why am I even surprised?

"I know it would disgust you men, but we have to go through all this for you, guys." I retorted hopelessly and he clicked his lips to deny.

"Tch tch. No, it's not that... It's just... awkward I guess? I mean... Do you like, need anything?" He asked with concern and I felt kinda happy that he was being considerate.

"Just hold me tight please?" I pleaded and with a warm smile, he cocooned me in his protective arms.

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(Haha. The fun has just begun. Stay tuned to my story for exciting surprises now. Please comment if you liked the part. I have an important IIT examination tomorrow and I am seriously screwed so if you guys can, please pray for me 🙈 You'll get your next update tomorrow. Thanks. Loads of love.)