This update is dedicated to everyone whose name starts with letter "R"
...

My feet halted on seeing Manik sitting on a chair facing the door of my room.

"Manik?"

He instantly stood up and walked towards me. His eyes were red than what I remember and there was a light shadow casted under his eyes. He did not sleep all the night and was waiting for me infront of my door!

He must have came after me and called me but I was too lost in my suffering that I heard nothing. My nose flared in anger seeing this messy haired man trying to stand with sleep deprivation.

He is still not healed completely and he dared to pull this stunt!

"Do you think staying awake will heal your external and internal organ wounds? Minimum 8 hours sleep is needed for an adult and it must be more for someone who is wounded."

"We have to speak." His spoke clearing his throat.

"Laters Babe. I have to eat something and you have to sleep. Talk to me after 8 hours, Manik." I said showing the hours with my fingers.

He held my fingers between his and stepped closer. "My intention was not to hurt you...."

Wait! He was sitting here all night just to speak with me without getting any rest. He is disrespecting the surgeon in me.

"I am not listening to someone who didn't sleep, shower or eat. Go do all that and we can talk for hours." I said and tried to push him but he didn't budge.

I shrugged and walked inside the dining hall. I pulled a plate for myself and Manik, and served us both the food presented on the table. I started eating the omelette and sipped the sweet yellow water. He sat on the chair but his food was still untouched.

"Manik, if you eat your food I will listen to you." I said and he was still looking at me without making a move. "Pinky promise." I said with my left hand and Manik started eating his LukFast.

Damn! How can the Mafia men fall for a left hand pinky promise? It's so easy to fool them.

Since, I finished my LukFast I had the all the time to stare at Manik who was trying so hard to gulp down his food just to speak with me. He didn't like to eat but still he was eating because I asked him to eat. He looked like a child at times and that thought brought a smile on my face.

Everyone can see that except for that Niyonika. Let's not talk about her first thing in the noon.

With much difficulty Manik finished eating everything on his plate and instantly opened his mouth to speak with me but I covered his mouth with my palm.

"I am not hurt, Manik. I am just scared." I began speaking and slowly removed my palm after being sure that Manik won't interrupt me. "I am scared that I have to address you as a Boss like everyone. At the beginning when you asked me to call you a Boss, I denied only to tease you. It was playful. But someday it will be true and I can not bear the thought of being like everyone to you."

"There won't be such day in our life, Nandini. You are the most important person for me and I can put my life infront of you." He said taking my palms in his rough ones.

I nodded agreeing to his words. "I know Manik, infact I saw it with my own eyes. You need not tell me how much you love me. But it's not the mainland, I can't survive with just love, I need a rank in the Mafia world and it has to be your wife. Not princess or consort." I said squeezing his palms.

"Nandini..." I can not hear him reject me once again so I interrupted his sentence.

"I understand that you need a smart and sensible person to be your wife. I will be that for you, and for us. I will transform myself as a better person who will be suitable to be the wife of The Boss of Malhotra Empire." I said pouring all the love in my words.

"You don't have to do all that and I don't have any problem with you. I love you as you are, Nandini." He said tightening his grip on my palm.

"In love nothing matters, Manik. That's why a Princess like me even fell in love with The Boss without thinking about the rank difference. But it's different for marriage. Everything matters in a marriage as we have to spend the rest of our lives with that single person." I sighed. "You must not be ashamed of me while introducing to the world as your wife. You must not regret for falling in love with me and I will make sure that happens by improving myself."

"Nandini..." He started with gritted teeth and I covered his mouth with my palm once again.

"It was so difficult to eat today's LukFast, Manik. You did not feed me and I felt sick in my stomach to chew every single bite. You did not feed me all my 23 years of life and I never got that feeling. After last night, you gave me a different taste by feeding me with your hands. I am now addicted to that taste, Manik. And that will happen only when you feed me." I paused.

My eyes burned seeing Manik's eyes getting moist.

"I never had any feelings for anyone in my life, Manik. I did not feel anything even for my parents as we were never close. I was living just like any movable item in the house. I was isolated from the world, from my family and emotions. That's where Navya's family took advantage, I guess." I removed my palm from his mouth and kissed his palm in my other hand.

"I felt something for you for the first time in my life. I felt happy to have you back healthy, I felt safe when you stood beside me protecting me from the world, I felt sad when you didn't spare a glance at me, I felt jealous when you spend your time with Alya, I felt anger when you tried to order me, and I felt so many things which I can't describe. I learnt a lot from you Manik than I learnt in my 23 years of my life." I sniffled. "I Dove you, Manik with L."

I tried my best to say I Love you but since I am getting extremely shy infront of him I used the synonym for Love. Hopefully, he understood me.

Manik dragged my chair closer to him and I happily jumped into his lap and hugged him back. I wiped my nose and tears over his shirt on his shoulder.

"Now I am addicted to all those feelings. I want them all for me, every day and everytime with no restrictions or limit. If it was any other time, as soon as you rejected me I would have moved on. But it's not possible now that I am in Dove with you but with letter L."

Ah! Damn it. It's spoiling the mood. Why can't I just say I Love you to him.

Manik didn't make fun of my words but listened to me carefully as if it's a language he is used to hear. He was wiping the tear streaks on my face as I spoke to him while hanging on to his shoulders.

"If I have so many desires in my life and it's normal to expect a smart life partner. I will not give up and I will put all my efforts to become smarter. We must not end just because of these little issues, Manik." I completed with a pout.

Finally, Manik released that lone tear which was being held from a long time. He cupped my cheeks and pressed his forehead against mine. "I Love You, so so much, Nandini. I am ready to give my life, burn the world and freeze the hell but why are we in this situation?" He paused and began hitting his chest as if it would make his pain less. "Why can't I give you what you ask? Why am I so helpless right now?"

I separated his palm from his chest and rested my head there while putting his palm over my head. "You are not helpless, Manik. You are the Boss. You are My Manik and I will do everything to make my Manik happy. Transforming myself will be good for both of us. I can finally detox from all the crap Navya has taught me."

I lifted my head to look at Manik whose face had a defeated emotion playing. I gulped looking at his face so close to me and took a deep breath. I lifted myself a bit up and kept my left palm over his right cheek and kissed his left cheek. Manik kissed the palm in his cheek and kept it back on his cheek.

"Isn't it a good thing? Nandini the dragon is back." I said finally a tiny smile played on his face.

This. I am living exactly for this. A tiny smile and my heart starts beating as if it has found a reason to live once again. I want this in my entire life.

I smiled back at him. A huge one.

"Now, you have to give me permission to do anything I want. There must not be any restrictions for my transformation. Okay?" I requested with puppy eyes.

He kissed on both of my eyelids and rubbed his nose with mine. "This Empire is yours now. Do whatever you wish, Nandini."

I jumped on his lap excitedly many times and he looked uncomfortable. Manik stood up suddenly and rubbed the back of his neck before taking deep breaths.

"What happened?" I questioned.

He opened his mouth a few times to say something but couldn't speak. What is that making him speechless?

"Nothing. I think I need to shower." He said walking out of the room.

"Yeah. And sleep for 8 hours. Okay." I shouted to make sure he heard me.

Once he was out of my sight I sat back on the dining table chair and gave a full thought on becoming smart.

How and where should I start?

As I was in my thoughts the universe gave me a sign in the form of a paper and ink. There was a newspaper and magazine holder just near the entrance of dining room. Usually, the men picks one while having their tea, coffee or something else.

Since, Princess Nandini Murthy doesn't drink anything I never touched a newspaper in my life. But today, the need aroused, the dragon have to touch that bunch of papers.

I pulled the one which got my attention. With a big bold letters it was printed "Unbeatable person in the world." There was also a photo pasted and the name mentioned as well.

Dr. Raghav currently a professor at The University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom.

He is so smart and I need his help to become smart. I had a plan on how to make things work with few minutes of raking my head.

At the correct time, Alya made her entry, the right person who will start my plan.

"Had your breakfast?" She questioned me.

"No. I had my LukFast." I smiled and she rolled her eyes. "Well, there's something you need to do, right now."

"What?" She questioned raising her eyebrows.

"Kidnap Dr. Raghav from the mainland." I said with an evil smile.

...

How is the update?

What do you think of Nandini handling things?

What must happen next?