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

"Do you understand how kidnapping works?" Alya questioned me.

"Ofcourse! I come from a family who kidnaps people from mainland. Since, I am a princess and you are a Boss, you should be doing it for me now." I completed with a smile.

She looked at the photo on the newspaper and back at me. "Why are you interested in this man?"

"Well, this doctor is going to help me become smart, fight with you in a fair manner and win Manik."

She rolled her eyes at me.

"Are you still stuck there? Move on. Manik will never marry you. All this is just a waste of time."

"You don't have to worry about my time. I have lots and lots to spare for Manik and my relationship. You just have to kidnap Dr. Raghav and that's all."

"I. Will. Not." She said pausing with every word.

"Yes. You will, this is Manik's order." I said with confidence.

"Order from the Boss? I don't believe it."

A smirk played on my face hearing Alya addressing Manik as a Boss. There, that sounds nice to hear, isn't it?

"It's up to you if you want to believe it or not. Right now, you have to kidnap Dr Raghav and that too in the next few hours." I said folding my hands over my chest.

She took a moment to think and started to walk outside.

Good. She will work on the kidnap.

"I will speak with the Boss directly." She was walking towards Manik's room.

"Stop." I stood infront of her spreading my arms wider to block her path. "You can not walk into his room as if it's yours. He is taking a shower and you must wait outside."

"Nandini, don't test my patience."

"Alya, don't test my patience." I repeated.

We both glared at each other and I was the first one to break the contact as the work is important for me.

"Alright. Let's hear from the lion's mouth. But you have to stand 'outside' the room while I go inside, okay?" I explained.

"Why so?"

I chuckled.

"What do you mean by why? A man is showering and you want to walk into the room to watch him? Infact, no body enters The Boss room except me. He gave that right only for ME."

Ah! I love the last line.

"Whatever. I just need to confirm." She said and we both walked towards the room. She stood outside while I walked inside the room leaving the door ajar so that she could hear us.

As expected Manik was in the shower room as I called for him.

"Manik." I knocked his door with a sweet voice.

"Yes, darling." He responded from the other side turning off the shower.

Woah! Darling? He called me darling infront of Alya even without knowing she is here.

"Manik, could you please tell Alya that you have given me the permission. She is not letting me do things." Alya's eyes widened hearing me complaint about her to Manik.

"Boss, that's not what happened . She is twisting the words. She is asking me to..." Her words were left incomplete as Manik interrupted her.

"Alya, do whatever she asks and do not disturb me for the next 8 hours with all the silly reasons. I believe you all can handle without the Boss for a few hours."

Yay! Manik, you got an extra point.

"But, Manik, she is asking..."

"It's an order." Those words made her shut up. She didn't argue further and accepted the order.

Alya shook her head calling us both crazy under her breath and walked away to do the work.

"Thank you, Manik. Have a nice shower." I said and about to walk away but his words stopped me.

"You are not going anywhere. Stay in the room till I come out."

"Why?" I questioned him.

"I might need your help for the wound on my external organ." He stepped out of the shower with the towel wrapped on his waist.

Last night's moments flashed infront of my eyes seeing his bare torso infront of me. I gulped and my mouth went dry. The feel of his rough palms over my soft skin was back from the memory just by his presence infront of me.

What's happening to me?

"The surgeon in me is on leave for today." I said and tried to escape from the room.

He pulled me back by my waist and I came crashing to his chest. My hands were between our bodies and his slightly moist hair falling over his face. I so wanted to move that hair from his forehead but my arms were locked between us.

"If you will be on a leave then what will happen to my wound? Look it's healing already with your magic touch." His face came closer to mine as he spoke.

I used all my energy and pushed him inside the walk in closet and shut the door.

"It's not me, it's the orange water. Apply it yourself, Manik."

I heard him laugh from inside hearing my words.

I took a moment to calm my breathing and decreased the room temperature with the remote. Now it's cooler.

He came out dressed in his pyjamas and motioned with his eyes to shut the door. I asked him the reason with my eyes.

"For privacy." He replied.

"Why? We are just standing right? There's no need for privacy for standing. I mean, everyone stands on their legs in their room and it's not like we are doing anything other than standing, right?" I blabbered.

He walked to the door and shut it himself. "We won't be standing in our room, Nandini. We will be sleeping."

"Sleeping? As in together? Why? It's just closing your eyes, Manik. You sleep and I will look at the paintings around the house." I smiled trying to make sense.

He pulled me closer to him. "No. We will be sleeping together in each other's arms today."

I watched as his lips moved and couldn't speak anything.

"I don't sleep in the day time, not atleast for 8 hours. I will need you to sleep beside me so that I can be sure you are safe."

I cleared my throat before speaking. "I am safe, duh! There are hundreds of men just around the mansion."

"They are here to look after everything else but I have to personally make sure my precious person is safe."

"But..." I tried to deny.

"Your wish. You can walk out and leave me restless thinking about your safety or stay with me and we can have uninterrupted sleep for the next 8 hours." His offer was quite tempting.

Sleep for extra 8 hours! Oh, I love sleeping. But with Manik? That's a new one. It's okay, atleast he will get some rest instead of worrying about me all the time.

I nodded my head and he smiled.

I sat on the bed and began making a pillow wall while Manik closed the curtains to prevent the angry sun rays falling directly into the room.

He turned back towards the bed and frowned. "What's with the border?"

"This is to make sure we do not go into other's territory. That side is yours and this side is mine." I said with a smile and his frown deepened.

"We are supposed to sleep in each other's arms, Nandini. Not on the other side of the boundary."

I shrugged. "I told you already we can sleep together after marriage. For now, it's more than enough to be sure that I am safe."

He walked towards his side of the bed and sat on it leaning on the headrest. "I want to hold you in my arms and feel your soft skin against me. I want to feel you by my side, Nandini." He said throwing one of the pillow down the floor.

I replaced the missing pillow with the other and once again created the uninterrupted boundary. "Well, I want us to be married. Is it happening? No, right. Sometimes, we have to adjust."

I smiled playfully and laid on my side. "Good afternoon, Manik."

"Agh!" He sulked and laid down on his side. "This is the same as sleeping on the couch."

There was a pindrop silence in the room as we stared at the ceiling with sleep being so far from our eyes. I just realised that we never slept with each other on the same bed. We fought and cried for sure on this bed but never slept in each other's arms.

"Can I atleast hold your hand?" He questioned.

"No."

"Why?"

"I am no longer 22, I am 23 years old. I am now a grown up and we can't do all those things."

He burst out laughing. "You make me speechless."

After his laugh ended the room fell into silence. This is getting awkward. I should have just snuggled into his chest and sleep long back instead of staring at the boring ceiling.

I sighed and turned to my left to look at Manik and he did it at the same time. We both chuckled.

"It's difficult to sleep without touching you." He said putting his arm under his head while looking at me.

"What do you mean? You have been sleeping without me for 27 years." I counted.

"Well, I didn't had the thought of having you in my arms and from the moment I had this thought I can not sleep." He said putting his palm on the pillow where my face rested.

"Manik, you can't come this side." I shrieked.

"Technically, I did not. There are few millimetres gap between my side and yours." He said with a winning smirk.

"You cheat everytime." I pouted.

"If not for this rule of yours I would have kissed your pout long ago." His words made me suck my lips inside and he broke into another set of laughter.

A few minutes later I kept my fingers in between the gap of his fingers and he smirked. "What? I am not touching you. I am still on my side and my fingers are resting on the pillow."

"That's my girl!" He said and happiness filled my heart getting appreciated by him. "So, what did you wanted from Alya?"

Why is he asking that now?

"Something for my transformation." I said.

"I can do it for you instead of asking others."

"No. That's not something a Boss does, it's for the lower ranked soldiers. It's anyhow being dealt, Manik."

"Won't you atleast tell me?" He asked.

"I will show it to you in a few hours. Now it's  2 pm and by 11 pm it will be ready." He frowned trying to connect dots. "Stop thinking and sleep."

We both shifted closer still trying not to touch each other or crossing the borders.

I like Manik's trick. It made us closer without breaking the rules. That's how we must handle situations and I am learning a lot from him.

It's a good thing because we were able to sleep within few minutes.

...

How is the update?

Ah!!! I am liking their small progress in their relationship.

What will be Manik's reaction to the kidnapping of Raghav?

Guys! There will be something big happening within the next 2-3 chapters. Guess what?