Hello Fam :)

Here's a double update. Check the previous chapter if you have missed it. :)

Happy Reading...

Manik was folding his clothes neatly into his cupboard, his brain racing with a million thoughts but neither was it giving him enough time to process nor did Manik want to stop them.

Manik

He almost jumped on his place when someone yelled his name. It was Cabir. Of course. Who else?

Cabir squeezed his arm and took the shirt out of his hand before throwing out on the bed haphazardly. Manik scrunched his nose at the deliberate mess he was making but before he could protest, Cabir was already talking. "I have been calling you for the past five minutes. What are you even thinking about?", he asked.

Manik sighed heavily. "Nandini", he said and sat down on the bed with his head on his hands. "She is the only one on my mind since yesterday."

Cabir kneeled in front of him and wrapped his hands around Manik's wrists, pulling it away from his head. "What about Nandini?"

"I can't explain. There are so many thoughts and all my emotions are jumping like some tidal waves."

Cabir sighed. He pulled a chair to sit down in front of Manik. "If you are thinking about Nandini's parents in precise, Manik, we can't help it unless she comes out of her home. From her words, it's when she takes over the company."

"It's not fair", muttered Manik. "Cabir, she is Nandini. The girl who fights for every right thing. The one who protects the weak and she is struggling inside her house with no one to protect her. Her grandfather's will. It doesn't work. They will easily manipulate it and I have at least ten ways on how it could happen."

"Manik, calm down. Which genre are you on?", asked Cabir.

Manik passed on a glare. "Mystery which isn't related to the topic I am talking about."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? You tend to be a bit more suspicious after reading a mystery or thriller. What you need right now is a good romance novel."

"Cabir, I am serious." Manik thought his brother has gone mad. There are things which are more important than novels. He scrunched his nose at his thought.

"You know", Cabir started, his voice unusually soft, "I don't trust them but Nandini? She has been handling them almost all her life and she is fine. She might not be on cloud nine right now but she is safe. As safe as she can be and there are her friends who know her since her childhood. Do you think if it was unsafe, they would be sitting quietly?"

"She once told me that for some, everything is business. I never understood it before but now...", he trailed off but felt Cabir's hands around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.

"I am sorry you had to meet them, baby", whispered Cabir into his hair.

XXX

Manik didn't bring up the topic of Nandini again because it was dampening Cabir's mood. She was still at the back of his mind and he concentrated on the plan Cabir gave him. He felt a smile when he saw his baby brother had included a couple of reading hours into their 'let's build some brains and brawns' workout, as he termed it.

"Stop doing that", scolded Cabir, who was snooping in Manik's cupboard.

"What?", asked Manik.

"Don't think I didn't notice you grinning more at your reading schedule than the actual workout. You need muscles to kick someone", he told.

Manik frowned. "I don't want to kick someone, kid."

"Do I need to call someone to get you motivated? I have a head girl in mind", teased Cabir.

This was getting out of hand. It's as if Nandini is the trump card for everything Cabir wanted him to do. Whether Manik was sad, excited, lazy, or overworking himself to read his novels skipping his meals and sleep, Cabir threatened him to call the head girl. If Manik didn't know, his brother loved him the most, he would have thought it was blackmail but he couldn't accuse his baby brother of it.

"I am not trying to back out of your plan and this schedule but could you please not bring Nandini into every conversation?", he told as politely as he could manage.

Cabir ignored him. Of course. It's not like he could do anything except threatening because the network at the farmhouse was rubbish. After their lunch meeting with Murthy's, Cabir felt he would be at peace away from human interaction, including social media, and he planned it. For the next month or at least until Cabir planned on sticking to the schedule, they were ignoring their mobiles.

"The reading schedule is exclusive for me", announced the younger twin, bringing Manik out of his thoughts. "You could read whatever you want outside the schedule but within the schedule, it's only the books I recommend." He turned around to glare at Manik. "Bhai, why aren't there any chocolates for me hidden in your cupboard?"

"Is that what you are snooping in my things?", he asked.

"I am not snooping. I am trying to search for my vacation stash. Spill out the beans. Where is it?"

Manik shrugged. "I don't have it."

"What?"

He ignored the dramatic gasp. "I apologize, okay. I didn't know I had to have it, you know."

Cabir narrowed his eyes. "Did you give my chocolates to Nandini?"

Manik groaned. Why is he so obsessed with Nandini today? "No, kid, no, I haven't given your vacation stash to Nandini."

"Bhai, it's a ritual. You always had it ready whenever I visit you during vacations", he asked all pouting and huffing.

"Exactly, baby", told Manik, "I used to buy them before your visit to me but this time we were together and it just slipped my mind that I had to buy them."

"You better impress me in the gym or I am declaring war and going to mom", he threatened.

Manik nodded. He didn't want to argue any further. "What did you include the reading schedule for?", he asked after a few minutes of silence.

Cabir smirked.

Oh!, thought Manik, that smirk always meant danger.

Just to be dramatic, Cabir spread his arms wide in the air. "I am introducing you to the romantic genre."

Manik fell back on the bed with a thud. Is it allowed to be tired on the first day of their vacations?

XXX

One week into the vacation, Nandini finally got into her mood. There was no news of Nyonika Malhotra signing up a deal with Murthy Industries and she knew if her father wanted a deal desperately, he would have finished it in a matter of days. Maybe it was time to look past her image as a scary mother. According to Cabir, it was the result of protectiveness towards Manik and with Nandini's own thoughts about keeping Manik safe, she felt like a hypocrite to blame Nyonika for hiding her son. She might be a powerful businesswoman now but at a time when she had just lost her husband and was exposed to the world as a vulnerable widow, Nandini could imagine why she kept Manik away from the world. What she didn't understand was why not Cabir? Because the younger twin was equally at risk as Manik was. Maybe there were some secrets which are best when kept hidden.

After hastily storming off from her house, Abhimanyu seized her mobile when she jumped at every notification to hear something from her father and she let him be. She didn't want to ruin her vacations for a person who couldn't care any less for her. Instead, she caught up on the binge-watching series with both her best friends. At the end of the week, when Nandini assured Abhimanyu she was totally fine, he gave her mobile back, pulled her into a bear hug, and apologized for being harsh.

The apologies brought her back to Manik. As she switched her mobile on, she wasn't too surprised when there weren't any messages from the recently elected head boy, not when his social life was just close to none. What actually surprised her was the lack of messages or memes in the 'Best friends' Whatsapp group which the twins were a part of. Cabir, at least, made sure to send a bunch of memes to the group right from the morning.

"Any idea about what's going on with the Malhotra boys?", she asked later in the evening.

Mukti shrugged. "They aren't active. I tried calling them but neither was available."

"Dad said something about Nyonika Malhotra being not available too. He was trying to set up a meeting with her but they informed, she was taking a break and was operating from some far off place. No meetings except emergencies", informed Abhimanyu.

"Strange. I didn't know Nyonika Malhotra took breaks too", muttered Nandini.

"Guess, she is as human as we all are", said Mukti before resuming the series.

Nandini's mind kept on wandering to Nyonika and the arguments inside her brain were turning in favor of the older woman. Nandini would be the happiest if that happened because she could go back to admiring the woman without questioning her every intention. 

They are meeting again after one month which is next chapter. Do I have to specifically mention about all the muscles that Nandini would notice after returning back? Is anyone else excited too? 

Another question. Will Manik go back to being the attitude of a 'tall, dark and handsome' or would he still be the same 'cute, smart and innocent'? What do you think?