...Continued

A/N: Manik's panic attack in previous chapter will be explained later. Something's bothering him. That would be taken care of too. :)

Happy Reading...

Nandini woke up alone in the bed. Last night, after giving a mock demo in front of Cabir post-dinner, she slipped beside Manik on the bed. It was only a handful of times when she had slept beside him, could be counted on her fingers of a single hand, but those were the best of the sleep she had without waking up in the middle for a nightmare or a stupid midnight scare or the thoughts that kept her awake at night. Today was important for her and she had the burden of not letting Manik down in front of his employees. Hence, deciding she needed the sleep to function at her best, she found her safe person, who had disappeared so early in the morning. She thought of waking up before Manik and slipping off the bed in order not to scare him but looks like she failed and she wouldn't be able to check if he was okay with it or not.

"Hey, good morning", said Manik, coming into the room. He was dressed up and munching an apple while stuffing his things into his laptop bag. "I have an early morning meeting, so I am leaving now. Cabir will accompany you to the office later. Okay?"

"Okay?", she said, unsure. She thought she would go with Manik, give the talk, and ignore all the people. She hasn't done this before and her nerves had started building already.

It might be visible on her face because Manik walked to her and sat in front of her. He took her hand and gave it an assuring squeeze. "Hey, I will be there waiting for you at the office. I have to make sure everything is ready for your meeting too. Cabir will be with you all the time. If you have any problem, anything that's bothering you, give me a call. I don't care what I am doing, I will be right there for you. Okay", he told.

Nandini nodded and managed a smile. Manik didn't have to babysit her. She can do this.

He palmed her cheek, gazing into her eyes for a few moments before withdrawing it with a slight shake of his head. "I will see you in a few hours, Nandini."

XXX

Nandini was fifteen minutes short of strangling Cabir. They were on their way to Malhotra Industries. Ever since he saw her that morning, he hadn't stopped asking if she was fine and it only increased when they were alone in the car. He was concerned but his nerves were increasing hers right now. She checked the time. Fifteen minutes after which either she will strangle him or abandon him and take a cab to the office. Ten minutes later, when they finally reached the office, Nandini sighed. Office meant Manik. It also means Cabir lives, at least for now.

"Good morning, Nat", wished Cabir to the receptionist as she let her eyes wander to find Manik. "This is the recipient lady of the flowers from yesterday."

"Cabir, shut up."

She turned around and found Manik rolling his eyes at Cabir. She took a breath. Things should be fine now.

"Nandini, this way, please", he said and led them to the conference room, while texting on his phone. Cabir followed.

Reaching the conference room, she found twenty pairs of eyes snapping at her, some curious, some judgemental and there was Meera. She didn't glare as per usual but everything made her conscious about herself. "Am I late?", she muttered to Manik.

"No, we stayed back after the meeting. Discussing and just chilling until the next one", assured Manik.

He took her to the front such that she was facing the crowd. Someone was already setting up her presentation. There was a chair for her, the copy of the file of their deal in front of that. Everything was taken care of leaving her the only task of talking to them which was looking no less than sea diving without an oxygen cylinder.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we all know Malhotra Industries sponsors at least a company or a startup every year. This year we are pleased to announce our allegiance and partnership with Murthy Industries. We haven't been associated with the Murthy Industries in the past twenty-odd years, not after the late Goverdhan Murthy. Today, we are honored to rekindle the friendship between these two companies due to his esteemed granddaughter, Ms. Nandini Murthy", he introduced before mouthing a sorry after saying Murthy. "Now, I would request Nandini here to briefly introduce the working and projects of Murthy Industries."

As she stood up from her chair, Manik crossed her to sit down on his. He gave her hand a little squeeze and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "All the best, Nandini".

By the time she reached in front of the table, she found a few of them staring at Manik open-mouthed, probably not used to his little open display of affection, while the man was nonchalant, his eyes focused on her and an encouraging smile on his lips. Nandini cleared her throat and glanced at her audience as she started her presentation, ignoring the way her hand was sweating or her trembling feet.

XXX

Nandini was on the third slide. She has been on the third slide for fifteen minutes. It was one of the deals that her parents had made her sign and the flaws had escaped her notice until now. Apparently, someone in Malhotra Industries was keeping track of the company and he questioned her working, the others only followed shortly. The questions were flowing in and forget about convincing them to sign a deal with her company, she was questioning her worth as the CEO of Murthy Industries.

Words caught in her throat and she refused to make eye contact with Manik or Cabir. She didn't have the courage to look at their disappointed faces. She had let Manik down, the person who trusted her more than she could ever trust herself. She prayed she could somehow disappear and never come back to this place again.

"Okay, enough of the questions. Time's up", announced Manik, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "Let's take a coffee break. We are resuming the meeting in half an hour."

She heard the shuffling of the feet and the whispering of people. She felt her eyes sting and her head pounding. All the progress she had made, she felt as if she was back at square one wanting everything to end for good.

"Cabir, this includes you too. Leave the room. Come back after thirty minutes."

"But Manik, Nandini-"

"Kid, I said leave. And no tricks or I will ban you from stepping your foot inside the office again."

Manik was angry. There was a moment's silence as Cabir banged the door on his way out. She was rooted to her place, hanging her head down as he walked to stand in front of her.

"Nandini, what do you think is going on here?"

"I am sorry, I am sorry. Can I leave, please?", she whispered and hoped he heard her. She didn't care if there was a desperation in her voice but then Manik was cupping her face, forcing her to look at him and she had another thing to worry about.

"Nandini, hey, listen to me. Calm down, okay?", he muttered.

"I can't do this", she whispered again. The words felt strange to her as if they were a dirty secret she had never said out loud.

"You can. You are doing so well, love. You were amazing", said Manik.

Nandini shook her head. At least tried to as Manik held her head between his hands in a firm grip.

"No, listen to me. You were amazing back there and I am really proud of you", assured Manik again. "Come here." Closing the last distance, he engulfed her in his arms, taking her into a bear hug. "You are shaking. Breath with me, yeah", he told. "Match with mine."

Manik broke the hug once her breathing was normal, gave her a brilliant smile, and pulled her a chair for her before sitting down. He entwined their fingers letting her hold it with both of her hands. She needed his presence to cling on to the present. "You know, what's going wrong here", asked Manik.

"I shouldn't have come here", she muttered.

Manik shook his head and grabbed the file with his free hand. "Nandini, I don't care about this presentation. You don't need to convince them. I am signing this deal anyway."

"But-"

"Murthy and Malhotra Industries have years' worth of rivalry going on. We have avoided each other for pretty much the majority of the existence of Malhotra Industries. And now suddenly, I am signing up a partnership with you. So, my people deserve to know what we are getting into", said Manik.

"And I am not doing very well explaining it to them", she told.

"You were great when you started up. I can feel you tensed but you didn't let that affect you, yeah?"

She nodded. She tried to calm herself down.

"Listen, Nandini, these people are trained to question every deal we are signing into because one person can miss a flaw, two can but when there are twenty to thirty of them trying to question, you will either get the perfect deal or the takeout messages. Hence, they aren't stopping the questions", told Manik. "But you? You aren't working for them. You aren't working for me. You are the goddamn CEO of Murthy Industries and you shouldn't let anyone tell you otherwise. You think you don't deserve to be the CEO but there was someone who believed you are capable to run a company when you were just ten. He believed in you. If not yourself, believe in his trust in you."

"But the points they were making are true. How can I sign that one? And I haven't noticed it until now."

"Mom was going through this with you and it has escaped her notice too. So, we are fine. As I said, multiple brains focus the missed points by one. You have done some good work even while staying underground. You have signed a few flawed ones and that's okay. You are facing the consequences, not them. So, if they are questioning the authenticity of the deal, you tell them you had made some bad decisions and you are owning your choices. No one is perfect. Who are they even to question you on that?"

"But it's your office and these are your people."

"And you are my wife and the CEO of Murthy Industries. We are equals. Every company goes through a crisis and just because we are sponsoring the company, you don't owe us anything. In fact, I know, directly or indirectly you have saved Malhotra Industries multiple times from your father and then once with the Singhal deal. If anything, we owe you big time. We are starting a new relationship and none of us is above another."

Nandini sighed and leaned back on the chair. Manik dropped the file on the table and waited for her to wrap her head around everything. "Are you angry?"

"On you? Of course, not. What even gave you the idea?", he asked.

Nandini glanced at him. "You were mad at Cabir."

Manik rolled his eyes. "I had to be present during my morning meeting and I specifically asked him to make sure you are relaxed before coming here. It would have been manageable if some of the tension was added during the meeting when you are initially relaxed. But you are coming here already tensed, shaking, and sweating, looking at the people around as if they would pounce on you or something. Guess, he was adding all the nerves on you. He has that effect on people. He gets so nervous and we tend to be nervous just by looking at him. I should have asked mom to accompany you instead of him", he said.

"I would have fainted right here", she said, snorting.

"You would be fine. If you are still feeling nervous, don't make any eye contact with anyone unless someone's asking you a direct question. Concentrate on Cabir and me. Please, don't avoid me. I feel disconnected", said Manik.

She nodded her head. Why did she even think Manik would be mad at her?

"I had a conversation with Meera yesterday about you", confessed Manik. When she raised an eyebrow, he squeezed their hands. "She wanted to know about how we met and I told her how important you are to me. She knows now you are the major influence I am here today. She doesn't think I am obliged to help you because you are my wife. She wouldn't judge you anymore."

"Manik-"

"I know this is irrelevant but I am trying to clear out whatever is making you nervous. You don't have to be insecure about whatever she's thinking and she isn't paying you either. Doesn't matter what she thinks. No one owns you, Nandini."

Manik glanced at his watch. It was almost time before everyone came in. "Hey, I don't know if this helps but it did for me when I was really nervous during my starting days at the office", he said. "Close your eyes and try to imagine someone strong who you have always looked up to. Try to imagine what this meeting means to them and how proud of you they would be if you finish this one today. Imagine how happy they would be. If not for yourself, do this for them. Keep them inside your head the whole time during the meeting."

Nandini nodded and opened her eyes to find Manik already gazing at her.

"Is it your grandfather?", he asked, a soft smile playing on his lips.

She shook her head. "We had a lot of fun and I love him so much but I was too young to be inspired by his work. It's mom. Ever since I started understanding what my responsibilities are towards my company, she has always been in the news. She has always been my inspiration."

Manik blinked his eyes in surprise before letting out a laugh. "Knew you two were more similar than the eye's meet."

When they heard the footsteps approaching, Nandini freed his hand and stood up to go to her position but then she turned around as a question popped up inside her head. "Manik, who was yours?", she asked.

He knew what she was asking. His eyes softened as he stared at her a moment longer than necessary as if looking at something she didn't know she was. "You", said Manik.

The one word managed to throw her off guard. She was Manik's inspiration. She was the one he imagined when he was nervous. She knew she was blushing, going by the way Cabir's eyebrows raised along with a few others as they made their way inside. She glanced at Manik. He had a content smile as if relieved to tell her that. She shook her head. She is owning this damn meeting to keep that smile on his face.

XXX

Two hours later, Manik was standing beside her, signing the deal with her and Nandini was almost buzzing with excitement. The meeting went smoothly after the break and every time she felt any doubt creeping up inside her, she found Manik and there he was smiling and trusting her with every word she said. At the end of the meeting, there was a round of applause starting with Cabir and the others just followed. Nandini felt herself grinning and as she glanced at the person behind all of this, he was already walking towards her to sign the deal.

"Congratulations, Mrs. Malhotra. Since this moment, we are partners", muttered Manik, forwarding his hand to shake hers.

Instead of shaking his hand, Nandini crashed on his chest and when Manik was quick enough to wrap his hands around hers, she closed her eyes and let the world quieten down around her as she concentrated on the one heartbeat that mattered to her the most.

"It's over. It's all over", whispered Manik in her ear.

Nandini nodded but otherwise didn't move and Manik let her be.

"Hey, Lunch is on me. Order whatever you guys want", he announced.

Bhai

Several minutes later, she heard Cabir beside her and felt Manik nodding. "Yeah. Nandini, do you want to step away for a moment to order food or do you want to let Cabir choose the food for you? He is doing it for me", he whispered.

"No", she screamed, almost, breaking apart in an instant.

"I can choose, Nandini. You can stay there comfortably", he said, smirking at her and pointing his finger vaguely at Manik's chest.

She glared at him before giving her order to Cabir. As he stepped out to place their order, one of the guys raised his hand, gaining their attention. "Ma'am, are you feeling better now?", he asked.

She glanced at Manik, being confused due to the person addressing her directly. Manik had scrunched his eyebrows equally confused. She nodded in answer and waited for the next question. Maybe the meeting wasn't quite over for them yet.

"We have some questions actually for Manik sir but you are free to answer any of them", he told.

"Are you okay? Or do you want to take some time out away from the people for a while?", asked Manik to Nandini. When she said she was fine, he smiled at her and pulled a chair for her beside him. "Questions regarding what? I thought the meeting was over", he asked the guy, Rohit.

Before he could answer, Cabir came along with the receptionist girl. "Manik, I called Nat in. She was alone sitting there and anyways, the meeting is over."

"Good. Natasha, take a seat, please. I apologize. I should have called you", he told.

"But he was distracted", said Cabir, earning a glare from his brother.

Nandini wondered if any boss ever had apologized for not calling his receptionist after the meeting was over. The girl in question just rolled her eyes as if this had happened too many times.

"So, Nat, to brief you up, we just signed the deal with Murthy Industries", announced Cabir. "We are partners now."

"People go from business partners to life partners. I guess it's the reverse in your case", said Natasha, her tone teasing. "Well, that explains the flowers from yesterday. Oops, am I not supposed to mention that?", she said, looking at Manik.

Even though she pulled up an apologetic face, her tone was anything but. She was clearly in for the plan which, Nandini thought, was suspiciously planned by Cabir. The meeting room was losing its professional atmosphere with every ticking second.

"Manik sir ordered flowers. When did this happen?", said another guy.

"Okay, Natasha", said Manik, turning in his chair to face the girl. "I thought you loved me. What are you planning behind my back?"

"I still love you, sir", said Natasha, throwing in a wink at him. "It's just that the white roses from yesterday were surprising and so was the recipient Nandini. I thought there was no Nandini working in our company but this makes sense. Nandini Malhotra being our partner now."

He groaned. She was a fun girl but Nandini admired her guts. Not every day does one wink at their boss in front of the whole office and wife included, and tease them. Surprisingly, Manik was letting her do whatever she wants. She might just be the receptionist but her entire demeanor screamed she was used to getting away with anything in the office.

"White roses, sir", said a girl. "Never thought I would see a day in my life where this would happen."

"So when we came in, Nandini ma'am was blushing. Have you started making out with your wife in the office too? Never expected an unprofessional behavior from you, sir", said someone.

"Nah", said Cabir, interrupting everyone. "If they were making out, Manik would be blushing. Instead, Nandini was blushing which means Manik might have uttered something really sweet or sappy line at her."

"Okay, Cabir, shut up. I am not discussing my personal life and coming to the other one, I ordered white roses for Nandini, my wife. I don't think that's a crime", declared Manik.

"Not a crime. Just surprising and as I said we have a few questions for you, please clear them so that we are on the same page", said Rohit, the guy responsible for deviating the entire atmosphere.

Manik straightened up. "Hey, Rohit. I apologizing for not being on the same page with you. Are you doing good? You know you can talk to me anytime you feel like?", he said.

For a minute there Nandini thought Natasha was special but Manik Malhotra treated everyone as if they were special. Rohit included. The guy squirmed in his place, looking at the genuine concern in Manik's voice, and glanced at Cabir before smiling at his boss. "Or we can talk here."

"Sure, Rohit. What's bothering you?", asked Manik.

Rohit gave dramatic sigh, falling back in his chair. "My crush."

Nandini narrowed her gaze at Cabir. The idiot was smirking. He was definitely in whatever drama was starting in the room.

"What?", asked Manik, his face in pure confusion.

"Sir, now that we are partners with Murthy Industries, can I confess my love to my crush who is working in that company?", he asked.

"If it's not clear anytime, I never put any clauses on your personal lives", said Manik, answering him but looking at everyone in the room.

"I know, sir. But we all know both our companies were rivals for a long time. Imagine how would it look like if I am trying to impress her but can't even say where I am working in?", he told.

Instead of answering him, he turned to his brother. "God, Cabir, are you training them?"

"Why is everything my fault?", asked Cabir, pouting. Personally, Nandini thinks that question shouldn't be a question anymore. Seriously, he was responsible for more than half of the mess in everyone's lives.

"Because he was a scared little kid when he joined the office a year back", told Manik.

Rohit smirked unapologetically before pouting identical to Cabir, proving Manik's point. "You didn't answer my question, sir."

Manik rolled his eyes. "Yes, Rohit. You can propose to your crush. Do you want me to talk to her boss and let her write you a recommendation or something?", he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Rohit smirked. "Glad you would do that for me but no need. I will try on my own first but how long is the offer valid? You know, if she rejects me on the first try."

Manik turned to Nandini. "I think he deserves your punch."

She chuckled but otherwise didn't say as someone else raised their hand this time it was a girl.

"Sir, did you reject every professional deal with Murthy Industries so that we couldn't find out about your relationship with their CEO?", she asked. "I mean what's the logic behind not maintaining a professional relationship for years and then directly marrying them?"

"I wanted to hide her from you all. Glad it worked. You never knew about her until I announced", he told.

Manik Malhotra was in a flow spouting all the sarcasm as the whole room was trying to mess with him. Nandini was having the time of her life.

"Does ma'am know about your obsession with books?", asked another girl.

Manik narrowed his gaze. No one questions about his books. "She has a clear idea about it", he told.

"What's the level up to which she knows about your obsession?", asked Natasha. "The one where you sneak up books into the office or fall sick reading it."

Though she asked Manik the question, her eyes were subtly going towards Nandini as if she wanted her to be a part of this discussion. Nandini laughed. "The level where he forgets his surroundings while reading a book and wouldn't realize even if there is an earthquake or a terrorist attack going on around him."

"Nandini, I don't do that at the office anymore", whined the CEO of Malhotra Industries.

"You are really more a nerd than I have thought about", said Natasha, leveling a disapproving stare at Manik. She then turned to Nandini. "Don't worry, ma'am. If something like that happens, I will make sure he is safe and out of the building before anyone else. We will protect our boss till our last breath."

"Thank you", she said, just to spite the disbelieving look on her husband's face.

"Tell me, whose idea was it to roast me up today?", asked Manik. "Seriously, guys, out of all the days, you chose today? Right in front of my wife."

No one would say Cabir's name and Manik would never accuse his baby kid without any evidence. The said baby kid on the other hand was silently enjoying Manik's plight.

"Roasting you? How can we even dare to roast the CEO of Malhotra Industries and the boss who is paying us salaries'', said Natasha, a genuine smile playing on her lips. But the glint in her eyes told Nandini that she could any day pass on as Cabir's sister. "We are just trying to understand you better as you are a married man now. People change after getting married, their opinions too. So, how much did yours change? If you are stuck on an island, whom or what would you rather choose to be stuck with? A bunch of fictions or Nandini ma'am."

"That's not even a proper question", protested Manik.

"Ma'am, don't you want to know the answer?", asked Rohit.

Nandini shrugged. "I wouldn't ever put him in that kind of trouble", she told. She realized she really didn't want to know. Manik values his family more than anything and he would any day sacrifice his books if he really has to for his family but he would also lose a major part of him. The books he reads make him the person he is. They aren't only just escape routes for him but also his teachers who have taught him about his life. Hell, he learned to interact with people by reading books. She wouldn't deprive him of something so integral of him.

"See, I knew she loves me more than you guys", said Manik, glaring at everyone.

The casually thrown comment caught her off guard. Did she love Manik? Could she ever love a person? She didn't know because she had to open her heart for it and she wasn't ready for that with the bunch of divorce papers lying on the table beside her bed. It has been there since the day Manik gave her. Neither did she read them, nor did she bother to keep it in. Did Manik love her? She didn't want to know that either because she wasn't strong enough to go through a rejection by the one person who meant everything to her.

Manik tugged at her, bringing her back to the present, without anyone's notice. "You okay?", he whispered.

Nandini gave him a nod before smiling.

XXX

After lunch, Nandini stayed back in Manik's cabin as he did his work, although letting the conversation flow between them. "Your employees. They were winding you up and you were letting them. Not an ideal boss behavior, Malhotra", teased Nandini.

Manik shrugged. "I don't try to be their boss. I prefer being approachable. Mom is still the scary one and we are maintaining that. So, they have that freedom with me and Cabir. It makes the work environment comfortable and friendly. But this pulling my leg usually happens only when we are alone even though they do that all the time with Cabir. Maybe they would have thought that since you are my wife, it's okay to let you in on their secret. Anyways, I am glad, they trust you or respect you enough to do that in your presence."

"Don't you think it's Cabir who was responsible for this?", she asked.

Manik laughed. "Who knows? They have a Whatsapp group too without me. Cabir stages a protest against me sometimes about how I make him work overtime. This way, if someone has an issue with me, they could confess it there and Cabir would talk to me. So, yeah. He might have started something in that group too. Not the first time he has done that."

"That's a smart idea, Manik. But I am surprised people would want to go to Cabir to express their problems instead of you. You are more understanding and he is protective of you. How does he handle anything negative against you?", she pointed out. Because while Cabir was a good person, Manik would do everything under his control to solve someone's issue. And if Manik was someone's problem, she couldn't see past Cabir killing them with his death stare.

"Cabir is charming. He blends in well with his stupid jokes. I can't", said Manik, and Nandini thought that's stupid. "It helps when I want to get things done. If I am serious, people shut up and get the work done. An advantage there."

"You blend in well too. You are quiet but you are more approachable. But whatever works for your company", she said. The shy smile that appeared on his face and the way he ducked his head to hide it, Nandini couldn't believe he was the boss. She thought it was perfect for Cabir to blend in instead of Manik because Manik is too pure of a person to have any ulterior motives while talking to a person. Cabir, on the other hand, will run multiple plots in his brain. "I have always wondered how you would be as the boss with people working for you. The way you are running the office, I think this perfectly fits for the Manik Malhotra I have always known."

In reply, Manik grinned at her. There was a knock and Meera came in. Nandini thought she would have to leave now and stood up but then Manik held her hand, gesturing with his eyes to stay back.

"Sir, this is the final copy of yours. I have one file with the official ones and one sent to Murthy Industries", she said, handing it over to Manik.

"Thanks a lot, Meera", said Manik. Without any further instructions from him, the girl left the cabin silently.

"Manik, I am sorry", said Nandini.

"Hey, what for? If it's again about Meera-"

"No, for the meeting. I gave a demo with Cabir last night and it was fine but I don't know what happened today. I couldn't find the words. It's like-"

"Like you haven't ever studied alphabets before? Like you want the ground to swallow you and your brain's blank with the person in front of you resembling no less than a monster? Nandini, I understand. Remember me? Manik Malhotra, weird fresher in 2nd year of college", he told. "Wait a second." He gave her a stapled papers from the file given by Meera.

Nandini was surprised to find the history of Murthy Industries, their latest dealings, the legacy of Goverdhan Murthy, and every achievement the company has accomplished ever since its establishment.

"You don't have to explain anything to me or be sorry about it. It doesn't matter really. This meeting was a trial before you rejoin your company where you are the boss. I have the backup and if you were unable to talk there, I was right there beside you to finish the meeting but you are my damn head girl and I know you would do that. You proved me right, Nandini."

"Manik Malhotra, could you go one minute without being your perfect self?", she whispered in a disbelieving admiration. Seriously, who would even think things like that? And there she was worried about letting Manik down when she failed to get her words out.

"Not perfect. Just doing my part of the job", he muttered awkwardly.

Nandini rolled her eyes before shifting to general topics to relieve him of the discomfort. If not for scaring Manik to death, she would love to smother him with heaps of praises and wax poetries about that spectacular personality of his.

XXX

Manik and Nandini went to meet Mukti and Abhimanyu. The wedding ceremonies would start in a day and these two were very active with all the preparations. It also means cupid Cabir had all the house to himself and he could clearly take an expert's advice. Hence, he went to meet the Queen herself.

"May I have an audience with the Queen?", he asked, entering Nyonika's room.

She grinned at him, pushing away the book she was reading. "My darling son. What do you have for me today?"

"Manik had signed the deal with the Murthy Industries. We have twisted the usual clauses as in no clauses for Murthy Industries. It's more of a partnership than sponsorship, though the details are all confidential", he told, sitting down comfortably.

Nyonika snorted. "It's Nandini. Of course, there shouldn't be any clauses. Not every deal is a mind game. Some deals are signed with the heart."

"Never knew the scary Nyonika Malhotra has a heart in business", he teased.

"I can terrify people but I had signed a few deals with my heart too. They are just confidential as with Nandini", she told. "Manik, on the other hand, knows about these confidential ones too."

She was teasing him back because how could Nyonika Malhotra let anyone slide after they had teased her even if they were his son. "Because he is your favorite son?", he asked, pouting.

"Because he is a workaholic who works more than you", she told. "Anyway, enough about this. Where are my juicy details? What's your progress?"

Cabir shrugged. "I don't know, mom. There's something going on for sure. Manik is still in love with Nandini. He told me explicitly. It's too textbook for him. He would love her for the rest of his life. I don't know if it's possible but it's Manik."

"And he doesn't love in halves, yeah. What about Nandini?", asked Nyonika.

"She is complicated. Her whole life revolves around Manik. She would panic if he isn't alright. She would defend him, trust him more than anyone, and is too comfortable to share every painful detail about hers but when it's about love, she's holding herself back. It's not as if she doesn't love him because the girl's smitten like all those years back. If there's a priority list, Manik would be her first-person without any hesitation. She faced a whole meeting room after having a few minutes with Manik. He is her strength and she had somehow anchored her life with him as the stabilizing entity but if you question her about love, she would give you some stupid excuse."

"Maybe she thinks she doesn't deserve Manik", said Nyonika.

"What? If there's one person who deserves Manik, it's her. She had cared and protected him even before she knew he was a Malhotra. It's Manik that matters to her instead of his surname", he protested.

"True but Manik was talking about her self-doubt and that can be one thing. To know the rest, I think I have to step in. What do you think about a girl's day out?", she asked.

"Am I allowed?", asked Cabir. He would be an idiot to miss the Nyonika Malhotra playing the cameo as a cupid on his big screen.

"Only if you wear a saree", she told, smirking.

"Mom but-"

"Shut up. Take care of the office. I am taking Nandini for shopping tomorrow."

"She hates shopping", declared Cabir.

"Not when it's her best friend's wedding", she told.

"You hate shopping", he told. Why can't his mom allow him instead?

"Small sacrifices for settling my son's love life."

And Cabir accepted his defeat because who could even win against the Nyonika Malhotra? He wondered how would Nandini fare in front of her. 

I wanted to say so many things but right now I am at a loss for words. I am leaving that chance to you. Chapter opinions, pretty please. ;)

Spoiler: Manik and Nandini will blow your mind in the next few chapters. Also shopping. How excited are you for a cameo by cupid Nynonika? :P