Holding On & Letting Go |COMPLETE| MaNan Fiction

Chapter 7: An Almost Happily Ever After

A/N : Well, delivering as promised! Excited to hear more from you!

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NANDINI MURTHY

"Manik" I repeated a little louder this time, and opened my door to him.

"Aww, it's only Manik, not pretty boy Aryaman" he mocked me.

"Manik, you are dead drunk. What are you doing here?" I whispered in surprise.

"Why, is entry here restricted for me; Aryaman only, eh?" he spat, holding onto my door for support.

His arrogant ignorance irritated me, it evoked a deep seated anger in me. But for starters, I caught hold of his wrist and pulled him inside my house. He staggered inside with my support and crashed on a couch.

I rushed to the kitchen to fetch lime water.

"Manik, drink this."

"No."

"Why?"

"I need to figure out a few things, keeping my ego aside. When I am drunk, I let go of inhibitions. It helps" he muttered looking at me.

"You are not in a state to discuss anything, so we won't" I retorted

"Says who?"

"Manik, honestly, can't you see ----"

"No. First you tell me - Says who? Nandz, Nandu, Nandini or Aryaman's fiancée?"

"How does it matter, according to you, all of them are the same - me." But I was surprised at the pain that came from my own voice. He seemed to have heard it too.

"No, they are all not the same - Aryaman's fiancée is different. I hate her."

"You don't know her" I replied, I knew it that he wouldn't see through my statement.

"I don't want to know her - I just want to pluck her out of you - the rest all are okay - Nandz, Nandu, Nandini - all are mine. Just mine." He finished. His dominating ownership over me, it infuriated me - I felt commoditized - I remembered all those days when I survived like a living dead after my first break-up with him - how I was never whole again - that feeling when he looked my eyes and said I wasn't good enough for him - how dare he now. In my anger I stopped playing Aryaman's fiancée. I wanted to tell him off today - once and for all and get it off my chest - I couldn't act matured about it anymore - My long buried pain found utterance at last.

"Manik Malhotra. I am not Aryaman's fiancée. He is engaged to someone else."

He stared at me aghast, he opened his mouth once or twice to protest, but he just gulped more air. I seized the opportunity and continued.

"However, you know what? That is the least of our worries. Nandz, Nandu or Nandini, none are yours to claim. I am an independent woman and I don't need you. You left me once, and I somehow managed to survive, I won't let myself go through the same pain again - You know what Manik, now you're not worth it." I breathed out heavily. But in return he just smiled.

"What?" I asked, irritated at his smile.

"Not Aryaman's fiancée. Our worries. Us" he mumbled to himself, as I was shaking in anger at his fake sense of victory. I left him on the couch and was walking away inside, when he spoke.

"But Nandz was always mine."

I shut my eyes in anger, and I don't know from where that wretched tear came escaping. I rubbed it off my cheek with fierce force and turned around.

"Nandz is dead Manik. You killed her." I sighed.

"NO" he screamed suddenly, like he was hallucinating something painful. I looked at him surprised. But he sprang up from the couch and dashed towards me. He caught hold of my shoulders roughly and shook me hard.