Parineeta

New Girlfriend and Her Mother

"aiyaappa, you know what I was right, mujhe yaha aana hi nai chahiye tha, nobody needs me here, if it wasn't for Maddy mai yaha aati hi nai and Manik, he's still the same, I don't get it, uski problem kya hai aur itna attitude kis baat ka hai, pehle it was because of Alya and whatever but ab kyu, I mean i get it he has a new girlfriend but like was it so easy for him to let me go, does it never bother him that I left, did never it never haunt him like it does to me, how can he move on so fast, aiyaappa, I just wanna go away, and never come back, never ever, besides that's what he wants na, he doesn't wanna be around me, toh mai bhi nai aaungi dobara kabhi vapas, never, and this time I'll go somewhere else, not even Maddy would know, nobody would know, I'll vanish forever and..." Nandini ranted as she entered the lobby of the resort that Manik had booked for Dhrulya's wedding functions at the last minute.
"Tumhara khud se badbadana ho gaya ho toh hato side" she heard him behind her and rolled her eyes but did not look at him.
Manik walked ahead but then remembered something and then turned to look at her.
"Vaise tum aa toh gyi ho, but tumhara luggage kaha hai? Inhi kapdo mei saare functions attend karogi?" He asked her with a slight smug smile on his face. Nandini looked at him and then remembered how Navya had not let her pack anything because they were already. She panicked on the inside but managed to not let it come on her face.
"Tumse kya matlab, mai in kapdo mei functions attend karu, ya kisi aur mei mai functions attend karu bhi ya nahi usse tumhe kya, tum apna kaam karo" she said maintaining her strong demeanor and he nodded.
"Right you're, mujhe kya tum inn kapdo mei karo, bina kapdo ke karo, how do I care" he chuckled while she gaped at his choice of words.
"Manik teri jaan ne humari jaan kha rakhi hai, kaha tha tu aur itna time kyu laga diya, tujhe pata hai tu uske paas se thorhi der ke liye gayab hota hai vo pure ghar ko sir pe utha leti hai" Mukti entered flapping her hands helplessly and Manik looked at her adoringly.
"Bas itni jaldi thak gye tum, mai usse ek saal se sambhal raha hu"he smiled remembering Medha and her tantrums and her annoyance whenever she couldn't find her dad when she wanted while Nandini stood silently assuming them to be talking about Manik's new girlfriend, but saal 'bhar se sambhal raha hu' was it so easy for him to move on, Nandini again questioned herself.
"Ab kya hua?"Manik asked Mukti.
"Madam ke paas kapde nai hai, vo function pe kya pehnegi?" Mukti looked at him with a sarcastic expression.
"Haan? Abhi toh uss din itna bada toofan aaya tha iske naye kapdo ka, pura ghar, mera pura room uske kapdo se bhara hua tha, usne khud select ki thi apni dresses, and it's not even that long to it" Manik said with annoyance in his voice but he was equally adoring his little girl.
"It is what it is Manik" Mukti said, "mai nai sambhal paa rahi tum jao khud sambhalo usse, vaise hi cyclone bani phir rahi hai!" Mukti slammed her forehead.
"Yes it is what it is, aakhir gayi toh apni maa pe hai" he smirked as he looked at Nandini from the corner of his eyes who was lost in her own thoughts.
"Anyways suno tum thorhi der aur usse sambhalo, please try karo aur try karo vo aur logo ko pareshaan na kare aur abhi kisi se na mile" he pleaded Mukti indicating towards Nandini and she nodded, "tab tak mai jaata hu uske liye shopping karne" he completed and Mukti looked at him surprised.
"Manik, kyu bigad raha hai usse, tunne hi kaha na ki abhi uss din itne kapde liye the, toh usse samjha aise toh vo kabhi nai rukegi"Mukti tried to make him understand but he was in no mood to understand. Instead he had something else also in his mind by now.
"Come on Mukti, mai yeh office, yeh meetings, yeh business itna sab kar raha hun sab uska hi toh hai, toh usse jo chahiye vo milega, she will not compromise" he said looking at Nandini who caught on his words and looked at him amazed at how he did not want this new girlfriend of his to compromise ever while all she ever did wasake compromises for him.
"But Manik.." Mukti began but was cut off mid by Manik.
"Anyways Mukti it's not just about her, I have to get some things for her mother too, kind off her mother's complete luggage, jaldi jaldi mei hum vo laa hi nai paaye" he said and Mukti looked at Nandini who was pretending to look into her phone by now.
Mukti nodded as she understood what Manik meant by everything and smiled at his crazy ideas. He was planning to go shop for Nandini since she wasn't able to get any luggage with her and Medha was just an excuse.
Meanwhile Nandini was lost in her thoughts wondering how much Manik had changed doing so many things for his new girlfriend's mother too, he was doing things that he never ever did for her or anybody before, that she was aware of, except for Alya and fab5 and his own family. She wondered how so much had changed and yet nothing had changed for her. She still felt like an outsider. Exactly like she used to feel a year ago. She wanted to run away from here, she wanted to go somewhere far away, far from everybody, from Manik and his new girlfriend. She was constantly reminding herself how it did not matter to her that Manik had a new girlfriend but her heart kind off continuously repeated the same, like it was on loop that Manik had a new girlfriend, that Manik had chosen somebody yet again who wasn't her. It pinched her heart to see Manik making so many efforts but for somebody else. She remembered how once she'd dreamt of all of this, of everything that Manik was doing now for his new girlfriend and everything that Manik used to do for alya, she'd dreamt that he'd all of this for her. How she wanted them to be the happy couple and yet here she was standing alone lost in her thoughts while Manik was making efforts for his new girlfriend and her mother.
Nandini looked at Manik and Mukti still standing in front of her talking abiut something but she was too lost to pay attention to what they were saying anymore. She simply dragged her legs past the duo and walked ahead to somewhere far from them while the two looked at her walking away.
Manik's face turned sad as he saw Nandini so lost and weak. This wasn't his Nandini and he wanted his old Nandini back, thr one who used to fight with him, the one who used to taunt him, the one who was his best friend but he knew he had to wait till they got there. He had to do more than he was doing right now to finally be able to walk upto Nandini and tell her what he actually had been going through in the past moths, tell her how he was equally lost without her and that she was the only one he ever had in his life, who he ever loved, it was her, it was his Nandini.
Mukti looked at a sad Manik helplessly,"tu usse bata kyu nai deta, sab kuch, bata de how much you want her ti be with you, how much you love her and that about Medha, Manik tell her and get it over with, hum tum dono ko aise nai dekh sakte"she held his hand as he looked down trying to push away his tears.
"I will Mukti, I will tell her everything but not right now, she needs to be fully prepared, she needs to be in the state to be able to understand and accept my apology and register everything that i tell her, I will tell her but at the right time, tab tak you go take care of Medha and make sure she doesn't meet Nandini nai toh maa beti ke beech mai phas jaunga, and I'll go take care of dono maa beti ka wardrobe issue" he chuckled while saying the last line and then left the lobby while Mukti went back to Medha's room.