The Enchantress |COMPLETE| MaNan Fiction

14. Keeper of Souls

A/N: Hello readers, wishing you a very very very happy new year! May 2022 be kind to you & your loved ones & give you all many many reasons to laugh, smile, be happy about.

On that note, let's begin todays chapter, hoping you'd like it :)

Happy Reading! :)

***

Nandini:

I was sitting in my bedroom and making a list of things we needed for the next day; it would be the fourth day after 'mumma's' demise; we were holding a religious gathering for the 'chauhtha'. I was busy remembering all the things we needed when the door to my room barged open and Aliya walked in. About time, I had thought to myself; ever since I had returned home after meeting Armaan, I was curious to know how her discussion went with Aryamann, but I didn't push it when I saw the door to her room locked. I thought she needed space, and I was more than happy to provide her that; it was true that the loss of 'mumma' got us back together as family, where we decided to put our personal differences aside for a while, but that didn't by any chance mean, all was well between us; for me she was still as much the home breaker she always was, and now I was the same for her.

Aliya walked straight in and stood next to my bed with arms folded across her chest; she looked livid. I realised her conversation with Aryamann couldn't have gone well; I wasn't surprised. I knew it would take them more than one conversation, but what I wondered was, why she was glaring at me; I thought I was out of their way now.

"Aliya, what..." but she didn't let me complete before bursting down on me.

"How much more selfish can you be Di, where does it stop, tell me, Di '' she breathed fire, I sat there looking at her confused. I thought we were putting this conversation for later, maybe after 'mumma's' funeral, but it looked like we were going to have it then.

"Excuse me?" I replied, not sure where this conversation was leading.

"Why is it always about you Di? You wanted Aryamann, you got him, you never loved him; but then you never left him either. You suffered and you made him suffer and in turn I suffered. We all suffered because you chose that for us, we didn't have a say in it. Then one fine day you find another man to love, let's not even get into the loop of who that man is, or that he was like a brother to you, or that he was engaged to me; putting all that aside, let's just focus on your deeds. You find this new man and you want to be with him now, but of course Aryamann has a problem now, he has invested too much time and life into this charade you had in the name of a marriage; he didn't want it to fall apart, he wanted to make it work no matter what. Now what could you possibly do? Take responsibility for your actions, nope; that was never in your nature Di, instead, you decide to lure him back to his weakness, me; after all these years, you suddenly acknowledge our right to happiness, Di? Now you want him to give us a chance? Why, so that you have a clean slate and can move on with Manik? All this scheming, what is it for? Who do you care about Di? Do you care about the man you called your husband for so many years, if not love, at least care, do you care about me, the woman who tried to make things right, so that your marriage could work, for all these years, do you care about Armaan, who doesn't deserve any of this and deserves to be with his mum and dad; and lastly, do you even care about Manik, or he is just an easy means of escape for you from the shackles of an unsuccessful marriage?" she was breathing heavily when she spoke her thoughts, as I calmly looked at her; I wasn't surprised, ever since our relationship had come out in the open, everyone in my life had asked me the same set of questions in one way or another. I didn't explain myself in most cases because I didn't feel the need to, but in this case, I felt I owed Aliya an explanation.