An Arranged Journey To Forever

117

Nandini exhaled sharply, frustration bubbling within her. "Manik, this is the last time I'm asking you—go take a bath!" she snapped, her patience hanging by a thread. It was already 11:30 AM, and the man—who was supposed to be a responsible father—was anything but. Instead, he was lounging on the couch, eyes glued to the PlayStation screen, completely engrossed in his game.

From the other side of the room, their five-year-old daughter, Amayra, mimicked his nonchalance. "Mamma, just two minutes! The game is almost over," she pleaded, her tiny fingers gripping the controller tightly. She had recently developed an obsession with video games, thanks to Manik. If there was one thing he had successfully passed on to their daughter, it was his love for gaming. Not that Nandini had a problem with it—but when it took precedence over everything else, it became an issue.

Having had enough, Nandini stormed across the room and yanked the main plug of the PlayStation from its port.

"What the fuck, Nandini?!" Manik exclaimed, eyes widening in disbelief.

But what followed was even more shocking.

"What the fuck, Mamma?!" Amayra repeated, her innocent voice echoing in the room.

A stunned silence filled the space as Nandini stared at her daughter, then turned her furious glare onto Manik, who suddenly looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Amayra, who taught you that word?" Manik asked, though he already had a sinking feeling about the answer.

"You did, Dad," Amayra replied innocently, her large eyes blinking up at him.

Manik let out a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head. But Nandini was anything but amused.

"Yahi sab sikhana tha tumhe? And when I correct her, you have the audacity to yell at me?" she fumed, picking up a cushion and hurling it straight at Manik's face.

Manik barely caught it before it hit him. "Calm down, Nandini. You're overreacting!"

"You know what? Do whatever the hell you both want! I am done!" she declared before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Manik sighed, watching her leave. He turned to Amayra, who was still sitting on the couch, looking at him curiously. "Amayra, beta, let's make a rule—no saying that word again, especially in front of Mamma if you want your dad to live," he said, picking her up and placing her on the bed.

"Okay, Dad," she giggled, accepting her coloring book from him.

As Manik grabbed his towel, ready to finally take a bath, Amayra piped up, "Then after that, we have to make Mamma happy again, right?"

Manik chuckled, shaking his head. "Exactly. You're learning fast, princess."

Meanwhile, Nandini stomped down the stairs, mumbling every curse she could think of under her breath.

"I am so done with his antics! He is spoiling Amayra beyond repair! Both of them are driving me insane!" she grumbled.

Just then, a warm voice stopped her mid-rant. "Whoa, who has troubled my daughter so much?"

She looked up to see Raj and Nyonika standing at the entrance, smiling at her. In an instant, her anger melted, and she rushed into Raj's arms.

"Dad! What a surprise! I thought you two were heading straight to Udaipur!" she said, hugging him tightly before moving to embrace Nyonika, who kissed her forehead affectionately.

"We finished our work earlier than expected, so we thought of coming straight here," Nyonika explained.

"Also, those Design Cube people are coming today. I told you about them, remember?" Raj reminded her.