Marry You? | For the Capitalist in Your Heart!

Chapter 25: No need for subtext!

"I am not done. You know what you have been doing so far. We both do." She said, with her eyes turning more captivated. I brushed off the waiter in hopes of knowing more. This was getting interesting. I leaned in, with my elbows now resting on the table.

"And what's that?" I said as I stared right back at her, and she didn't look away.

"We are both whores for anything remotely scintillating. Excitement and entertainment, it is such a rush, right?" She said, a conniving smile spreading on her face. Her hair flew to the left as the wind rustled through them. She half-heartedly struggled to hold onto them but gave up. She looked eager, positively giddy awaiting my response. I was not sure if it was the alcohol or the revelation giving her this high. But it seemed she couldn't come off it.

The more I looked at her, smiling in the wind, lost in her trance, the more speechless I was. She had managed to bribe chaos to add something new to our little game. She made it fun and I can't deny that I was taken aback. But this was the perfect time to lean in more. So, I asked her, "Wouldn't we both be criminals, then? Why must I pay?" My words only made her smile more and that made me more curious to know.

"Well, you cursed my sense of sanity, not that I was sane before. But you didn't help it." She looked straight at me, her gaze piercing and her words pointed. She was excited to get this off her chest. I hoped to God she knew what she was doing. She was flipping the fucking chess board, not even halfway through the match.

"You are so infuriating because you know that whenever you will play, I would want to win. And you try to not make it easy." She said her fingers pointing at my chest and I couldn't help but smirk. She knew how to set fires. How much had I missed about you, Nandini to have missed you could do this?

"But you like it like that, don't you?" I said cockily. She wasn't intimidated, just amused as she said, "Let's get me a proper drink first! This can't be all my first-time drinking is."

"Want another watermelon to be sacrificed and sullied?" I quizzed and she chuckled.

Nandini

As I felt my first sip of alcohol drunk knowingly course through my system, I tasted the familiar bitterness of it. Alcohol on an empty stomach might not be best, but I was never not into self-sabotage. I knew I had vomited words I couldn't take back much before I would vomit the toxins in my stomach. I knew not where to take this further, but I liked smiling like I did.

The windy night helped my courage and at the end of the day, it was fun to fuck with Manik. If I say the truth which I had been saying quite too much off anyway, well-twisted truth, this moment was fun. The scent of Manik's car and his schemes was far away from my yellow sundress and this intoxicating night. Alcohol did offer an excuse, but when have I needed one? I could hold this up sober, I felt it in my gut. As if on cue, it growled again, and this time I laughed hysterically at it. What was even embarrassment?

I plucked my eyes away from the mesmerizing view of the city and looked back at Manik, who seemed in shock or awe at my trance-like laughter. "Maybe food would do us good?" I offered.

"What do you want to have?" He asked hesitantly, still unsure and taken aback by my ramping heretics. But this wasn't new. I have felt this high sober; it was different yet all too familiar with the aid of spirits. I did not think as much, but I still was thinking.

"What would you have me have?" I said, without a beat. He cocked his head sideways, with a brief expression of confusion on his face that he quickly masked with a smirk.

"Okay, Murthy. Let's get you some food!" He said gesturing towards the waiter. His gestures to the staff were always so subtle like a wave in the wind, which ended before it started. It almost seemed like the staff gawked at his face, the entire time he was anywhere. How insane! What kind of insane man considers it a privilege to be stared at while he stuffed his face, made cringe-inducing attempts at supposedly-rich society women, and offered marriage contracts for inherited titles?

I am going to marry this man. In front of a crowd of judgmental wannabes and my parents. Everyone is going to pretend to be happy as I will sell them the lie of love. Who will ever believe I fell in love? With him? I guess that's the thing about women, the only thing the society could let themselves believe in is a woman's capacity to fall embarrassingly head over heels in love with wretched men and make them their gods. Surprisingly, that would be the easiest thing to believe!
They will only ever wonder if I was good enough for him.

I focused back on my Manik's face, as he called my name and snapped me back to the balcony and the table I was seated on. Was any of this real or a fever dream? I could not make sense of it anymore. I felt a hot flush, creeping on my face and reached for the nearest glass to centre myself. Manik held my hand before I took a sip and replaced it with another glass, as he mumbled, "Water." I took a sip before thinking anymore. Water is a miracle. Every drop inched my back to reality bit by bit, so much so that I could finally take note of the waiter standing right beside my table, ready to plate our dishes. I apologized immediately and allowed him to place what resembled pasta or noodles of some sort.

"Pad Thai noodles. I could see you were wondering." He confirmed. My face must be as transparent as his little schemes. The waiter wishes us a great meal and left. The water had offered me enough sense of surrounding me to sense Manik's uninterrupted gaze on me. It felt like I was being surveilled for the crime of making bold statements and then fucking off without explanations. Unfortunately, food took precedence over his high and mighty dumbness. If he thinks I am solving this mess I just created, he must have me confused for a fool he fucked in the back of his car last week?

I don't play games, I can't win. Especially with fuckers like him.

I could not be sure if the air was telepathic, but that could be the only explanation because next, he said," How is your first time getting drunk going?" And I couldn't stop myself before I said," Fuck you." Aloud. He brayed at my polite retort before he could manage to say," Okay, fuck me for trying that." I couldn't help but smile.

Fuck that little hint of charm he picked up on his way up from hell.