What's a soulmate? ~ MaNan

Chapter 16

A very, very special chapter.

70 comments and the next chapter is yours.

I love inline comments. It feels like I'm with you as you're reading, lol. Happy reading.

* *

Nandini

When my eyes flickered open, the first thing that registered was an undeniable throbbing sensation in my head and the overwhelming need to throw up.

I sat up straight, pulling the duvet off my upper body to reveal the clothes of last night, and all the incidents came tumbling back- the party, the drinking, and an unexpected man carrying me into his car.

My eyes widened, the nausea long forgotten. I must be slow, because that is when I noticed my surroundings- the unfamiliar room with its grey walls and modern wallpaper staring at me, the overhead lamps, and the huge walk-in wardrobe. The panic that engulfed me was quick, calming only when rather familiar drawings made their way to me, stuck randomly on the wall beside. Mia's.

I looked to the other side of the bed, and sure enough, Manik was asleep in his office clothes, one of his hand below his head and his legs crossed.

I blinked. And then I blinked again, relief engulfing me.

Getting up in Manik's room was better than getting up in a stranger's at least.

"Staring at me, Nandini?" His voice startled me, the relief disappearing as I jumped in my place.

"Manik," I had to pull up my fake stern voice. "What am I doing here?"

He opened his eyes lazily. "I brought you here last night, after I saved you from a man who 'wanted in' on the 'life of the party'."

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment that I hadn't calculated about when I decided to get drunk. "I- I could've managed."

"I'm sure." His sarcasm wasn't reflected on his serene features, and the hole in my chest deepened. I had almost forgotten what it was like to wake up next to him, how he always looked so put together every morning while I looked like I had fought multiple wars in my sleep last night.

Self conscious of my appearance and suddenly aware of my throbbing head, I shifted away from him which made him sigh.

"I- I'll leave," I tell him, stuttering more than I usually do. It's the hangover, I swear, and not how tempting he looks in his white rolled up shirt and messy hair and husky morning voice.

"It's 8 A.M, you leave from here like this and I'm sure the neighbourhood will assume you're doing a morning walk of shame," he teases, eyeing my little dress before pointing towards a door. "That's the bathroom. Freshen up and take a shower, I'll leave some fresh clothes for you."

"No, there's no need for you to do that," I give him a half fake smile as I get off the bed and my head spins so bad, I almost topple. "I'll- I'll just uber home."

"Nandini, that was me being polite," He deadpans. "You smell so much of alcohol, you will give Chachi a heart attack if she sees you. You need a shower."

"Oh." My cheeks redden, aware of the vodka in my breath,

He chuckles, pointing at the bathroom again. "Go. I'll leave some clothes outside."

"Thanks," I mumble in response, basically running into the bathroom out of sheer embarrassment.

It was big, much like the one I and Manik shared in this house earlier, which also led to the sudden realisation that the room I had woken up in wasn't ours. Or maybe he remodelled it after I left, I wouldn't really know since I usually picked and dropped Mia from the door, and sometimes the living room. Never inside, because it hurt too much no matter how much the time passed.