In His Custody ✎ (MaNan)

✰ 48 - jealous hearts

HOLY, 40 votes?! Please, I'm going to cryyyy!

I want to do a double update today, because you angels have been so patient with me during my creativity slump <3 Please don't let response drop because of this, pretty please? :P 

Inline commenters, I'm in love with you <3 

Enjoy your read and tell me what you think :")

⭒

Manik

Didn't she say being around me would be the hardest thing she could ever do?

Why the hell did she say yes to the stupid game then, which would hold her back in my house for longer then?! Hanging out in my house, playing with my friends... wouldn't those only derail her from her resolve to be acquaintances with me?

Why the fuck did I care about any of that? No, I was least bothered. Those were her problems to solve; what she does, how she does, when she does... it was none of my concern. In fact, what actually irked me about it was... was the bastard that started it all – Cabir – was suppressing a wide grin with much difficulty as he put on some shades in the middle of the night.

Iss Cabir ki toh main... ugh!

We were by the side of the pool. A green cylinder of glass – identical to the bottle of beer in my other hand – piroutted in the circle, examining every one of us in short bursts. Some of us had pizza slices to chew on, while the others had a drink. Cabir in particular endorsed both, alternating between a bite and a sip!

Sighting her in the middle of the group of non-vegetarian alcohol-enthusiasts, I studied Nandini Murthy, a vegetarian teetotaller.

Cross-legged opposite to me, she became a recipient of all my shrewd glares and my plentiful eye-rolls but Madam had not blessed me with even one sparing look. Nothing. Her hands simply rested in her lap where the ends of her dupatta met, and she fiddled with them with a slight frown on her face, eyeing the bottle.

One of my hands swirled the icy water mindlessly; it resisted . I never hated the ends of a dupatta as much as right now. It became my personal mission to make sure she would regret her decision, to stay back and torment me, by the end of the night.

Dreadfully, she seemed to be praying to her Aiyappa and mutely hoping for it to not stop on her.

It was more of a reason why I wanted it to land on her: at least that would send the stubborn, hypocritical, overly assertive ethereal woman away from my house. Away from me.

Mukti was to Nandini's immediate right, followed by Dhruv, myself, Alia and Cabir. When it slowed down at her but finally pointed at Dhruv, she let out a huge breath of relief. He scanned the crowd in order, choosing his prey for the game.

All our childhood friends were in one place, together – all but one.

The shrewd awareness that she had stolen her brother's spot dawned on me heavily, causing me to tremble in the slight breeze that surrounded us. I lazily sipped on my third beer for the night, and relaxed the chill away.

As his steadfast focus paused on Nandini, I promptly straightened in my spot, unintentionally glowering at the unspoken conversation that transpired between the two pairs of eyes. He lingered his gaze on her, tensing a nerve in my skull.