Living in a Mirage

Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Soulmates aren't the ones who make you happiest, no. They're instead the ones who make you feel the most. Burning edges and scars and stars. Old pangs, captivation, and beauty. Strain and shadows and worry and yearning. Sweetness and madness and dreamlike surrender. They hurl you into the abyss. They taste like hope."

- Victoria Erickson

* * *

Nandini unlocked the door with her keys, smiling as she entered the apartment Manik had begun to refer to as theirs. Even though she had not moved in yet-officially-he assumed she would stay over every day after work. She felt Manik had lured her in intentionally, all while appearing nonchalant about it as if it wasn't a big deal, most probably part of his grand strategy to keep her guard down. He had given her a set of keys the second time she had stepped inside the apartment, devoted a shoe rack to her shoes the third, made space for her clothes in his closet the first time she stayed over, and referred to the right side of the bed as hers ever since. Manik Malhotra remained as much a strategist and schemer as he always had been. He was lucky that her desire aligned with his, Nandini thought, fond and exasperated in equal measures.

When she stepped inside the apartment, a whiff of something delicious welcomed her, and her stomach growled, reminding her how hungry she was. "Honey, I am home," she sang her usual greeting with a giggle as she removed her shoes.

"You are late and you are hungry, aren't you?" Manik asked with a knowing look. "Go wash your hands; dinner is ready."

Nandini approached him with a smile, startling him with a quick kiss on his lips before racing off to the restroom, leaving him gasping.

"You started something you had no intention of finishing?" Manik yelled after her and smiled fondly when her laugh echoed throughout the apartment like music.

The smile on his lips remained the entire time, and when Nandini returned and kissed his cheek, he could not help but laugh in delight.

"That's it?" Manik asked with a mischievous smirk, enjoying as she blushed and pushed him away.

"Look at you, Manik Malhotra, cooking such complicated dishes," Nandini praised him after tasting the past he cooked.

"Well, I had an excellent teacher who taught me how to cook in the name of kitchen romance," he responded, his gaze playful and smile soft.

"That's right. You sure have come a long way for someone who once didn't know how to cut a lime," she teased.

"I can't believe you still remember that," he said with a chuckle.

"I remember everything about you," Nandini said, and when shadows clouded Manik's face, she smiled tenderly at him as she took his hand in hers. "You already know you just have to ask."

She had been reminding him ever since Manik had told her about the effects of Dr Shah's unneeded cure and medications. One of the reasons why she would never forgive Mr Malhotra and would celebrate his complete doom. He stooped way too low to prevent Nandini from being in Manik's life. Ever since that day at Dr Shah's office, eight months ago, they had been sorting through his memories together as she assured him that everything he could recall about her and them was accurate. Yet still, there were times when Manik felt as if a huge chunk of his memories were missing or false.

"We can always make new memories," Nandini reminded him with a smile. "As long as we are together, we will keep making new memories. Us being together matters the most."