For Infinity

Part 33: Pains of the past

Pain changes people. It makes them trust less, overthink more and shut people out.
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Three days had passed by since Mr Malhotra's shocking comeback. He spent all the time he could with his son, talking about everything they missed out in each other's life. Manik was happy would be an understatement. A son will always need his father not matter what age he maybe. Raj was Manik's first hero. His first best friend and his first love. Every bit of happiness that he experienced before Nandini and Fab 5 came along in his life, was because of his Dad. Not matter in which part of the world Raj was, he always looked upon his son.

But, there will always be that one thing on which a father and his son will never agree on. Every time Manik would bring up Nandini's name, Raj would turn sour. He will either change the topic or leave the conversation which only aggravated Manik's problems. Being his only son he could never hate his father or be angry on him for what he thought of Nandini. Raj was wounded by his painful past and it would take a lot more than talking to heal him completely. He blamed his selfish Mother for making his father so cold.

Raj Malhotra was a completely different person until a few years back. He was a ball of positive energy who had full faith in the concept of marriage and love. It was love at first sight when he met Nyonika Singh at one of the business conventions back in 1992, who worked as an assistant to one of Raj's closest business ally. Raj who was a known casonava in his own days fell head over heels for the extremely gorgeous lady. Nyonika came from a poor background which made her hungry for wealth and fame. What's better than a relationship with one of the richest businessman in India? Raj was at the top of his game and was only growing more. He could have chose any girl he wanted but unfortunately it was her who stole his heart. Unaware of her intentions, Raj proposed Nyonika after going out for two years. In that time she had succeeded in making a irreplaceable place in his life. She also convinced his parents, that is Manik's Grandparents of her goodness. If only they knew she was going to destroy their son's life they could have stopped her.