The Forbidden Fruit (MaNan FF)

xv.

"Where are you going?" He had asked her when she was about to leave, catching her by surprise. "I can drop you, if you want."

Nandini looked at him for some time, her eyebrows cringed in confusion. He always managed to surprise her. He was always patient and considerate towards her but after what he'd done, with the kidnapping and the forced marriage; she didn't understand why he would act like that. She was always expecting him to be rough and violent but he wasn't. She didn't know whether it was his personality or just a farce.

"I'll be fine," she told him. "The theater is close by. I think I can walk that far."

"Which theater?" he asked again, a bit more persistent this time. Nandini narrowed her eyes at his sudden interest.

"Why do you care so much?"

Manik paused at that. He, himself, didn't know why he cared so much about what she did and where she went. He knew that he enjoyed her company earlier and he supposed that he wanted more of it. But he didn't want to get too attached because he knew that wouldn't ever do him any good. Everyone he got attached to and truly wanted to be around had left him, the most important ones being his parents. Ever since then, Manik always had trust issues. Cabir was the only person who stuck with him through thick and thin and Manik knew it would always be like that. He couldn't risk getting hurt again.

"I don't," he decided. "I just want to make sure you're safe."

"And you think I will feel safe with you?" she questioned, and those words struck an arrow right in his chest. He knew he deserved it but it still hurt to hear her say it. Her hatred was suffocating him and he knew he couldn't complain. That realization of knowing that it was his mistake that compelled her to do and say all of this was the absolute worst.

"For my peace of mind, then," he suggested. "Can I please drop you?"

Nandini didn't have a clue as to why she didn't refuse.

xx

"Okay then, thanks," Cabir said as he ended the call and taking his pen, he crossed out a name from the list in front of him. When he offered to find a house for Manik and Nandini, he never knew it'd be so hard. He thought that having connections would make the job relatively easy but to his uttermost surprise, houses for rent were not that easily found in Mumbai. Houses which would suit Manik, that is.

Before Cabir made the next call, he paused for a while. He didn't know how he got here. He knew that Manik wouldn't be living in a mansion anymore, and he wondered how his friend would cope. At that moment, he started blaming himself. If only he hadn't made the decision that quickly, then maybe they would've been somewhere else now.

But then she would find out, he thought to himself and closed his eyes.

The painful memory of elementary school flashed back to him. He remembered the one incident he witnessed that scarred him for life and changed everything, absolutely everything, for him. He clearly remembered how he had a classmate named Sameer in fourth grade. Sameer was different from most boys in his class. He was always alone with barely any friends, but there was something else about him that stood out. Sameer was gay.

At first, no one knew. Everyone simply thought that he was the shy type and didn't like to talk much, which was partly true. However, one day word got out from a female classmate that Sameer had a crush on a boy. The rumor spread immediately and that was what made his life hell.

When Sameer would walk in the corridors, people would point and whisper at him. The children told their parents and the parents, utterly disgusted, advised the children not to mingle with the abnormal one. Later, Sameer would get beaten up by the tough kids during break and people would always, always, tease him.