The Forbidden Fruit (MaNan FF)

xvii.

Manik munched on the croissant and she stared at him intently. Her head was filled with questions but she didn't know whether or not he would answer them. He had never answered them before so she wasn't expecting any answers now, but she knew that she needed them so desperately.

Annoyed with his silence, she finally spoke, "Are you ever going to tell me?"

He looked up, a little startled and confused, as he asked, "Tell you what?"

"Everything," she simply said. "Firstly, I want to know what happened to the old house."

Manik gulped; he knew this was coming sooner or later. He didn't know why he was scared to tell her. He just didn't want her to get angry again, but why did her anger affect him that much? He knew why but he just didn't want to admit it. He liked it when she was normal with him but he wanted to deny it. He knew his feelings were deeper than he considered them to be and that would be problematic for him.

"Why don't you finish that first?" he tried to change the topic, pointing to her half-eaten caramel pudding. "I'll tell you after you-"

"Don't," she cut him off, her tone incredibly strict and Manik knew then and there that his attempts weren't going to work. "I have the right to know, Manik, and I will find out."

Manik paused then. He braced himself for her anger and, slowly, he started explaining with the tiniest bit of fear in him, "That day, after I dropped you off and returned home... well, something happened, obviously. Nyonika wasn't pleased when I told her that we were married so that is why she... kicked us out."

It took Nandini a while to register his words and when she finally did, she sputtered in absolute disbelief, "What?"

"That's the truth."

"So she kicked you out of the house and sent you to live in another house?" she wanted to clarify.

Manik bit his lip, "Yeah... about that. Well, she didn't exactly do that. She kind of thinks that... we're living on the streets..."

Nandini's eyes widened in shock as the realization sunk in. "Are you telling me we're trespassing in someone's house? That's illegal!"

"It's our family beach house, okay?" Manik tried to calm her. "We're not exactly trespassing. Well, I suppose we're not. It's just temporary, don't worry about it. Cab- Um, I mean I am looking for a house where we can live on rent. Then it'll all be fine."

"Where exactly are you going to get the money from?" Nandini enquired further. She had a dozen questions and she wanted them answered. She just wanted to make sure they wouldn't be getting in any trouble. She had had enough of that in her life lately.

"I think I'll look for a job," Manik assured her. "I'm making do with my credit card for now but I'm sure they'll cut me off soon. I'll have a job by then, don't worry."

"How are you so sure? What if no one hires you? And geez, do you even go to college, ever?"

"Why don't you calm down first?" he suggested, pushing the large glass of iced lemon tea towards her. She didn't want to calm down, but she knew she had to. That was why Nandini, although hesitantly, grabbed the glass and took a long sip. As she gulped down the cold liquid, it helped soothe her and also contributed in allowing her mind to relax. She closed her eyes, letting the after effects occur.

"You don't need to worry about me," he told her. "I'll be just fine."

That sentence ignited the fire in her yet again and she clenched her fist, trying to deny it desperately, "I'm not worried about you; I'm worrying about us, mainly myself. I just don't want to be an accomplice to your crimes because this is completely and utterly illegal. Seriously, Manik, if anyone finds out, we're in bigtrouble."