Manik's POV
We had a meeting, and we sat in my car to drive towards the destination. All the way, none of them spoke words. It was a heavy awkward silence. It was getting heady and steeply. I looked towards Nandini and stared in her hazel brown eyes, trying to decipher them. She was beautiful, I thought. One of a kind.
"Manik...Um... Manik Sir", she called me twice and broke my chain of thoughts. I suddenly realized I was staring her continuously. "Your phone is ringing"
She said and I nodded. I parked my car aside and looked at the screen. It was Shanaya's
"Hello"
"Manik. Aaj raat ko Aap free ho?"
I looked towards Nandini and she seemed lost.
"Ha. Why?"
"Let's go out today. I mean, only if you've no problem"
"Umm...should I pick you from your work? And we can go directly"
"No, I've my car. I'll get home and we can go from there"
"Okay bye"
"Bye"
I disconnected my phone and thought. I could sense a bit of skepticism and worry from her voice. Was she fine? No matter, what she was my wife. Even if I didn't love her. I cared for her, more than that.
"Um.. Let's go", I said and she didn't say a word. I couldn't bear it. I was with a woman, I wanted. Still I couldn't have it. It wasn't just that. I can never cheat Shanaya. She cares for me too. During the whole drive, I was submerged in those thoughts. I'd no control. I was in pretence. It was complicated, as I said before. After an hour, we finally reached to the hotel, where the rendezvous was supposed to happen. I parked the car and both of us came out.
It was a big deal. A deal, which would take us to another heights. I wasn't nervous, I was confident. I trusted my abilities, and just like the way, I wanted to win. The triumph of victory was flowing inside my adrenaline.
"I'm sure you are prepared?", I asked Nandini, whom seemed a bit nervous. It was obvious.
"Umm.. yes sir", she tried feigning that she wasn't nervous, but I knew she was. I gave her a comfy, broad and radiant smile, and tried boosting her morale. I trusted her. She could give her the best. "Let's go", I instructed and she started walking behind me. We reached to the lift. She pressed the floor number and we stood at a comfortable distance. I stared at her changing expressions, and how she dangled with them. She looked so adorable with her faces, that she made.
Suddenly, the lift shook. The lights went off. Before, I realized, Nandini had fallen over me. And then, it came to an halt. We were stuck. The lift was stuck.
We were trapped in a lift.
~~~~~~~~
Narrator's POV
A woman was driving her car. She had a terrible day. Her clients were unhappy. She was feeling exhausted. After a hectic schedule for the past week, she was deadly tired. She had given all. All meant, whatever she had. It was just the luck didn't favor. She wanted someone to hold her. She was on the verge of her breakdown. All her patience, seemed to dwindle off. She wanted to work, but she was failing. Her head was paining too. She just wanted to rush back home, as soon as she could. She knew one she gets back home, his face would enlighten her day. She knew it. His face always delighted her, at the end of the day. Though they never shared the relation, they had. But she knew she was ready. She was ready to succumb in. She was ready to complete herself. It was more than what he wanted.
Six months to their marriage, and if she couldn't give in now, then she knew she would jeopardize her relation. Besides, she needed love. She had enough. She wanted someone to take care of her, the way, she wanted. She wanted to be ruined, in a way, she had never felt before. It wasn't just her comfort, it was her need. For once, she wanted to forget all her stress and get drowned under him. It was the time, the time, when they could consummate.
"I love you, Manik", she muttered herself. The realization dawned upon her completely. She knew it before, but it took her time.
She was lost in her own thoughts, when she heard her phone ringing. Her one hand was on the steering and the other was finding her phone. She couldn't rummage it. Her eyes shifted in her bag, and she started searching for it. The phone was still ringing, when it came in her hands. Her gaze moved upwards and the worst had already happened. The car had crashed to a truck. Her body jerked to the dashboard, her forehead collided with the window. Steam rose from the back, the smell too intense for words. car swerved, out of control.
The truck tried to avoid it - and failed. Both of them hit in a two-way head-on collision. There was an explosion, a ball of flame and a fist of gray smoke. It was over. The car rolled over, lights swirled like crazy catherine-wheels and the noise of the metal being bashed over the concrete was almost deafening. The seatbelt tugged on her skin with every lurch and the air bag was already deflating.
A huge hustle bustle created and before they cook knew, the car leaped with blood. It was hers. She had lost considerable amount of it. The sight was terrible, unwanted for eyes to perceive. People came there to see, and as one of them went, he checked her veins. His eyes showed it. He came and vented, "She is no more"
~~~~~~~~
