Glamour

Chapter 9

Nandini thought to take a day off. She was feeling sick; all the exhausting emotions and trauma drove her to the edge and she felt like doing nothing. She was definitely going to suck if she went for shooting. But again, if she would hide, then she would make it obvious that she was fleeing from the situation and it was the last thing she wanted. So she checked herself in the mirror for one last time, adorning her face with a beautiful smile. She had become a master of facade by the time.

But one person wasn't to be fooled. After all, he knew it all.

Although she stepped out of her green room with an air of confidence, her heart still beat fast. And the moment she was dreading came sooner than she expected. In fact, he was right in front of her just the moment she was out of the makeup room. She felt like her heart will jump out of her chest. The mask of obliviousness fell for a moment and she felt vulnerable. How was this man able to do that to her every time?

"Hey."

His soft voice was like music to her ears. And she could not but fall for it, fall for him. His hypnotic gaze held hers as she looked into his eyes. Oh, how could they capture her so irrefutably? It should have been a crime to be so ethereal.

His lips quirked but he seemed to suppress that. And as he did, Nandini came back to her senses. Oh, she realized that she kept him hanging.

"Hi."

Her voice sounded awfully squeaky. She was surprised, disappointed even, when Manik didn't make any teasing remarks. It was quite unusual of him.

Did he change so suddenly?

Well, is it not what you wanted?

You made him do that!

Nandini looked straight at him but didn't know what to say. All of a sudden, guilt rushed over her and she felt like hiding from his gaze.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about last night. I shouldn't have crossed my limit. I completely understand if you don't want to be more than friends. It was... it was just stupid of me to think... I'm really sorry. You just got out of a crappy relationship and... just..."

Manik smiled at her softly as he lifted his hand for a shake

"Let's just be friends."

Nandini looked at his hand for seconds before meeting it with hers. And as their hands parted, she sighed loosing the warmth of his skin.

That was meant to be hers. Whatever he just said, she was planning to say it. She was planning to mark her territories and to warn him not to cross the line. She was about to tell him not to dare to challenge her. But he said it all. He said all those unspoken words that she was about to speak. He put up the boundaries she was going to build. He challenged her unknowingly. He challenged to break her walls and she knew she was in for a battle. A battle she would love to lose but she dared to win. She was disappointed and angry but at the same time she was hopeful. Both for her loss and victory. Cause sometimes, loosing was better than winning.

Nandini nodded and without any word, left for the sets.

***

The rest of the day was uneventful. They shot several scenes, but mostly not together. And Nandini was grateful for that. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, the truth was they both would feel extremely awkward to be near each other. It was too soon after what happened and they both needed time to proceed to a comfortable ground.

As they packed up for the day, Nandini's phone buzzed with an incoming text. She grabbed her bag and headed towards the exit, calling Sneha as she walked.